Saturday 17 October
London, Royal Opera House • The new production of Parsifal, directed by Evgeny Titovand conducted by Jakub Hrůša, turned out to be an engrossing experience, both visually and aurally. Restrained and almost liturgical, Hrůša’s reading moved me deeply. Titov’s visual conception created a space that seemed magically to change shape in Acts I and III and turned Klingsor into a James Bond villain as seen through the eyes of Fritz Lang. The cast gave superb performances, including Andreas Bauer Kanabas, who stepped into the role of Gurnemanz at short notice.
Sunday 18 October
London, London Palladium • Seeing Love Never Dies as a concert presentation did nothing to reverse my poor opinion of the piece. On the contrary, the absence of staging laid bare the thinness of the plot and the poverty of both music and lyrics. It’s one of those shows designed to showcase large singing voices; but unrestrained belting does not a show make.
Monday 19 October
Paris, Théâtre des Mathurins • Roberto Zucco, Bernard-Marie Koltès’s last play, is a strange theatrical object, consisting of a series of scenes inspired by a somewhat intriguing — or so Koltès thought — Italian serial murderer. In theory, Rose Noël’s staging had everything to put me off, with a significant part of the action taking place in the auditorium and a great deal of shouting. And yet, I found myself captivated by this all-out theatrical experience which challenged my theatrical prejudices and demonstrated how exhilarating it can be to have them overturned.
Wednesday 21 October
Paris, Théâtre Hébertot • For his play Diplomatie, Cyril Gély took a well-known episode from history — General von Choltitz’s decision to disobey Hitler’s orders to reduce Paris to ruins before its liberation — and imagined that it resulted from a visit by Swedish consul Raoul Nordling to Choltitz’s suite at the Hôtel Meurice. The play boasts taut writing and a delightful final twist, which has nothing to do with Choltitz’s disobedience — that’s history. The two leading men, Dominique Pinon and Bruno Putzulu, gave a masterclass in dramatic intensity. Their perfectly timed verbal jousting was so fierce that I found myself gasping for air.