The Fiery Angel is one of my personal favourite operas of the 20th century. It is demoniacally dramatic with so much depth in its symbolism, and Prokoviev's music is some of the most blistering and witty that he wrote ever. And what an amazing production this is. It looks wonderful, bizarre and magical all at once to match exactly the structure of the opera's libretto. The orchestral playing make the score wild and spooky yet very dramatic and witty at the same time with plenty of dynamic contrast, adept balance and hauntingly beautiful tone. Valery Gergiev's conducting adds a lot to this, I find his conducting of Russian opera truly remarkable and very authentic, and here in The Fiery Angel there is no exception to that. He allows for the balances to come through and comes across as disciplined yet loving of the music he conducts, which are always great qualities to have in a conductor. The staging is intense and moving in equal measures. The performances are just great, the standout being Galina Gorchakova in the fiendishly demanding role of Renata, mainly because the character is so complex, her performance vocally and dramatically is faultless. Sergei Leiferkus is every bit as outstanding as Ruprecht, he is a powerful presence and he sings with security. Konstantin Pluzhnikov is an imposing Mephistopheles as well, while Vladmir Galouzine sings strongly in his role as well. All in all, a flaming spectacle both as an opera and as a production. 10/10 Bethany Cox
