Not long now till the Royal Opera House summer season opens for booking - 25 March for Friends and 28 April for the rest.
The highlight for me is Berg's Lulu, in a new production by Christof Loy, a director for whom drama is never confined to the stage. He famously (allegedly) sacked Tubby Voigt from his Ariadne in 2004, then walked out of his own production - La finta giardiniera - a couple of years later, citing Spinal Tap style "musical differences" with the conductor.
For his Lulu, newbie Agneta Eichenholz takes the title role, but more importantly, Klaus Florian Vogt makes his Covent Garden debut as Alwa. (Which means he'll be hanging around Covent Garden while Lohengrin's on, should either of the scheduled leads catch Netrebkoitis - we can but hope). A welcome return for Michael Volle (Dr Schön / Jack the Ripper) too. Pappano conducts.
Richard Eyre's beautifully coherent and underrated La traviata returns, this time with the cougarific pairing of Renee Fleming and Joseph Calleja in the leads. Will la Renee's unconcealable chemistry with Thomas Hampson (Germont) lend an 'interesting' dimension? Tony Pappano conducts this one too.
The hugely jolly if puddle-deep Leiser and Caurier Il barbiere di Siviglia gets an all-star cast this time round - Simon Keenlyside, Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Flórez, with the fabulous Alessandro Corbelli and the great Ferruccio Furlanetto the cream on top. More Pappano.
Bryn Terfel is the main attraction in Jonathan Kent's tourist-friendly Tosca. Marcello Giordani attempts to fill the shoes last worn by Jonas Kaufmann and Deborah Voigt displays her slimmed-down talents. Jacques Lacombe conducts.
I can't get too excited about Un ballo in maschera with Ramón Vargas and Angela Marambio, though I look forward to Anna Christy's ROH debut as Oscar.
The Mariinsky's summer Ring Cycle is also booking - no casting yet announced. I don't know whether that's good or bad news. But given that the company harbours everything from wet-behind-the-ears teens to world-class soloists, we can only hope for the best. Check out the ticket prices carefully before you book - there are very few cheap seats, even in the amphitheatre.
Gambling types may grab a ticket for Rolando Villazón's recital with Tony Pappano on 24 June. 'Mixed form' doesn't begin to describe Rolando's recent performances, but at least with the opportunity to pick and fine-tune his programme, we may see him at his best.
Finally, the Jette Parker Young Artists Summer Concert on 19 July is an opportunity to hear more from the company's walk-on specialists.
It's easy to be blase when your summer brings the two greatest tenor voices alive (Calleja and Vogt), but Vargas in Ballo is pretty special. But who's Dalibor Jenis and why does the description still mention Carlos Alvarez?
The Ring production is a very silly one, though I think too silly to be offensive.
Posted by: JSU | 20 March 2009 at 07:55 AM
Dalibor Jenis was one of the few to emerge from the rubble of La Scala's Don Carlo prima with his reputation intact. But he's no Alvarez. The ROH like to sneak in these last minute cast changes under the radar (they've switched the Tosca conductor too)on the basis that they haven't sold you the tickets yet. But it's hard to complain when there's so much else to celebrate.
Apparently, Val has reined in his ambitions and brought in a Proper Director to revamp his Ring - so what we see in London may be an improvement. But as ever with the Mariinsky, so much depends on the casting, and we don't know whether he's bringing his top team over yet.
Posted by: inter mezzo | 20 March 2009 at 11:50 AM
Carlos Alvarez is ill since November when he cancelled his "Luisa Miller" performances in Valencia Les Arts. A month ago , he cancelled his performances in Paris and said he will not be singing for the rest of the season, so it was clear he will not be singing in ROH either. It was not a suprise for me or other Spanish fans :)
And I do like that Ballo even without him.
Posted by: Kenderina | 20 March 2009 at 02:50 PM
Do yourselves a favour - save your money and don't bother with the Mariinsky Ring. I went to see it in New York and hated every minute. Awful sets, patchy, uneven conducting (the slowest Rheingold ever and the fastest Walkure), generally weak singing and the overall impression that the company and orchestra were exhausted from the demands that Gergiev's fast-pace touring forces on them. There was none of the magic that this opera usually creates, it just didn't feel like Wagner! It's the only Ring I've ever seen that I really loathed.
Posted by: Rossweisse | 29 March 2009 at 02:28 PM
the trovatore rehearsals are really exciting and look so powerful
Posted by: Anne tilby | 08 April 2009 at 02:32 AM
who is the young man on the first picture?
Posted by: asperia | 31 August 2010 at 10:10 PM
A bit of an old Klaus picture... Personally I don't care much about Alwa, but I'll be flying to Berlin to see his Tosca debut
Posted by: Lili | 01 September 2011 at 06:00 PM