ABBADO AND PRESS

THE GUARDIAN
September 2nd 2006


Edinburgh Festival Theatre

Thu 31 August & Sat 2 September 7.15pm

Die Zauberflöte

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Sarastro Georg Zeppenfeld
Tamino Eric Cutler
Pamina Julia Kleiter
Papageno Andrea Concetti
Papagena Sylvia Schwartz
The Queen of the Night Erika Miklósa
First Lady Caroline Stein
Second Lady Heidi Zehnder
Third Lady Anne-Carolyn Schlüter
Speaker Andreas Bauer
Monastatos Kurt Azesberger

Daniele Abbado Director

Graziano Gregori Set designer
Carla Teti Costume designer
Guido Levi Lighting designer
Alessandra Sini Choreographer

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG CHOIR

TÖLZER KNABENCHOR

MAHLER CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

CLAUDIO ABBADO



















































































 

The Magic Flute

4 stars Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
Tom Service

Saturday September 02 2006

The Guardian


From the very first chord, there is something special about this Magic Flute. Conductor Claudio Abbado achieves a performance of such radiance and refinement from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, it is as if you are hearing Mozart's score for the first time. Every note and every phrase has a clarity and directness of expression that makes you gasp at the virtuosity of the players and the brilliance of Abbado's music-making.

It's yet another example of the searing performances Abbado has given since his recovery from illness a few years ago. But there's no sense of valedictory world-weariness in his approach, still less of an old man's view of Mozart's music. His speeds are quick, and the grace and lightness of touch he draws from the players and singers is testament to how much he has learned from period-instrument performance practice. Throughout, the music glows with an inner fire - whether in the frenetic string lines of the opening scene, as Eric Cutler's gloriously sung Tamino is pursued by a Chinese dragon, or the gossamer accompaniment to Tamino's first-act aria, which begins with aching tenderness and ends in a state of febrile, palpitating excitement. The detail Abbado finds in the music is a continual revelation - for instance, the way he highlights the viola part in the introduction to the Queen of the Night's first-act aria, a sinewy chromatic line that expresses the ambiguity of Eri

ka Miklosa's nocturnal monarch. But it's not just about the fine points of the score: Abbado conjures a dramatic momentum that unifies the whole story.

However, the production, directed by Abbado's son, Daniele, is less convincing. There are lavish touches, such as the gigantic tiger's head in which Monostatos tortures Pamina in the first act, or the gates of stone and fire for the temple of the trials in the second. But all of this is set against minimalist, black backdrops, as if the production is unsure whether it's going for mythical austerity or colourful, panto-like spectacle.

The same insecurity affects the acting. None the less, Julia Kleiter is a vocally stunning Pamina, matching Cutler's insight and intensity above all in her second-act aria. And Miklosa, as the Queen of the Night, gives one of the most secure performances you can imagine of this stratospheric role. Andrea Concetti's Papageno plays the fool with aplomb, and Georg Zeppenfeld is a stern Sarastro. But what makes this Flute unforgettable is Abbado's conducting; do whatever you can to get a ticket.

Other newspapers
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The Independent
The Guardian
The Daily Telegraph


13/08/2006 The members of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra
13/08/2006  Radio TV
12/06/2006 Wanderer 20
01/05/2006  El Pais
01/05/2006  El Pais
15/04/2006 Infobox
15/04/2006 Microcritica
01/04/2006 Bolzano 2006
18/03/2006 Elements for a portrait
18/03/2006  Microcritica, some news
26/02/2006 Abbado in Caracas 2 : El Universal
18/02/2006 Abbado in Caracas: Analitica
18/02/2006 Abbado in Caracas: Globovision
18/02/2006 Abbado in Caracas: El Universal
12/02/2006 Radio TV
05/02/2006  Classica Italy February-March
05/02/2006  Microcritica, some news
05/02/2006 Infobox: some news
05/02/2006 DVD-Mahler: beautiful article of Steven Everson
22/01/2006  Microcritica, some news
22/01/2006 Infobox: some news
22/01/2006 Radio TV
22/01/2006 Agenzia Stampa : Abbado in Caracas (in Spanish)
22/01/2006 Diariovasco2: Caracas (in Spanish)
22/01/2006 Diariovasco1:Caracas (in Spanish)
22/01/2006 Terra: Caracas (in Spanish)
14/01/2006 Globovision: an article about Abbado in Caracas (in Spanish)
30/12/2005 Radio TV
08/12/2005 Scala Opening 2005-2006
08/12/2005 Orchestra Mozart 2006
25/11/2005 Lucerne 2006
16/11/2005 Radio TV
12/11/2005 Easter Tour GMJO 2006
07/11/2005 Radio TV
23/10/2005 Infobox: new prizes to friends of Claudio Abbado
23/10/2005 Microcritica: a new conductor
23/10/2005 Classica TV (Italy)
November 2005
23/10/2005 Radio TV
23/09/2005 Infobox: New book about conductors (Wolgang Schreiber)
18/09/2005 Infobox: Harding cancelled Cosi'
18/09/2005 Wanderer n°19 (Abbado honorary citizen of Lucerne)
30/08/2005 Wanderer n°18 (Lucerne 2005: Beethoven-Bruckner)
30/08/2005 Great conductor for great Ball
24/08/2005  Microcritica, some news
23/08/2005 El Pais
22/08/2005 Infobox
15/08/2005  Microcritica, the new section of website
17/07/2005 Interview with Claudio Abbado
(in spanish)
17/07/2005 Discography
17/07/2005 DVD
17/07/2005 Season 2005-2006
19/06/2005 Die Zauberflöte: Wanderer n°17
19/06/2005 Die Zauberflöte: The Guardian
07/04/2005 La Scala crisis: The Times
07/04/2005 La Scala crisis: The Australian
07/04/2005 La Scala crisis: The Independent
07/04/2005 Editorial (Muti and La Scala)
07/04/2005 Radio TV
07/04/2005 Classica
May 2005
26/03/2005 Norman Lebrecht about the crisis at La Scala
21/03/2005 Claudio Abbado about Cuba
14/02/2005 Critic of the concert on February 13th
14/02/2005 Concert in Caracas on February 13th
27/01/2005 Wanderer 16: Cuba (with special pics)
27/01/2005 News from concert in Cuba
26/01/2005 Program 2004-2005 of Claudio Abbado updated
26/01/2005 Other news from venezuela's first concert of OJL
18/01/2005 Other news from venezuela
17/01/2005 Claudio Abbado and Southamerican Youthorchestra (2)
16/01/2005 Claudio Abbado and Southamerican Youthorchestra
14/01/2005 Radio TV
14/01/2005 Cuba
06/01/2005 Cuba's gallery
06/01/2005 Cuba Wanderer
06/01/2005 Infobox
28/11/2004 Radio TV
23/11/2004 Programme Lucerne 2005
16/11/2004 Other pictures (Bologna & Orchestra Mozart)
15/11/2004 New pictures (Bologna & MCO)
15/11/2004 Infobox
15/10/2004 The Guardian, 15 october 2004
15/10/2004 Editorial
15/10/2004 Season 2004-2005
15/10/2004 Orchestra Mozart
19/09/2004

Musicweb (CD Mahler Debussy)

19/09/2004 Wanderer 14: Lucerne 2004 (Beethoven and Mahler V )
11/09/2004

Musicweb (seen and heard)

09/09/2004 Lucerne 2004: Member's pics
09/09/2004 Wanderer 13: Lucerne 2004 (Strauss and Wagner )
04/09/2004 New CD
04/09/2004 New DVD
26/08/2004 Lucerne 2004: New York Times
26/08/2004 Lucerne 2004: El Pais (Mahler)
26/08/2004 Lucerne 2004:  El Pais (Tristan)
26/08/2004 next saison 2004-2005: Update n.3
26/08/2004 next saison 2004-2005: Update n.2
22/08/2004 Infobox
22/08/2004 Lucerne 2004: Articles
22/08/2004 Radio TV
06/07/2004 New releases
29/06/2004 Wanderer 12: Berlin June 2004
27/06/2004 Claudio's birthday: The party of CAI in Milan : our pics
14/06/2004 Gallery of CAI member's pics Berlin 2004
08/06/2004 Our Gallery of Berlin 2004
03/06/2004 Radio TV
02/05/2004 Wanderer 11: Two mad girls...
19/04/2004 Wanderer 10: GMJO in Bolzano
07/04/2004 New CD  Netrebko/Abbado
20/03/2004 Infocai: CAI's general assembly
20/03/2004 Classica TV (Ital) March-April 2004
20/03/2004 Infobox
24/02/2004 Cordula Groth pics (Vienna 2002)
24/02/2004 Radio TV
22/02/2004 Our Gallery of Ferrara 2004 (Members of CAI)
22/02/2004 Our Gallery of Ferrara 2004 (Così fan tutte)
04/01/2004 DVD list updated
30/12/2003 Editorial december 2003
23/11/2003 Translation of the book "Musica sopra Berlino" in Japan
18/11/2003 Program of Lucerne Festival 2004
( Lucerne Festival Orchestra cyclus)
18/11/2003 Praemium Imperiale to Claudio Abbado Tokyo: our pics
14/10/2003 Honorary doctorate of Basilicata's University to Claudio Abbado, our pics
13/09/2003 An incredible pic
8/09/2003 Program 2004, first elements
26/08/2003 The New York Times 
25/08/2003 Wanderer :
conclusions
24/08/2003 Wanderer 19:
Mahler II
24/08/2003 Wanderer 18:
Bach
16/08/2003 Chronique du Wanderer 17: Ouverture du Lucerne Festival
08/08/2003 Lucerne
03/08/2003 Discography
14/07/2003 Editorial
14/07/2003 Claudio Abbado is 70

The Wanderer

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