Operas

The Cellist—Jacqueline, au secours !

For her début as the new Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer of the Ballet Zürich, Cathy Marston is showing the Cellist, which she composed for the Royal Ballet in London. The ballet tells the life story of Jacqueline du Pré, cellist extraordinaire (wife of famous conductor Daniel Barenboim), struck at her prime by multiple sclerosis. The ballet is structured around the Cellist (Giulia Tonelli), the Cello (Wei Chen), and the Conductor (Esteban Berlanga), and is supported by figures of the cellist’s family, her cello teacher, and the male trio of the “musical friends”.

Jun 16, 2023
Die Zauberflöte

Die Zauberflöte is, in my uneducated opinion, one of the most difficult operas to bring to the stage. On top of the technical challenges it poses (which are wholly manageable for any decent opera house), die Zauberflöte is among the most frequently performed of all operas, meaning one has to wow the neophyte opera-goer—who wouldn’t risk the hefty ticket price on anything not Mozart-Wagner-Verdi—and the seasoned, binoculars-clasping, loge-supervising audience, who might get bored if something on stage comes to close to any famous production from the last 230+ years. And let’s not forget the many famed arias that will inevitably draw the intense scrutiny of every spectator. Combined with the the general oniric vibe and the free-masonic imagery of the play, this can lead to some interesting choices in costume and stage directions.

Apr 29, 2023
Werther

I need to preface this by saying that I’m not a fan of french opéra (specifically opéra lyrique, and I’m especially skeptical of Massenet).

The stage is quaintly arranged, albeit a bit boring, as a pink-ish cupboard-laden kitchen, with doors opening to reveal various backgrounds as the play progresses.

Apr 8, 2017