What to see and what not to see in the 16/17 season ?

One can see a lot of different things at the Opernhaus next season, with close to 40 different ballets and operas on the program, and quite a few concerts too. Roughly a third of these are new productions, a quite impressive figure, but most of the season is made of revivals. Which means we had the occasion to see a few of these already, and forge an opinion. So here are a few subjective tips about the revivals in the upcoming season.

Must see

Giacomo Puccini – La Bohème

Direction: Giampaolo Bisanti

Production: Ole Anders Tandberg

Trailer

Why? A brillant, masterful production by Ole Anders Tandberg. It works on all levels. A production as good as that does not come often, don't miss it! Hopefully the new cast will be as good as the original cast last year. I'll probably get tickets to see it again regardless.

Mimi (Guagun Yu) & Rodolfo (Michael Fabiano)

Picture : Judith Schlosser 

Why not?

Verdi - Macbeth

Direction: Gianandrea Noseda

Production: Barrie Kosky

Trailer

Why? Barrie Kosky offers an interesting take on Macbeth with a production that is however a bit limited scenically.

Lady Macbeth (Tatiana Serjan) & Macbeth (Markus Brück)
Picture: Monika Rittershaus - Opernhaus Zürich

Erm...

Bellini - I Puritani

Direction: Enrique Mazzola

Production: Andreas Homoki

Trailer

Why? An unimaginative production. It's not bad but of limited value and not really worth the price of the ticket. Also boring.

Arturo (Lawrence Brownlee), Elvira (Pretty Yende) & Ricardo (George Petean)
Picture: Judith Schlosser - Opernhaus Zürich

Avoid

Tchaïkovski - Swan Lake (Schwanensee)

Choregraphy: Petipa / Ivanov / Ratmansky

Direction: Rossen Milanov / Pavel Baleff

Trailer

Why? Alexei Ratmansky's reconstruction of the original choregraphy, now 120 years old, is an interesting work of historical research. Sadly, it only highlights how much ballet has advanced since, and how boring it was in the old days, even with great performers. Lazy performance from the orchestra. Don't believe the hype.

Odette (Viktorina Kapitonova) & Siegfried (Alexander Jones)
Picture: Carlos Quezada

See you in September!

Swann