First Rate Revival of Andrei Serban’s Turandot at the Royal Ballet and Opera, Covent Garden

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...

Last opera performance of this festival was a concert performance of Verdi's first big success Nabucco in an all Italian cast. Maestro Muti brought along his orchestra and chorus of the Teatro dell`Opera di Roma. And one could feel the close relation of the musicians with the music of Verdi and Nabucco in particular. He made them play sensible, clear with Italian pathos and melodic sense. The choir showed Italien feeling for singing and "va pensiero" made...

The Nationaltheater Mannheim once again offers a very special opera production. German director Achim Freyer realizes one of his black and white illusion theater spectacles and shows his creativity. For the Nationaltheater Mannheim he has created a new production of Wagners the Ring of the Nibelung. The performance of the Prologue to the tetralogy - Rheingold - offers a good glance on Freyer´s concept.He is known for his perfection, - so he takes care of everything - direction,...