The Italian Senat discussing the destiny of Sivio Berlusconi, the people demonstrating on the street and the political high society is elegantly gathering in the Teatro di Roma for the opening of the new season of this historical opera house. It was originally built by the rich Impresario Domenico Constanzi, inaugurated on November 27 1880. In 1926 it was donated to Mussolini and refurbished by him till 1928. After the Italian President Napoletano has taken a seat in the Palco Reale...

This reprise of the well acclaimed production of Peter Stein and Stefan Mayer shows several role debutes on the stage of the Viennese State Opera. Joseph Calleja gives his warm with a full Italien timbre equipped tenor to Gabriele Adorno. Lacking lively emotional play on stage he conquers the audience with his voice next to Tamar Iveri as a colourless Amelia and Thomas Hampson dominating the evening in the title role. His Simon is honorful, dignified, caring showing affection for his...

The moon risies, a Nordic style ships sails on fine foaming and stiring music out of the orchstra pit. David MacVicar is the Director of this new production of Wanger's drama of love, medieval mystery and human friendship. He tells us the story in a very tradtional modest setting with beautiful natural images by designer Robert Jones, avoiding technical gimmicks and action. The shining full moon observes the disastrous fate of the loving coulple. The stage remians mostly dark and slightly...

Seville on visit to Venice. This new production of Carmen at the Teatro la Fenice has a lot of spanish blood transplanted to Italy by Catalan director Calixto Beito. It is emotional, erotic, brutal and realistic. We have very intimate scenes as well as big mass demonstrations. The action is moving and the listener or spectator becomes a witness of the tragical romanze of love and crime. Beito puts it in a modern frame, colourful, lasziv, capitalistic. But the roots, the tradition is not...

Bellini's romantic masterpiece was cleverly put on stage by young Italian drama director Giorgio Barberio Corsetti. We are brought into a world between dream and reality or what reality might be. For Barberio Corsetti, everything remains imaginary. Costumes relate to the 18th century, Switzerland can be everywhere, we find some parallels to Alice in Wonderland. The stage design follows, big objects gets small and vice versa. The audience is introduced to this world by puppet players...

This year's choice of a contemporary opera at the Munich Opera festival fell on British composer George Benjamin´s Opus “Written on Skin” texted by Martin Crimp as a German premiere. The realization is an international coproduction of the Aix festival, Nederland´s Opera, Covent Garden and Maggio Musicale. The story is based on a medieval legend about social discrimination and suppression, observed and directed by angels – so the spectators can experience...