Ariadne auf Glyndebourne

[Bax-of-Delights]

I note, Caliban, that the comments of opera-goers on Glyndebourne's own site have taken a decided turn for the worse since the earlier bouquets with most now putting the boot in on the second act - and Katherina Thoma's direction in particular.

[Dave2002]

The Prologue was fine, though the air raid came as a bit of a shock. Dramatic and entertaining in its way, though.

I wondered if we were looking at a mad house rather than a hospital after the interval. I'm not so sure that the "original" version makes a lot more sense, having never seen this opera on stage before, but the new version did seem very confusing. The music, particularly towards the end, was beautiful.

[Bax-of-Delights]

I went to that one too - magnificent wasn't it - that staircase...

It was kind of you to spare a thought!

And thanks for the reminder about the streamed version

Caliban:

Just returned from our evening at Ariadne at Glyndebourne.

Blessed with a perfect evening and a glass or two or champers one would be hard pushed to be unkind to any production at Glyndebourne but Katherina Thoma's dire production/direction left me with a disappointment that has gradually evolved into an anger that I was fleeced of £330 for such a mish-mash of ideas and downright dishonest offering. A number of the audience commented on the fact that the translation on the surtitles had actually been changed to fit the ludicrous machinations of Ms.Thoma's augmented second act.
There were a number of empty seats in the auditorium - the first time I'd seen such - and I see that there are still plenty of seats left for the final performance. For a company that exists without any subsidy and mostly on the income from the customers, performances with a fair smattering of empty seats should start to ring warning bells.

Next up is Rameau's Hyppolite and Aricie - performed in the back of a fridge apparently.

[BBMmk2]

What a great time Cali! Envy!!

[Dave2002]

Next up is Rameau's Hyppolite and Aricie - performed in the back of a fridge apparently.

No apparently about it. At least the music is well done. I am thinking of going to the cinema performance in a couple of weeks so as to see the whole thing from a decent viewing angle. Several opera companies seem to have been buying up old NHS equipment. The trolleys feature again in the Rameau, and Garsington's Maomettto II also features old style beds and screens.