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Die tote Stadt

I was not sure what to expect at Royal Opera's production of Die tote Stadt and I liked what I heard. The sound world of Korngold was mostly lush, with shades of Strauss, Mahler and Puccini thrown in. Yet at other times, it's Hollywood. The pit couldn't fit the entire orchestra, so un-tuned percussion was put into Stalls Circle, and extra brass was in one of the Balcony boxes.
The stage set was very clever - with a boxed design portraying a fairly nondescript sitting room. The dream sequence was a replica of the same room just smaller and placed right behind the "real" room with all characters in clown costumes. It definitely worked.



Stephen Gould (as Paul) and Nadja Michael (Marie) were giving their best but you could tell they were at times overwhelmed by the enormous orchestra. Gerald Finley was Frank - though perhaps he shouldn't have sung bare-chested.


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