Pappano takes no prisoners in Dallapiccola and Respighi

Sir Antonio Pappano

Eric Greene, Sir Antonio Pappano, Stefano Secco and the LSO

Ángeles Blancas Gulín, Sir Antonio Pappano and the LSO

By Benjamin Poore, 06 June 2022

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“in Pappano the composer has found the best possible advocate”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 5 June 2022

Respighi, Vetrate di chiesa (Church Windows)

Dallapiccola, Il prigioniero

Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor

London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Chorus

Eric Greene, Il prigioniero (The Prisoner)

Ángeles Blancas Gulín, La madre (The Mother)

Stefano Secco, Il carceriere (The Gaoler)/ Il grande Inquisitore (The Grand Inquisitor)

Egor Zhuravskii, Primo sacerdote (First Priest)

Chuma Sijeqa, Secondo sacerdote (Second Priest)

Simon Halsey, Choirmaster / chorus director

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

Wretches like us: the LPO’s concert Wozzeck cuts to the quick

Peter Quantrill, 25th April

Beautifully prepared singing and playing brings out the tender side to Berg's modernist classic as part of the Southbank Centre’s Multitudes festival.

****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.

*****

Trojan’s Carousel: a magical night of dreams come true in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 23rd April

A vintage opera at the National Theatre offers charming adventures for children and musical sophistication for adults.

*****

A sorta fairy tale: Sleepers Awake premieres at Opera Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 22nd April

A new opera by Gregory Spears subverts the Sleeping Beauty trope, with middling results.

**111

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Benjamin Poore

Benjamin Poore is a writer and critic. His book on psychoanalysis and literature is forthcoming in 2019. He has previously written about literature and culture for the Independent, the Times Literary Supplement, and Times Higher Education. In his spare time he tries to sing Schubert; he has a very patient teacher.