DVD Review: Coming Down to Earth

Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Opera take on Die Frau Ohne Schatten.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Lost in the darkness: Mlada Khudoley (left) and Avgust Amonov as the Empress and Emperor
in Richard Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten.
Photo © 2011 Mariinsky Opera.

Die Frau Ohne Schatten is composer Richard Strauss' most ambitious collaboration with librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. A Magic Flute-style quest (in this case for the missing "shadow" of the title) written on a Wagnerian scale, Frau has a complex libretto that requires its director to make frequent transitions between the everyday world and the realm of faerie, ruled by the merciless Keikobad. The titular Frau is  Keikobad's daughter, the Empress. She seeks to cast a shadow and bring fertility to her loveless marriage. With five leading roles and a heavyweight orchestration, it is a formidable challenge for any opera house.

Opera Review: No God, Only Religion

The Mariinsky Opera brings The Enchanted Wanderer to BAM.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The swing of things: Kristin Kapustinskaya (downstage) as Grusha in The Enchanted Wanderer.
Photo by the Mariinsky Opera © 2015 Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The arrival of the musical forces of the Mariinsky Theater in New York is always a memorable occasion. On Wednesday night, the company unveiled its 2007 production of Rodion Shchedrin's 2002 opera The Enchanted Wanderer at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Outside the theater, a knot of protesters held up pro-Ukraine placards, decrying the 2013 Russian invasion of the Crimea and the  close allegiance of music director Valery Gergiev with political strongman Vladmir Putin. Inside, opera-goers were treated to an opera that despite its recent vintage, recalled the grayish stage works of the late Soviet era.