August 2012 Volume 63 No 8

Editor John Allison Deputy Editor Erica Jeal (on leave) Assistant Editor Hugo Shirley Commercial Director Megan Jackson

Editorial Board Martin Bernheimer Hugh Canning Rupert Christiansen Andrew Clark Andrew Clements Richard Fairman George Hall Michael Kennedy Fiona Maddocks Rodney Milnes (Chairman) Roger Parker Andrew Porter

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Front cover: Cecilia Bartoli as Cleopatra in the new ‘Giulio Cesare’ at Salzburg (see pp. 946-8) (photo: Hans Jörg Michel)

Founded in 1950 by the Earl of Harewood

Past Editors Harold Rosenthal and Rodney Milnes

915 German lessons

By the Editor 916 Twilight of the tickets

Robert Turnbull investigates upheaval at Wagner societies worldwide 923 Readers’ letters 924 Don’t mind the gap

Rodney Milnes welcomes Massenet’s increasing respectability 933 Newsdesk 936 Gusts of change

Anthony Freud talks to John von Rhein 942 Obituary 945 Opera around the world

981 Opera in Britain

1012 Opera on CD 1025 Opera on DVD and Blu-ray 1030 Opera books 1032 Coming events including plans for the UK houses, Nancy and Stuttgart; ‘We hear that …’; Opera calendar home and abroad 1039 Classified advertisements 1040 Wish I’d been there …

John Allison

Opera, August 2012

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