We left at the interval...

Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg, Sunday February 1 2026 Conductor: Robert Houssart. Production: Jakob Peters-Messer. Sets, lighting, costumes: Guido Petzold. Costumes: Tanja Liebermann. Heliane: Camille Schnoor. Der Herrscher: Josef Wagner. Der Fremde: Ric Furman. Die Botin: Kai Rüütel-Pajula. Der Pförtner: Damien Pass. Der blinde Schwertrichter: Paul McNamara. Der junge Mann: Massimo Frigato. Richter: Thomas Chenhall, Glen Cunningham, Daniel Dropulja, Eduard Ferenczi Gurban, Michał Karski, Pierre Romainville. Angel (dancer): Nicole van den Berg. Chorus of the Opéra National du Rhin. Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg. Photos: Klara Beck@ONR As part of a season that includes Otello , a touring production of Les Mamelles de Tirésias , Le Roi d’Ys , Le nozze di Figaro , Händel’s Trionfo del Tempo , Hänsel und Gretel , ballets, and a couple of musicals including, for those who feel up to it, Gypsy with Natalie Dessay, the Opéra National du Rhin has just ended the first ever French...

BOZAR, Brussels, Sunday February 18 2024 Conductor: Alain Altinoglu. Baritone: Stéphane Degout. Violin: Saténik  Khourdoïan. La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra. Schönberg: Fünf Orchesterstücke , op.16 Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Korngold: Concerto in D major for Violin and Orchestra , op. 35 Williams: Harry Potter and the sorcerer's stone , suite for orchestra. I: Hedwig's Theme . II: The Sorcerer's Stone . III: Nimbus 2000 . IV Harry's Wondrous World . Alain Altinoglu rehearsing Parsifal in 2022 at the BOZAR. Photo: Simon Van Rompay The blurb for this concert on La Monnaie's website puts the emphasis on magic in music, saying it would be 'An ideal evening for both Wizards and Muggles.' (I had to look 'Muggle' up.) This is no doubt a clever way to draw people who might not normally go to symphonic concerts into one that opens with a work by Schönberg. But I think the programme could more plausibly be described as simply a small selection of wo...

ONP Paris - Thursday October 22 2009 Conductor: Pinchas Steinberg. Production: Willy Decker. Sets and costumes: Wolfgang Gussmann. Lighting: Wolfgang Goebbel. Paul: Robert Dean Smith. Marietta: Ricarda Merbeth. Frank/Fritz: Stéphane Degout. Brigitta: Doris Lamprecht. Juliette: Elisa Cenni. Lucienne: Letitia Singleton. Victorin: Alain Gabriel. Graf Albert: Alexander Kravets. Orchestra and chorus of the Opéra National de Paris. Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine⁄children’s chorus of the Opéra National de Paris. Coproduction with the Vienna Staatsoper and the Salzburg Festival. It’s a rare enough treat for those who like Die tote Stadt to have it staged at all. And it’s a wonder any leading couple can be found to sing it, let alone give us a stunning third act performance like Thursday night’s. These facts, plus near-universal praise in the press (apart from one French sourpuss dubbing it a mere “curiosity for the curious”) have made me dither over writing it up, not wanting to seem ungrateful ...