Strauss “Ariadne auf Naxos”

mariinsky theatre st. petersburg
premiere: 08. 03. 2011

stage director: michael sturminger
stage & costume: renate martin, andreas donhauser

press review, delvoi petersburg: “sturminger is a genius because blending genres, styles and eras seems to come to him so easily. he resolved the task with mozartian dazzle.”

composer: richard strauss
libretto: hugo von hoffmansthal
musical director: valery gergiev
musical preparation: larisa gergieva
literary consultant: derek weber

with: ingeborga dapkunaite, anna markarova, olga pudova, maria maksakova et al

press review, infox.ru: “pudova, with her clear, powerful and pliant voice, deserved the praise of the audience from her very first appearance. three girls anastasia kalagina, anna kiknadze and eleonora vindau (naiad, dryad and echo) wove their voices together in an intricate series of ensembles and they looked, so to speak, a million dollars.”

press review, rossiiskaya gazeta: “at the end of the performance, which lasted two and a half hours with no interval, the audience broke into a frenzy from the high they had received, and so ariadne has every chance of being a success in the future.

press review, izvestia: “in readiness to storm the tchaikovsky competition, olga pudova (as zerbinetta, the irrepressible leader of the troupe of comedians) and maria maksakova (in the mezzo-soprano role of the composer) of the famed maksakov performing dynasty performed and sang brilliantly. singers acting out love. they gave the audience the chance to consider whether or not there might be some lesbian subtext in strauss’ operas. the more so as in the score there is rather a lot of decadent erotic flair in the love dialogues of the various female voices.

press review, vedomosti: “the three nymphs were surprisingly the best anastasia kalagina, anna kiknadze and eleonora vindau. these blossoming young women in their stunning 18th century dresses with their brilliant voices blended together in an excellent ensemble reflected the mystery which, even in comic operas, is present with strauss. and, of course, in valery gergiev’s orchestra, with its unparalleled ability to draw out the dying chords as if life itself were coming to an end this instant.

all photos (c) natasha razina

stage model