“A shining hour”, trumpeted Vienna’s Kurier after the premiere of Richard Strauss’ “Die Frau ohne Schatten” at the Salzburg Festival, which was also the premiere of Christian Thielemann as opera conductor there. True to the Festival’s tradition, this production features a line-up of great Strauss singers, such as Anne Schwanewilms, Stephen Gould, Wolfgang Koch, Michaela Schuster and Evelyn Herlitzius. Christof Loy’s production is set in the mid 1950s in the Sofiensäle, a celebrated Viennese recording studio at the time. The singers portray singers from the Wiener Staatsoper recording “Die Frau ohne Schatten”.
Verdi, Otello
Enthusiastically celebrated by audience and critics: The new production of Verdi’s Otello from the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofía” in Valencia is featuring one of best casts one can imagine for this opera: American tenor Gregory Kunde as Otello, Italian soprano Maria Agresta as Desdemona and Spanish baritone Carlos Álvarez as Iago. On the rostrum: Zubin Metha. Stage by Davide Livermore, artistic director of the “Centro de perfeccionamiento Placido Domingo” of the Palau de les Arts.