Wagner
A Tristan und Isolde death cult, Bayreuth Festival
*** It was supposed to be the highlight of the 2024 season, yet such was the flatness of the production and question marks over the performance of Tristan it was eclipsed by the revival of Tannhäuser which was not even originally scheduled to be staged this year. I am sure I am not alone in…
Götterdämmerung at Longborough: Catharsis in the Cotswolds
**** One important achievement of Amy Lane’s handling of Götterdämmerung is that it allows the singers and musicians to concentrate their talent and skills on Wagner’s Ring Cycle catharsis without too much over direction. In a confined space it seems sensible to concentrate our focus on the unfolding drama which is all contained in the…
Longborough Festival Opera cast for its 2023 production of Götterdämmerung
Götterdämmerung (29 May – 6 June 2023). A new production for the 2023 festival, Götterdämmerung marks the epic conclusion to Longborough’s new Ring cycle, following acclaimed productions of Das Rheingold in 2019 , Die Walküre in 2021 and Siegfried in 2022. All productions in the cycle are created especially for Longborough by Amy Lane, Artistic Director…
Siegfried, Longborough Festival Opera
Longborough’s artistic director Polly Graham was understandably delighted to welcome back audiences, both to the Cotswolds opera festival and the resumption of a staged Ring Cycle, Siegfried. Not so enviable was the task of informing the Wagnerian devotees, hungry to embark on the next stage of the mammoth undertaking that Pauls Putnins would be singing…
Singers and orchestra save this show from being a ring of dire
I sometimes wonder whether Wagner sets some sort of challenge from beyond the grave on the Ring Cycle to test its strength. The challenge being: who can make such a pig’s ear of a production to destroy the magnificence of the music and the impact of the story on audiences. This time it was down…
Longborough announces details of 2022 season
Longborough Festival Opera continues its Wagner voyage with Siegfried opening its 2022 season. Other works are Korngold Die tote Stadt, Bizet’s Carmen and a double bill of Waley-Cohen’s Spell Book and Caccini’s La liberazione di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina. The new Ring cycle began with critically acclaimed performances of Das Rheingold in 2019 and a concert staging of Die Walküre in 2021. “With Siegfried we return to…