Articles tagged: #Opernhaus Zurich

L’ACCENT RUSSE
“How much is the key to the countess’s bedroom today?”
17.04.2026

In 2015, the German director Andreas Dresen and the stage designer Matthias Fischer-Dieskau, son of the celebrated baritone, created a version of Arabella at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, placing the emphasis on Strauss’s links with the Nazi regime, which provoked heated debate. The central element of the set was an imposing staircase immediately evoking the swastika and executed in the corresponding colours red, black and white, as well as in its stark graphic design.

About the author

Nadia Sikorsky

Nadia Sikorsky grew up in Moscow where she obtained a master's degree in journalism and a doctorate in history from Moscow State University. After 13 years at UNESCO, in Paris and then in Geneva, and having served as director of communications at Green Cross International founded by Mikhail Gorbachev, she developed NashaGazeta.ch, the first online Russian-language daily newspaper, launched in 2007.

In 2022, she found herself among those who, according to Le Temps editorial board, "significantly contributed to the success of French-speaking Switzerland," thus appearing among opinion makers and economic, political, scientific and cultural leaders: the Forum of 100.

After 18 years leading NashaGazeta.ch, Nadia Sikorsky decided to return to her roots and focus on what truly fascinates her: culture in all its diversity. This decision took the form of this trilingual cultural blog (Russian, English, French) born in the heart of Europe – in Switzerland, her adopted country, the country distinguished by its multiculturalism and multilingualism.

Nadia Sikorsky does not present herself as a "Russian voice," but as the voice of a European of Russian origin (more than 35 years in Europe, 25 years spent in Switzerland) with the benefit of more than 30 years of professional experience in the cultural world at the international level. She positions herself as a cultural mediator between Russian and European traditions; the title of the blog, "The Russian Accent," captures this essence – the accent being not a linguistic barrier, not a political position but a distinctive cultural imprint in the European context.

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Most read
"Rays and Shadows". Without Retouching or Illusions

What can one expect from a film about real people whose fate we already know? Quite a lot, as it turns out. Over three and a half hours, the viewer follows the protagonists of Rays and Shadows, Xavier Giannoli’s latest film, along the road to hell paved with good intentions, or, more precisely, along the path from the pacifist illusions of the post-war period to active collaboration during the Nazi occupation of France.

Who Will Answer for “Shosta”?

For the first time in my journalistic career, I want to tell you about a concert I have no intention of attending. And the reason, of course, has nothing to do with the brilliant composers whose works appear on the programme, nor even with the performers. The problem is the “packaging”, which deeply shocked me.

Нуриев. Noureïev. Nureyev. Nurejew.

A tribute in ballet form to the great Russian dancer, created by Kirill Serebrennikov, Yuri Possokhov and Ilya Demutsky, is currently being performed on the stage of the Berlin State Opera. But it was conceived for the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, where I had the good fortune to see it several years ago. So I can compare my impressions.