Photography: Finlay MacKay· Design: ENO Design Team· Registered Charity no. 257210

ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA SUMMER 2007 SEASON

SATYAGRAHA

NEW PRODUCTION

ENO in collaboration with Improbable(NT:Theatre of Blood) present the London stage premièère of Philip Glass’s opera about the early life of Mahatma Gandhi. 5 April – 1 May (9 performances)

ON THE TOWN Following its previous sell-out run, ENO’s smash-hit, Olivier Award-nominated production of Bernstein’s hit ‘New York, New York’ musical returns to the London Coliseum. 20 April – 25 May (20 performances incl. 4 Matinees)

DEATH IN VENICE

NEW PRODUCTION

Ground-breaking director Deborah Warnerstages ENO’s first-ever productionof Britten’s last great opera featuring the popular British tenor Ian Bostridge in his lead role debut. 24 May – 13 June (8 performances)

LA CLEMENZA DI TITO David McVicar’s Olivier Award-nominatedproduction of Mozart’s late masterpiece returns with Emma Bell and Paul Nilon reprising their roles alongside Alice Coote. Edward Gardner conducts. 8 –23 June (5 performances)

KISMET

NEW PRODUCTION

Wright & Forrest’s Tony Award-winning musical, based on Borodin’s soaring melodies, appears on the London stage for the first time in 30 years with Michael Ball in the lead role. 25 June – 14 July (19 performances incl. 3 Matinees)

ENO Live at the London Coliseum Buy online at www.eno.org or call 0870 145 0200

English National Opera, London Coliseum, St Martin’s Lane, London WC2N 4ES February 2007 Volume 58 No 2

Editor John Allison Marketing Director Alice Lindsay Deputy Editor Erica Jeal Subscriptions Manager Megan Jackson Publishing Assistant Sara-Mae Tuson

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

Editorial Offices 36 Black Lion Lane London W6 9BE Telephone: 020 8563 8893 Fax: 020 8563 8635 e-mail: editor@opera.co.uk Website: www.opera.co.uk

Subscriptions Telephone: 020 8748 0911 e-mail: operasubs@opera.co.uk

Advertising Jane Stoggles Cabbell Publishing Ltd Tel: 020 8971 8450 Fax: 020 8971 8480

Front cover: Anna Caterina Antonacci as Carmen and Jonas Kaufmann as Don Joséé at Covent Garden (see pp. 218-220) (photo: Catherine Ashmore)

Founded in 1950 by the Earl of Harewood Past Editors Harold Rosenthal and Rodney Milnes

131 Into the Euro zone By the Editor 132 Readers’letters 134 Planning opera’s future Nicholas Payne introduces the European Opera Days 140 View from the battlefield Gerard Mortier talks to Richard Fairman 147 The passion of the south Pedro Halffter talks to Xavier Cester about Seville’s operatic renaissance 150 Newsdesk 153 The wide view Horst Koegler welcomes the final volume of a monumental German encyclopedia 158 Obituary 159 Opera around the world 208 Opera in Britain 221 Opera on CD 230 Opera on DVD 237 Opera books 240 Coming events including plans for the UK houses, Buenos Aires, Perth, Salzburg Festival (summer 2007); ‘We hear that ...’; Opera calendar home and abroad 255 Classified advertisements 256 If I came back as ... Basilio Robert Tear

Opera, February 2007

129