| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 1-May-2013 Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts | Atom Egoyan's strong, intoxicating Salome at the Canadian Opera Company |
 Atom Egoyan’s production of Richard Strauss’ Salome is styled for extreme contrasts. You could think of it as Springtime for Herod in Judea. While patrons spilling out of limos, taxis and Wheel-Trans were gathering on this magnolia blossom-filled May Day evening in the plaza outside the opera house’s glass façade, a parade hedged by bicycle cops was filing by. It flaunted floats carrying portraits of Karl Marx, with acrobats, dancers, jugglers and marching bands enthusiastically protesting AUSTERITY, demanding an END TO CAPITALISM, OIL SANDS, AND GMO’S.Read full review... | |
| 19-Mar-2013 Theater an der Wien | Harnoncourt's Fidelio sees a remarkable directing debut in Vienna |
 The Theater an der Wien has a storied history with Fidelio, having hosted the première of the work’s first and second versions in 1805 and 1806 respectively. In 2013 this is a house more oriented to the present than the past, and in interviews prior to this new production, conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt and director Herbert Föttinger warned that those accustomed to Beethoven’s only opera being performed by “war horse” or “armoured cruiser” orchestras would get “their ears cleaned out” by the work’s third version.Read full review... | |
| 28-Jul-2012 National Theatre | Der Rosenkavalier at the Munich OpernFestspiele |
 Otto Schenk's production of Der Rosenkavalier is now four decades old but it still looks quite fresh, its opulence unfaded. If "traditional" is your thing, it may be the best around, and though the sets are ultra busy and detailed to the point where it can distract from the human intimacy that is key to this drama, it somehow manages to avoid the chocolate box kitschery of many other long-standing "traditional" productions.Read full review... | |
| 12-Feb-2012 Opernhaus | Ariadne in Zurich |
 Richard Strauss’ outstanding catalogue of operas is part of the staple diet of opera houses around the world. From the musically and dramatically intense scores of Salome and Elektra to the romantically lush, emotional sweepings of Der Rosenkavalier, there is something in his canon for all manner of opera enthusiasts. Ariadne auf Naxos (first performed in Stuttgart in 1912) has had many popular revivals, though may still be counted amongst Strauss’ rarer performed works – any opportunity in which to hear it should be taken.Read full review... | |
