Breezy virtuosity from the Royal Opera with Angela Gheorghiu in La Rondine

By Paul Kilbey, 06 July 2013

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Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 5 July 2013

Puccini, La rondine

The Royal Opera

Marco Armiliato, Conductor

Nicolas Joël, Director

Angela Gheorghiu, Magda

Charles Castronovo, Ruggero

Sabina Puértolas, Lisette

Edgaras Montvidas, Prunier

Pietro Spagnoli, Rambaldo

Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight

David Karlin, 17th March

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

*****

Terfel’s craggy Boris Godunov returns to Covent Garden

Mark Pullinger, 29th January

The second revival of Richard Jones' staging of Mussorgsky's original 1869 version of Boris Godunov once again stars the Welsh knight.

****1

Ermonela Jaho returns in triumph to The Royal Opera’s Traviata

Mark Valencia, 8th January

Richard Eyre’s 32-year-old production is rarely out of The Royal Opera’s repertoire for more than a few months at a time, but this particular revival proves very special.

*****

Turandot drowned in an orchestral tsunami at The Royal Opera

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Andrei Șerban’s 40 year old take on Puccini's tale of the ice princess largely stands the test of time, but Netrebko and Eyvazov are short of their best form.

***11

Handel’s Ariodante returns home to Covent Garden

Roy Westbrook, 9th December

Jetske Mijnssen’s house debut sees Handel’s opera transposed to a modern-day palace, with Emily D'Angelo angelic in the title role.

****1

The Royal Opera stages its first Makropulos Case

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Katie Mitchell wheels out her tired old tropes in The Makropulos Case, redeemed by its musical performances.

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Paul Kilbey

Paul was Reviews Editor at Bachtrack from 2012 to February 2014. He has written on music and culture for publications including Culture Wars, the Huffington Post, the Independent and the Guardian. He holds BA and MPhil degrees in music from Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, and is particularly passionate about contemporary music of all types. His website is here.