The Opera Tattler

Reviews of Performances and their Audiences

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Category: Fidelio

  • SF Opera’s Fidelio

    * Notes * A brand-new production of Fidelio (Act II pictured, photograph by Cory Weaver) opened at San Francisco Opera last night, a year late and with a splendid cast. Maestra Eun Sun Kim kept the orchestra lively and balanced. Matthew Ozawa's contemporary production features a startlingly spare set that spins to reveal cages full of…

  • Fidelio at SFS

    * Notes *Michael Tilson Thomas and San Francisco Symphony are concluding a three-week Beethoven Festival with a semi-staged Fidelio. The opening performance last night featured grand singing and an austere, but effective staging. The opera boasts a stunning cast. Nina Stemme is a searing Leonore, her sound is luminous and clear. She pierces to the…

  • Paris Opera’s 2008-2009 Season

    September 6-11 2008: Eugene Onegin September 24- November 2 2008: Rigoletto October 11- November 2 2008: The Bartered Bride October 13- November 12 2008: Cunning Little Vixen October 30- December 3 2008: Tristan und Isolde November 17- December 23 2008: Die Zauberflöte November 25- December 21 2008: Fidelio January 17-30 2009: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk…

  • Gran Teatre del Liceu’s 2008-2009 Season

    October 4-20 2008: TieflandNovember 11-30 2008: Le nozze di FigaroDecember 23 2008- January 14 2009: Simon BoccanegraJanuary 3-10 2009: El retablo de Maese PedroFebruary 3-15 2009: L'incoronazione di PoppeaMarch 17- April 18 2009: Die Meistersinger von NürnbergApril 20- May 2 2009: La cabeza del BautistaMay 18- June 2 2009: FidelioJune 19- July 7 2009: SalomeJuly…

  • Opera Company of Philadelphia’s 2008-2009 Season

    October 10-24 2008: FidelioNovember 14-23 2008: L'Italiana in AlgeriFebruary 20- March 6 2009: TurandotApril 24- May 3 2009: L'enfant et les sortilèges/Gianni SchicchiJune 5-14 2009: The Rape of Lucretia Nathan Gunn and William Burden will be singing in The Rape of Lucretia. Press Release | Official Site

  • Portland Opera’s 2008-2009 Season

    September 26- October 4 2008: La TraviataNovember 7-15 2008: FidelioFebruary 6-14 2009: The Turn of the ScrewMarch 13-21 2009: La CalistoMay 8-16 2009: Rigoletto Francesco Cavalli's La Calisto looks like one of the only Baroque options for opera on the West Coast next season. 2008-2009 Portland Opera Site

  • Fidelio at Bayerische Staatsoper

    * Notes * Peter Mussbach’s production of Fidelio, which premiered at Bayerische Staatsoper in 1999, is infuriating and yet strangely dull. The set is boring, despite the many scene changes. It was also rather loud, the scrims made all sorts of sounds as they banged against the stage and a certain metal door squealed when…

  • Namelose Freude

    San Francisco Opera’s revival of Fidelio opened last night. The production is directed by Michael Hampe and designed by John Gunter. The set is clever, with floors that lift up, and walls that can be moved aside. This facilitates scene changes, which went seamlessly throughout. The contrast of the openness in the final scene and…

  • Fidelio in a Small Electronic Box

    So in the last week of December, I finally watched a television program in its entirety for the first time in seven years. It was a broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera's production of Fidelio. I suspect that part of the reason I do not watch television is because I have no idea what is on…