Petruschka / Sacre

Petruschka (1911) & the Rite of Spring  (1911)

Music by Igor Stravinski

Choreography by Marco Goecke & Edward Clug

Direction : Domingo Hindoyan

Philharmonia Zürich

Petruschka (William Moore) - Picture: Gregory Batardon

The Rite of Spring, Giulia Tonelli & dancers of the Zürich Ballet
Picture: Gregory Batardon

Should you go?

It should interest you if you like contemporary dance, but it's not a pre-requisite. Give it a try !

Why?


Two interesting modern choregraphies on Strawinsky ballets. Petruschka, a dark rendition of the original ballet, offer some interesting parts, but undercut by some mildly dull parts. Edward Clug’s somber take on The Rite of Spring is more satisfying, with some smart modern choreography in the first part, then some interesting of water to let dancers slip and skid over the scene with millimeter precision. Very well danced, and a good orchestra performance from the Zürich Philarmonia under Domingo Hindoyan.

Swann

Mozart - The Abduction from the Seraglio

The Abduction from the Seraglio - Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, libretto by Gottlieb Stefanie (1782)

Direction : Maxim Emelyanychev - Production : David Hermann

Opernhaus Zürich, November 11th 2016

Konstanze (Olga Peretyatko) & Bassa Selim (Sam Louwyck) - Picture: T + T Fotografie / Tanja Dorendorf

Should you go?

No, I left at the break, save yourself the trouble and money.

Why?

Musically below par, the production is a confused mess, with David Hermann piling up devices instead of providing coherent directions to the soloists.

Swann

Weber - Der Freischütz

Opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber (1821)

Direction : Marc Albrecht - Production : Herbert Fritsch

Opernhaus Zürich, September 21st  2016

Max (Christopher Ventris) - Picture: Hans Jörg Michel

Should you go?

Yes, for some great music with a light-hearted take on the libretto.

Why?

Marc Albrecht, the soloists, the Philharmonia Zürich and the Opernhaus' choir really do Weber's beautiful score justice.

Despite my very strong reservations against Herbert Fritsch (after his horrendous King Arthur), I enjoyed his take on Der Freischütz: he uses a much lighter touch here and instills juste the right amount (well, slightly too much, but nothing dramatic) of irony and mischief to make an otherwise boring story play well.


Swann

Verdi - Requiem

Choreography: Christian Spuck

Direction: Fabio Luisi

Opernhaus Zürich, December 6th 2016

Picture: Gregory Batardon

Should you go?

At your own risks: don't blame me if you're bored.

Why?

A production which fails to raise interest despite its great production value and technical qualities.

On the one hand, you've got a good and interesting interpretation of Verdi's Messa di Requiem by Fabio Luisi, with a very competent orchestra and soloists, although I had a hard time with Francesco Meli's rather sour-sounding voice. Sadly the choir struggled on a few parts, but altogether a good rendition.

On the other hand, you've got a ballet from Christian Spuck that tries to accompany the requiem, but fails to connect with it. Despite the great efforts to make dancers and singers share the stage seamlessly, the dancing looks more like an independent sideshow that happens to use the same music, even though the music seems unsuited for ballet (some parts certainly are).

Without any form of emulation between the music and the dance parts, the usual weaknesses of Christian Spuck shine : it's elegant but already-seen, well-arranged but repetitive, superbly danced but ultimately boring. A shame for a choreographer that is obviously talented, but is basically repeating itself on something that simply doesn't work.

"To die, to sleep", as the bard would say.


Swann

What to see and what not to see in the 16/17 season ?

One can see a lot of different things at the Opernhaus next season, with close to 40 different ballets and operas on the program, and quite a few concerts too. Roughly a third of these are new productions, a quite impressive figure, but most of the season is made of revivals. Which means we had the occasion to see a few of these already, and forge an opinion. So here are a few subjective tips about the revivals in the upcoming season.

Must see

Giacomo Puccini – La Bohème

Direction: Giampaolo Bisanti

Production: Ole Anders Tandberg

Trailer

Why? A brillant, masterful production by Ole Anders Tandberg. It works on all levels. A production as good as that does not come often, don't miss it! Hopefully the new cast will be as good as the original cast last year. I'll probably get tickets to see it again regardless.

Mimi (Guagun Yu) & Rodolfo (Michael Fabiano)

Picture : Judith Schlosser 

Why not?

Verdi - Macbeth

Direction: Gianandrea Noseda

Production: Barrie Kosky

Trailer

Why? Barrie Kosky offers an interesting take on Macbeth with a production that is however a bit limited scenically.

Lady Macbeth (Tatiana Serjan) & Macbeth (Markus Brück)
Picture: Monika Rittershaus - Opernhaus Zürich

Erm...

Bellini - I Puritani

Direction: Enrique Mazzola

Production: Andreas Homoki

Trailer

Why? An unimaginative production. It's not bad but of limited value and not really worth the price of the ticket. Also boring.

Arturo (Lawrence Brownlee), Elvira (Pretty Yende) & Ricardo (George Petean)
Picture: Judith Schlosser - Opernhaus Zürich

Avoid

Tchaïkovski - Swan Lake (Schwanensee)

Choregraphy: Petipa / Ivanov / Ratmansky

Direction: Rossen Milanov / Pavel Baleff

Trailer

Why? Alexei Ratmansky's reconstruction of the original choregraphy, now 120 years old, is an interesting work of historical research. Sadly, it only highlights how much ballet has advanced since, and how boring it was in the old days, even with great performers. Lazy performance from the orchestra. Don't believe the hype.

Odette (Viktorina Kapitonova) & Siegfried (Alexander Jones)
Picture: Carlos Quezada

See you in September!

Swann