The Opera Tattler
Reviews of Performances and their Audiences
Category: Tannhäuser
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* Notes *Bayerische Staatsoper's 2017 Tannhäuser (ovation pictured, photograph by author) returned to the Münchner Opernfestspiele last night. The performance was absolutely transcendent in its beauty, with grand playing from the orchestra and wonderful singing. The orchestra sounded full and together under Maestro Sebastian Weigle. The trumpets, bassoons, and harp were particularly fine. This staging,…
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* Notes * The current production of the Bayreuther Festspiele's Tannhäuser is unsatisfying. Sebastian Baumgarten directed a busy and tedious staging, relying on lots of projected text. There were also giant stuffed animal-like rays, menacing ape people, and assorted funny characters. The set, with its multiple levels, could have been used much more cunningly, but instead…
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* Notes * Yesterday Tannhäuser had its final performance this season at Staatsoper Unter den Linden. To my great surprise, Harry Kupfer's production was fairly simple and worked well. The lines were clean and Buki Shiff's costumes for the principals were inoffensive, and some of her evening gowns for the chorus were stunning. This is…
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* Notes * Last weekend the Wagner Society of Northern California had its first meeting of the year, featuring a talk by Professor Heather Hadlock based on a paper entitled "From 'beloved hall' to Evening Star: The televisual apotheosis of the diva in István Szabó's film Meeting Venus (1991)." Dr. Hadlock presented the paper last…
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January 26- February 3 2008: TannhäuserFebruary 16-24 2008: Maria StuardaMarch 22- April 2 2008: Cavalleria Rusticana/PagliacciApril 12-23 2008: AidaMay 3-11 2008: Les Pêcheurs de Perles Press Release
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* Notes * Graham Vick’s production of Tannhäuser opened at San Francisco Opera yesterday. Designed by Paul Brown, this co-production with Dallas Opera strikes an elusive balance, it is neither cloyingly traditional nor starkly contemporary. The bacchanalia is one of the weaker points, Ron Howell’s choreography here looks to be inspired by Graham and West…
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* Notes * A few weeks before I was to catch the last performance of Tannhäuser in Los Angeles, I received an alarming postcard from the opera warning that viewer discretion was advised as there was nudity, sexual content, and strong language in the production. The bacchanalia was explicit, though watching scrawny ballet dancers prance…
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