Solid Gold

Mozart was only 14 years old when he set out for Milan to kick-start his career as an opera composer. Although the operatic reforms of Gluck were starting to make their presence felt in Paris, Mozart’s first work for the Milanese stage was very much tailored to the tastes of its time and audience; yet if Mitridate, Re di Ponto adheres largely to the formulae of opera seria and offers only brief glimpses of the masterpieces still to come, it is nonetheless a work of great vigour and dazzling vocal showpieces.

The new production of Mitridate at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden – which appeared as the second new production at this year’s Barocktage after being postponed in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic – let none of the opera’s potential go to waste: between the subtle staging of Satoshi Miyagi and the generous performances from Les…