The Telegraph

Rupert Christiansen

Strauss: Capriccio, Edinburgh, 22 August 2004

Capriccio

Usher Hall, Edinburgh

Fortunately for my blood pressure, the opera I heard the next evening was one I cared little about. Richard Strauss's Capriccio may be composed with supreme craft, but it is merely an elegant divertissement which engages neither heart nor head. This concert performance hit the right buttons, but left me cold. With her classically beautiful soprano and innate musicality, Soile Isokoski will make a lovely Countess once she has learnt the notes properly. Jonas Kaufmann and Christopher Maltman made a spirited pair of suitors, and Siegfried Vogel was a salty impresario. Only Anne Sofie von Otter got it slightly wrong, making the actress Clairon too arch. Leopold Hager led the Royal Scottish National Orchestra confidently through the sumptuous yet vacuous score.