Finding release among the poppy fields

By Mark Pullinger, 08 February 2017

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“hedonistic youngsters leap and gyrate among the poppies like a perfumed Rite of Spring”

Reviewed at Dutch National Opera and Ballet, Amsterdam on 7 February 2017

Borodin, Prince Igor

Dutch National Opera

Stanislav Kochanovsky, Conductor

Dmitri Tcherniakov, Director, Set Designer

Elena Zaytseva, Costume Designer

Gleb Filshtinsky, Lighting Designer

Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra

Chorus of Dutch National Opera

Ildar Abdrazakov, Igor Svyatoslavich, Prince of Novgorod-Seversky

Oksana Dyka, Yaroslavna

Pavel Černoch, Vladimir Igorevich

Dmitry Ulyanov, Konchak, Galitsky

Agunda Kulaeva, Konchakovna

Vasily Efimov, Ovlur

Andrei Popov, Yeroshka

Vladimir Ognovenko, Skula

Itzik Galili, Choreography

Weinberg’s The Passenger at Dutch National Opera

Clare Varney, 17th April

Tobias Kratzer's 2024 Munich production makes its way to Amsterdam, proving that Weinberg's opera has the power to transfix.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's reimagined La Bayadère triumphs

Mark Vicente, 26th March

Dutch National Ballet's new production of La Bayadère does away with the ballet’s problematic gestures and movements, allowing the choreography to truly shine.

****1

Michel van der Aa’s Theory of Flames: defining opera for a modern age

Clare Varney, 6th March

British singers Mary Bevan and Roderick Williams lead the cast in Dutch National Opera’s latest ground-breaking opera, merging live music with pre-recorded film and electronics.

****1

Dutch National Ballet brings much needed heat to this winter season

Mark Vicente, 10th February

The Dutch National Ballet helped shake off those winter blues with a mixed programme that highlighted ballet’s love affair with Latin rhythms and movement.

****1

Semele at Dutch National Opera: myth, desire and fantasy

Mengguang Huang, 23rd January

Guth’s Semele turns myth into a contemporary domestic drama, where desire becomes obsession and illusion consumes reality. Handel’s music remains the true engine, driven by a thrilling, physically intense ensemble.

****1

Dutch National Ballet's Program B is the A+ Program in New York

Ivy Lin, 21st November

Dutch National Ballet's second mixed bill at New York City Center ticked all the right boxes, showcasing the depth of talent across the whole company.

*****

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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.

Finding release among the poppy fields: Dmitri Tcherniakov's powerful Prince Igor in Amsterdam