Overview

• Raphaël Pichon led his Pygmalion ensemble in a semikonzertant production that extends Mozart’s unfinished Singspiel by weaving in music from other Mozart works and newly translated texts by Wajdi Mouawad.
• Minimalist staging places the orchestra and chorus onstage at the Felsenreitschule while the jailer Allazim serves as an all-knowing narrator framing the action as a retrospective.
• Soloists Sabine Devieilhe, Lea Desandre, Julian Prégardien, Daniel Behle and Johannes Martin Kränzle received standing ovations for their vocal precision and dramatic presence.
• Critics praised Pygmalion’s performance for its expressive control and flexibility, noting the production’s meditation on tolerance, cultural clash and Enlightenment ideals.
• The upcoming Arte Concert stream will bring this innovative reimagining of Zaide to a wider audience starting August 24.