We left at the interval...

ONP Bastille, Paris, Monday July 8 2024. Conductor: Bertrand de Billy. Production: Lydia Steier. Sets: Etienne Pluss. Costumes: Katharina Schlipf. Lighting: Valerio Tiberi. Julia: Elza van den Heever. Licinius: Michael Spyres. La Grande Vestale: Eve-Maud Hubeaux. Cinna: Julien Behr. Le Souverain Pontife: Jean Teitgen. Le Chef des Aruspices, un consul: Floren Mbia. Orchestra and Chorus of the Opéra National de Paris. All production photos: Guergana Damianova/ONP Last year, the ever-excellent Palazzetto Bru Zane issued a new recording, under Christophe Rousset and with a strong case, of La Vestale . As it's considered a historically important work, I dutifully listened, more than once, but it didn't click at the time. Still, when it popped up in the Paris Opera's season, in a brand new production (albeit by Lydia Steier - not exactly, based on her Salome , a positive pointer), I bought tickets. I'm glad I did because, despite some misgivings I'll outline below, having

La Monnaie, Brussels, Sunday June 30 2024 Conductor: Ouri Bronchti. Production and Costumes: Christophe Coppens. Sets: Christophe Coppens and I.S.M.Architecten. Lighting: Peter Van Praet. La Principessa Turandot: Ewa Vesin. L’Imperatore Altoum: Ning Liang. Timur: Michele Pertusi. Il Principe Ignoto (Calaf): Stefano La Colla. Liù: Venera Gimadieva. Ping/Un Mandarino: Leon Košavić. Pang/Il Principe di Persia: Alexander Marev. Pong: Valentin Thill. La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, Chorus and Choral Academy, La Monnaie Children's and Youth Choirs. All photos except the general view of the set below: Matthias Baus/La Monnaie ' Giacomo Puccini died in Brussels in 1924, leaving the score of his last opera unfinished. A century on, director Christophe Coppens and conductor Ouri Bronchti reveal just how much more there is to the work than its trademark aria "Nessun dorma". Coppens sets his version of Turandot in modern-day Hong Kong, where a wealthy family is corrupted by power

There are some months when France's Opéra Magazine dishes out so many of its 'Diamond' awards that you wonder if they're as 'exceptional' as they're claimed to be.  In the July-August 2024 edition, however, there's only one, so perhaps the accolade isn't devalued after all. Unusually, however, it isn't actually the pick of the month that gets this lone 'Diamant' (more below). Instead, this month's ' coup de coeur' is a DVD rated 5 out of 5: 'Less extensive than La Bohème or Tosca , the Manon Lescaut  video catalogue is enriched by a new version, filmed at Barcelona's Liceu in 2018, which is a constant pleasure to watch and listen to. A good way to commemorate, at home, the centenary of Puccini's death.' Liudmyla Monastyrska is Manon, Gregory Kunde is Des Grieux. The production is by Davide Livermore, the conductor is Emmanuel Villaume. That sole 'Diamond' is awarded to the CD set of a Händel rarity,

The June edition of France's Opéra Magazine arrived yesterday. Their pick of the month (' coup de coeur' ) in the recordings section, with one of their so-called ' Diamant ' awards, is Cimarosa's L'Olimpiade (1784), under Christophe Rousset. 'Resurrection of a dazzling score,' they say, and a 'brilliant' way for Château de Versailles Spectacles to salute the Olympic Games (Versailles will host equestrian events and the pentathlon.)  The whole album appears to be available on YT , in Europe at any rate, if you click through to open the following clip on YT itself: Another, earlier 18th-century work (1714, revised in 1730), wins a ' Diamant ': Destouches' Télémaque et Calypso . This is also a Versailles production, this time under Margaux Blanchard and Sylvain Sartre. Apparently also available in full on YT : Interestingly, their third and last ' Diamant ' is awarded to the second DVD issue of Laurent Pelly's now cla

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Tuesday May 21, 2024 (In concert) Conductor: Francesco Corti. Berenice: Sandrine Piau. Selene: Ann Hallenberg. Alessandro: Arianna Vendittelli. Demetrio: Paul-Antoine Bénos-Djian. Arsace: Rémy Brès-Feuillet. Fabio: Matthew Newlin. Aristobolo: John Chest. Il Pomo d’Oro. Photo: Stéphane Asseline, Région Ile-de-France This concert performance of  Berenice, with Il Pomo d'Oro under Francesco Corti, at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées last Tuesday was outstanding - in a way, unexpectedly so, as it seems to be assumed that because the work is now rare, it must be because it's weak. Is it dogged by its poor initial reception? It turns out (I'd never heard it before) there's absolutely nothing wrong with the score: a string of beautifully-crafted arias, as skilful, imaginative and varied as you'd expect from mature Händel, from the outset. For example, Berenice's first aria has an intriguing, 'shifting' accompaniment, and next t

This is how my 2024 - 2025 season is shaping up so far. I may add one or two more, depending on where I travel during the year. Vitrifrigo Arena Pesaro - Rossini - Ermione La Monnaie - Wagner - Siegfried Athénée Louis Jouvet - Claude Terrasse - Ubu Roi ONP Bastille - Puccini - Madama Butterfly La Monnaie - Kris Defoort - The Time of our Singing Opéra Comique - Benjamin - Picture a day like this Photo: Camilla Greenwell   La Monnaie - Mikael Karlsson - Fanny and Alexander ONP Garnier - Stravinsky - The Rake's Progress Opéra Comique - Rameau - Les Fêtes d'Hébé  ONP Bastille - Janacek - Příhody lišky Bystroušky ONP Garnier - Rameau - Castor et Pollux Opéra Comique - Cherubini - Médée ONP Bastille - Wagner - Das Rheingold La Monnaie - Wagner - Götterdämmerung Athénée Louis Jouvet - Recital, Felicity Lott Photo: DAVID HARTLEY/Shutterst/SIPA   La Monnaie at Bozar -  Mahler - Symphony n° 8 Opéra Comique - Rameau - Samson ONP Garnier - Dusapin - Il viaggio, Dante ONP Bastille - Verdi