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Music / operafilm

Die Frau ohne Schatten

Richard Strauss

Reviews (11)

BBC music magazine

2012 July

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David Nice

2012 July

"Christoph Loy at last year's Salzburg Festival ... Loy's 'personal plot story' is simply vague ... Compellingly acted and luminously sung by the marvellous Anne Schwanewilms [Empress] ... Holding it all together ... with assurance by Christian Thielemann ... Even forwarned, you might enjoy the whole experience more than you think".

Klassisk

2012, nr. 26

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Steen Chr. Steensen

2012, nr. 26

"Den tyske instruktør Christof Loy er kendt for at gå sine egne veje ... og det slår heller ikke fejl denne gang ... Der er momenter af genialitet undervejs, hvilket er typisk for Christoph Loy, men sammenhængen er simpelthen for fortænkt. Dertil kommer at sangerpræstationerne er for svingende ... her er niveauet ikke Salzburg Festspillene værdigt. Til gengæld arbejdes der ihærdigt i orkestergraven under Christian Thielemanns ledelse".

Diapason

2012 juillet-août

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Laurent Marcinik

2012 juillet-août

BBC music magazine

2007 July

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David Nice

2007 July

"Darkness reigns on stage, and the film crew aimed for panavision effects which may be lost on smaller screens ... I've never heard more compelling, beautifully balanced conducting of this score than Sawallisch's".

Diapason

2014 fevrier

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Didier van Moere

2014 fevrier

BBC music magazine

2014 January

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Christopher Cook (musikanmelder)

2014 January

"Gergiev coaxes some magnificent playing from his Mariinsky orchestra ... But it's [his] attention to detail that really counts with nothing smudged or generalised in his reading of the score ... Best of all is Olga Savova's Nurse - artful, cunning and slightly sinister. A properly wicked fairy or Baba Yaga".

International record review

2012 June

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Roger Pines

2012 June

"The 2011 Salzburg Festival ... Die Frau ohne Schatten divided critial opinion, not unexpectedly. Perhaps it works better on the small screen, where it held my attention throughout ... The VPO under Christian Thielemann is impeccable ... The stand-out onstage is Michaela Schuster (Nurse), vocally magnificent and revelling in her characterization ... Opposite her, Anne Schwanewilms's Empress embodies dignified feminine beauty and dignity ... The supporting artists are fine".

The gramophone

2012 August

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Richard Lawrence

2012 August

"It's all a long way from the original but if you can accept Loy's reinvention there's much to admire ... The Vienna Philharmonic play like angels, Christian Thielemann is alive to every detail of Strauss' kaleidoscopic orchestration. As the Empress, Anne Schwanewilms is outstanding ... Thielemann/Loy is absolutely complete".

International record review

2007 May

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Stephen Pruslin

2007 May

"Die frau ohne Schatten is, at its best, a visionary work whose whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Its many loyal adherents will find that the present version adds something new to their experience of it".

The gramophone

2014 February

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Hugo Shirley

2014 February

"There's a lot of musical quality on show, not least from the virtuoso Mariinsky Orchestra, and Gergiev clearly knows how the piece goes, even if he favours speedy efficiency over warmth. Khudoley has a beautiful, soulfully lyrical voice and Olga Sergeeva throws everything at her performance as Barak's wife, often with thrilling results ... Dramatically speaking, then, the performance is inert and uninvolving, even if Strauss's great score sweeps us along. The sound and picture are both first-rate".

International record review

2014 January

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Roger Pines

2014 January

"The pleasures of this Frau are somewhat surprising, making the frustrations doubly regrettable ... Kent's straightforward blocking presents nothing about these characters that we haven't seen before ... The members of the cast all offer more than enough voice for their roles, but they make no impact with Hofmannsthal's text ... Musically Gergiev presents a fully focused view of the piece ... The virtuosity of the Mariinsky Orchestra is at times mind-blowing".