A H L B U R G
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CONTENTS
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FRONT OF HOUSE | Contents
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A U G U S T I J N S
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A N N E M
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H O W A R D
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‘My skill is to try to find the message of a score and deliver as fully as I can’ Gianandrea Noseda
FRONT OF HOUSE 5 EDITORIAL The birthplace of opera
6 FEEDBACK Your thoughts and suggestions
9 NEWS & NOTES ENO names new artistic director | PRS speech urges opera to ‘get out of its ghetto’ | Netrebko withdraws from Covent Garden | Dubai Opera announces inaugural season| International Opera Awards 2016| and more…
IN THE WINGS 14 ARTIST OF THE MONTH British soprano Louise Alder prepares to sing Mozart’s Ilia at Garsington Opera
MAIN STAGE 16 FAR FROM THE OBVIOUS Gianandrea Noseda is a conductor whose cool, elegant northern Italian exterior hides a restless thirst for knowledge. We meet the maestro in Turin, where he has transformed the fortunes of the Teatro Regio
24 A WEEKEND IN… Florence – A dynamic www.operanow.co.uk cultural city steeped in heritage, with an operatic history stretching back to the origins of the art form
27 LANDS OF FRUIT AND HONEY We explore the operatic highlights of the Mediterranean, where music and drama have been woven into the fabric of culture for centuries
32 ISLAND LIFE Malta’s Aurora Theatre celebrates 40 years of opera on the island of Gozo
35 A PERFECT TEN Opera Now’s contributors choose their favourite tenors from a new generation of rising stars
42 LIFE WITH MY VOICE Opera audiences are moved by truth and vulnerability, says the Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho
47 TRAVELS WITH MY OPERA GLASSES Anthony Ogus takes in three operas by 20th-century composers who struggled under Nazi oppression
51 CRITICAL THINKING Does opera criticism matter?
54 SQUILLO Michael White drops into a rehearsal, then wished he hadn’t…
THE CRITICAL VIEW 57-81 LIVE REVIEWS World premieres in Fort Worth, Minnesota, Colorado and Leeds | Flemish Opera reaches fever pitch in Zemlinsky’s King Kandaules | Gothenburg Opera makes a compelling case for Thomas’s Hamlet | Musical excellence redeems a routine staging of Tristan in Paris | More new productions in London, Glasgow, Stuttgart, Bern and Beijing
MULTIMEDIA 83 NEW RELEASES Opera on CD, DVD and Blu-ray
BACK STAGE 98 EPILOGUE Opera Now’s cryptic crossword and monthly prize draw for opera lovers
86-97 SPOTLIGHT Opera Now’s INTERNATIONAL GUIDE to the best live performances this summer
PLUS Opera on screen
COMPETITION 98 Win a two-night stay in the heart of Florence!
Gianandrea Noseda Photo by Sussie Ahlburg
Opera Now JUNE 2016 3
