One Rheingold to rule them all

By Kevin Wells, 19 July 2017

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“the bright, shining ring atop this hoard of riches was the orchestra itself”

Reviewed at Tanglewood, Koussevitzky Music Shed, Lenox on 15 July 2017

Wagner, Das Rheingold

Andris Nelsons, Conductor

Thomas Johannes Mayer, Wotan

Ryan McKinny, Donner

David Butt Philip, Froh

Kim Begley, Loge

Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Alberich

David Cangelosi, Mime

Morris Robinson, Fasolt

Ain Anger, Fafner

Stephanie Blythe, Fricka

Malin Christensson, Freia

Patricia Bardon, Erda

Jacqueline Echols, Woglinde

Catherine Martin, Wellgunde

Renée Tatum, Flosshilde

Boston Symphony Orchestra

Bang! Mozart's volcano erupts in Opera Holland Park’s Così fan tutte

Peter Quantrill, 28th May

Mount Vesuvius looms over Cecilia Stinton’s compelling new production of Così fan tutte.

****1

Viennese splendour in Garsington’s Rosenkavalier revival

Roy Westbrook, 28th May

Bruno Ravella's splendid 2021 production of Strauss' opera of Viennese manners returns with a fine cast.

****1

A witty hotel Don Giovanni opens Blackwater Valley Festival

Andrew Larkin, 27th May

Tom Creed’s witty production at Lismore Castle delivers strong singing, sharp comedy and lively orchestral playing, even if the opera’s darker supernatural edges are somewhat diminished.

****1

Garsington’s new La traviata ticks every musical and dramatic box

David Karlin, 27th May

Music Director Douglas Boyd conducts a performance of exceptional musical quality, and Louisa Muller's uncontroversial but passionate direction makes this Traviata one for the ages.

*****

Werther revived at San Carlo: an anatomy of emotional isolation

Lorenzo Fiorito, 26th May

Willy Decker’s psychologically intense Werther returns to the Teatro di San Carlo with a deeply human interpretation by Francesco Demuro and refined conducting by Lorenzo Passerini.

*****

Opera Holland Park makes a convincing case for La fanciulla del West

Dominic Lowe, 26th May

A thoughtful production from Martin Lloyd-Evans and magnificent playing from Matthew Kofi Walden and the City of London Sinfonia make the case for why Puccini's under-appreciated work is actually so sophisticated.

****1

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Kevin Wells

Kevin Wells was bitten by the opera bug at 10, having heard a 1936 recording of Jussi Björling singing “Che gelida manina”. He has never been the same since. A student of voice, performance practice, the history of singing and opera, he holds advanced degrees in Italian and has lived and worked in Italy off and on since the 70s. La Scala became a second home as the Met had been during college daze. Now in his native Boston, he works as translator, tutor, and language coach, haunts Symphony Hall, and would haunt the Opera House had it not been demolished in 1958!

One Rheingold to rule them all: the Boston Symphony and Andris Nelsons at Tanglewood