Theatrical Giulio Cesare from Dmitri Tcherniakov

In 2025 the Salzburg Festival assembled a stellar cast and an exceptional orchestra for Dmitri Tcherniakov’s challenging but compelling production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto. It’s a contemporary setting with all the action taking place in the confines of a bunker, which appears to be sporadically under shell fire. Pretty much all of the issues raised by having all the characters in the small space all the time are cleverly resolved to create a very tightly wrought, tense piece of theatre.

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Interstellar Galactomic Nabucco

The 2025 production of Verdi’s Nabucco recorded in the Arena di Verona is nothing if not spectacular; visually and vocally. One might ask though if it’s anything other than spectacular. Stefano Poda, who was responsible for designs and direction, makes some pretty bold claims in his Notes; “a symbolically charged reflection on power, spirituality and human identity”, “contrasting dualities: Babylonians and Hebrews, rationality and spirituality, progress and faith”, “the possibility of inner transformation and human reconciliation”. That’s a lot of freight for Nabucco to carry and I’m not sure it does but the visuals are certainly spectacular.

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Rusalka; gritty and glam

Dvořák’s Rusalka seems to be a favourite for directors to give the “high concept” treatment. That’s certainly the case with Philipp Stölzl and Philipp M. Krenn’s production for Dutch National Opera recorded in Amsterdam in 2023.

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Austere Maria Stuarda

Ulrich Rasche’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, staged in the Großesfestspielhaus at the Salzburg Festival in 2025, is austere and interesting. As most people know, the libretto, based oin a play by Schiller, is not at all historically accurate and invents a relationship between Robert Dudleigh, Earl of Leicester, and Mary Stuart that never existed but turns the opera into a love triangle in which the two queens are vying for Leicester’s attention! Rasche’s production runs with this angle and what little sense of actual political events there is n the opera is pushed into the background.

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Brilliantly sung Lucia from la Scala

The 2023 video recording of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor from Milan’s La Scala is quite interesting. The production is not especially exciting but the singing; especially the partnership of Lisette Oropesa, as Lucia, and Juan Diego Flórez as Edgardo is. The rest of the singing is excellent as is the orchestral playing. It’s also given without the usual cuts.

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La pièce écossaise

There’s a French version of Verdi’s Macbeth dating from 1865 and based on the 1847 Italian version.  It was performed at the Verdi festival in Parma in 2024 and recorded for video.  It’s not enormously different from the original though, unsurprisingly, there’s more ballet (at the beginning of Act 3).  The ending is just as weirdly abrupt at least (*).  In 1847 this was a transitional work with Verdi moving away from bel canto but here’s there’s still lots of rather jolly music accompanying either sinister or bloody scenes.  By 1865 that must have sounded a bit odd.

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Elegant, straightforward Tristan

Marco Arturo Marelli’s production of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde first appeared at the Semperoper in Dresden in 1995.  It was revived in 2024 and recorded for video.  It’s an elegant, straightforward production.  There’s no “concept” but equally there’s not much attempt at “realism” either.  Sets are monumental and abstract.  Costuming is opera house medieval.  On the few occasions props are needed they are what they are; a cup, swords etc.  Atmosphere is mostly down to the lighting and the focus is on the singing and acting.

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Disappointing Dido and Aeneas from Versailles

The latest video recording of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas is from Versailles.  It’s a 2024 recording using the same production, by Cecille Roussat and Julien Lubek, as the 2014 Rouen recording and, like that one, there’s a lot of additional instrumental/dance music consistent with the idea that the piece was conceived as a court entertainment in the French style.  There’s not much point in repeating what I said back then about the production.  Check out the earlier review.

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Pressburger and Powell’s The Tales of Hoffmann

So the other Pressburger and Powell film that I recently acquired is their 1951 version of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann.  There have been claims that this is the first film made of asn opera as opposed to a film of an opera performance but, assuming one accepts that Die Dreigroschenoper is an opera then that prize surely goes to the 1931 Pabst film.

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