Dalibor: The Czech Fidelio

By Mark Pullinger, 03 May 2015

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“Bělohlávek led a glowing account, rarely hurried, his technique full of easy, fluid gestures”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 2 May 2015

Smetana, Dalibor

Jiří Bělohlávek, Conductor

Kenneth Richardson, Director

Dana Burešová, Milada

Richard Samek, Dalibor

Alžběta Poláčková, Jitka

Aleš Voráček, Vítek

Svatopluk Sem, Budivoj

Ivan Kusnjer, Vladislav

Jan Šťáva, Beneš

BBC Symphony Orchestra

BBC Singers

Death is the star in a biting Kaiser von Atlantis at the Barbican

David Karlin, 23rd January

Ullmann's one act opera, written in the concentration camp at Terezin, receives a powerful performance from the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

****1

Alwyn's Miss Julie rescued from the operatic desert

Mark Pullinger, 3rd October

William Alwyn's operatic take on Strindberg is rarely performed – a complete mystery considering this excellent concert staging at the Barbican by the BBCSO under Sakari Oramo.

****1

Death, destroyer of worlds

David Karlin, 25th April

At the Barbican last night, Gerald Finley, John Adams and the BBC Symphony Orchestra combined to deliver the heaviest operatic punch I’ve been subjected to all year.

*****

Where Bellini started: Opera Rara's Adelson e Salvini

David Karlin, 11th May

A youthful Bellini opera able to stand on its own two feet? Perhaps not, as Adelson e Salvini gets the Opera Rara treatment.

***11

Haydn, Hummel and Ravel performed with confidence by the BBC Symphony Orchestra

Evan Dickerson, 12th October

Josep Pons strode purposefully onto the Barbican stage to conduct the BBC Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Haydn’s “Clock” Symphony. The first movement opened by way of an Adagio laden with a suitable sense of portent, the layers of writing for the strings being clearly articulated to bring this out.

****1

Irish National Opera’s new Rusalka intrigues more than it convinces

Andrew Larkin, 22nd March

Netia Jones’ modern reimagining intrigues more than it convinces, but still makes a strong case for Dvořák’s dark fairy tale.

***11

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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.

The Czech Fidelio: Bělohlávek leads a fine account of Smetana’s Dalibor