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Jansons and the Vienna Phil trump Neuenfels' tame Pique Dame in Salzburg

By Mark Pullinger, 11 August 2018
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“Igor Golovatenko's polished baritone shone as Yeletsky, his long lines aristocratically arched”
Reviewed at Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg on 10 August 2018
Programme
Tchaikovsky, The Queen of Spades (Pique Dame)
Performers
Mariss Jansons, Conductor
Hans Neuenfels, Director
Christian Schmidt, Set Designer
Reinhard von der Thannen, Costume Designer
Brandon Jovanovich, Herman
Vladislav Sulimsky, Tomsky
Igor Golovatenko, Yeletsky
Evgenia Muraveva, Lisa
Oksana Volkova, Polina
Hanna Schwarz, The Countess
Stanislav Trofimov, Surin
Gleb Periazev, Narumov
Margarita Nekrasova, The Governess
Pavel Petrov, Chaplitsky
Alexander Kravets, Chekalinsky
Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Masha
Yulia Suleimanova, Prilepa
Salzburger Festspiele und Theater Kinderchor
Vienna Philharmonic
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The Staatsoper revives a confused production by Hans Neuenfels, under the baton of Thomas Guggeis.
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Hans Neuenfels new Salome proves a strangely non-committal affair at the Staatsoper, but Thomas Guggeis conducts impressively.
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A sizzling myth of matricide
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In the hands of director Hans Neuenfels, the Swiss première of Manfred Trojahn’s Orest was widely anticipated for its “splashes of gore and commensurate splatters of sound”.
*****
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Despite the starriest of casts the première of Miroslav Srnka's double opera South Pole falls behind the expectations created by the media hype, but is celebrated by the audience.
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More reviews...
Read reviews of
Alexander KravetsBrandon JovanovichChristian SchmidtEvgenia MuravevaGleb PeriazevHanna SchwarzHans NeuenfelsIgor GolovatenkoMargarita NekrasovaMariss JansonsOksana VolkovaPavel PetrovPyotr Ilyich TchaikovskyReinhard von der ThannenSalzburger Festspiele und Theater KinderchorStanislav TrofimovThe Queen of Spades (Pique Dame)Vasilisa BerzhanskayaVienna PhilharmonicVladislav Sulimsky
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Mark Pullinger
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.