Ever since his Leipzig debut in 1896, Franz Lehár longed to be produced at the Vienna State Opera. The barriers – beginning with Mahler who thought his music amateurish – went up from the start. It was only  a financial crisis that led Clemens Krauss, desperate for a box office hit, to open the hallowed portals to the now famous composer in 1934. The result was Giuditta, and it tolled a knell not just for Lehár – it was his final stage work – but for Viennese operetta itself, an art form destined not to survive the Anschluss. That sense of resignation hangs over this bittersweet romance. Giuditta, an innkeeper’s wife, elopes with Octavio, a soldier, to Africa. When he slips off to battle, she believes herself abandoned, becomes a dancer and finally agrees to a liaison with a wealthy English Lord. Octavio returns too late – he still cares, but the song of love “faded away long ago”. Lehár really pushes the boat out, creating his richest, most beautifully orchestrated score, packed with melodic arias including Giuditta’s Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß. Ulf Schirmer’s new Munich recording is orchestrally stunning, perfectly paced with full, rich… Continue reading Get…

Taking their name from Rameau’s opéra-ballet Les Surprises de l’Amour, this talented, young French ensemble now turns their attention away from the subjects of their debut recording, Rebel de père en fils and François Francœur, to tackle Michel-Richard Delalande and André Cardinal Destouches’ opéra-ballet for Louis XV, Les Éléments.First performed at the Tuileries in 1721 but enjoying considerable popularity beyond the court in the following decades, Les Éléments comprises a prologue, four sung entrées with danced divertissements and a concluding chaconne. Jean-Féry Rebel composed his own extraordinarily original 1737 creation ballet Les Éléments (not recorded on Les Surprises’ previous release). But the present opéra-ballet is full of vivid instances of word-painting too, from the subtle melismatic treatment of passages involving undulating waves or the flying of arrows to the more startling howling and crashing of wind and thunder. Les Surprises’ harpsichordist and Director, Louis-Noël Bestion de Camboulas, has again chosen to use chamber-sized forces throughout, focusing on instrumental colour – recorders, transverse flutes and oboe are particularly effective here – and the rapid, highly dramatic execution of dance rhythms and rhetorical gestures more potently to illustrate the brilliance of this work. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per…

These extracts from the German-born Jewish cosmopolite Meyerbeer’s four grand opéras and two opéras-comiques, recorded in Sofia, show his ability to combine German orchestration with Italian bel canto and French drama in a heady mixture that excites, moves and charms. The husband-and-wife team of soprano Hjördis Thébault and baritone Pierre-Yves Pruvot pass with flying colours challenging arias demanding both agility and dramatic heft; like Handel and Rossini before him, Meyerbeer wrote for the best singers in Europe. Thébault’s dark voice and early career as a mezzo give her the range to sing both the lovely Italianate Robert, toi que j’aime, with its harp triplets and haunting cor anglais accompaniment, and Sélika’s death under the poisonous manchineel tree, a scene for a dramatic soprano. Although a baritone, Pruvot is as comfortable singing a bass part as he is the optional high notes in the Adamastor ballad or the wild O puissante magie.Conductor Didier Talpain has the sense of rhythm, texture and colour necessary for Meyerbeer, apparent in the brilliant chorus from Robert le Diable, the luminous entr’acte for strings from Dinorah, and the eerie conversation between two clarinets at the start of Le Prophète or the same opera’s… Continue reading Get…

The curtain rises on a large severed head sitting on a sea of crumbly black ash. As the camera pans in tightly, we see blood encrusted in the corner of the eyes and mouth, while one eye socket is smashed. It is the head of Goliath after his defeat by the triumphant young warrior David, now hero of the Israelites. Behind, an enormous table is heaped with floral arrangements, fruit, animal carcasses and an elegant swan. Clustered around the rather macabre banquet, the cast gleam in brightly coloured 18th-century costumes with extravagant wigs and make-up lending them a slightly crazed air. Bathed in Joachim Klein’s sickly lighting, the extravagant tableau looks like a warped Flemish still-life where everything is so lusciously overripe it will soon turn fetid. So begins Barrie Kosky’s wildly imaginative production of Handel’s oratorio Saul, which received rave reviews when it premiered at Glyndebourne in 2015. Programmed as the centrepiece of the 2017 Adelaide Festival, here is a chance to see the original Glyndebourne cast, while the camera allows you an up-close look at the performers and vivid visual imagery. Working with designer Katrin Lea Tag, Kosky presents Handel’s original three acts in two… Continue reading Get…

Lyndon Terracini has had his contract as OA Artistic Director extended until 2021. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Wesley Enoch was booed when he said next year’s concert will be in Parramatta – but it’s not a decision he’s taken lightly. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The Australian conductor, composer, scholar and Knight of Malta has passed away age 71.

Michieletto flashes his verismo credentials as Torre goes for double gold.

Singers include Daniel Sumegi, Isabel Leonard, Nathan Gunn, Lawrence Brownlee, Patricia Racette and Matthew Polenzani. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Saimir Pirgu discusses the challenges and excitement of taking on the Shepherd in Szymanowski’s operatic masterpiece. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

The national opera company selects four young singers from regional Australia who will get to learn from the best. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

As a contemporary of Strauss and Schoenberg, it was inevitable that Alexander Zemlinsky’s brilliance would be overshadowed.