Opera & Dance478 entries
Montezuma
Opens: 14/08/2010 Closes: 17/08/2010
King's Theatre, Edinburgh
Imagine one of the most remarkable intrigues of 16th-century Aztec history compressed into a three-act opera. Cortés and Montezuma disrobe, unleashing an exhilarating and rarely enacted conquest of otherness. An ensemble of international talent, musical novelty and sensational depth.
For more information visit: http://www.eif.co.uk/montezuma Buy: http://www.eif.co.uk/browse/opera/13-08-2010/05-09-2010/all/8/date/1Page [1]
20%
The Independent“A mere parody of opera...” The destruction of the Aztecs and their civilisation by the Spanish Conquistadors reflected colonialism at its most vicious. Claudio Valdes Kuri's production, lacking focus and freshness of ideas, represented opera direction at its most feeble...
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80 %
Opera Britannia“An inventive, surprising and ultimately very enjoyable evening...” It is the sheer inventiveness of this production which will linger longest in the memory. Though Graun’s long, competitive set-piece arias could become rather tiresome in a dull production there was no risk of that in this Montezuma...
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40%
Financial Times“Claudio Valdés Kuri conducts an old-fashioned act of cultural rape...” It is impossible to judge from this heavily cut edition whether Montezuma is any good or not. Instead of a cast of festival standard, we hear singers who appear to have been chosen for their looks. None does justice to Graun’s characterful music...
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80 %
The Stage“A show that finds room for very human humour in such tragedy...” Montezuma pushes all the right buttons, while there is a singular joy in experiencing an opera that is musically and visually accessible to wider audiences, entertaining as it is intellectual...
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40%
Guardian“A surreal train wreck of a production...” It's a form of cultural rape (and in this show a bit of actual rape, too) with tat sellers hawking their wares in the auditorium and the captured Montezuma (Flavio Oliver) being fettered not in chains, but a gaudy poncho and large sombrero...
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40%
The Telegraph“Too much of the detail is merely jokey and silly...” Graun’s music offers a certain grace and elegance, but it is melodically anodyne and when the situation calls for grandeur, intensity and force, it doesn’t rise above elegiac pastoral sweetness...
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