Musikfest 2: Fantastic Voyage

The touring production of Berlioz’s Les Troyens featuring the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique and the Monteverdi Choir ended up attracting higher-than-average levels of international press attention after news of an alleged altercation between conductor John Eliot Gardiner and bass William Thomas started doing the rounds. By the time the opera had reached Berlin, both Mr Gardiner and Mr Thomas had withdrawn from the production. With conductor Dinis Sousa in the driver’s seat and all hints of contentious backstage drama far in the rear-view mirror the audience at Berlin’s Musikfest were able to devote their full attention to a majestic performance of a work that, more than a century and a half after its composer’s death, still enjoys nowhere near the stature it deserves.

Admittedly Les Troyens has been making steady inroads since…