Simon Steen-Andersen's bizarre opera Buenos Aires

By Aksel Tollåli, 22 September 2014

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Throughout the opera, Steen-Andersen devised different ways of distorting speech”

Reviewed at Oslo Opera House, Stage 2, Oslo on 18 September 2014

Steen-Andersen, Buenos Aires

Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart

Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre

Eleanor Knight, 1st May

Tales of love and loss as operas by Elena Langer, Charlotte Bray and Elizabeth Maconchy form a varied triple bill in this showcase for The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists.

****1

The triumph of virtue: Rossini’s Cenerentola in Brisbane

Sandra Bowdler, 29th April

Margarita Gritskova leads a fine ensemble performance of Rossini’s most under-appreciated opera by Opera Queensland.

****1

Grigolo shines in a mixed new Roméo et Juliette at the Opera di Roma

Pia Maltri, 28th April

With its 1940s setting, Luca Del Fusco’s direction alienates in a new production of Gounod's Shakespeare-inspired opera.

***11

Chiaroscuro extinguished: a self-indulgent Poppea in Copenhagen

Mengguang Huang, 26th April

Christoph Marthaler’s staging of Monteverdi’s Poppea for the Royal Danish Opera is a study in boredom.

**111

Romeo Castellucci directs a new Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 26th April

The Italian director makes his long-awaited Italian operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a production which perfectly mirrors Debussy’s most enigmatic creation.

****1

Lepage’s Bluebeard and Erwartung pairing remains compelling theatre

John Gilks, 25th April

Some 30 years after its first appearance, Robert Lepage’s double bill of Duke Bluebeards Castle and Erwartung is still strikingly effective and very modern-looking music theatre.

*****

More reviews...

Aksel Tollåli

Aksel is currently studying towards a degree in musicology at the University of Oslo. At the moment he is an exchange student at Goldsmiths College in London. He is also a choral singer and a trombonist. His musical interests include 20th-cenury French music, Baroque opera and the music of Richard Strauss.

Simon Steen-Andersen's opera Buenos Aires proves a thought provoking and bizarre piece