Barber of Seville at English National Opera

Barber of Seville at English National Opera

David Buchler

Nearly 30 years has passed since Jonathan Miller’s production of the Barber of Seville adorned the Coliseum stage of the English National Opera.  The moving sets are clever, well lit, light and as relevant today as they were 3 decades ago.  The biggest complement to the restaging by Peter Relton was the joy in which it was received by Jonathan Miller himself, who said ‘its brilliance is nothing to do with me!’  Relton has found comedy and humour where previously there was none, in this 18th century Seville setting. 

Das Wunder der Heliane at Vlaanderen Opera House Antwerp

Das Wunder der Heliane at Vlaanderen Opera House Antwerp

David Buchler

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was born in 1897 in Austria/Hungary and died at the age of 60 in California.  He was a child prodigy, having a great European career until the rise of the Nazi regime forced him to flee to America in 1934.  Thereafter, he worked on some 16 Hollywood films, writing the scores and receiving two Oscars for his work.  His main classical work was written in Europe and this particularly applies to the opera, Das Wunder der Heliane (The Miracle of Heliane), which is written in three acts and was first performed at the Hamburg State Opera in October 1927. 

Aida at the English National Opera

Aida at the English National Opera

David Buchler
English National Opera

Aida was premiered in Cairo’s Opera House at the end of 1871, having been commissioned by the Isma’il Pasha.  Its premier was meant to coincide with the opening of the opera house, but as a result of the Franco-Prussian war the scenery and costumes were stuck in Paris and Verdi’s Rigoletto was performed instead, with Aida premiering later in the year.  The premiere was met with great critical acclaim and the European premiere was held in February 1872 at La Scala Milan.  Over the next 20 years the opera became part of the staple repertoire of opera houses all over Europe and America, where different productions tried to deal with the passionate nature of relationships between three high born individuals, ultimately ending in inevitable betrayal. 

La Boheme at Royal Opera House

La Boheme at Royal Opera House

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

What is a banker in operatic terms?  This is not a financial question!  Stand up Richard Jones for producing a La Boheme banker for the Royal Opera House, which will undoubtedly be performed for many years to come, but I imagine not as much as the wonderful old production by John Copley. 

Passages by Ravi Shankar & Philip Glass

Passages by Ravi Shankar & Philip Glass

David Buchler
BBC Proms, Royal Albert Hall

This was the first complete live performance of the work, Passages, composed in 1990 by Shankar/Glass.  It was a particularly emotional performance as the lead sitar player was Shankar’s daughter, Anoushka.  Shankar led a fairly complicated personal life, but Anoushka, who was born in 1981, was his last child and became an excellent sitar player of star quality in her own right. 

Voice of Glory at the Top of the World at the Wuhan Music Academy

Voice of Glory at the Top of the World at the Wuhan Music Academy

David Buchler

750 people attended this concert at the beautiful music hall of the Wuhan Music Academy and it looked as if there were as many children as young adults.  Rather than a vocal presentation, the event was part of the Hubei Province piano and art festival, put together by Professor Wang Jian, who is the Chairman of the Hubei Association and the Wuhan Music Conservatory. 

Turandot at The Royal Opera House

Turandot at The Royal Opera House

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

The original story of Turandot is centred on the epic works of the 12th century Persian poet, Nizani, based on Turad-Dokht (daughter of Turan).  This was Puccini’s last opera and in fact he never completed the third Act at the time of his death in 1924.  The ending of this opera was completed by Alfano, based on sketches left behind by Puccini.  The original premier of Turandot was held in Milan in 1926 and conducted by Toscanini.  Luciano Berio was also sanctioned to make a new completion for the opera, but this is rarely performed.

Il Turco in Italia at Garsington Opera

Il Turco in Italia at Garsington Opera

David Buchler

What a lot of fun.  The brilliant Rossini composed this opera at the age of 22 and it was premiered in Milan in 1814.  The opera has had a chequered history.  It was compared unfavourably to his previous success, L’italiana in Algeri and a version of the opera was rewritten in Paris by the Director, Ferdinando Paer, which stripped out a lot of Rossini’s original music, but included pieces from other operas, including L’italiana in Algeri.  Unbelievably, this astonishing version was used a lot during the 20th century, until Franco Zeffirelli’s production with Maria Callas in the title role used the original version, but unaccountably excluding Fiorilla’s great concluding aria of despair.

Otello at the Royal Opera House

Otello at the Royal Opera House

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

The Royal Opera House pulled out all the stops in giving us a new production of this incredibly forceful Verdi opera, Otello.  Keith Warner was asked to direct this new production and the cast of Jonas Kaufmann as Otello, Maria Agresta as Desdemona and Marco Vratogna as Iago was almost as good as it gets today.  

Sadko at Vlaanderen Opera in Ghent

Sadko at Vlaanderen Opera in Ghent

David Buchler

Sadko is an extraordinary opera, written by Rimsky Korsakov in 1891 and premiered in Moscow in 1898.  It is an opera rarely performed today, probably due to its production complexities and the difficulty of finding a tenor to sing the enormously complicated and high lying role of Sadko. 

La Traviata at the Royal Opera House

La Traviata at the Royal Opera House

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

La Traviata (the fallen woman) is one of Verdi’s most popular operas. It is based on a novel by Alexandre Dumas and its world premiere was at La Fenice in Venice in 1853. As with everything to do with opera there was a dispute with the local authority who insisted that a contemporary setting was inappropriate and the production had to be circa 1700. It was not until 1880 that a more contemporary production was staged.

L'elisir d'amore at the Royal Opera House

L'elisir d'amore at the Royal Opera House

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

L'elisir d'amore is a two-act comic opera by the Italian composer Donizetti and was premiered in 1832 in Milan. The opera was written in six weeks! It is a love story reflecting on how a young farm worker Nemorino gets his girl, the farm owner Adina, despite the interest of a rival the boastful Sergeant Belcore and using a love potion put together by the dubious Doctor Dulcamara.

Tosca at the Grange Park Opera

Tosca at the Grange Park Opera

David Buchler

Tosca was chosen by Grange Park Opera to open its new theatre at the home of the mercurial Bamber Gascoigne at West Horsley Place in Surrey.  The modern horseshoe design on four tiers with a semi-domed roof enables you to enjoy a clear vibrant acoustic sound.  

La Rondine at Opera Holland Park

La Rondine at Opera Holland Park

David Buchler

La Rondine has a rather varied history and is often regarded as Puccini’s ‘poor cousin’ opera.  He was, even until his death, unhappy with each of the three versions that he wrote (1917, 1920, 1921) and never gave a clear indication as to his preferred ending he preferred.  

Meistersinger at the Royal Opera House - The Last Night!

Meistersinger at the Royal Opera House - The Last Night!

David Buchler
Royal Opera House

It was the last night and last chance to see whether there had been an improvement in this mess of a production.  Needless to say, there hasn’t!  In fact, with Beckmesser opening a bottle of fizzy orange in this first Act – did I miss this or was it added – in this 1920’s/30’s production, it was clear that Kasper Holten was giving not an inch to his critics.  

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