An unlikely but adept English-language vocal stylist, Cecilia Bartoli, led the cast of a revival of the 2007 Zurich staging of Handel’s Semele, transferred to the Theater an der Wien for a short run. Director Robert Carsen takes an occasional liberty: Juno and Jupiter emerge as British royals, for instance, she a wellie-wearer and devotee…
Conductor Franz Welser-Moest (not pictured) has backed out of two performances of Die Fledermaus at the Zurich Opera, complaining that he was “unhappy” with the staging by Michael Sturminger. One innovation in this production is the inclusion of several vampires among Orlovsky’s retinue, which of course means that good old Frosch has lots of funny…
From the Vienna State Opera in January 1988, the first part of the Rossini opera you, cher public, chose: Il viaggio a Reims. Among the all-star cast in this episode of Unnatural Acts of Opera:
Deborah Voigt has officially “postponed” her role debut (“ihr Rollendebüt zu verschieben”) as Brünnhilde in Siegfried, originally scheduled for April of this year at the Vienna State Opera. Serving as Aufspringerin Einspringerin will be Nina Stemme. Frau Voigt returns to Vienna in November 2008 as Salome and joins the company on their Japangastspiel for Fidelio.
Tell us: What was the best of 2025?
Parterre Box concludes the thrilling first year of Talk of the Town by inviting your lightning rod opinions on several more categories of operatic argumentation.
