Gluck’s Alceste was the opera that launched a revolution. Urgent, direct and pulsing with emotion, it stripped away baroque conventions to create a new kind of opera, and more than two centuries later, this tragedy of a woman prepared to give her life for love still strikes straight to the heart. Anne Sofie von Otter is formidable in the title role of this powerful production, created by director Robert Wilson in 2000 for the Theatre du Châtelet in Paris. Paul Groves and Ludovic Tézier also star, with John Eliot Gardiner conducting the period instrument forcers of the English Baroque Soloists.
Orphée et Eurydice
The power of music, the pain of loss, and the price we pay for love: the characters in Orphée et Eurydice might be ancient, but the themes of the drama are eternal – and in his most celebrated opera, Gluck express them with a directness and an inspiration that feels as fresh today as it did in the composer’s own era. In Paris, in 2000, director Robert Wilson and conductor John Eliot Gardiner revived Berlioz’s adaptation of this groundbreaking score, coupling a pared-back minimalist setting with all the colours of the period-instrument Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. Magdalena Kožená brings all her youthful brilliance to the role of Orpheus.
Le nozze di Figaro
Few modern conductors knew how to get to the soul of Mozart like the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt – the Viennese period-performance specialist who was equally at ease with historic instruments and the world’s greatest orchestras. In 1996 he conducted the forces of the Zurich Opera House and an excellent ensemble cast in Jurgen Flimm’s production of Le nozze di Figaro – which moved the action between different eras and locations to try and find the eternal truths at the heart of this greatest of all comic operas. The results are just as revealing – and as beautiful – as you’d expect.
La forza del destino
A raging torrent of love, vengeance and redemption set against the backdrop of a world in flames, Verdi’s La forza del destino is one of the landmarks of 19th-century opera. In the right hands, it can be one of opera’s most cathartic experiences, and in 1998 few conductors in the world generated more electricity than Valery Gergiev at the helm of his rejuvenated Mariinsky forces, conducing the fascinating 1862 version of the score, as premiered in St Petersburg. With Galina Gorchakova as Leonora and supercharged emotional commitment from the whole cast, Elijah Moshinsky’s classic staging has rarely felt more vital – or more thrilling.
Lulu
Alban Berg’s final opera Lulu is like nothing else in 20th-century theatre. A psychodrama of a woman and her sexuality in a corrupt (and corrupting) world, it’s set to music of shattering power and iridescent sensuality; an opera to disturb and seduce in equal measure. This 2001 staging from Zurich Opera made a powerful impression on critics at the time, with soprano Laura Aikin compelling as the morally ambivalent heroine, and Franz Welser-Möst drawing lustrous playing from the orchestra. Director Sven-Erich Bechtolf, meanwhile, calls on pop culture and Weimar cabaret to explore the dark underbelly of an opera that never gets any less compelling.
Turandot
Director David Livermore presents a stunning new production of Turandot at Teatro alla Scala, blending modern Asian influences with spiritual and fantastical elements. Soprano Anna Netrebko delivers an “imperial” performance, skillfully handling the demanding role. Yusif Eyvazov as Calaf shows “flawless technique,” while Raul Gimene’s Altoum and Vitalij Kowaljow’s Timur receive praise. Rosa Feola’s portrayal of Liù is emotional, culminating in a poignant death scene illuminated by candles. The opera pauses for a moment of silence for Puccini before resuming with the triumphant finale.
Così fan tutte
“The execution is vibrant, the individual voices outstanding, and the ensemble homogeneity even more so.” (Frankfurter Rundschau) To conclude his Da Ponte cycle at the Vienna State Opera, Barrie Kosky turns Don Alfonso into a theatre director rehearsing a stage play with the two young couples at the center of the story: “He presents the Da Ponte opera as a coherent, sophisticated game within a game: a director uses method acting to release feelings that can no longer be controlled” (News). As is typical for a Kosky-lead production, there is constant action, which the ensemble executes with exuberance. Philippe Jordan leads the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera from the pianoforte, managing to “strike a balance between classical beauty and vibrancy, without resorting to tricks and mannerisms to make things exciting” (Kleine Zeitung).
Don Carlo
“vocal luxury was the order of the day”(Die Deutsche Bühne) In this new production of Verdi’s Don Carlo, director Kirill Serebrennikov sets the opera in a historic costume research institute, blending history with the present. Silent actors in historic costumes symbolize self-aggrandizement and emotional confinement. Conductor Philippe Jordan is praised for his sensitivity. Joshua Guerrero effectively portrays Don Carlo, while Etienne Dupuis’s Posa is a charming freedom fighter. Roberto Tagliavini stands out as Filippo II, and Eve-Maud Hubeaux impresses alongside Asmik Grigorian, who shines in her role debut as Elisabetta, delivering a powerful performance that resonates deeply with the audience.
Tristan und Isolde
“It would be most wonderful if this Tristan never ended.” (Opernmagazin) “Brilliant performances that bring you to your knees” (Sächsische Zeitung) Every piece of the puzzle fell perfectly into place for this historic performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the Semperoper Dresden. In front of a pared down, timeless staging by Marco Arturo Marelli, the vocal performances could truly shine. Klaus Florian Vogt is “fully present” (Opernmagazin) and Camilla Nylund as Isolde at his side “convinced with her still incredibly lyrical, light soprano” (Sächsische Zeitung). At the zenith of his career, Christian Thielemann manages to set a new standard with his permeation of this difficult score and leads the Staatskapelle Dresden to new heights of artistic expression.
Pique Dame
“Magnetic pull: Soprano Asmik Grigorian shines” (Salzburger Nachrichten) “Madness in close-up” (BR Klassik): Director Benedict Andrews plunges Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame at the Bavarian State Opera into a cinematic film noir aesthetic, in which the characters regularly seem to vanish into shadow and mystery. Brandon Jovanovich “plays a credibly broken anti-hero as Hermann” (Münchner Merkur) and Asmik Grigorian as Lisa once again steals the show with her unerring dramatic and vocal skills. Conductor Aziz Shokhakimov gives a convincing debut at the podium of the state orchestra, managing a “dramatically stirring, propulsive interpretation” (FAZ).