Royal Opera House spring season 2014

The Royal Opera House's spring season opens for Friends booking tomorrow (11 December), with public booking starting on 14 January 2014.

First stop for many ticket buyers will be Jonas Kaufmann's Winterreise on 6 April.  Not the most obvious choice of repertoire, either for Kaufmann or for the venue, but any Jonas is better than none. Tickets are likely to go quickly.

Top of the operatic must-sees is Claus Guth's secondhand production of Die Frau ohne Schatten (14 March–2 April 2014), conducted by Semyon Bychkov. Its 2012 La Scala debut was well received. The singers, mostly inherited from that first run, are a mixed bunch. At least the recent streaming of the Munich production suggests Johan Botha may have finally learned to act. 

Simon Rattle makes a rare and welcome return to Covent Garden with Dialogues des Carmélites (29 May–11 June). Although most people wouldn't immediately connect him with opera, it's long been the most consistent element of his repertoire. Robert Carsen's classic 1997 production has been seen just about everywhere except the ROH and should ruffle few feathers. An excellent cast includes Sally Matthews, Anna Prohaska, Emma Bell and Sophie Koch.

Could this be the last outing for Laurent Pelly's once fresh and funny La Fille du régiment (3–18 March, already on sale)? Juan Diego Flórez is of course worth the price of admission on his own, and there's the bonus of rare appearances from Ewa Podles and Dame Kiri (as the Duchess). However Patrizia Ciofi proved a pallid successor to Natalie Dessay in the last run, and the jokes have now been told several times too often.

David McVicar's uneven Faust, last exposed in 2011, makes a surprisingly swift return to Covent Garden (4 – 25 April). The only reason to see it is the starriest of casts - Anna Netrebko, Joseph Calleja, Simon Keenlyside, and Bryn Terfel as a cross-dressing Méphistophélès.

The ROH have commissioned a couple of new operas to complement the show. Supersize your Faust experience in the Linbury Studio in April with Through His Teeth by the talented Luke Bedford and The Crackle by Matthew Herbert, an electronic composer.

Richard Eyre's eternally watchable La traviata returns for its now-annual double run from 19 April – 20 May. The first cast features Diana Damrau, Francesco Demuro (who you may remember from Gianni Schicchi) and Dmitri Hvorostovky. Following them are the husband-and-wife team of Ailyn Pérez and Stephen Costello together with Simon Keenlyside. Hard to pick the winner. Dan Ettinger conducts.

Jonathan Kent's Tosca is another double-cast warhorse from the stable of indifferent but seemingly ineradicable productions (10 May–26 June). Oleg Caetani conducts Oksana Dyka, Roberto Alagna and Thomas Hampson. The baton is then handed to Plácido Domingo, who conducts Sondra Radvanovky and the less familiar names of Riccardo Massi and Sebastian Catana.

Finally, don't be misled by BabyO and SensoryO , in the Linbury Studio from 3–7 March.  Although they sound like the latest treats from the Ann Summers catalogue, they are in fact "Scottish Opera’s hugely popular musical adventures for babies and toddlers".

Comments

[Jon]

It's a shame Radvanovsky isn't singing with Alagna and Hampson in the Tosca. Oksana Dyka appeared in the operatic concert as part of last year's Brynfest at the Festival Hall and, having heard her once, I can't say I would be in a hurry to renew the acquaintance.

[Seagirl]

LOL: "Any Jonas is better than none".... I'm loving you Intermezzo, and I'll loving you bad. Talking about first booking choices and tickets going quickly though, I wanted to book for the 25th February 2014 "Frau... Schatten" insight evening... and that appeared to be fully booked at 10.09am (9 minutes after friends' booking opened)! So, I expect all chance for seeing Jonas had gone by 10.01am, then?!?
************
Intermezzo replies - I'm not sure, but one big reason why the Insights sell out so quickly is the very limited number of seats. Don't forget they hold some seats back for public booking, so you can always try again. Has worked for me in the past.

[Miriam]

The fact that Insights were so often sold out at just a few minutes past 10 on the booking day for ordinary Friends was one reason I upgraded my membership. I can confirm what IM says that it is still possible to get tickets on the public day, and also in the past I have managed to find returns nearer the day.

[Richard Carter]

Here's the ROH electronic christmas card: http://www.roh.org.uk/ecard

Not very exciting, but sat least it doesn't show any of Kaspar Holten's dreadful "work"!

[Frances]

For any organisation there must be a balance between acquiring more friends and being able to offer them benefits such as priority booking. The Donmar has closed all its lower level memberships to new joiners and it had become clear that the number of seats available for priority booking was inadequate at those levels.
Usually ROH has enough seats for all friends to buy something.... but not always at the price or location we really want!

[Seagirl]

Thank you both. I'll definitely try to book on the 14th January, as this is one insight I'd hate to miss!

[Miriam]

Good luck!

[SJT]

Given the very attractive casts, I recently got stuck into Traviata booking more than I intended, without actually checking to see who was conducting (an unconsidered trifle, evidently). It was only after getting the tickets I decided to look, rather gloomily and with foreboding that it might be Oren or some other such hempen hack, only to find it is Dan Ettinger, who positively set light to Rigoletto a couple of seasons back and whose performance reminded me strongly of Riccardo Muti. Good, good, good.

And have you seen just how strongly Carmélites has sold? Who would have thought?

As for Kaufmann, you owe us a Troyens or equivalent, buster, and Winterreise is not it by any means....

[Patricia]

What about the Manon Lescaut new production with Jonas Kaufmann in June? He also gave some wonderful performances of Don Carlos last season.

[SJT]

They're just both as prior scheduled. The only extra undertaking is this Winterreise, which I personally think has no place in Bow Street anyway, and is a poor replacement for five acts of Berlioz he never learned.

[Patricia]

I agree that ROH is not an ideal lieder venue but with the number of admirers of Mr Kaufmann's lieder talents the Wigmore Hall is not big enough. He will be doing a ten city tour of Die Winterreise in April and it would be a pity if London did not figure among the places to be visited

How do you know he did not learn The Troyens.? It is a pity that he did not do it but in the event Bryan Himmel did a good job so I do not understand your somewhat jaundiced remarks re Jonas Kaufmann.