Wine ~ Wein ~ Vino ~ Vin (Free subscription) | 11/27/2009
How is it I’ve been going to the opera since 1972—and eagerly attending Jenufa, Katja Kabanova, Füchslein and Makropolous at every opportunity since ’76—and only day before yesterday stumble into the House of the Dead? and is there another composer who sounds like Leos Janáček? Is he a hard night in a halfway house on the road to ruin from Moussourgsky to Bartok,...
The Opera Tattler (Free subscription) | 11/24/2009
* Notes * Leoš Janáček's final opera, Z Mrtvého Domu (From the House of the Dead) had a third performance at the Met last Saturday evening. The production marked the debuts of both conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen and director Patrice Chéreau...
Out West Arts (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009
Kurt Streit and castPhoto: Ken Howard/Met Opera 2009This trip out of town is really all about Leos Janacek. Or at least his operas, which are probably some of the most important of the 20th century. Of course, they were largely under recognized in Europe for decades outside of his native country until Sir Charles Mackerras, among others, began to advocate for them more seriously as early as the
Daemon's Movies (Free subscription) | 11/23/2009
Check out the French trailer for PERSECUTION starring Romain Duris, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Gilles Cohen, Michel Duchaussoy, and directed by Patrice Chéreau. Persécution Synopsis: The solitary Daniel and Sonia share an uneasy love/hate relationship. Daniel's life is disrupted by the appearance of a stranger that proceeds to insinuate himself in his life. The man's persistence...
Chicago Tribune (Free subscription) | 11/22/2009
Over the last several decades, the landmark operas of Leos Janacek have been emerging from the fringes of the repertory and winning deserved favor with mainstream audiences.
Philadelphia Inquirer (Free subscription) | 11/18/2009
NEW YORK - The marquee value could hardly be less inviting, but serious operagoers shouldn't deprive themselves of Leos Janacek's From the House of the Dead in a powerful new Metropolitan Opera production by Patrice Chéreau.
Culture Monster (Free subscription) | 11/18/2009
From the house of the dead -- as I’ve heard the Metropolitan Opera grumpily described from time to time -- comes a great “From the House of the Dead.” OK, that’s a cheap shot, but a company generally eager to...
Opera Chic (Free subscription) | 11/13/2009
O for a Muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention. And so began Patrice Chéreau's achingly...
New York Times (Free subscription) | 11/13/2009
The renowned director Patrice Chéreau and the dynamic conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen made their Met debuts.
New York Times (Free subscription) | 11/13/2009
Both the renowned director Patrice Chéreau and the dynamic conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen made their overdue Met debuts in Leos Janacek’s unorthodox and moving production of “From the House of the Dead” on Thursday.
An Unamplified Voice (Free subscription) | 11/13/2009
From the House of the Dead -- Metropolitan Opera, 11/12/09 Margita, Streit, Hoare, Mattei, White / Salonen Much-lauded director Patrice Chéreau has never before done a show at the Met, and on the evidence of this Janacek premiere one suspects he's never seen a show there either. Perhaps at the previous stops of this touring production his step of putting supertitles onstage (projected on the...
The Cultural Tourist (Free subscription) | 11/13/2009
You don't even have to wait a second to understand that Patrice Chereau's production of Leos Janacek's "From the House of the Dead" is going to be a startling evening. Chereau dispenses with the ritual of the entrance of the conductor and the receptive applause. The house lights black out. Conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen is already at the podium and we immediately hear musical figures that are...
Entartete Musik (Free subscription) | 11/11/2009
At the climax of Nicholas Maw’s opera Sophie’s Choice, premiered in London in 2002, the title character has to make the horrific choice between whether her son or her daughter should be sentenced to death on arrival at Auschwitz. It is impossible to find a more appalling instance of man’s inhumanity to man, yet Nicholas Maw’s musical characterisation failed to capture the essence...
PlaybillArts.com (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Director Patrice Chéreau and acclaimed conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen make company debuts bringing Leoš Janácek's From the House of the Dead to the Met for the first time. The artists discuss the production, which runs Nov. 12-Dec. 5.
Opera Chic (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
Debut, debut, debut for the Metropolitan Opera's encroaching premiere of Leoš Janáček’s From the House of the Dead, which drops...
Videos