Staging, spectacle, singing: three-card trick at Savonlinna

By Roy Westbrook, 11 July 2018

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“vocal honours were snatched by Konstantin Shushakov’s peerless account of Yeletsky’s romance”

Reviewed at Olavinlinna Castle, Savonlinna on 10 July 2018

Tchaikovsky, The Queen of Spades (Pique Dame)

Alexander Vedernikov, Conductor

Jere Erkkilä, Director

Jani Uljas, Set Designer

Melis Jaatinen, Polina

Elena Guseva, Lisa

Misha Didyk, Herman

Elena Zaremba, The Countess

Kiril Manolov, Tomsky

Konstantin Shushakov, Yeletsky

Heikki Halinen, Chaplitsky

Koit Soasepp, Surin

Ilkka Hämäläinen, Chekalinsky

Jouni Kokora, Narumov

Savonlinna Opera Festival Choir

Savonlinna Opera Festival Orchestra

Savonlinna Opera Festival Children's Choir

The Drover's Wife brings Aboriginal Dreaming to opera audiences

Jeremy Eccles, 16th May

Emerging from different incarnations of Leah Purcell’s play, George Palmer’s opera develops traditional Dreaming elements from Aboriginal mythology, premiering in Brisbane.

****1

Anna Netrebko gatecrashes Riccardo Chailly’s La Scala farewell

Laura Servidei, 16th May

Riccardo Chailly’s final new production as artistic director is a celebration of Verdi and of a conductor whose relationship with the Milanese audience has clearly deepened over the years.

*****

Orlando revisited: Olga Neuwirth’s Woolf adaptation comes to Berlin

Elena Luporini, 16th May

The German premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Orlando at the Komische Oper cements it as a postmodern grand opéra – for better or for worse.

***11

Iolanta paired with Luonnotar in dramatic Helsinki double bill

No’a L. bat Miri, 15th May

In Helsinki, Antony McDonald pairs Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta with a staged version of Sibelius’ tone poem Luonnotar, brilliantly voiced by soprano Silja Aalto.

*****

Richard Jones’ clunky Samson et Dalila returns to Covent Garden

Dominic Lowe, 13th May

With Aigul Akhmetshina and Seokjong Baek in the title roles, there are reasons to be optimistic, but The Royal Opera’s revival of Richard Jones’ production is a mixed bag.

***11

Reality television: ENO’s Angel’s Bone in Manchester

Lawrence Dunn, 12th May

Kip Williams and ENO mount an extraordinary new production of Du Yun and Royce Vavrek’s multifaceted opera, with performances of great emotional directness broadcast live on camera.

*****

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Roy Westbrook

Roy Westbrook gained a diploma in music history at London University (Morley College) and was for some years the head of music day schools at Oxford University, where he also led music summer schools. After some years leading the University's business school he has returned to music teaching and writing, and recently took part in the Arts in Residence courses on Bruckner, Mahler and Bach He is co-author (with Terry Barfoot) of a history of opera, and has taught day schools on Sibelius in Oxford and elsewhere.

Staging, spectacle, singing: three-card trick at Savonlinna's new Queen of Spades