At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden Dmitri Tcherniakov stages Prokofiev’s lyrical comic opera Betrothal in a Monastery under Daniel Barenboim’s baton. The Russian director recasts the complete opera as therapeutic role play for “Opera-Addict Anonymus”. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin and “the uniformly excellent cast” (Financial Times), led by Aida Garifullina, Bogdan Volkov and Stephan Rügamer among others. “Musically, this performance is a celebration in every respect”, praises BR Klassik.
Salzburg Festival 2025: Giulio Cesare in Egitto
Handel’s gripping Baroque opera comes to life as a high-stakes drama of power, passion and intrigue. Dmitri Tcherniakov’s “powerful” (Kurier) production sets political rivalry against a fiery love story in the confines of an underground bunker. Christophe Dumaux is a thrilling Cesare, “with his mercurial countertenor and pointed acting” (Der Standard). At his side, Olga Kulchynska gives her Salzburg debut as a “lyrical” Cleopatra: “Bright high notes, precise filigree technique, youthful freshness: she has it all” (Salzburger Nachrichten). The rest of the cast is equally “superb” (Der Standard), above all Lucile Richardot as Cornelia “with her smouldering mezzo” (BR Klassik) and Federico Fiorio as her son Sesto. Baroque specialist Emmanuelle Haïm conducts her orchestra Le Concert d’Astrée from the harpsichord, “completely in her element” (Salzburger
Nachrichten). A scenic and musical collaboration full of intensity, imagination and electrifying theatre.