Zemlinsky takes centre stage in Deutsche Oper’s Der Zwerg

By Hugo Shirley, 26 March 2019

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“commanding Zemlinsky’s taxing notes with firm, focused and pleasingly plangent tone”

Reviewed at Deutsche Oper, Berlin on 24 March 2019

Zemlinsky, Der Zwerg (The Dwarf)

Deutsche Oper Berlin

Sir Donald Runnicles, Conductor

Tobias Kratzer, Director

Rainer Sellmaier, Set Designer, Costume Designer

Elena Tsallagova, Donna Clara

Emily Magee, Ghita

David Butt Philip, The Dwarf

Philipp Jekal, Don Estoban

Nicole Haslett, First Maid

Amber Fasquelle, Second Maid

Maiju Vaahtoluoto, Third Maid

Mick Morris Mehnert, Actor

Stefan Woinke, Lighting Designer

Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin

Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin

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****1

Between ecstasy and abyss: Korngold’s Violanta at the Deutsche Oper

Zenaida des Aubris, 25th January

David Hermann directs a new production of Korngold’s teenage opera, conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

****1

Giordano's Fedora at the Deutsche Oper Berlin

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Elena Luporini, 20th June

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Zenaida des Aubris, 26th January

Tobias Kratzer gives his third Strauss production in three seasons at Deutsche Oper Berlin another contemporary spin.

****1

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Hugo Shirley

Hugo Shirley is a Berlin-based writer and musicologist. He has written widely as a critic in the UK, including for The Spectator, the Financial Times and Daily Telegraph, and has held editorial posts at both Opera and Gramophone. He was editor of 30-Second Opera (Ivy Press, 2015) and has a PhD in musicology from King's College London, where his thesis focused on Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s Die Frau ohne Schatten.