Die Frau ohne Schatten

"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".

"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".

"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".

"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".

"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".