| Date and venue | Title |
|---|---|
| 15-Nov-2012 Staatsoper | Gluck's Alceste at the Vienna Staatsoper: Chronicle of a death foretold |
 Alceste is the short and sombre story of a wife who gives her life to save that of her husband, King Admète of Thessaly, a deed which ultimately convinces the gods to reprieve both of them. Gluck, hoping to avoid the over-decorated vocal style then in vogue, set this plot to unadorned vocal lines to give depth to the underlying emotions. When this work premièred in Vienna in 1767, the reactions were mixed, Leopold Mozart calling it a “requiem”. The opera was not a great success until a thoroughly reworked version with a libretto in French premièred in Paris in 1776.Read full review... | |
| 25-Sep-2010 Royal Opera House, Covent Garden | Steffani's Niobe, Regina di Tebe at Covent Garden |
 In 2008, conductor Thomas Hengelbrock rediscovered Niobe, Regina di Tebe, written in 1687 by the Venetian-born, German-based composer Agostino Steffani. Although now little remembered, Steffani was a world-famous composer in his day and a man of many talents who became a diplomat and bishop as well as being a musician. Hengelbrock and director Lukas Hemleb staged Niobe at the Schwetzingen Festival, and they have adapted this production for the Royal Opera House and the Grand Théâtre du Luxembourg.
Read full review... | |
