The Elixir of Love/ English National Opera; The Abduction from the Seraglio/ Welsh National Opera | Classical review

Trading Tuscany for Texas, Jonathan Miller's drive-thru Donizetti works a treat, writes Fiona MaddocksPicasso's stage inventions were memorable but as he himself said, it's best to keep things vague. He was not one to get cornered by a concept. Often today with opera directors desperately seeking novelty, the curtain goes up and the heart sinks as one sees a trap being set that can only narrow into absurdity. What is Brünnhilde doing in a Vietnamese nail bar? Why is Salome putting that head i...

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