Russian Roulette: Pappano’s spin through the Mighty Handful

By Mark Pullinger, 09 February 2016

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Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 8 February 2016

Rimsky-Korsakov, The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh: Prelude and the Battle of Kerzhenets

Rimsky-Korsakov, The Tale of Tsar Saltan: The Flight of the Bumblebee

Borodin, Symphony no. 2 in B minor

Mussorgsky, Night on the Bare Mountain

Cui, William Ratcliff: Prelude to Act III

Balakirev, Oriental Fantasy, "Islamey", Op.18

Sir Antonio Pappano, Conductor

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight

David Karlin, 17th March

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

*****

A new Albrecht makes a polished Giselle shine even brighter

Deborah Weiss, 7th March

A last minute injury to Natalia Osipova does not mar the magic of Sir Peter Wright's Giselle as Marianela Núñez steps in to partner Patricio Revé.

****1

The RB: Peter Wright’s Giselle is as near perfection as you can get

Amanda Jennings, 14th February

Sir Peter Wright’s Giselle was given a well-deserved, thunderous ovation on opening night. A near perfect rendition of the ballet from all quarters of the Company was deeply satisfying.

*****

Terfel’s craggy Boris Godunov returns to Covent Garden

Mark Pullinger, 29th January

The second revival of Richard Jones' staging of Mussorgsky's original 1869 version of Boris Godunov once again stars the Welsh knight.

****1

Woolf Works for The Royal Ballet: reaching poetic depths

Maggie Foyer, 17th January

Woolf Works returns to Royal Opera House stage showcasing some of Wayne McGregor’s best choreography and a roster of exceptional performances.

****1

Ermonela Jaho returns in triumph to The Royal Opera’s Traviata

Mark Valencia, 8th January

Richard Eyre’s 32-year-old production is rarely out of The Royal Opera’s repertoire for more than a few months at a time, but this particular revival proves very special.

*****

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Russian Roulette: Pappano’s spin through the Mighty Handful at Covent Garden