One of the composer's most beguiling scores, La Favorite is Gaetano Donizetti's La favorita in it's original French form; a tale of love and war that represents a glorious mix of Italian bel canto and 19th c. grand opera. Vincent Boussard's arresting Toulouse production does full justice to this...
"Die tote Stadt" is a psychologically layered drama with Hitchcock-like features, about Paul who, after the loss of his beloved Marie, slowly but surely becomes entangled in a dream world of obsessions and delusions. This impressive opera is a passionate as well as a surrealistic plea for mourning....
For reasons that are by no means clear, in this production the work is set in an hotel at which the guests are invited to a soirée based on the legend of Count Ory. They dress up as the characters in a rudimentary way. The director clearly gets much fun from the disguise of the men as nuns in Act...
The work was given its first performance in Rome in 1812. It is still unclear whether Rossini was 14 or 18 when he wrote it; what is beyond doubt, however, is the anticipation of great things to come. The libretto is a far-fetched tale of feuding kings, mistaken identities, disguises and cruel...
