Bachtrack logo
What's on
All eventsConcertsOperaDanceKids eventsMasterclassesCompetitionsFestivals
Reviews
All reviewsConcert reviewsOpera reviewsDance reviews
Articles
All articlesFeaturesInterviewsOpinionPlaylists
News
Video
Video homeAll videoStreamed eventsConcertsOperaDanceKids eventsMasterclassesPublishers
Site
About usContact usLink to usConditions of useCookiesPrivacy
Young artists
Travel
EventsReviewsArticlesVideo

Rihm's Conquest of Mexico: glorious philosophy in music at the Salzburg Festival

By Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 27 July 2015
Loading, please wait...
See full listing
“Rihm’s music and Konwitschny’s vision have combined to create something extraordinary”
Reviewed at Felsenreitschule, Salzburg on 26 July 2015
Programme
Rihm, Die Eroberung von Mexico (mit deutschen und englischen Übertiteln)
Performers
Ingo Metzmacher, Conductor
Peter Konwitschny, Director
Johannes Leiacker, Set Designer, Costume Designer
Angela Denoke, Montezuma
Bo Skovhus, Cortez
Susanna Andersson, Soprano
Marie-Ange Todorovitch, Mezzo-soprano
Stephan Rehm, Speaker
Peter Pruchniewitz, Speaker
ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
More Opera reviews
Curtain rises on ENO’s Traviata revival
Dominic Lowe, 23rd October
Peter Konwitschny's production of La traviata has its flaws, but in an age of protracted media there is much to be said for his taut production of Verdi's most famous tragedy. 
***11
Konwitschny’s controversial Don Carlos a must-see in Vienna
Chanda VanderHart, 4th October
A five-hour operatic marathon as the full, five-act French version of Verdi's epic Don Carlos returns to the Staatsoper after a seven-year hiatus. 
*****
Peter Konwitschny returns to the Semperoper with Les Huguenots
Laura Servidei, 29th June
John Osborn leads a very successful premiere of Peter Konwitschny's new production of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots in Dresden
****1
An immersive auto-da-fé: Konwitschny's Don Carlos sizzles
Mark Pullinger, 30th May
From stylised 16th-century dress to a 1970s sitcom ballet, Konwitschny's Staatsoper staging is full of brilliantly inventive touches, splendidly realised in this excellently sung revival. 
*****
Mob mentality: a powerful La Juive at Opera Vlaanderen
Mark Pullinger, 10th March
Peter Konwitschny's production strips away much of the religious symbolism, presenting the difference between Jews and Christians as little more than the dyed colour of their hands. 
****1
In Konwitschny's modern Medea, monsters are made by men
Ilana Walder-Biesanz, 27th December
Director Peter Konwitschny's staging of Cherubini's Medea critiques rejection and mistreatment of refugees. A strong new German translation and a talented cast make this a must-see.
****1
More reviews...
Read reviews of
Angela DenokeBo SkovhusDie Eroberung von MexicoIngo MetzmacherJohannes LeiackerMarie-Ange TodorovitchORF Vienna Radio Symphony OrchestraPeter KonwitschnyStephan RehmSusanna AnderssonWolfgang Rihm
Related articles
Loading image...
Insiders may have assisted pro-Palestine protest at Salzburg Festival
Loading image...
Opera in the blood: Speranza Scappucci
Loading image...
Street-smart and subversive: Ailish Tynan talks Così fan tutte
Loading image...
Songs from home: Magdalena Kožená in conversation
Ilana Walder-Biesanz
Ilana Walder-Biesanz
Ilana Walder-Biesanz is a product manager for Yahoo, a theatre and opera critic, and a classically trained mezzo-soprano. She explored theater and opera stagings as a Gates Scholar at Cambridge and as a Fulbright Scholar in Germany. She currently writes for Bachtrack, San Francisco Classical Voice, and Stark Insider. Twitter: @ilana_wb.