Onegin in Paris: Incredible Mr.Petrenko!

Eugene Onegin, Opéra Bastille, September 17 2010

Vasily Petrenko ..... Conductor
Willy Decker ..... Stage director

Nadine Denize ..... Larina
Olga Guryakova ..... Tatyana
Alisa Kolosova ..... Olga
Nona Javakhidze ..... Filippyevna
Ludovic Tézier ..... Eugene Onegin
Joseph Kaiser ..... Lensky
Gleb Nikolsky ..... Prince Gremin 
Jean-Paul Fouchécourt ..... Triquet
Ugo Rabec ..... Zaretsky

Paris Opera Orchestra and Chorus

Aix 2010: Alceste

Arte Live Web treated us royally this year and we could see live broadcast of three out of five operas created for the Festival in Aix this year.

The fact that the fourth opera presented at this year's festival --Gluck's Alceste, directed by Christof Loy-- won't be TV broadcast or webcast come like comes like "bad news".

Freiburger Barockorchester is conducted by maestro Ivor Bolton, and always brilliant Véronique Gens and an excellent Canadian tenor Joseph Kaiser are in the cast. The reviews are quite OK.

You could tell the critique became more careful when reviewing Christof Loy's work, as if they wouldn't want to repeat the last year's half-embarrassment when they collectively thrashed his Tristan in London, andonly a couple of months later the very same production picked up the Best New Opera Production Award for 2009 in the UK. ;)

A scene from Christof Loy's Alceste presented in Aix: Véronique Gens and Joseph Kaiser

 One thing is sure, everyone (critique, fans, colleagues...) is full of praise for Véronique Gens. The title role is apparently very hard on a soprano and it appears that the current state of her voice is perfectly suitable for Alceste. So, no TV broadcast, nor webcast planned -- I bet there will be a DVD out before the end of the year...

I found only one short video about Alceste on the site of France3, which is appended below.

Fortunio saves the day in Paris

A very good show in Paris (YAY!) - it does not happen often these days, so it deserves to be boldly highlighted. OF COURSE I am not talking about the Paris Opera (ONP). It was in Opéra Comique, one of the several good opera-houses in Paris where you never know what you might get: it can be fantastically creative and uplifting, but it can be unbearably sweet too.  So, I saw there "Fortunio" this past Saturday, December 12 and all I can say is: there are 3 more shows to go [ December 16, 18 and 20]. Believe me, you don't want to miss this one! [Run Forrest, run! ;) ]