OPERA IN LONDON Dvořák's Rusalka at Covent Garden Rusalka has its first ever staging by The Royal Opera. The tragic story of the water nymph
who longs to walk on the ground as a human draws on the richness of
Czech mythology – a prince, a princess, a water goblin and a witch are
the other main characters, mixing the supernatural and the mortal. Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito’s
contemporary interpretation sets the opera in a seedy backstreet world
of today to throw into sharp relief the dark wit and darker emotions of
the opera’s story of love, desire and despair. Petra Lang returns to The Royal Opera, and Camilla Nylund and Alan Held
appear in the roles they took when the production was first seen, at
the Salzburg Festival in 2008. Sung in Czech with English surtitles. Click here for a link.
OPERA IN PRAGUE The National Theatre, Prague website
Handel's opera Rinaldo is being revived in the
Theatre of the Estates, Stavovské divadlo,
in Prague, which is famous for having seen the world premières of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and La Clemenza di Tito. This is a co-production by the National
Theatre Prague with other opera houses. The result is a revelation,
using not only original-style instruments but also gestures and technology. It
is quite a moment when the curtain rises and the glow of a hundred candles
lights the stage. Václav Luks conducts the orchestra Collegium 1704, with stage
direction by Louise Moaty and choreography by Françoise Denieau.
Rinaldo (1711) was Handel’s first opera for the
London stage and is full of magic, intrigue and martial music. The production
uses period dancing and costumes to fit with the eighteenth-century atmosphere.
In a remarkable coup de théatre
the sorceress Armida arrives from top right in a gilded chariot.
26th February 2012/ 13th March 2012/ 1st
April 2012/ 5th May 201
Parsifal A remarkable production with a Czech and international cast in the National Theatre. 4th April 2012 at 18.00 and 18th May at 18.00.
GLYNDEBOURNE OPERA Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen 20th May - 28th June 2012 Lucy Crowe will make her role debut as the Vixen, with Emma Bell in
the role of the Fox. Leading the forces of the London Philharmonic
Orchestra will be Music Director Vladimir Jurowski and, returning to
Glyndebourne for the first time since her haunting production of
Dvořák’s Rusalka, will be director Melly Still.
A new production for the 2012 Festival
Sung in Czech with English supertitles. Click for a link.
OPERA IN PRAGUE
DISCOVER THE RICHES