Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera

Saw a revival of Don Giovanni directed by Kasper Holten and set by Es Devlin. Ildebrando D’Arcangelo brought a dark tone to Leporello, while Mariusz Kwiecień was a handsome if slightly lost Don Giovanni. The entire cast had good, strong voices. Somehow, they all tended to look down, or look at Marc Minkowski in the pit. I wondered was it because Minkowski's cues were few and not forthcoming. Coincidentally, the ensemble had lots of rough edges and there seemed to be a lack of rapport between the cast and the audience.

Oh and I did not like the last scene: Mariusz Kwiecień sang about imaginary supper, wine and handshake - but he was effectively dangling from the first floor of the set. The complete lack of representation of the final interaction between Don Giovanni the Commendatore (fine dark singing from Sir Willard) made for an unsatisfying end. A new production please.

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Hearing the Berlin Philharmonic at the Philharmonie

Those of us London-centric folks easily forget there are great concert halls in other parts of the world. I remember as a young kid buying DG LPs with von Karajan on the front cover conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. So as my first visit to the city, a visit to the Philharmonie to listen to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra was a must. Ivan Fisher started the evening's concert with Haydn Symphony 88. A light and delightful work. As I'd expected, the acoustic of the hall was amazing - probably a good 2.5 second of reverberation - and much more generous than the Royal Festival Hall in London. The strings sounded sweet and the timpani came through clearly with definition. The audience was then treated to Béla Bartók's Seven Pieces for Choir and Chamber Orchestra: the Berlin Phil reduced in size occupying only half of the stage while the Netherlands Youth Choir took the other half. These young performers (all female) sang in Hungarian from memory - not easy at all - and rea...

Król Roger, Royal Opera

The Polish barihunk Mariusz Kwiecień sang the title role on the first performance of Król Roger at the Royal Opera. Kwiecień's portrayal of Król Roger was subtle and involved (might have helped with him having a head cold as Kasper Holten came and told us after the interval). Pappano did full justice to Szymanowski's lush score.

Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

One can certainly Over Do art in Vienna. The beauty of the Liechtenstein Museum is its fine collection of paintings and architectural features within a manageable space. The building had been lovingly refurbished while the art works and exhibits were beautifully presented. Like Galleria Borghese in Rome, one can spend a leisurely morning strolling through the library and rooms without feeling pressured (unlike Musée du Louvre ). If you have time, enjoy a cup of cafe melange in the court yard.

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