Reviews — Opera Spy

Welcome to Opera Spy

Here, I post my reviews and document my love of opera. I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to comment on any of my posts or contact me if you wish to.

Have a nice stay!

David Buchler

Turandot at The Royal Opera House

Jul 5

Jul 5 Turandot at The Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

The original story of Turandot is centred on the epic works of the 12th century Persian poet, Nizani, based on Turad-Dokht (daughter of Turan). This was Puccini’s last opera and in fact he never completed the third Act at the time of his death in 1924. The ending of this opera was completed by Alfano, based on sketches left behind by Puccini. The original premier of Turandot was held in Milan in 1926 and conducted by Toscanini. Luciano Berio was also sanctioned to make a new completion for the opera, but this is rarely performed.

The Dream of Gerontius at the Royal Festival Hall

Jul 3

Jul 3 The Dream of Gerontius at the Royal Festival Hall

English National Opera

This wonderful opera/oratorio by Sir Edward Elgar is a work in two parts for orchestra and voice and relates to the journey of a pious man’s soul from his death bed to his judgement before God. It was disastrously premiered in 1900 with the conductor, Dr Hans Richter, receiving his score in the very last minute before rehearsal.

Il Turco in Italia at Garsington Opera

Jul 3

Jul 3 Il Turco in Italia at Garsington Opera

What a lot of fun. The brilliant Rossini composed this opera at the age of 22 and it was premiered in Milan in 1814. The opera has had a chequered history. It was compared unfavourably to his previous success, L’italiana in Algeri and a version of the opera was rewritten in Paris by the Director, Ferdinando Paer, which stripped out a lot of Rossini’s original music, but included pieces from other operas, including L’italiana in Algeri. Unbelievably, this astonishing version was used a lot during the 20th century, until Franco Zeffirelli’s production with Maria Callas in the title role used the original version, but unaccountably excluding Fiorilla’s great concluding aria of despair.

Otello at the Royal Opera House

Jun 22

Jun 22 Otello at the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House pulled out all the stops in giving us a new production of this incredibly forceful Verdi opera, Otello. Keith Warner was asked to direct this new production and the cast of Jonas Kaufmann as Otello, Maria Agresta as Desdemona and Marco Vratogna as Iago was almost as good as it gets today.

Sadko at Vlaanderen Opera in Ghent

Jun 21

Jun 21 Sadko at Vlaanderen Opera in Ghent

Sadko is an extraordinary opera, written by Rimsky Korsakov in 1891 and premiered in Moscow in 1898. It is an opera rarely performed today, probably due to its production complexities and the difficulty of finding a tenor to sing the enormously complicated and high lying role of Sadko.

La Traviata at the Royal Opera House

Jun 15

Jun 15 La Traviata at the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

La Traviata (the fallen woman) is one of Verdi’s most popular operas. It is based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas and its world premiere was at La Fenice in Venice in 1853. As with everything to do with opera there was a dispute with the local authority who insisted that a contemporary setting was inappropriate and the production had to be circa 1700. It was not until 1880 that a more contemporary production was staged.

Yardbird at Hackney Empire, London

Jun 12

Jun 12 Yardbird at Hackney Empire, London

English National Opera

This joint production between Hackney Empire and the English National Opera, presents the European premiere of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird composed by the saxophonist, Daniel Schnyder. It was an extraordinary evening of jazz infused Bebopera, moving at a pulsating pace.

L'elisir d'amore at the Royal Opera House

Jun 12

Jun 12 L'elisir d'amore at the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

L'elisir d'amore is a two-act comic opera by the Italian composer Donizetti and was premiered in 1832 in Milan. The opera was written in six weeks! It is a love story reflecting on how a young farm worker Nemorino gets his girl, the farm owner Adina, despite the interest of a rival the boastful Sergeant Belcore and using a love potion put together by the dubious Doctor Dulcamara.

Tosca at the Grange Park Opera

Jun 10

Jun 10 Tosca at the Grange Park Opera

Tosca was chosen by Grange Park Opera to open its new theatre at the home of the mercurial Bamber Gascoigne at West Horsley Place in Surrey. The modern horseshoe design on four tiers with a semi-domed roof enables you to enjoy a clear vibrant acoustic sound.

La Rondine at Opera Holland Park

Jun 7

Jun 7 La Rondine at Opera Holland Park

La Rondine has a rather varied history and is often regarded as Puccini’s ‘poor cousin’ opera. He was, even until his death, unhappy with each of the three versions that he wrote (1917, 1920, 1921) and never gave a clear indication as to his preferred ending he preferred.

Carousel at the English National Opera

Apr 12

Apr 12 Carousel at the English National Opera

English National Opera

Carousel, the second musical by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein, opened on Broadway in the Spring of 1945 to critical acclaim from both critics and audiences. It was a work adapted from Ferenc Molnar’s 1909 play Liliom, but instead of a Budapest setting it was transplanted to a setting in New England USA.

Meistersinger at the Royal Opera House - The Last Night!

Apr 2

Apr 2 Meistersinger at the Royal Opera House - The Last Night!

Royal Opera House

It was the last night and last chance to see whether there had been an improvement in this mess of a production. Needless to say, there hasn’t! In fact, with Beckmesser opening a bottle of fizzy orange in this first Act – did I miss this or was it added – in this 1920’s/30’s production, it was clear that Kasper Holten was giving not an inch to his critics.

Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House

Mar 31

Mar 31 Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

What a show…….or what a Jaho! The 2003 production by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier gave us a clean stripped back production with no gimmicks. What a relief.

ENO Gala Concert hosted at the Rosewood Hotel

Mar 28

Mar 28 ENO Gala Concert hosted at the Rosewood Hotel

English National Opera

I was lucky enough to attend 2 gala concert/recital events this week - one at the ENO Gala Concert, Rosewood Hotel and the other at Kings Place, Kings Cross, London N1 - meeting 3 different young ladies with great careers ahead of them.

Partenope at the English National Opera

Mar 16

Mar 16 Partenope at the English National Opera

English National Opera

Christopher Alden directed this Olivier award winning 2008 production and it still looks as fresh as a daisy. His revival lighting designer this time was Kevin Sleep, who ensured a very visual and colourful production using the change of lighting to good effect, particularly in act 2.

Die Meistersinger at the Royal Opera House

Mar 13

Mar 13 Die Meistersinger at the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

It’s a mess. Not musically, but in Kasper Holten’s last production for the ROH as Artistic Director he really hasn’t come to terms with the complexities of the piece and too many gimmicks abound, which simply do not make sense. His production of Eugene Onegin was poor, but in some respects this production is really awful.

Just Call Me God at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg

Mar 9

Mar 9 Just Call Me God at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg

In Jan 2017, Hamburg celebrated the opening at one of the world’s most acoustically advanced concert halls called the Elbphilharmonie or nicknamed Elphi. It is a new glassy construction hovering above a brick base resembling a hoisted sale or water wave on the edge of the river Elbe.

The Winter's Tale at the English National Opera - A World Premiere

Feb 28

Feb 28 The Winter's Tale at the English National Opera - A World Premiere

English National Opera

There are tens of thousands of well-meaning operatic compositions that lay in the waste of time. It is extremely difficult to find the template required for a new work that does more than just have its ‘premiere’.

Adriana Lecouvreur at the Royal Opera House

Feb 8

Feb 8 Adriana Lecouvreur at the Royal Opera House

Royal Opera House

This was the main operatic success of the composer, Francesco Cilea. He has given us wonderful orchestration and at times a rather long drawn out melody, but it is not a score of gripping intensity or passion, despite the story of the celebrated Parisian actress who’s love for the handsome Count is met by a rival who eventually kills her with poison.

Rigoletto at the English National Opera

Feb 3

Feb 3 Rigoletto at the English National Opera

English National Opera

An old friend is back. To see Jonathan Miller’s Rigoletto return to the stage was a great comfort. It has been intelligently revived by Elaine Tyler-Hall and the sets (particularly the art deco at the beginning of Act I and in Act II) as well as the bar scene in Act III are clear, precise and still very relevant today.