We left at the interval...

ONP Bastille, Monday December 13 2021   Conductor: Gustavo Dudamel. Production: Robert Wilson, Nicola Panzer. Sets: Robert Wilson, Stephanie Engeln. Costumes: Jacques Reynaud. Lighting: Robert Wilson, John Torres. Turandot: Elena Pankratova. Liù: Guanqun Yu. Calaf: Gwyn Hughes Jones. Timur: Vitalij Kowaljow. Altoum: Carlo Bosi. Ping: Alessio Arduini. Pang: Jinxu Xiahou. Pong: Matthew Newlin. Mandarin: Bogdan Talos. Paris Opera Orchestra and Choruses. Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine/Paris Opera Children Chorus. After all these years of opera-going, I still don't trust my ears and eyes, and find myself wondering 'Is it just me?' Last night's Turandot  at the Bastille had me puzzled and, to some extent, worried. First of all, who chose the cast? Whose idea was it to ask these singers to sing these roles in this theatre and in a Wilson production? Not once did their singing come across as striking or seductive, let alone thrilling. Don't get me wrong: nobody was downright b...

  December's ' pick of the month ' in the recordings section of France's Opéra Magazine , with their 'Diamond' accolade for outstanding achievement, is Rameau's ' Pastorale Héroïque ' Achante et Céphise , with a cast headed up by Cyrille Dubois and Sabine Devieilhe ('We could not dream of a more delightful pair of lovers') under Alexis Kossenko. This is the first recording of the work, originally given in 1751 to celebrate the the birth of Louis XV's grandson, the Duke of Burgundy.