Mathis der Yawner

Mathis der Maler [Matthias the Painter, Mathis le peintre], Opéra National de Paris (Bastille), November 16 2010

Olivier Py ..... Director
Christoph Eschenbach ..... Conductor

Scott Mac Allister ..... Albrecht von Brandenburg
Matthias Goerne ..... Mathis
Thorsten Grümbel ..... Lorenz von Pommersfelden
Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke ..... Wolfgang Capito
Gregory Reinhart ..... Riedinger
Michael Weinius ..... Hans Schwalb
Antoine Garcin ..... Truchsess von Waldburg
Eric Huchet ..... Sylvester von Schaumberg
Melanie Diener ..... Ursula
Martina Welschenbach ..... Regina
Nadine Weissmann ..... Die Gräfin von Helfenstein


Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus 

Nearly perfect production of Roméo et Juliette in Amsterdam

Roméo et Juliette, De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam, October 10 2010

Conductor ..... Marc Minkowski

Director ..... Olivier Py

Juliette ..... Lyubov Petrova

Roméo ..... Ismael Jordi

Frère Laurent ..... Nicolas Testé

Stéphano ..... Cora Burggraaf

Mercutio ..... Henk Neven

Tybalt ..... Sébastien Droy

Gertrude ..... Doris Lamprecht

Benvolio ..... Jean-Léon Klostermann

Paris ..... Maarten Koningsberger

Grégorio ..... Mattijs van de Woerd

Capulet ..... Philippe Rouillon

Le Duc/Frère Jean ..... Christophe Fel

Manuela ..... Oleksandra Lenyshyn

Pepita ..... Maartje de Lint

Angelo ..... John van Halteren

Residentie Orkest & Koor van De Nederlandse Opera

Olivier Py recounts masterfully Les Contes d'Hoffmann

This DVD is a recording of the much praised Olivier Py's revisited production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann, shown last year in Geneva. I saw it only now, on DVD, and I can understand the rave reviews the production received from both the critics and the general audience.

It is a very traditional theatrical style but it is very well done. If you already experienced one or more productions directed by Olivier Py, you will recognize his peculiar manner to organize the sets through a system of moving scaffoldings, a structure that allows him to quickly change the scene and avoid any slowdown of the dramatic action. His clever way to fit the scene transformations with the text result in a flawless flow of the show. The traditionalists may be upset by Olivier's aesthetics, but they will be more than happy to see that he never drifts away from Jules Barbier's libretto. Personally, this is the only aspect of this show I don't fully appreciate -- lack of the surprising element.

¿Qué pasa en otra parte?

I've been enjoying immensely the Barenboim concerts with his Staatskapelle these days at Pleyel. Today is the 3rd out of 5.

Meanwhile, great things are happening on the European Operatic Stages...