Work: Fierrabras

Harding's grasp of the work's architecture that provides overall coherence. That, combined with the pithy, pulsing core he forges at its heart, makes this performance as engaging as it is polished.

Peter Stein stages Schubert's problem opera Fierrabras in a world of cardboard knights. This last opera of the Salzburg Festival is well sung, but you have to ask: is the last always the best?