The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Month: June 2003
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Last Wednesday I was back at the Bavarian State Opera, seeing their production of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, this particular one having premiered 30. October 1995. The music was pretty enough, but the ending seemed anticlimactic musically, it did not finish well. Too weak somehow. Soprano Edita Gruberova is most beloved in Munich. Her voice can…
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Deutsche Oper Berlin’s current production of Der fliegende Holländer premiered 27. March 1997. The music was nice, something in between normal opera and music drama. The production was fairly nondescript, though many scrims and curtains were used. There was a noisy rotating platform that served as the Dutchman’s ship at times. There were a lot…
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Last Friday I attended Rossini’s Semiramide at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. The libretto is based on Voltaire’s play, the opera itself was written in 33 days and premiered at La Fenice on 3. February 1823. This production premiered 24. May 2003. Alberto Zedda, a specialist in Baroque opera, conducted well. The music throughout was incredibly…
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Yesterday evening I attempted to see the entirety of the Bavarian State Opera's production of Serse. The last time I only made it through the the first two acts before I was too disgusted to watch the rest. This time I decided to sit in the best section of the Nationaltheater, the Königsloge. The acoustics…
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