Samson et Dalila on DVD

Twilight of The Paris Ring

(Die) Götterdämmerung [Le crépuscule des dieux], Opéra Bastille in Paris, June 3 2011

Director ..... Günter Krämer 

Conductor ..... Philippe Jordan

Torsten Kerl ..... Siegfried
Iain Paterson ..... Gunther
Peter Sidhom ..... Alberich
Hans-Peter König ..... Hagen
Katarina Dalayman ..... Brünnhilde
Christiane Libor ..... Gutrune, 3rd Norn
Sophie Koch ..... Waltraute
Nicole Piccolomini ..... 1st Norn, Flosshilde
Caroline Stein ..... Woglinde
Daniela Sindram ..... Wellgunde

Orchestre et Choeur de l’Opéra national de Paris

Siegfried in Paris on weed

Siegfried, Opéra Bastille in Paris, March 6 2011

Günter Krämer ..... Director

Philippe Jordan ..... Conductor

Torsten Kerl, Christian Voigt ..... Siegfried

Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke ..... Mime

Juha Uusitalo, Egil Silins  ..... Der Wanderer

Peter Sidhom ..... Alberich

Stephen Milling ..... Fafner

Qiu Lin Zhang ..... Erda

Elena Tsallagova ..... Waldvogel

Brigitte Pinter, Katarina Dalayman ..... Brünnhilde

Paris Opera Orchestra

Brilliant production of Rienzi in Berlin

What a way to begin 2010! First there was The Fairy Queen which instantly blew me away. Then  K und K (for Koch & Kaufmann) slammed us with unbelievably emotional Werther. Plus I liked the witty way Mussbach brought to life Norma, and finally my dream to see a well-done staged version of Rienzi came true...

As I said it before, this was my first Rienzi ever and I loved it.

Conductor  Sebastian Lang-Lessing
Director Philipp Stölzl
Choir Conductor William Spaulding

Rienzi Torsten Kerl
Irene Camilla Nylund
Steffano Colonna  Ante Jerkunica
Adriano  Kate Aldrich
Paolo Orsini Krzysztof Szumanski
Cardinal Orvieto  Lenus Carlson
Baroncelli  Clemens Bieber
Cecco del Vecchio  Stephen Bronk 

Rienzi in Berlin: hot impressions

Just a "quick" post about the second show of Rienzi , finished an hour ago at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. This was my first Rienzi ever and I loved it.
  

Torsten Kerl proves once again that he is truly excellent a singers/actor - and trust me, Rienzi is a very devillish role to sing (I bet Ben Heppner --who screwed up Lohengrin last night-- would not be able to sing a third of it). BRAVO!

Camilla Nylund was on one of her good nights although the volume is not her forte  (which we already noticed in Paris when she was miscast as Salome). Since tonight`s was a high profile show she was only mildly booed, but the bravos were much-much louder. ;)

Kate Aldrich literally stole the show. That girl had to really dig deep to deliver such a level of intensity in an otherwise unsingable role of Adriano. Impressive effort from this "small" lady and well deserved standing O for her at the end of the show.

Someone should say to Sebastian Lang-Lessing that this production is not about him, nor about the orchestra only; and that he could show some more respect for singers (instead of covering them!). Other than that - a magnificent orchestra lead by an energetic young maestro.

Philipp Stölzl, as expected, soaked a load of boos which I of course disagreed with. I thought the show was brilliant and the director`s interpretation was...err..., say, gutsy. I could understand the boos though: Philipp didn`t leave any space to ambiguities --> his Rienzi is a nasty SOB, a dictator who deserved to end the way he did...Personally, I take my hat off to him for that ;)

As for the best choir in Germany, tonight they were the best choir in the world - and I am not exaggerating ;)