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High Expectations
Barenboim's 'Das Rheingold' at La Scala,
reviewed by GIUSEPPE PENNISI
If the morning sky is an indication of what the weather will be during the rest of the day, Das Rheingold, seen by your reviewer at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Italy on 19 May 2010, anticipates a rather dull Ring. This is regrettable because the new joint production by Milan's major opera house and Berlin's Staatsoper unter den Linden has been much awaited in the music world for nearly two years. The program involves presenting one opera per year -- first in Milan, then in Berlin -- and to show the full cycle in Spring 2013 as part of Wagner's bicentennial celebrations.
The expectations were high because, during the last few years, some very good new productions of The Ring have been seen. Over the last five years, your reviewer has seen and listened to at least four new better-than-average productions of what is generally considered a scary enterprise for a theatre manager: a huge orchestra, thirty soloists, and many transformations of stage sets...
Copyright © 22 May 2010
Giuseppe Pennisi,
Rome, Italy
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