The European News Agency writes that the production “not only honors the depth of Weinberg’s score but also elevates it to new heights, offering the audience an unforgettable experience”.
The staging of the opera, which is based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot, is described in the review as “a triumph of modern opera production”, the direction by Poland’s Krzysztof Warlikowski being “a masterful blend of psychological realism and abstract symbolism”.
The critic adds: “Warlikowski's direction makes full use of the space, with characters moving in and out of the shadows, often appearing ghost-like, which adds to the surreal, dreamlike quality of the production. […]
Known for his ability to delve deeply into the characters’ inner worlds, he has created a staging that is both visually striking and emotionally resonant. The stage design by Małgorzata Szczęśniak is stark and minimalist, allowing the focus to remain on the characters and their interactions. […]
The use of light and shadow is particularly effective, with characters often half-lit or obscured, emphasizing their emotional isolation and the pervasive sense of doom that hangs over stage”.
Outstanding reviews. Five stars from The Financial Times
The Financial Times gives five stars for The Idiot, describing it as an “unmissable opera of love and manipulation”, and stressing that “Mieczysław Weinberg turns Dostoyevsky’s dense novel into a work of depth and nuance”.
The daily praises Warlikowski’s direction, noting “an extraordinary depth of attention for detail, a breathtaking talent for the use of space and an underlying melancholic lyricism to his work”.
The Financial Times writes in closing: “The audience stands and cheers. But some of us limp out as if we had received a punch to the solar plexus, struggling to breathe, beyond tears. The Idiot is so good that it hurts. See it if you can”.
There are two more performances of The Idiot at the Salzburg Festival, on August 15 and 23.
Lithuanian conductor Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla is the music director of the production, which features the orchestra of the Vienna Philharmonic and an international cast of soloists.
Krzysztof Warlikowski - a one-man orchestra or... a man of opera
Polish theater director Krzysztof Warlikowski
Warlikowski, 62, is the founder and artistic director of the Nowy Theatre in Warsaw.
He has to his credit highly acclaimed productions of Shakespeare, Greek tragedies and plays by modern authors, all co-produced with leading European companies and festivals, including the Odéon Théâtre de l’Europe in Paris, Festival d’Avignon, Greek Festival in Athens, and Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie de Bruxelles.
Many of them have been presented in Edinburgh, Vienna, South Korea and China.
In addition to Salzburg, Warlikowski has also directed operas by Mozart, Wagner, Shostakovich, Bartok and Berg in Brussels, Paris, Madrid, Munich, and London.
Several years ago, he received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre from the Venice Biennale.
Weinberg: Shostakovich's protégé shaped by Holocaust and harsh Soviet regime
Born in Warsaw in 1909, Weinberg was a Polish Jew who escaped the Nazis by fleeing into the Soviet Union. In 1943 he settled in Moscow, where he worked as a composer and pianist.
In 1953, he was arrested as part of Stalin’s anti-Semitic purges, but was released after Stalin’s death thanks to support from his close friend Dmitri Shostakovich.
He died in Moscow in 1996, leaving a vast output of over twenty symphonies, 17 string quartets, six operas (including The Passenger, a work on the Auschwitz theme, and The Portrait, based on a short story by Nikolai Gogol), chamber music for various instruments and songs.
He also wrote soundtracks for children’s cartoons and feature films, including The Cranes are Flying, a masterpiece of Soviet cinema which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Festival in 1958.
(mk/mp)