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What the Papers Say Today
27 August 2008
The papers rave today about the first of two performances of Król Roger.
The Financial Times calls the production - with a final performance tonight at 7.15pm - a triumph under the ‘expert direction' of Valery Gergiev. The Guardian praises the cast, saying Pavlo Tolstoy's Shepherd ‘oozes vocal glamour,' and Andrez Dobber's King Roger is ‘sensationally convincing'. The Times calls the stagecraft ‘often masterly, sometimes hypnotic' and The Telegraph writes ‘The Mariinsky's chorus sounded magnificent'. The reviewers are unanimous that it is Gergiev's exceptional conducting that steals the show. Don't miss this last opportunity to hear the great Gergiev in what The Scotsman calls ‘a glowing triumph of the visual and aural. In mounting it, the Festival has opened our eyes to a 20thcentury masterpiece. To see a clip from Król Roger at Festival 08 and find out about ticket availability, click here.
Today's Herald interviews experimental German composer / director Heiner Goebbels about mixing and matching literary and musical icons in his latest work I went to the house but did not enter. Today's Guardian (G2) speaks to medieval vocal group The Hilliard Ensemble about being ‘excited and terrified' to sing in Goebbels' new production, which premieres tomorrow night and runs through to Saturday at the Royal Lyceum Theatre.
Both The Scotsman and Metro pick tonight's Staatskapelle Dresden, Usher Hall concert, as a must see Festival event. Ever since its foundation in 1548, the Staatskapelle Dresden has maintained a reputation as one of the world's leading orchestras. This concert, conducted by Fabio Luisi and staring Jan Vogler on Cello, features the UK premiere of Australian composer Bernhard Lang's Monadology II. Staatskapelle Dresden will also perform at the Usher Hall tomorrow night with piano soloist Hélène Grimaud.
In dance news, there are still a limited number of seats available to EIF's all-time, best-selling dance production, Matthew Bourne's Dorian Gray. To watch BBC's Culture Show interview with the London choreographer about pulling this production together, click here. And to watch an Edfest TV video clip featuring footage from the World Premiere production click here.
