Mithridate

"It may not appeal if you're allergic to Regietheater, but to my mind Clément Hervieu-Léger's staging transforms the 14-year-old Mozart's opera seria into a gripping political drama rather than a mere showcase of virtuoso singing - though it is that too, with knockout performances from Michael Spyres in the fiendishly demanding title-role and countertenor Christophe Dumaux disturbing and compelling in equal measure as his Machiavellian eldest son".

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"Clément Hervieu-Léger gets vivid acting from his cast ... Musically, everything is first-rate. Michael Spyres negotiates the wide leaps of his entrance aria with ease. Patricia Petibon is accomplished in the coloratura and intense when she addresses the shades of Elysium ... Haïm's tempos are ideal and Le Concert d'Astrée play impeccably".

"Hochspannend ist der energiegeladen und voll Temperament von Emmanuelle Haïm am Pult ... Am Pariser Théâtre des Champs-Élysées hatte man eine hervorragende Vokalistenschar aufgeboten. Patricia Petibon ist eine hochfahrend dramatische Aspasia ... Sabine Devieilhe singt mit kristallin funkelndem Sopran die Ismene".