Hugo Shirley

Mariinsky’s Les Troyens — a bad night for Berlioz and Edinburgh

Teatro Regio di Torino’s concert performance of William Tell was, by contrast, superb

Mariinsky's Les Troyens [Getty Images/Alamy/iStock] 
issue 06 September 2014
  • Comments

  • Les Troyens

    Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

  • Guglielmo Tell

    Usher Hall, Edinburgh

I wonder whether grand opéra really takes war as seriously as this year’s Edinburgh Festival wanted it to. These vast works, written to exploit and reflect the power, resources and tastes of mid-19th-century Paris, tended to favour history and its battles for the scenic opportunities they afforded rather than for the lessons they taught.

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