We left at the interval...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Monday February 17 2020 Conductor: Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Dyer's Wife: Lise Lindstrom. Nurse: Michaela Schuster. Empress: Elza van den Heever. Emperor: Stephen Gould. Barak, Dyer: Michael Volle. Voice of a Falcon: Katrien Baerts. Apparition of a Youth: Bror Magnus Tødenes. Hunchback: Andreas Conrad. One-Eyed Man: Michael Wilmering. Messenger of Keikobad: Thomas Oliemans. One-Armed Man: Nathan Berg. Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest. Rotterdam Symphony Chorus. Maîtrise de Radio France.  A late friend of mine, who hated opera with a single exception,  Carmen , wondered why composers he liked (Strauss was one) did them. He concluded that once they'd nailed overtures, concerti, quartets, symphonies and symphonic poems, they turned to opera to meet their need for even bigger, more complex challenges to their skills. (It was the same friend who told me the string parts of Daphne were 'needlessly difficult.')  Die Frau ohne Schatten is surely...

Teatro de la Maestranza, Seville, Thursday February 13 2020 Conductor: Enrico Onofri. Production: Mariame Clément with Marcos Darbyshire. Sets and costumes: Julia Hansen. Lighting: Bernd Purkrabek. Videos: fettFim. Claudio: Matthew Brook. Agrippina: Ann Hallenberg. Nerone: Renata Pokupic. Poppea: Alicia Amo. Ottone: Xavier Sabata. Pallante: Joao Fernandes. Narciso: Antonio Giovannini. Lesbo: Valeriano Lanchas. Giunone: Serena Perez. Orquesta Barroca de Sevilla. I already saw Mariame Clément's production of Agrippina , revived in Seville by Marcos Darbyshire, in Ghent in 2012 , so I don't need to describe it in detail again here. It seemed to me somehow fresher-looking in Seville and I wondered if the sets had been rebuilt or repainted since, but apparently not. Maybe, someone close to the production suggested, it just looked better on the more spacious stage. I also found I'd forgotten how full it was, from beginning to end, of well-timed comic detail - useful, as ...

Grand Théâtre, Bordeaux, Sunday February 9 2020 Conductor: Paul Daniel. Production: Dmitry Bertman. Sets: Hartmut Schörghofer. Lighting: Thomas C. Hase. Demon: Nicolas Cavallier. Tamara: Evegniya Muraveva. Prince Sinodal: Alexey Dolgov. Angel: Ray Chenez. Prince Gudal: Alexandros Stavrakakis. Nurse: Svetlana Lifar. Prince Sinodal’s Servant: Luc Bertin-Hugault. Messenger: Paul Gaugler. Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine. Choruses of the Opéra National de Bordeaux and Opéra de Limoges. The recent strikes over pension reform meant I missed three operas I was supposed to see over the Christmas and New Year period: two because the Paris Opera was shut (with losses of over 16 million euros, leading to cuts in the 2020-2021 season) and a third - Warlikowski's production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann in Brussels - because no trains were running. I didn't expect to see anything else until Agrippina in Seville - where I'm now sitting writing this post - but a sick friend k...