Il trittico

"Christof Loy's 2022 Salburg Festival production of Il trittico (The Tryptich) plays the operas in the order different than the composer's ... The logic for the reordering might be to increase the focus on the lead female role across the triptych. The Festival favourite Asmik Grigorian stars in all three, and here her characters have a larger part in each successive opera, so she dominates increasingly over the evening ... The Vienna Philharmonic play very well indeed. Franz Welser-Möst shows himself a fine Puccini conductor, responding especially well to the impressionist atmosphere and verismo histrionics ... But you must hear Asmik Grigorian in these roles if you can".

Read review

"Recording of the week: Loy's decision to reorder the operas is the one idiosyncratic element in a production that's otherwise fairly straight-down-the-line. The main event is a performance of Suor Angelica which packs a punch so powerful that Loy's reshuffling of the trilogy seems non-negotiable ... Grigorian's Angelica is quite simply in a league of its own: from the moment when the dam bursts during the great confrontation with her aunt she stakes her claim as one of the greatest singing actresses since Callas".

Read review

"Taking those three issues in reverse order, it's fair to say that Welser-Möst exceeds expectations ... That actually [also] works rather well with Loy's overall aesthetic ... The trilogy finds its focus around the heroine in each opera, with Asmik Grigorian's three performances (alone of the cast, she's the lead in all three pieces) becoming the golden thread upon which the entire staging hangs. And she really is golden: living on her nerve-ends and singing with a radiance and a dramatic intensity that grows and grows to an ending of almost unbearable pity and power ... [In Suor Angelica] Grigorian holds the stage almost throughout; a performance of heartrending vocal beauty and equally potent vocal characterisation ... You might feel Loy pushes it too far but you're unlikely to look at these three operas in quite the same light again, and that alone would make this production worth seeing".

"Darstellerich toll ist Grigorian, aber mit harschem Timbre, die Stimme selten auf harmonischen Bögen schweben lassend ... Feinmechanisch ist das ein meisterlicher Abend - weil Loy wunderbar das Personenräderwerk dieses vielfigurigen Werkes zu drehen weiss. Meisterlich entlockt ebenso Franz Welser-Möst den Wiener Philharmonikern einen zurückhaltenden, finessenreich aufleuchtenden Puccini. Die meistenteils unbekannte, für Salzburg wenig glamouröse Besetzung genügt allen Ansprüchen, sticht aber nicht heraus ... So bringen bewährte, beliebte Salzburg-Namen einen festspielwürdigen Opernabend zum Abheben, aber nicht zur Apotheose".

"Puccinis opera-triptykon fra 1918 slår aldrig fejl. Det kræver sin instruktør at trække en linje gennem tre så kontrasterende værker, men Christof Loys iscenesættelse ved Salzburg festspil sidste sommer blev erklæret en triumf i den henseende - samt for den klare og skarpe historiefortælling ... Min motivation for at anbefale denne opsætning er sopranen, som med lynets hast er ved at blive Salzburgs darling: Litauiske Asmik Grigorian. I en usædvanlig udholdenhedspræstation indtog hun den centrale kvindelige rolle i alle tre operaer på en aften, som er fanget på denne udgivelse".

"Auch wenn Anja Harteros, die die Schwester Angelica geben sollte, leider abgesagt hat, die Besetzung ist gut gelaunt und ausgeglichen. Richard Jones hat klug, modern, bunt und trotzdem atmosphärisch differenziert inszeniert. Und Antonio Pappano legt besonders die strukturellen und harmonischen Unterschiede dieser Operntrias klar".

"Vurdering: Gramophone choice" - "Outstandingly filmed, this set marks a high point for live opera on DVD ... I have no hesitation in making this new Trittico the top recommendation".

"Vurdering: Diapason d'or".