A  little known Wagner, and with a dubious reputation, basically because of its exclusion from the true ‘corpus’ at Bayreuth, wherefrom it was banned together with Die Feen and Rienzi by composer and family. It’s strange that in the most sacred place of Wagnerism it’s impossible to see an opera that, following a wonderful work by Shakespeare much more ambiguous, complex and finally interesting than the libretto written by the author, the typical ‘opera...

The Bayerische Staatsoper’s new production of Lulu has one focus: the drama. Kirill Petrenko leads the Staatsorchester at a brisk pace that keeps the plot moving. Dmitri Tcherniakov’s stark staging keeps the action on the front of the stage. A cast of committed and talented singing actors make the opera’s bizarre series of events a gripping story. The stage is a maze of glass. Reflections multiply the characters in all directions, and people watch each...