© Bruno Simao
Nadja Michael in the title role Elektra Lisbon February 2018
I arrived in Lisbon on Sunday afternoon and made my way to the Cultural Centre in Bélem, a fifteen minute trip from Lisbon's city centre. The large concert hall there is home to one production a year from the São Carlos Opera, always a semi staged concert performance given that this is a concert hall rather than an opera house! However, Nicola Raab did a remarkable job in persuading us that this was not the case with a brave and ingenious production whose powerful effect, aided by the superb orchestra playing under Leo Hussain and the shattering score of Richard Strauss, brought the audience to its feet.
In the title role was the unique stage animal Nadja Michael. Commitment of that kind comes rarely enough. Alison Oakes as Chrysothemis, Lioba Braun as Clytemnestra, and James Rutherford's Orestes yielded little to her; and it was good to see and hear the excellent Portuguese tenor Marco Alves dos Santos making his mark as Aegisthus.
São Carlos Opera 3:30 pm Monday February 5 2018
It was two delightful days of sunshine in Lisbon replacing the cold of London. However I am back to face that this evening! This will be only for a day before I fly to Izmir on Thursday - fun coming up!
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