Harry Fehr’s New Production of The Elixir of Love at the London Coliseum

Jacques Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann is based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, with the French libretto having been written by Jules Barbier. It premiered at the Théâtre National de l'Opéra-Comique in Paris on 10 February 1881 in a three-act version (with prologue and epilogue), but Offenbach never got to see the full version performed having died four months earlier. It had, however, been presented in an abridged form at the...

Olga Mykytenko’s indisposition during the last rehearsals was the reason for Anett Fritsch’s debut at Liceu as Almaviva Countess. The young German soprano (1986) triumphed at Salzburg in 2015 with the same role and will soon be debuting at La Scala as Donna Elvira. Anett Fritsch possesses all the attributes for a great Countess: the most beautiful voice, good style, scenic presence and a sensual elegance that adds very interesting nuances to the character. Her “Dove...

Wide open space on stage as the opera starts. Once more young German director Amélie Niermayer uses the overture for narrating already parts of the story. The new production of the Bavarian State Opera is her first appearance here. The first encounter of Leonor, the mistress of King Alphonse, and monk Fernand is love at first sight with immediate intimate embracing. Stage designer Alexander Müller Elmau created a dark neutral environment with some moveable metal blocks which...

One of the pillars of the successful Wexford festival is the presentations of so called short works. One act operas composed in different centuries giving a strong testimony for the talent of their creators and constitute prestigious rarities of their genre and which have been unperformed unjustly. This year series is put together with two comic examples and one melodramatic. Gaetano Donizetti’s Il Campanello, the night bell, is a mature example of the genius composer full of...

Vanessa by Samuel Barber was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera house and premiered successfully in the year 1958. Samuel Barber’s lifelong partner Gian Carlo Menotti wrote a very sensitive and precise libretto based on a gothic tale. It was his only libretto not being composed by himself later on. There have been some further productions of the opera mainly in the United States whereas in Europe Vanessa has not really grounded in the repertoire of the opera houses. So again...

Félicien David is a French composer of the 19th century, whose works have totally ceased away from the standard concert or opera programmes and even his existence is unknown to a wide number of music lovers. Born in 1810 in Southern France, his musical talent was noticed early and supported. His career ended quickly once he joined the Saint Simonians. Later in his life, he gained back some reputation and contributed one major work to the genre "grand opera", Herculanum, a...