Sic Semper Tyrannis

12-13-E-04-MC-D-0071 Last night saw the COC Ensemble Studio’s annual main stage performance.  This year it was Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito in a Christopher Alden production.  It’s a somewhat quirky production that I haven’t fully digested yet and may need to wait until after seeing the main cast on the 22nd to come to a more considered view.  My initial reaction is that it has a lot of interesting ideas, maybe one or two misguided ones and that the whole thing, while interesting, isn’t completely coherent.  That said, Alden productions often seem more coherent second time around.  And whatever I might think of the production, it didn’t distract from some very fine performances.

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All change!

The COC announced a bunch of line up changes for the upcoming winter and spring runs this morning.

  • Johannes Debus replaces Jiří Bělohlávek, who has health issues, as conductor for Tristan und Isolde.
  • Daniel Cohen will conduct La clemenza di Tito instaead of Debus.
  • Michael Baba replaces Burkhard Fritz as the ‘B’ cast Tristan.
  • Hanna Schwarz replaces Julia Juon as Herodias in Salome.

No reasons were given for the withdrawals of Fritz and Juon.