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Showing posts from April, 2013

Nabucco at the Royal Opera

A new production of Nabucco at the Royal Opera. As usual, there was a lot of anticipation, not least because Plácido Domingo was singing the title role as a baritone ! The somewhat barren set was by Alison Chitty. That's ok so long as the production has enough movement and choreography. Alas no. People (slaves, priests, etc.) were just milling about. Almost to the point of being tedious. Never mind. Liudmyla Monastyrska was a very strong Abigaille. But the real treat was watching and hearing Domingo - sure it's a baritone voice without the tenor ring, but he really got into the role - from confident, to mad, to reflective. That's a hard act to follow. The chorus was great too - and va pensiero was sung with spirituality.

Die Zauberflöte at the Royal Opera

I really liked the way Julia Jones conducted this production of Die Zauberflöte: it's brisk, it's light, and had enough breathing space for the critical moments. Christopher Maltman portrayed Papageno well, with lots of nice touches in the acting and singing. Albina Shagimuratova as Queen of the Night did not disappoint at the crucial aria. And David McVicar's production is till fun to watch.