| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 14-Feb-2013 Staatsoper | Nostalgia for the Italian Fifties: The Vienna Staatsoper's La Cenerentola |
 What has made Rossini and his librettist Jacopo Ferretti’s take on Cinderella survive on the opera stage for almost 200 years now is not only the universal archetype of the downtrodden girl who is redeemed by Prince Charming, nor its enchanting music: the absence of fairy-tale symbols like the pumpkin carriage and the glass shoe (barefoot ladies would have been too outrageous a sight on an Italian stage of the time) has perhaps also helped to make it timeless, practical to stage, and largely director-proof.
Read full review... | |
| 16-Jan-2013 Staatsoper | Ponnelle's L'italiana in Algeri with a veteran cast at the Vienna Staatsoper |
 In a city where the Vienna State Opera ball is considered the climax of the carnival season and where the local news would lend itself to great libretti (were operetta still in fashion), it is not too surprising that music and theatre performances occasionally mirror the headlines. A Vienna Staatsoper revival of L’italiana in Algeri has coincided with the sentencing of a former Austrian minister and MEP following a “cash for laws” scandal.Read full review... | |
