G R A M M O P H O N
CONTENTS
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/ D E U T S C H E
G A B O
M A C L E A N
J O H N
33
A U G U S T I J N S
I E
A N N E M
46
FRONT OF HOUSE | Contents
H O WA R D
K E N
70
‘You don’t have to be rich and completely free to feel free.’ Elīna Garanča
FRONT OF HOUSE 5 EDITORIAL Little Britain?
6 FEEDBACK Your thoughts and suggestions
9 NEWS & NOTES Kaufmann cancellations | Ravi Shankar world premiere | Grange Park Opera’s new theatre | Johan Botha dies aged 51 | Letter from Israel | and more...
IN THE WINGS 14 ARTIST OF THE MONTH Conductor and director Timothy Nelson
MAIN STAGE 16 ALL WOMAN We meet the Latvian mezzo Elıˉna Garancˇa in a contemplative mood as she prepares to shrug off the trouser roles of her youth in favour of opera’s full-blooded heroines
25 A TALE OF TWO HOUSES Robert Thicknesse weighs up the fortunes of London’s two
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great opera houses as they greet their new artistic leaders
29 EXCHANGE RATES Why the most talented British opera professionals need to stay in the international market
33 ROAD TRIP On tour with Scottish Opera as they take their work to small communities around the Highlands
37 WELCOME TO WALES Discover the latest opera news from Wales, where a love of song and pride in local culture are helping the art form to flourish
42 MAKE IT SNAPPY Director Frederic WakeWalker introduces his latest opera project for schools
44 LIFE WITH MY VOICE British baritone Roderick Williams sings Britten’s Billy Budd at Opera North
46 TRAVELS WITH MY OPERA GLASSES Anthony Ogus returns to some favourite European haunts in a bid to rid himself of his Brexit blues…
48 SQUILLO What does it take to make an effective operatic reduction?
THE CRITICAL VIEW 51-75 LIVE REVIEWS Tristan und Isolde gets a powerful new staging at the Met | Shakespeare anniversary inspires Vienna world premiere | A triple helping of the Bard in Cardiff | Paris Opera’s dubious season openers | Montenegro Festival brings summer opera to the Balkans | More new productions in London, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Glasgow
77 NEW RELEASES Opera on CD, DVD and Blu-ray
79 BOOKS New publications put Wagner and Richard Strauss under scrutiny
81-88 SPOTLIGHT Opera Now’s INTERNATIONAL GUIDE to the best live performances this winter
PLUS Opera on screen
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SEE PAGE 76
BACK STAGE 90 EPILOGUE Opera Now’s monthly cryptic crossword for opera lovers
Elīna Garanča. Photo by Paul Schirnhofer / Deutsche Grammophon
NOVEMBER 2016 Opera Now 3
