We left at the interval...

Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Paris, Monday June 2 2025 Conductor: Henrik Nánási. Production: Krzysztof Warlikowski. Sets and costumes: Małgorzata Szczęśniak. Choreography: Claude Bardouil. Lighting: Felice Ross. Video: Kamil Polak. Feldmarschallin von Werdenberg: Véronique Gens. Octavian: Niamh O'Sullivan. Sophie: Regula Mühlemann. Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau: Peter Rose. Faninal: Jean-Sébastien Bou. Annina: Eléonore Pancrazi. Valzacchi: Krešimir Špicer. Sänger: Francesco Demuro. Leitmetzerin: Laurène Paternò. Polizeikommissar, Notar: Florent Karrer. Haushofmeister: François Piolino. Wirt: Yoann Le Lan. Orchestre National de France. Unikanti Choir, Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine children’s choir. Photos: Vincent Pontet I suppose it had to happen one day… If I’ve done my sums right, this Rosenkavalier at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées was my sixteenth Krzysztof Warlikowski production, not counting the times I’ve gone back to see some of them more than once. Since I was first hooked by his...

La Monnaie, Brussels, Sunday October 30 2022 Conductor: Alain Altinoglu. Production: Damiano Michieletto. Sets: Paolo Fantin. Costumes: Agostino Cavalca. Lighting: Alessandro Carletti. Die Feldmarschallin Fürstin Werdenberg: Julia Kleiter. Der Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau: Martin Winkler. Octavian: Julie Boulianne. Herr von Faninal: Dietrich Henschel. Sophie: Liv Redpath. Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin: Sabine Hogrefe. Valzacchi: Yves Saelens. Annina: Carole Wilson. Ein Polizeikommissar/Ein Notar: Alexander Vassiliev. Der Haushofmeister bei der Feldmarschallin/Der Haushofmeister bei Faninal: Maxime Melnik. Wirt: Denzil Delaere. Ein Sänger: Juan Francisco Gatell. Drei adelige Waisen: Annelies Kerstens, Marta Beretta, Marie Virot. Eine Modistin: Lisa Willems. Ein Tierhändler: Alain-Pierre Wingelinckx. La Monnaie Orchestra, Chorus, Choral Academy and Children's Chorus. All photos: Matthias Baus/La Monnaie My post on Paris's Salome was way too long so, paradoxical though it may be, I...

Hungarian State Opera, Budapest, Sunday April 4 2010. Conductor: Dénes István. Production: Andrejs Zagars. Sets: Julia Müer. Costumes: Kristine Pasternaka. Lighting: Kevin Wyn-Jones. Feldmarschallin: Eszter Sümegi. Baron Ochs: Lars Woldt. Octavian: Andrea Meláth. Faninal: Péter Kálmán. Sophie: Rita Rácz. Leitmetzerin: Mária Temesi. Valzacchi: Zsolt Derecskei. Annina: Jolán Sánta. Polizeikommissar: Sándor Egri. Haushofmeister bei der Feldmarschallin: László Beöthy-Kiss. Haushofmeister bei Faninal Sándor Kecskés. Notar: Kázmér Sárkány. Wirt: Péter Kiss. Sänger: Attila Fekete. One of the nice things about Budapest last weekend was the kind of restaurant that’s a rarity now in Paris: well-run, professional establishments upholding a long tradition of dishing up generous, well-prepared fare at reasonable prices purely for their patrons’ pleasure, seemingly glad to have your custom and praise; rather than slaves to fashion, the dreaded "creativity" and "innovation" c...

ONP Bastille, Tuesday December 5 2006 Conductor: Philippe Jordan. Production, sets and costumes: Herbert Wernicke. Die Feldmarschallin: Solveig Kringelborn. Der Baron Ochs: Franz Hawlata. Octavian: Anke Vondung. Herr von Faninal: Olaf Bär. Sophie: Heidi Grant Murphy. Marianne Leitmetzerin: Michèle Lagrange. It’s probably only my bad luck, but I’m beginning to think Rosenkavalier is like La Traviata : famous and popular but rarely a great experience in the theatre. The last time we had this Wernicke production in Paris it had a “dream cast”: Fleming, Bonney and Graham, and was so dull we left before act 3, unable to face all the unamusing rigmarole that has to be sat through before the arrival of the Feldmarschallin. The same production is back in town, this time of course without Wernicke, and seems to be jinxed. Vesselina Kasarova dropped out before the first night and Anne Schwanewilms fell ill at the weekend. Heidi Grant Murphy is still standing, but as she’s inaudible at th...