A finely gauged Walküre from Jurowski and the LPO

By Mark Valencia, 28 January 2019

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“Claudia Mahnke’s intervention as Fricka was breathtaking”

Reviewed at Royal Festival Hall, London on 27 January 2019

Wagner, Die Walküre

Vladimir Jurowski, Conductor

Stuart Skelton, Siegmund

Stephen Milling, Hunding

Ruxandra Donose, Sieglinde

Markus Marquardt, Wotan

Claudia Mahnke, Fricka

Svetlana Sozdateleva, Brünnhilde

Alwyn Mellor, Gerhilde

Gabriela Iştoc, Ortlinde

Rachael Lloyd, Grimgerde

Hanna Hipp, Roßweiße

Angela Simkin, Siegrune

Ursula Hesse von den Steinen, Waltraute

Susan Platts, Schwertleite

London Philharmonic Orchestra

The triumph of virtue: Rossini's Cenerentola in Brisbane

Sandra Bowdler, 29th April

Margarita Gritskova leads a fine ensemble performance of Rossini's most under-appreciated opera by Opera Queensland.

****1

Chiaroscuro extinguished: a self-indulgent Poppea in Copenhagen

Mengguang Huang, 26th April

Christoph Marthaler’s staging of Monteverdi’s Poppea for the Royal Danish Opera is a study in boredom.

**111

Romeo Castellucci directs a new Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 26th April

The Italian director makes his long-awaited Italian operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a production which perfectly mirrors Debussy’s most enigmatic creation.

****1

Lepage’s Bluebeard and Erwartung pairing remains compelling theatre

John Gilks, 25th April

Some 30 years after its first appearance, Robert Lepage’s double bill of Duke Bluebeards Castle and Erwartung is still strikingly effective and very modern-looking music theatre.

*****

Wretches like us: the LPO’s concert Wozzeck cuts to the quick

Peter Quantrill, 25th April

Beautifully prepared singing and playing brings out the tender side to Berg's modernist classic as part of the Southbank Centre’s Multitudes festival.

****1

Trojan’s Carousel: a magical night of dreams come true in Prague

Frank Kuznik, 23rd April

A vintage opera at the National Theatre offers charming adventures for children and musical sophistication for adults.

*****

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Mark Valencia

Mark has worked in arts journalism for four decades, both as a writer and as a French-English translator. Nowadays he focuses his energies on reviewing opera and music. Mark also writes for Opera magazine and for Musical America as a correspondent for Europe and the UK.