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The Telegraph |
Rupert Christiansen |
Strauss: Capriccio, Edinburgh, 22 August 2004
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Capriccio
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Usher Hall, Edinburgh |
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Fortunately for my blood pressure, the opera I
heard the next evening was one I cared little about. Richard Strauss's
Capriccio may be composed with supreme craft, but it is merely an elegant
divertissement which engages neither heart nor head.
This concert performance hit the right buttons, but left me cold. With her
classically beautiful soprano and innate musicality, Soile Isokoski will
make a lovely Countess once she has learnt the notes properly.
Jonas Kaufmann and Christopher Maltman made a spirited pair of suitors,
and Siegfried Vogel was a salty impresario. Only Anne Sofie von Otter got it
slightly wrong, making the actress Clairon too arch. Leopold Hager led the
Royal Scottish National Orchestra confidently through the sumptuous yet
vacuous score. |
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