Giacomo Puccini, Manon Lescaut – Bayerische Staatsoper 

Performance 15th April 

Dynamic, gripping, entertaining, funny, touching – all that is Hans Neuenfels’ staging of this opera without needing huge scenery or a great number of properties. Because of the lively stage direction of the figures, even the choir, and their interactions among themselves and lastly a young, attractive and devoted main cast the whole production is visually appealing and a big success.
Roland Bracht embodied the rich and old Geronte di Ravoir and his acting was really credible, when he could barely keep in step with the pleasureloving Manon or collapsed on a chair, heavily breathing. Those situations of slapstick were quite amusing.
Reliably sung was the part of Manon’s brother by Rodion Pogossov, but he could not always win through against the loud orchestra.
Very passionate was the dedicated performance of Brandon Jovanovich’s Des Grieux, who enacted the loving student in his youthful audacity pretty convincing. Jovanovich has a strong middle register which allowed him to assert himself during all the doublings of the vocal parts in the orchestra that are so peculiar to Puccini’s music. Also this tenor had the stamina to unfold the whole role as far as the finale, even if some of his highest notes sounded a little bit thin.
Ermonela Jaho draw an incredibly vivid portrait of Manon Lescaut’s character and was the actual highlight of this all over satisfying evening. From the very beginning of the opera she appeared as the confident and seductive woman utterly persuasive and expressed her obsession for luxury as well as her real love for Des Grieux and her regrets at the end of the opera deeply fascinating. Her vocal shaping of Manon was simply amazing in its variety in expression and control of volume from beautifully soft but still clearly audible piano parts to emotional outbursts without any noticeable struggle through all registers. Jaho earned the most applause at the end of the evening deservedly and seemed visibly grateful for the frenetic cheering.
A suitable base for these extraordinary vocal performances was created by the Bayerisches Staatsorchester under the baton of Asher Fisch, who showed a sensibility for the musical peaks and knew when he had to stimulate the orchestra for raptures or when he had to make room for the singers. Together with the Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper and the solo vocalists the outcome of Fisch’s conducting was a homogenous sound with thrilling highlights.
For a really pleasing overall package, the entertaining staging and an outstanding cast of the title role I give 8 stars.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- -
Reviewed by Lukas Leipfinger

Richard Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier - Deutsche Oper Berlin

Performance 10th April

As finale part of the Strauss-weeks performances I saw one of my absolute favorites and probably Strauss' most popular opera: Der Rosenkavalier. A piece that often whose difficulties are underestimated very often. Not just musically, but also in terms of acting it is quite difficult to perform without making it sound and look cheesy and cheap. To me as Austrian this production (by the late Götz Friedrich) is a very Prussian Rosenkavalier. At times I felt that it is as Austrian as Angela Merkel. It probably shows how little our dear German neighbours actually know about us. The stage and costumes (Gottfried Pilz & Isabel Ines Glathar) looked beautifully and elegant, but worked with so many cheap clichés that I was a bit bored after some time. However, Friedrich had some very interesting ideas that showed that he really thought about the plot. For example the detail that the Feldmarschallin puts some perfume into the silver rose was a lovely detail that created a link to the first scene of act 2. Some ideas were really great but still I was not totally happy with the production.
Musically Ulf Schirmer was a conductor who is quite familiar with this music and especially with the delicate Viennese soul of the opera, due to his former position in Vienna. He did a good job and showed that he knows the score very well. The performance was clear, subtle and elegant. The Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin also did a brilliant job realising the ideas of Schirmer. The performance was totally under control and yet highly musical.
The cast also feature some brilliant singing and lovely musicality. Of the smaller roles I have to mention three people. Fionnuala McCarthy was an incredibly elegant Marianne Leitmetzerin with a slim focused voice and a very attractive look. The role of the Italian Singer has always been a very interesting role with an extremely short appearance and still everyone is waiting for it and is waiting for a great performance. Matthew Newlin did a very good job in this role with a very clear and bright tenor voice. His timbre reminded me of great Mozart tenors and I imagine he would be great in some Mozart leads. Stephanie Lauricella sang the role of Annina and was marvelous in it. Her strong and warm mezzo soprano has a very erotic and seductive timbre which suited the role perfectly. She definitely is worth more than such a small role. I thought that her performance was simply brilliant and a marvelous experience.
Michael Kupfer-Radecky sang the role of Faninal with his Wagner-proven baritone voice. His timbre is warm with a very noble sound. But not only his strong instrument, also his acting was very good. His portrayal of the desperate father with the nervous outbreaks was very convincing.
Faninal's daughter, Sophie, was performed by young soprano Siobhan Stagg who has a lovely voice that was simply perfect for this role. In addition to her shiny bright soprano she has enough stamina to be heard over the orchestra without any problems. I was especially impressed by the beauty of tone in her upper register which had this magic Straussian silvery timbre.
Albert Pesendorfer sang the role of Baron Ochs with a very dark bass voice. I sometimes thought his voice was too heavy for the role and wished that his singing would sound a little bit easier but my overall impression was very good. His accent and everything suited the role very well even though I missed the distinct Viennese accent during the first act. However during the other two acts it was there as if it has always been there.
Daniela Sindram as Octavian was simply the performance of the evening. The sound of her voice, her phrasing, her acting, everything was simply perfect and totally convincing. Sometimes I almost forgot that it is just an opera due to her ravishing performance. Her voice combines power, a beautiful timbre and a great talent of musical phrasing and acting. What a great portrayal!!
Last but not least, the secret leading role, the Feldmarschallin, was sung by Michaela Kaune who jumped in for Anja Harteros (being ill once again). Kaune has sung this role before and did a wonderful job. Her portrayal was simply elegant, noble and very touching. She sang the role really well and showed great understanding of the character. Unfortunately her stamina was not as impressive and sometimes I would have liked to have a fuller sound in her voice. Her upper register, while being wonderfully soft during the delicate parts, was just a little bit thin from time to time. Nevertheless she gave a wonderful performance and was rewarded affectionate applause.
Alltogether it was a lovely evening and a nice performance. Therefore the Rosenkavalier production at DOB gets 8 stars.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- -
Reviewed by Daniel Url

Antonín Dvořák, Rusalka – Aalto-Theater Essen 

Performance 8th April 

Italian, French and German are the languages the most beautiful and famouse operas are written in. Antonín Dvořák did not follow this tradition and wrote the Czech opera “Rusalka” with its popular “song to the moon”. The Aalto-Theater Essen staged a revival of its last year premiered Rusalka.
The Dutch director Lotte de Beer showed a well-thought-out production set and connected to the time of its first performance in 1900. At this time Sigmund Freud released his Psychoanalysis. Lotte de Beers production is full of references to mental institutions of the early 20th century and even a background actor examines Rusalka’s not talking situation. The old folktale came with great new stage technique. This production probably shows every little moveable part of Aalto-Theater’s stage floor. Very impressive came the third act with a whole new setting with cells of the mental institution which came out of the stage ground.
Not only the stage design and created fearful atmosphere was prominent but also the musical performance was overall at a very high standard. Almas Svilpa as the water goblin Votnik came with a warm-hearted bass voice which sounded broad and massive but still very clear and precise. Definitely noteworthy is Leonie van Rheden as the kitchenboy. Light and without any strain in her voice performed she a sprightly kitchenboy. Together with Christina Clark and Marie-Helen Joël did she act to this as one of the three insane and dreamy wood sprites. Their habitat as well as Rusalka’s and the water goblin’s were marked by white  bathtubs. Into this bathtub world came the witch Jezibaba (Jordanka Milkova) to cut Rusalka’s fin into two human legs. By the side of Sandra Janušaitè as Rusalka came Milkova’s voice slightly weak and too less empathic. By contrast Janušaitè: she was the acting and singing highlight of the evening. She showed Rusalka’s diverse feelings in the opera. From the euphoric naïve young mermaid to the unfortunate woman with lovesickness which makes her mad. She used her very clear and voluminous soprano voice with light elegance and shaked the audience away with her great voice. Likewise her softener tones did she show in the “song to the moon”. Gerri Prießnitz conducted at this evening the singers and the Essener Philharmoniker which created a magical atmosphere with a modest interpretation of the score. Apart from a few parts in which the Opernchor des Aalto-Theaters did not match perfectly together, appeared the choir ones more in a good and solid manner as always. Jeffrey Dowd gave an impersonal and slightly clinical prince. He performed with severe tone in the lower and upper register but the high notes made him some trouble by what he could not stand the power of Janušaitè.
Over all is this Rusalka production definitely worth to watch. There were two outstanding soloists with Sandra Janušaitè and Almas Svilpa and an interesting setting with a deeply psychological draft which hits the time of the first performance perfectly. Therefore 7 out of 10 stars.

✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- - -

Reviewed by Christine Arnold

Gioachino Rossini, Il Turco in Italia - Landestheater Salzburg

Performance 3rd April

 “Costa Crusies“ is written on the front of the cruise liner that dominates the scenery of Marco Dott’s staging. The Allucsion to the Costa Concordia which foundered in 2012 is clear. Also some assumptions why the ship foundered is presented on stage. The adequate stage design and costumes were created by Karl-Heinz Steck. The setting suggests that the acting persons are on the ship, too: Don Geronio as captain, Don Narciso as chief officer und all the other as guests on the trip. Therefor the team used some clichés: Asians taking pictures with their mobile phone, a mother with her grown-up son, treated by her as if he were under 10, a group of drunken people, who would have fit better to a party on Mallorca and so on. Selim didn’t arrive with a ship in “Italia” but, of course, with a helicopter. For this purpose the supertitles were adapted. Using the revolving stage different places on the ship were presented to the audience: sun terrace, the captain’s bedroom or the bridge. As a direction mistake the scene of Don Narciso’s aria “Tu seconda il mio disegno“ could be seen: the singing gets secondary and in centre of the attention is the couple on deck. After the masked ball at which all were dressed as sea dweller or something like that there was a clear quotation from “Titanic”. Both: from scenery and musical. This could also be a definitely hint to the end of the production: the cruise line founders. At the same time the poet Prosdomico sings about the “lieto fine”. That’s why the end of the production seems to be absolutely unexpected and not really understandable. A production that shows some weaknesses and one that loses some esprit in the course of the evening.
Adrian Kelly has been in charge of the artistic direction of the concert as well as playing the pianoforte, which he both coped superiorly with. The Mozarteum Orchester provided the usual good quality, too. Especially the brass section and its soloists were playing excellently. Unfortunately, the orchestra was too loud for the singers depending on the position of the singers and their vocal range, which at last could hardly be heard. Simon Schnorr was convincing as Prosdocimo. He played his role discriminatingly and precisely. The baritone also could bring in his abilities as an actor convincingly. Hannah Bradbury sang the role of Fiorilla. The coloraturas didn't seem to be a problem for her. All lyric phrases were sung self-confidentially and well-shaped. Her rival: Rowan Hellier as Zaide. During the argument with Fiorilla Hellier convinced with a dramatic voice otherwise with a warmer and lyric voice. Unfortunately, both Pietro di Bianco (Selim) and Sergio Foresti (Don Geronio) were struggling with the coloraturas, which haven't been sung precisely. But they were convincing in the parlando. Don Narciso was sung by Carlos Cadoso. The tenor, who according to his biography has already sung a lot of roles by Rossini, coped very well with that role. He coped easily with coloraturas as well as high notes. Only in a low range in the parlando he could hardly be heard accompanied by the orchestra.
A production, that shows weaknesses and excellences, which amused the audiences. 7 stars.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- - -
Reviewed by Katharina Schiller

Richard Wagner, Tristan und Isolde - Berliner Philharmoniker, Philharmonie Berlin

Performance 3rd April

A very special operatic evening took place last sunday in the prestigious Philharmonie Berlin with a concert of the Berliner Philharmoniker bringing their Tristan from the Baden Baden Easter festival in a concert version into their home concert hall. Sir Simon Rattle gathered an incredible cast with some of the finest singers around together with one of the leading orchestras of the world. Rattle and his orchestra proved that they are such a leading ensemble with an exemplary performance including a great dynamic range and highly musical phrasing. The prelude already showed that there is a reason why the orchestra has such a marvelous reputation. The orchestral performance was ravishing, full of passion and very accurate at the same time. Especially during the second act the orchestra revealed such a high level of musicality and a great sense for the dramatic action. The sheer power of the orchestra during the great dramatic outbreaks was as impressive as the soft chamber music like attitude during the love scene.
The cast was simply wonderful and even the smaller roles were cast very well. Roman Sadnik gave a very solid performance as Melot with a very focussed and plain timbre. His diction was excellent as well and every syllable exemplarily distinct. Thomas Ebenstein sang the role of the sailor and the shepherd. I was genuinely impressed by the youthful beauty of his tenor voice. But not just his pleasant timbre, also the power of his voice were remarkable. This voice is not made for such small roles and I hope to hear him again in a bigger role soon.
Stephen Milling's Marke was very powerful, solemnly and full of despair. His huge daunting bass voice has a remarkable dark timbre and his performance was really dramatic and very touching. Only sometimes I had the feeling that the very top parts of the role was not totally comfortable for him, but he did a great job anyway.
In the role of Kurwenal we heard Michael Nagy who has a very powerful instrument. One would not think that such a lean young man could sing with such power and volume. But it is not just the power, but also the flexibility and warm timbre of Nagy's voice that convinced me. He gave a brilliant performance and a great portrayal of the role.
British mezzo soprano Sarah Connolly sang the role of Brangäne. She was very good in the lower and middle sections of the part but seemed to reach her limits in the upper parts of the role. Nevertheless she gave a wonderful and touching performance. Especially the Brangäne calls during act 2 were sung very beautifully and brought up a very intimate atmosphere.
Stuart Skelton truly was one of the great highlights of the evening singing the role of Tristan. Being able to sing this role is already an achievement, but singing it so easily and powerfully as Skelton did, that is simply high artistry. His voice is very clear and bright in the upper register and has a very dark timbre in the lower register. The sheer power of his voice was exceptional and he was definitely not afraid of high notes. The intensity of his performance during the third act genuinely gave me goosebumps and showed the inexhaustibility of his stamina. This tenor is a voice to remember and will surely be very successful in the future.
The other great highlight of the evening was Eva-Maria Westbroek as Isolde. Originally being scheduled to sing this role in Bayreuth last year, she would have been a better choice than the singer who did it in the end. Her voice is the perfect blend of powerful stamina and beauty of tone. Especially in the middle register her full-bodied voice is simply beautiful. She does have the power, the dramatic musicality and the voice to sing this role and she gave a magnificent performance. Only the very top notes seemed not totally under control. If she manages to solve those tricky parts she will be hard to top in this role currently.
Alltogether I really had a magic night with this marvelous piece of music and an incredible performance by all participants. Therefor I give 9 stars to this lovely evening.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰-
Reviewed by Daniel Url

Richard Wagner, Parsifal - Wiener Staatsoper

Performance 27th March

In view of the staging and scenery I only want to underline the elements that I appreciated in this neither revolutionary interpretation of Wagner’s „sacred festival drama“ nor disturbing production; in general Christine Mielitz’ staging and Stefan Mayer’s scenery supported the plot and did not come up with any absurd ideas. The whole portrayal of the Holy Grail’s fellowship was suitable with the knights in full armour and their swords and also their Squires as fencers. The ritual of the Holy Grail’s revealing was described as the Holy Communion with bread and wine while the stage moved upwards and the choir sang from beneath, invisible for the motionless and introverted gazing knights beyond. So the singing choir during this ritual was like a voice from within for the single knights, Titurel and Amfortas above and transcended the whole strange rite. Even if the scenery in the second act was almost the same as in the first, I liked how the walls started to rotate at the climax of the music and the plot, when Parsifal destroys Klingsor’s world. This effect increased the imagination of Klingsor’s collapsing magic and his „deceiving splendor“. Also visually appealing impacts were created by light effects on the slightly transparent huge cloth behind the scenery.
Vocally solid but unfortunately not precise enough in his diction was Boaz Daniel’s Klingsor that could have been performed a little bit more diabolical. As one of the highlights of this evening Michael Volle was a perfectly convincing Amfortas in his suffering and death wish. Volle has got a very rich and multifaceted baritone voice and no matter which role he performs, his acting always is so powerful that he carries the audience along in an incredible way. You just had to believe in Amfortas’ agony and understand why he has to let his own father die because of Volle’s stage presence. Volle gave Amfortas the significance that this role actually has, even if the vocal part is not the longest one in this opera.
With a great endurance Falk Struckmann performed an incorruptible Gurnemanz whose narrations were put into shape affecting and gripping at the same time. Because of his performance there could arise no boredom during the long first act.
For a successful climax in this opera you need a superior Kundry, so the second act can unfold its whole dramatic potential. Violeta Urmana’s voice comprises everything to reach this climax. Her low and middle register are very sonor while she is also able to reach her highest tones in a very controlled and powerful but not hysteric way. She did not have to struggle during the intense second act and particular peaks of her role such as the two „irre“-shouts and her whole curse of Parsifal at the last minutes of the second act were simply thrillingly impressive. She also performed her whole part with  an incredible distinction of the language, so you could understand almost every single word clearly.
Stephen Gould seems to have endless resources of energy in his voice. Because of his strong high register and his huge stamina he is a very reliable Wagnerian tenor and his Parsifal was bursting with youthful strength. Not even in the second act with Parsifal’s long monologues you could hear any signs of fatigue in Gould’s voice and the last twenty minutes in Klingsor’s world with Gould and Urmana were pure intensity. Gould never had any problems to prevail against the huge orchestra. Even if Gould does not have the largest facet of tonal colors, this is what a Wagnerian heldentenor’s voice should sound like.
Adam Fischer conducted the Orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper with an instinctive feeling and created a very transparent sound that was balanced highly accurate. Fischer’s interpretation of the score was greatly nuanced both at piano parts with subtle instrumental solos and at fierce parts like the finale of the second act with its vigorous drumbeats, so no details got lost in the tone richness.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰- -
Reviewed by Lukas Leipfinger

Richard Wagner, Parsifal - Staatsoper im Schillertheater Berlin

Performance 25th March

I had the immense pleasure to attend one of the final performances of a living legend in one of the roles of her life. Waltraud Meier is saying goodbye to the role that started her international career in a three performance run at the Staatsoper Berlin. After 33 years singing this role and surely being the most intensive performer in this role for more than 3 decades the whole evening was more or less an hommage to her artistry. But first about the production.
Dmitri Tcherniakov (also responsible for the stage) brought a very intersting interpretation on stage with great lead of the characters. Many small details told the story of Parsifal very appropriately and showed that there are still directors that are capable of displaying human emotions. The stage looked very interesting and also some kind of solemnly, only the second act in its sterility did not really appeal to me. Elena Zaytseva's costumes suited this whole surroundings very well and gave a great impression in combination with the stage.
The musical performance was led by Daniel Barenboim who conducted the opera very slowly and solemnly with great pathos. Only to hurry through the flowermaiden scene with quite a rapid tempo. Moreover I had the feeling that the orchestra sometimes played just too loudly and Barenboim should have kept them a little more under control. The Staatskapelle Berlin followed his lead and played very dignifiedly and accurately, but as I said, just a bit loud from time to time. Anyway, especially the brass section sounded magnificently and very balanced throughout the performance. A great performance was also achieved by the Staatsopernchor which sounded really impressively. Especially during the final act I was really touched by the choir.
The many smaller roles were casted quite well even though the flowermaidens (Julia Novikova, Adriane Queiroz, Anja Schlosser, Sónia Grané, Narine Yeghiyan, Natalia Skrycka) could have sounded more balanced and a little bit unrehearsed.
Titurel was sung by Matthias Hölle who has a dignified dark bass voice that suited his role perfectly. It was actually also quite interesting that he sang while lying in a coffin most of the time. His performace was full of authority and was really convincing.
The role of Klingsor (in this production a pedophile old guy) was performed by Tómas Tómasson who mostly convinced with his incredible portrayal of the character. His vocal performance was solid but not really outstanding. Anyway he did a good job, especially with his acting skills.
Wolfgang Koch also gave a great performance with his very lyrical baritone voice. He was able to portray the despair and desperation of his character very appropriately. His voice combines power and a very lyrical phrasing which concludes with a highly musical performance.
In the role of Gurnemanz we heard great German bass René Pape who has an extraordinary instrument. It is incredible that he sings on such a high level for decades now and still is able to give such intensive and convincing performances. The quality of his voice and his great musicality are always a garantor for a successful evening. This evening he gave a brilliant convincing performance once again and made a great impression.
The main reason for me to see the performance (and I think I was not the only one) was Waltraud Meier in her last series as Kundry. Noone has ever portrayed this role more intensively and more convincingly. Even before she sang her first note she captured the audience with her incredible stage presence. Her acting skills are legendary and definitely unmatchable. After 33 years of performing this role she might feel as comfortable in the upper register as she did years ago but the overall impression is still impeccable. Especially her great scene during the second act was so intensive that I had goosebumps throughout the whole act. Her high b on the word "lachte" was still bloodcurdling and showed that she is still able to convince in this role. I cannot say  how lucky and blessed I felt to have attended this incredible performance and see her one final time in this role.
But Meier was not the only highlight of the evening. Austrian tenor Andreas Schager proved that he is definitely a voice to remember. His performance as Parsifal was exemplary and was unbelievably impressive. He is not afraid of phrases in the upper register and the immense power of his voice throughout the whole range is astonishing. The high notes are clear and shiny and the lower register sounds excellently as well. Also his diction is exemplary and his phrasing shows a great sense for music-dramatic phrasing.
After the performance the audience went crazy, especially for Meier and Schager. Meier was visibly touched by the reaction of the crowd and also seemed kind of relieved. I am really happy to have seen this performance and give 9 start to the farewell Parsifal of Waltraud Meier.
✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰✰-
Reviewed by Daniel Url