John Malkovich crafts a convincing Casanova in The Giacomo Variations in Toronto

By Stanley Fefferman, 11 June 2013

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Reviewed at Elgin Theatre, Toronto on 7 June 2013

Haselböck, The Giacomo Variations

John Malkovich, Vocals

Ingeborda Dapkūnaitė, Vocals

Orchester Wiener Akademie

Michael Sturminger, Director

Kirsten Blaise, Soprano

Daniel Schmutzhard, Baritone

Everything and the kitchen sink in Vienna's Woods

Chanda VanderHart, 18th March

Every operatic ingredient was thrown into the pot for H.K. Gruber's Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (Tales from the Vienna Woods), but do too many cooks spoil this operatic broth?

***11

My Fair Lady auf St. Pauli: Silvester in der Elbphilharmonie

Sarah Schnoor, 31st December

So schön das Orchester im Walzertakt schwingt, so lustlos und unschön sind Beschallung und Inszenierung.

***11

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

Weinberg’s The Passenger at Dutch National Opera

Clare Varney, 17th April

Tobias Kratzer's 2024 Munich production makes its way to Amsterdam, proving that Weinberg's opera has the power to transfix.

****1

Frauenliebe und -sterben: Kratzer’s triple bill at Staatsoper Hamburg

Mengguang Huang, 15th April

Director Tobias Kratzer engineers a haunting pasticcio of Schumann, Bartók and Zemlinsky, tracing the domestic sphere’s shift from romantic surrender to the blood-soaked secrets of a century-spanning house.

****1

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Stanley Fefferman

Stanley Fefferman is Professor Emeritus at York University, Toronto. He is active in classical, new music, and jazz circles as a writer and accredited performance photographer. His work is archived on Canadian sites The Live Music Report.com, Showtimemagazine.ca, and OpusOneReview.com. His website is here.