The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Fabio Luisi
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* Notes * The second Ring cycle the Met this season came to a rather disappointing conclusion with Götterdämmerung yesterday. Though there were many fine individual contributions to the piece, in the end both playing and staging fell short. Robert Lepage’s production was not consistent with the earlier parts of the cycle. Why should Grane finally…
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* Notes * The second Ring cycle this season at the Met continued last night with Siegfried. The production, directed by Robert Lepage, proved to be even more traditional than its most recent predecessor. Here we have both bear and giant serpent, and so many of Lionel Arnould's projected images are literally from the text. The…
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* Notes * The second Ring cycle this season at the Met continued with a matinée of Die Walküre (Act II, Scene 1 pictured left, photograph by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) yesterday. The limitations of "The Machine" became more apparent in this opera. Robert Lepage's direction is restricted by how the set moves and where people can…
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* Notes * A second Ring cycle began with Das Rheingold (Scene 4 pictured left, photograph by Ken Howard/Metropolitan Opera) last night at the Met. Robert Lepage’s production involves a series of about 24 jointed panels that can be arranged in many different configurations. Known as “The Machine,” Carl Fillion’s set is not unlike a huge…
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James Levine had injured his back after a fall last week, and underwent emergency surgery. He has withdrawn from his performances at the Metropolitan Opera for the rest of the year. Fabio Luisi (pictured left, photograph by Barbara Luisi) has been named the Met’s Principal Conductor and will conduct the first five performances of Don…
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* Notes * Saturday evening's Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera was a study in extremes. On one hand, Diana Damrau gave a revelatory performance, her Gilda ranged from giddily sweet to utterly devastating. She inhabited the character with complete conviction. Her "Caro nome" was incredible. On the other hand, our Duke, Giuseppe Filianoti, left much…
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An account of the final performance of Das Rheingold this season at the Metropolitan Opera from the Unbiased Opinionator. * Notes * Director Robert Lepage gave an extensive interview in New York City last fall about his conception of the Ring. He spent considerable time in Iceland, and said that no one who lived in the…
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Christian Thielemann will become the chief conductor of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden in 2012. He is leaving his position at the Münchner Philharmoniker, and is replacing Fabio Luisi. BR Online | Press Release
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Fabio Luisi has been appointed the next general music director of Opernhaus Zürich, and starts in 2012. Lyndon Terracini is the next artistic director of Opera Australia, starting October 2009. In sadder news, the choreographer Philippine "Pina" Bausch died this morning. Luisi Press Release | Terracini Press Release [PDF] | Tanztheater Wuppertal
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* Notes * Giancarlo del Monaco's current production of Simon Boccanegra at the Met is traditional, the set and costumes, by Michael Scott, are lavish and exceedingly beautiful. The one weakness was the scene changes, some took a long time and people would start chattering and momentum was lost. Even still, Fabio Luisi had a…
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