Intermezzo

All change at Dutch National Opera 2014-2015

Holey Gouda, De Nederlandse Opera is no more. From tomorrow it's officially known as Dutch National Opera.

What hasn't changed is the innovative approach, with eight new productions debuting in the just-announced 2014-15 season.

They include what may be the first-ever staged version of Schoenberg's cantata Gurre-Lieder, a Benedict Andrews La bohème shared with ENO and a William Kentridge Lulu which will be travelling to both ENO and the Met.

Here's the full list:

• Gurre-Lieder NEW - Marc Albrecht/Pierre Audi/Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest - fully staged
• L'Orfeo NEW - Pablo Heras-Casado/Sasha Waltz/Freiburger Barockorkester
• L’étoile NEW - Patrick Fournillier/Laurent Pelly/Residentie Orkest
• Lohengrin - Marc Albrecht/Pierre Audi/Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest -  with Günther Groissböck, Nikolai Schukoff,  Juliane Banse,  Evgeny Nikitin and  Michaela Schuster
• La bohème NEW - Renato Palumbo/Benedict Andrews/Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest / Nederlands Kamerorkest - co-production with ENO
• Il viaggio a Reims NEW - Stefano Montanari/Damiano Michieletto/Netherlands Chamber Orchestra
• Tamerlano - Christophe Rousset/Pierre Audi/Les Talens Lyriques - in Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg, a traditional 19th century theatre
• Alcina - Christophe Rousset/Pierre Audi/Les Talens Lyriques - in Amsterdam Stadsschouwburg
• Die Zauberflöte - Marc Albrecht, Gergely Madaras/Simon McBurney/Netherlands Chamber Orchestra - as seen at ENO
• Macbeth NEW - Marc Albrecht/Andrea Breth/Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest
• Benvenuto Cellini NEW - Sir Mark Elder/Terry Gilliam/Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest - the forthcoming ENO production, with  a fine cast including John Osborn, Maurizio Muraro and Laurent Naouri
• Lulu NEW - Fabio Luisi/William Kentridge/Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest - coproduction with ENO, the Met and COC, with Mojca Erdmann in the title role and Jennifer Larmore, Johan Reuter, William Burden, Daniel Brenna and Franz Grundheber

Booking opens on 2 June for the first part of the season. Subscription bookings (worth a look if you're planning to attend several shows) are processed from 3 March - applications in Dutch only.

Don't forget, if you plan well in advance, you can fly from London to Amsterdam and back in a day (perfect for matinees) for less than the price of dinner at Covent Garden.

Amsterdam Opera 2013 - 2014 season out of the box

Are you keeping up with all these new season announcements? De Nederlandse Opera are the latest to reveal their plans for next year.

A major part of the Amsterdam season will be taken up with the final instalments of their Ring operas, followed by a full cycle.

The annual Concertgebouw appearance is in June, when Daniele Gatti conducts Robert Carsen's Falstaff, as seen first at Covent Garden. A new Christof Loy Arabella, conducted by Marc Albrecht, a La Fura dels Baus Faust and Andrea Breth's The Gambler all sound promising. Gluck's Armide, though, with a superb cast headed by Karina Gauvin, comes with a Barrie Kosky warning. 

Lucia di Lammermoor will be staged in the unusual surroundings of a former industrial building, the Transformatorhuis. 

Full details on the DNO website - unfortunately not all on one page.

Loose lips from Amsterdam

According to reader 'Anonymous', the DNO Amsterdam may reveal on 16 February a 2012 - 2013 season bearing a more than faint resemblance to the speculation reproduced below. Possibly.

Those of an analytical bent will spot the beginnings of a Ring cycle, which together with a rarely-performed Schreker, a Meistersinger and a new George Benjamin make for a pretty spectacular season.

September: Schreker - Der Schatzgräber
Oct: Benjamin - Written on Skin
Nov: Wagner - Das Rheingold (con. Albrecht, dir. Audi)
Dec: Mozart - Die Zauberflöte
Jan: Glass - Einstein on the Beach
Feb: Rossini - Guillaume Tell
May: Wagner - Die Walkuere (con. Albrecht, dir. Audi)
Jun: Wagner - Die Meistersinger

'Anonymous' adds that there are rumours of a triple Verdi turning up some time: - Un Ballo in Maschera, La Traviata (the Decker one) and something else.

Going Dutch

Reader Bohdan has kindly pointed out that if you fancy seeing any of De Nederlandse Opera's offerings this season, it's possible to fly to Amsterdam and sit in the stalls for less than a top price ticket at Covent Garden. With change left over for an ice cream.

Plentiful flights ( last return at 9.30pm-ish) make a day trip and matinee show a feasible proposition. Easyjet costs from around £50 if you book well in advance, and BA about £80.  The heavily-subsidised tickets run from 62€ to 132€.

Rimsky's Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, a well-cast Willy Decker Don Carlo and Ivan Fischer conducting the Concertgebouw in Parsifal would all make worthwhile expeditions.

Pianola Museum, Amsterdam

 

Tucked away just outside the centre of Amsterdam is the fabulous Pianola Museum. It's a tiny space, just one room. Inside are stuffed six working player-pianos together with related paraphernalia that include thousands of piano rolls. Luckily for me, my recent visit to the city coincided with the brief opening hours, 2-5pm on Sunday afternoons only.

It's not the sort of museum you wander around. Instead you sit on one of the few chairs while the curator demonstrates each instrument in turn, returning seamlessly to the beginning once he's finished. Over the space of an hour I heard Chopin, Stravinsky, Grieg playing Grieg (there was a vogue at one point for rolls created by famous pianists and composers) and best of all, a piece specially composed for player piano by Conlon Nancarrow. Many of his works are impossible to play manually because of the number and span of simultaneous notes. And of course the recordings sound quite different. So it was a real treat to hear one as it was supposed to be heard.

The museum is a genuinely undiscovered gem - there were only about ten other visitors all the time I was there - and as far as I know it's the only one of its kind. Well worth the diversion if you're in the area.
 
 
 
 

Stefan Herheim's Amsterdam Eugene Onegin - full video

If the video above doesn't work for you, try the source here. The opera itself is preceded by a short background documentary.

(Note - verbinden met videoserver mislukt means 'failed to connect to videoserver'. If you get this message leave it a couple of minutes and it may connect. If not, try the Flash option.)

(With huge thanks to reader Laura for the tip).