February 2019 Volume 70 No. 2 Editor John Allison Deputy Editors Erica Jeal Henrietta Bredin Commercial Director Megan Jackson Editorial Board Martin Bernheimer Hugh Canning Rupert Christiansen Andrew Clark Andrew Clements Richard Fairman George Hall Fiona Maddocks Roger Parker Editorial Offices 36 Black Lion Lane London W6 9BE Telephone: 020 8563 8893 editor@opera.co.uk www.opera.co.uk operamagazine @operamagazine @opera_magazine Subscriptions and customer services Esco, Trinity House, Sculpins Lane, Wethersfield, Braintree CM7 4AY Telephone: 01371 851804 Fax: 01371 851808 opera@escosubs.co.uk Digital edition Exact Editions support@exacteditions.com www.exacteditions.com/opera Advertising Jane Stoggles, Cabbells Ltd T elephone: 020 3603 7940 jane@cabbell.co.uk Front cover Graham V ick’s Rome Nozze di Figaro, with Emanuele Cordaro, Patrizia Biccirè, Elena Sancho Pereg and Andrea Giovannini (see pp. 173-4) (photo: Yasuko Kageyama)

Opera, February 2019

131 The art of noise

Founded in 1950 by the Earl of Harewood

Past Editors Harold Rosenthal

and Rodney Milnes

By the Editor 132 People 470: René Barbera Stephen Hastings 138 Readers’ letters 140 Let’s publish an opera

Three leading British publis hers talk to Fiona Maddocks about the complex and costly business of bringing new opera to the stage 147 Newsdesk 150 Versailles spectacular Laurent Brunner talks to Brian Robins 155 Obituaries 159 Opera around the world 203 Opera in Britain 219 Opera on CD 232 Opera on DVD and Blu-ray 236 Opera books 241 Coming events

including plans for the UK houses, English Touring Opera, the 2019 festivals in Ber gamo, Charleston, Orange and W exford; ‘We hear that …’; Opera calendar home and abroad 255 Classified advertisements 256 For the record …

Wallis Giunta

129