July 2011 Volume 62 No 7 Editor John Allison Deputy Editors Erica Jeal Amanda Holloway Subscriptions Manager Megan Jackson Publishing Manager Andrew Miles

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

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

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Front cover: Christopher Purves as Mephistopheles in ENO’s new Damnation of Faust (see pp. 843-4) (photo: Tristram Kenton)

Opera, July 2011

Founded in 1950 by the Earl of Harewood

Past Editors Harold Rosenthal and Rodney Milnes

763 Rattlesnakes!

By the Editor 764 ‘Vissi d’arte’

Angela Gheorghiu talks to Jon Tolansky 771 Readers’ letters 772 The ‘Frau’ and the festival

Hugo Shirley 781 Newsdesk 788 ‘… and then there’s Ambroise Thomas’

Andrew Lamb on a composer ripe for revival 792 Obituary 793 Opera around the world 838 Opera in Britain 856 Opera on DVD 862 Opera on CD 870 Opera books 873 Coming events including plans for the UK houses (with 2011-12 season plans for Opera North and Scottish Opera), Milan, Montreal, Munich (Staatsoper) and Paris (Opéra National); ‘We hear that …’; Opera calendar home and abroad 887 Classified advertisements 888 Wish I’d been there …

Emma Kirkby

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