WNO in the News and Wozzeck Reviews

Xavier Renauld's photographs of Oscar Lhermitte's X Days Project

Thanks to my inept scheduling I had to forgo both performances of Wozzeck at the WMC, but thankfully two scribes wound their way to Cardiff Bay. As I'm planning to take in a performance on the road myself I've decided against reading the reviews in case they colour my expectations - but for those of you who like to read what you've seen, are going to see or may see you can check out the post-match analyses of Geoff Brown at The Times Online or Rian Evans at The Guardian.

Lothar Koenigs has been chatting to the press again, this time it was Karen Price of the Western Mail in a surprisingly long(ish) interview by Welsh media standards given that the man isn't a rugby player, or married to a rugby player.

Once the usual biographical details had been done with Lothar (I'm going with first name formality from here on in) waxed lyrical over engaging a younger audience, the acoustics at the WMC and the upcoming Meistersinger with Bryn Terfel. He then let a not entirely expected cat out of the bag when he slipped in the names Wagner and Strauss as composers he's familiar with and the telling phrase, I think I can serve the company best with the repertoire I know from home. To be fair, after the Italian years of Carlo Rizzi it would be beneficial for WNO to refresh their musical skills and I'd be interested to see which works make it on to the stage. I'm doubting (with confidence) that a Ring cycle is not on the cards, but I wouldn't mind seeing a Lohengrin or a Tristan making an appearance - with a sensible cast of course. You can read the interview in full at Wales Online.

John Fisher, WNO's other honcho has also been engaging the press in an interview with Opera Now magazine. Having been Scrooge like I read the interview in a shop (yes, I like to clog up aisles) and can't bring to mind any particular lines but it's worth a gander. You'll probably want to know which issue it is, and I can answer the question with the reply September / October and the words Dessay and pink...and yes, I will be buying a copy because I can't speed read a whole magazine.