“Der König Kandaules,” the Volksoper’s Zemlinsky mystery

By Zerbinetta, 07 May 2011

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Reviewed at Volksoper Wien, Vienna on 5 May 2011

Zemlinsky, Der König Kandaules

Volksoper Wien

Alfred Eschwé, Conductor

Hans Neuenfels, Director

Robert Brubaker, König Kandaules

Kay Stiefermann, Gyges

Meagan Miller, Nyssia

Alexander Trauner, Phedros

An empty glitter bomb: Aschenbrödels Traum at the Volksoper Wien

Chanda VanderHart, 4th December

A dizzying premise from Martina Eisenreich and Axel Ranisch, loosely drawing on Johann Strauss II’s unfinished ballet Aschenbrödel, which tries to be everything, all at once.

***11

Death, interrupted: KaiserRequiem moves at the Volksoper

Chanda VanderHart, 25th January

Omer Meir Wellber’s Mozart-Ullmann mash-up sounds like a terrible idea, but absolutely hits the mark.

****1

Paging Dr Freud! Iolanta and the Nutcracker at the Volksoper Wien

Mark Pullinger, 5th December

When is The Nutcracker not The Nutcracker? When's it's mashed together with Tchaikovsky's Iolanta to represent the blind princess’ inner world in a dark interpretation.

****1

Ella Milch-Sheriff’s Alma emerges as a dark triumph at the Volksoper

Chanda VanderHart, 31st October

A haunting, musically compelling impression of a woman whose life was shaped by creation, loss, and unfulfilled thirst for personal expression.

****1

Femicide! A controversial Carmen from Lotte de Beer at the Volksoper

Chanda VanderHart, 6th October

Lotte de Beer’s new retelling at the Volksoper reintroduces the element of shock into Bizet's popular opera.

****1

The subconscious at play: Lady in the Dark at the Volksoper

Chanda VanderHart, 18th December

Kurt Weill's musical, with its focus on psychoanalysis, makes its Austrian premiere in the city of Sigmund Freud.

****1

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Zerbinetta

Zerbinetta is a music educator in the New York area with a background in music performance, theater studies, and history. She is particularly interested in Wagner, Baroque music, and, of course, Richard Strauss.