Viennese tradition: Anja Harteros in Rosenkavalier

By Jonathan Sutherland, 14 December 2015

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Reviewed at Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna on 11 December 2015

Strauss R., Der Rosenkavalier

Vienna State Opera

Ádám Fischer, Conductor

Otto Schenk, Director

Rudolf Heinrich, Set Designer

Erni Kniepert, Costume Designer

Anja Harteros, Feldmarschallin

Chen Reiss, Sophie

Stephanie Houtzeel, Octavian

Peter Rose, Baron Ochs

Jochen Schmeckenbecher, Herr von Faninal

Caroline Wenborne, Marianne

Jinxu Xiahou, Italian Singer

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Laura Servidei, 14th March

Ermonela Jaho returns to one of her signature roles as Cio-Cio-San, delivering a searing and deeply nuanced portrayal.

****1

Too much and too little: Jan Lauwers’ restless Clemenza in Vienna

Chanda VanderHart, 12th March

The creative team behind the new Staatsoper Clemenza is unwilling to trust that Mozart’s opera is interesting enough to stand on its own.

***11

An Idomeneo shattered to pieces at the Wiener Staatsoper

Orsolya Gyárfás, 23rd January

A committed cast struggles to lend a spark of life to Kasper Holten's static staging of Mozart's first mature opera.

**111

A holiday Bohème: Puccini, Zeffirelli and tradition in Vienna

Laura Servidei, 21st December

Giacomo Sagripanti conducts a luxuriant reading with a cast anchored by Juan Diego Flórez and Nicole Car, in Zeffirelli’s familiar, generous, unabashedly emotional production.

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Stikhina, Tézier and Tetelman outstanding in classic Vienna Tosca

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It may be on its 663rd outing, but Margarethe Wallmann's Tosca is a classic for a reason, as proved in this outstanding performance at the Wiener Staatsoper.

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Lise auf Naxos: Davidsen makes a triumphant return to Ariadne

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Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen returns to Sven-Eric Bechtolf's lean but polished production with an outstanding cast, outstandingly conducted.

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Jonathan Sutherland

Jonathan Sutherland is a graduate of the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is also an internationally renowned concert pianist specializing in the music of the 1930s. Jonathan’s first operatic experience was hearing Maria Callas sing Tosca in Covent Garden and he has since heard performances in all continents of the world including over 60 different productions at the Wiener Staatsoper. He has written for The Australian, Opera Today and The Opera Critic as well as Bachtrack. Jonathan speaks English, French, German and Italian fluently and is based in the south of France near Nice.

Viennese tradition: Anja Harteros stars in Otto Schenk’s production of Der Rosenkavalier