Le Nozze di Figaro

Le Nozze di Figaro

Le Nozze di Figaro. Het toneel is onderverdeeld in een souterrain en een verdieping daarboven, vanaf nu aan te duiden als ‘beneden’ en ‘boven’. Beneden is de wasserij met kluisjes voor het personeel en een morsige matras, alles overgoten met een flets tl-licht. Boven zijn de vertrekken van de Graaf en Gravin, steriel als een museumzaal met opzichtige kunst. De Graaf (Björn Bürger) draagt handschoentjes en heeft in onbewaakte momenten perverse interactie met een kunstwerk, net als het personeel trouwens.

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Götterdämmerung

GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG

Götterdämmerung. Hagen’s hunting party wanders across a bare stage of a forest, with a huge boar hung by its feet above the stage. Hagen’s spearing of Siegfreid is not credible as the hero hardly turns around enough to watch those Batman-caped ravens flying off to Valhalla. Then, we come to a most questionable staging of Siegfried’s ‘Funeral March,’ wherein Sieglinde and Siegmund returning from the beyond; she with a 20-foot-long white linen shroud used to symbolically embalm the son she last saw while giving birth. Then, for seemingly hours, the parents break into tears, their bodies shaking violently in emotion. Wotan the Wanderer also returns, broken spear in hand, approaching Siegfried’s corpse, then only to fall to the ground in shock upon discovering who has been killed. None of this was needed.

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Het 401NederlandseOperas Handboek

Het 401NederlandseOperas Handboek

Het 401NederlandseOperas Handboek. Nu staan er in het boek ook zaken die vragen oproepen. Wat doen bijvoorbeeld Händel, Mozart, Beethoven en de beroemde oratoria van Haydn in het boek? Het voorwoord beantwoordt die vraag al direct: Seghers brengt het hele speelveld in kaart.

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Punished by Facebook

Punished by Facebook

Punished by Facebook. I do have a hunch where the “many complaints” are coming from —namely, from those who are covertly working against us— but I can’t prove anything, so speculating about it seems pointless.
Facebook’s latest announcement was that our suspension would end on May 16. We’ll see.

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La Clemenza di Tito

La Clemenza di Tito

La Clemenza di Tito. Tito’s audience chamber, or office, was correspondingly presented as a sober corporate interior with a large desk and matching furniture. Entirely superfluous, meanwhile, was the stage business during his aria ‘Del più sublime soglio’, when, in the manner of classic Regietheater, several suited men climbed through a gap in the mahogany wall, unwound strips of celluloid from film reels, and draped them over the head of the kneeling Tito as he sang. Quite what this was meant to signify remained wholly obscure; more to the point, it felt studied and inert.

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DNO - Die Passagierin - Monika Rittershaus

The Passenger (Die Passagierin)

The Passenger (Die Passagierin). *The Passenger* (1968; based on the book by Auschwitz survivor Zofia Posmysz) is his best-known (aria-poor) work, based on an Auschwitz experience. The opera takes place on a cruise ship, where two former “inhabitants” of the Auschwitz concentration camp meet. One is Lisa, who worked as a guard in the camp and is now traveling to Brazil with her husband, a diplomat. The other is Marta, a Polish Jewish woman, who was imprisoned in Auschwitz when Lisa was a guard there; Marta’s fiancé, Tadeusz, is with her. The opera explores the emotions of the main characters on the ship in the present and, in flashbacks, in the concentration camp.

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DNO - Die Passagierin - Monika Rittershaus

Die Passagierin

Die Passagierin. De Passagierin (1968; gebaseerd op het boek van Auschwitz-overlevende Zofia Posmysz) is zijn bekendste (aria-arme) werk, gebaseerd op een Auschwitz-ervaring. De opera speelt zich af op een cruiseschip, waar twee voormalige “bewoners” van het concentratiekamp Auschwitz elkaar ontmoeten. De ene is Lisa, die als bewaakster in het kamp werkte en nu met haar man, een diplomaat, op weg is naar Brazilië. De andere is Marta, een Poolse Jodin, die in Auschwitz opgesloten zat toen Lisa daar bewaakster was; Marta’s verloofde, Tadeusz, is bij haar. De opera vertelt over de emoties van de hoofdpersonen op het schip in het heden en, in flashbacks, in het concentratiekamp.

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Siegfried

SIEGFRIED

Siegfried. Alexander Soddy, heard again in bringing off the score with flair, offered a truly symphonic version – the big passages never hurried, measured stiffly, but colorful with variations. sprightly version of this chapter in the Ring saga.

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Scylla et Glaucus

Scylla et Glaucus

Scylla et Glaucus. Nevertheless, none of this detracts from the artistic achievements of the singers.
Chiara Skerath impressed as Circé with dramatic intensity and virtuosic coloratura in her aria “Il me fuit, hélas” – for us, perhaps the musical highlight of the evening.

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Die Walküre

Die Walküre

Das Rheingold at La Scala. Overall, not a bad rendition of Wagner’s prelude to his Tetralogy. Lots of nice touches from McVicar, but also many ideas that were only able to satisfy the need to stage an episode, playing all straight out. Doing for the sake of doing. The weakness lay in the lack of an overall concept. True, better perhaps this version from those elsewhere that go astray, towards the ridiculous, towards what is estranged from Wagner himself. Perhaps, yes, the Ring is impossible to stage. Might there be a curse upon the ring?

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Les Enfants terribles. Opéra de Lille. 2026. Photo Opéra de Lille.

Les Enfants terribles in Lille (Nederlands)

Les Enfants terribles Hypnose, fascinatie en de betoverende kracht van deze repetitieve muziek, nooit hetzelfde en toch altijd hetzelfde. Muziek die die tijdloze wereld oproept waarin deze tragische helden zouden willen leven; muziek die ons in haar ban houdt, in de dubbele betekenis dat zij ons als het ware gevangen houdt en ons verleidt.

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Les Enfants terribles. Opéra de Lille. 2026. Photo Opéra de Lille.

Les Enfants terribles

Les Enfants terribles Hypnosis, fascination and the spellbinding power of this repetitive music, never the same and yet always the same. Music that evokes that timeless world in which these tragic heroes would like to live; music that captivates us: in the double sense that it imprisons us, so to speak, and seduces us.

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Theory of Flames

Theory of Flames

Theory of Flames. Filmmuziek schrijven kan van der Aa als de beste: hij maakt gebruik van spannende harmonieën en trefzekere ritmische patronen. Er zit vaart en grote, drijvende dynamiek in de muziek bij het filmgedeelte.
Opera vraagt echter om een driedimensionale klank, drama en ontknoping. De scenes op het voortoneel kennen weliswaar schitterende harmonieën (met name de scenes met koor), maar de monologen en dialogen doen verticaal aan, als een ladder waar men op- en afklimt.

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Das Rheingold at La Scala

Das Rheingold at La Scala

Das Rheingold at La Scala. Overall, not a bad rendition of Wagner’s prelude to his Tetralogy. Lots of nice touches from McVicar, but also many ideas that were only able to satisfy the need to stage an episode, playing all straight out. Doing for the sake of doing. The weakness lay in the lack of an overall concept. True, better perhaps this version from those elsewhere that go astray, towards the ridiculous, towards what is estranged from Wagner himself. Perhaps, yes, the Ring is impossible to stage. Might there be a curse upon the ring?

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Written on Skin

Written on Skin

Written on Skin. Librettist Crimp bedient zich van een spitsvondige truc: hij laat engelachtige figuren het verhaal vertellen en er tegelijk aan deelnemen. Opmerkelijk is ook de ontwikkelingsgang van Agnès, van onderdrukte vrouw naar iemand die haar lot in eigen handen neemt (het begrip \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\”sterke vrouw\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\” komt ons niet uit de pen). Deze transformatie is de kern van deze opera. Haar bevrijding is tegelijk een daad van zelfvernietiging, wat de vrolijkheid niet ten goede komt.

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Macbeth.

Macbeth

Macbeth. This was a wonderful evening at the opera – the sort of performance you want to see more than once. A true treat for lovers of great singing, set within a production that was original and creative in the best sense. What would be called “Regietheater” – director’s theatre – in German-speaking countries seems an unfair label here. The term is often used pejoratively, and it simply does not fit. Respect was always at the forefront.

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The Opera Circus - Bart Grietens

The Opera Circus. Briljante barokjolijt.

The Opera Circus. Handel is bij het Bachvereniging-orkest, dirigent Hernán Schvartzman, natuurlijk in goede handen. We werden getrakteerd op een ruime hoeveelheid fragmenten uit sinfonia’s en sonates, en zelfs Semele kwam nog even voorbij. De moderne, veelvormige percussie-instrumenten schudden de boel op spectaculaire wijze op. Conclusie: Een visueel bijgewerkte Handel-potpourri, een ontspannen en plezierige avond.

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Among the endless drivel of directors, a sublime exposition of what opera is really about.

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OPERA GAZET

Opera Gazet distinguishes itself as an online opera magazine by maintaining a critical and independent stance in its reviews and articles. Founded in 1999 by Guillaume Maijeur, it is one of the oldest opera review websites in Europe. The magazine focuses on covering significant new opera stagings throughout Europe, America and Australia, and is known for its editorial policy that often critiques modern productions that deviate significantly from the original libretto and composer’s intent. A key feature of Opera Gazet is its commitment to artistic integrity and its resistance to the excesses of "Regietheater", where directors make radical changes that make the operas in question recognizable only by the music. This position has put it at odds with the Dutch National Opera, which is the only opera house in the world that does not provide press facilities for Opera Gazet reviewers. Moreover, Opera Gazet prides itself on a diverse team of reviewers from various countries, bringing a wide range of perspectives to its content. This diversity allows the magazine to cover a broad spectrum of opera productions across different cultural contexts. For opera enthusiasts seeking detailed, independent, and often provocative insights into opera productions, Opera Gazet remains a valuable resource.

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