Never has Giuseppe Verdi composed revenge, intrigue and jealousy fierier and more diabolical than in his late opera Otello. One of the greatest love stories in literature – Otello is the second of Verdi’s three Shakespeare operas – fails brutally, cruelly and senselessly. With the title role of Otello, Jonas Kaufmann takes on what is probably the most demanding part of his vocal register He is “in splendid form” (Kronen Zeitung) and “has sung his way into the Olympus as an interpreter of Otello” (klassik-begeistert.de) with this performance. Baritone Ludovic Tézier “is unrivalled as Lago” (Kurier). “This baritone’s attacks are like acts of tonal violence, his legato mischief clever manipulations. A devil on earth.” (Der Standard) Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen is “a Desdemona to fall in love with” (Die Presse) with “a voice to kneel down to, with a timbre that captivates” (klassik-begeistert.de). Adrian Noble’s staging moves the action to circa 1900, stripping it of its historical context. Emphasizing the inner world of the main character and his emotional disintegration, his Otello becomes “a psychological thriller” (bachtrack.com).
Hänsel und Gretel
In bringing the work back to the Wiener Staatsoper for its first new production since World War II – inventively directed by Adrian Noble, former Artistic Director of Britain’s Royal Shakespeare Company – it’s no surprise that, as one of today’s most admired interpreters of both Wagner and Strauss, German conductor Christian Thielemann should particularly relish the musical echoes of those composers’ works in Humperdinck’s score. In Opera magazine’s words, “He polished all these moments with refinement and subtlety, inspiring the Staatsopernorchester to play with energy, engagement and transparence.” Other reviews were equally ecstatic, praising both the orchestra’s “fabulously resplendent and silky playing” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and Thielemann’s “concern for an elegantly flowing musical line … and for a lightness and transparency that allow this noble music to sparkle in manifold ways” – in short, the whole performance was “musically exceptional … a miniature miracle in sound” (Wiener Zeitung).