Tannhäuser's long and tortuous journey of the spirit

By Alexander Hall, 18 June 2018

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“Dich, teure Halle.. addressed to the splendidly resonating walls of the Béla Bartók auditorium”

Reviewed at Müpa: Béla Bartók National Concert Hall, Budapest on 17 June 2018

Wagner, Tannhäuser

Ádám Fischer, Conductor

Matthias Oldag, Director

Thomas Gruber, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Stephen Gould, Tannhäuser

Tünde Szabóki, Elisabeth

Sophie Koch, Venus

Markus Eiche, Wolfram von Eschenbach

Tivadar Kiss, Heinrich der Schreiber

Tibor Szappanos, Walther von der Vogelweide

Gábor Bretz, Landgraf Hermann

Jürgen Linn, Biterolf

Ferenc Cserhalmi, Reinmar von Zweter

Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra

Hungarian State Opera Chorus, Choir

Honvéd Male Choir

Budapest Studio Choir

Sylvie Gábor, Revival Director

Stuck in purgatory: Tannhäuser at Budapest’s Wagner Days

Orsolya Gyárfás, 29th June

Individual performances impress, but conducting and production both prove too meandering in this year’s Wagner Days Tannhäuser.

***11

Eine Groteske zwischen Tragik und Komik: die Neue Oper Wien präsentiert Schostakowitschs Die Nase

Simon Haasis, 28th September

Schostakowitschs geniales Jugendwerk Die Nase in einer prägnanten Aufführung an der Kammeroper in Wien.

****1

A sorta fairy tale: Sleepers Awake premieres at Opera Philadelphia

Cameron Kelsall, 22nd April

A new opera by Gregory Spears subverts the Sleeping Beauty trope, with middling results.

**111

Asmik Grigorian strengthens the Met’s revival of Eugene Onegin

Susan Stempleski, 20th April

The Lithuanian soprano’s riveting performance as the central character in Tchaikovsky’s operatic masterpiece lights up Deborah Warner’s mostly bland production.

****1

At half mast: Simon Boccanegra revived in Vienna

Orsolya Gyárfás, 19th April

Marco Armiliato's conducting thrills and Federica Lombardi's radiant Amelia stands out in the Wiener Staatsoper's latest revival of Simon Boccanegra.

***11

Anna Netrebko shines in Vienna’s timeless Tosca

Laura Servidei, 18th April

In a world where opera productions often stray into the abstract, the Wiener Staatsoper’s Tosca offers a refreshing return to tradition – and Anna Netrebko delivers a splendid performance.

****1

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Alexander Hall

Alexander Hall divides his time between London and Hamburg, where he had a career in academic administration and teaching. He reviews for Bachtrack and Opera Today, and has also reviewed for Classical Source. A connoisseur of the great orchestras of the world, his musical memories stretch back to Karajan/Berlin Phil, Mravinsky/Leningrad Phil, Bernstein/Vienna Phil, and he has seen most of the great conductors from the past, including Böhm, Klemperer, Kubelik, Ormandy and Szell.

Tannhäuser's long and tortuous journey of the spirit in Budapest