Capriccio

I love opera and I love Strauss. Capriccio isn't my favourite of his, that's Der Rosenkavalier, but it is a truly great opera, and this production of it is impeccable. The costumes and sets look very beautiful, and the picture quality and sound are mostly fine, apart from the audio being set a little too high for some of TeKanawa's high notes. The music is full of beauty and subtlety both in the large ensembles and the solos, while the story compels and the orchestra playing and conducting spot on. The performances likewise, Kiri TeKanawa is on radiant form, Hakan Hagegard is wonderfully passionate as La Roche, Simon Keenlyside is superb and the late Tatiana Troyanos(who was sadly very ill at the time of this Capriccio) is witty, charming and in some way poignant as well. In conclusion, just impeccable. 10/10 Bethany Cox