Bayreuth comes to the Ruhr for a new Tristan und Isolde

By John Johnston, 06 March 2017

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Musiktheater im Revier, Gelsenkirchen on 4 March 2017

Wagner, Tristan und Isolde

Musiktheater im Revier

Rasmus Baumann, Conductor

Michael Schulz, Director

Kathrin-Susann Brose, Set Designer

Renée Listerdal, Costume Designer

Catherine Foster, Isolde

Torsten Kerl, Tristan

Phillip Ens, King Marke

Urban Malmberg, Kurwenal

Almuth Herbst, Brangäne

Piotr Prochera, Melot

William Saetre, Shepherd

Ibrahim Yesilay, Young seaman

Jacoub Eisa, Helmsman

Neue Philharmonie Westfalen

Local colour: Mathis der Maler in the Ruhr

Matthew Rye, 28th October

Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen's new production of Hindemith's meditation on art and politics, Mathis der Maler, draws upon the Ruhr's modern art legacy.

***11

Local colour: Mathis der Maler in the Ruhr

Matthew Rye, 28th October

Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen's new production of Hindemith's meditation on art and politics, Mathis der Maler, draws upon the Ruhr's modern art legacy.

***11

Mythic moth: Smareglia's La falena in Braunschweig

Matthew Rye, 15th April

The German premiere of a late-19th-century Italian opera that has closer musical and dramatic links to Wagner than to Verdi or Puccini.

***11

A fresh take on Mozart's Idomeneo in Dresden

Max Woods, 29th November

Mozart wrote 20 operas during his relatively short life, the first being performed in Salzburg in 1767, when the composer was just eleven years old. However, it is Idomeneo, written and premièred when Mozart was the ripe old age of 25, which is usually considered to be his first mature opera.The opera takes place on the island of Crete immediately after the Trojan War.

****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

Billy Budd, or the Triumph of Beauty at the Opéra de Lyon

Stéphane Lelièvre, 21st March

The Opéra de Lyon presents Britten’s masterpiece for the first time: a triumph, both visually and musically, which is received with great enthusiasm by the audience.

****1

More reviews...

John Johnston

John Johnston was a contributor to Bachtrack 2017-19. John was a true gentleman and lifelong opera "nut" who frequently travelled across Europe to catch performances, making regular pilgrimages to the Bayreuth Festival among others. His supreme knowledge and appreciation of voices meant he took to reviewing like the proverbial duck to water. We enjoyed his style and his insatiable appetite for catching rare operas and new productions wherever he could.

Bayreuth comes to the Ruhr: leading Wagner singers in Gelsenkirchen for a new Tristan und Isolde