For the first time in his career, Riccardo Chailly conducts an opera in Spain: “La Bohème” at the magnificent Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia. The striking result is a lively, colorful symphonic reading of the opera that turns the orchestra into one of the stars of the performance, on a par with the vocal soloists. Stage director Davide Livermore interprets the work with the help of large video projections of Impressionist paintings that harmonize with the period in which the action takes place. This co-production with the Philadelphia Opera features a cast of up-and-coming young singers (cf. Documentary “Riccardo Chailly – A Portrait” Prog. No. 9858).
Salzburg Festival 2022: Il trittico
Il trittico was premiered in New York on 14 December 1918, composed while the First World War was still raging in Europe. At first glance, the three one-act operas Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro and Suor Angelica seem to have no connection with each other; their common denominator is solely the entanglement of man in a fateful destiny that only exceptionally, for a moment, seems to promise a happy outcome to the “adventure of life” — a set of themes that in its complexity seems to be in such good hands with few directors as with Christof Loy. The main female roles in the three opera acts are performed by the Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian, a very rare and tremendous feat, but once again connects the works to each other. “Grigorian is […] a wonderful, intense performer: a gracefully graceful Donna fragile as Lauretta, a feverishly longing for love while tormented by guilt Giorgetta, and a desperately lost Angelica rebelling with defiance.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
Baden-Baden Opera Gala
“An extraordinary evening full of emotions!” that is how the press called “the concert event of the year”: Anja Harteros, Ekaterina Gubanova, Jonas Kaufmann and Bryn Terfel, four singers in a league of their own presented an extraordinary summit of classical music superstars. The star-studded cast took the audience on a long journey, exploring some of the most remarkable and popular operas and combining all the features of this supreme musical genre in a single concert: beauty, magical sound, tragedy, and overflowing passion.
3 Stars in Berlin – Live from the Waldbühne 2011
When Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Erwin Schrott join forces, the result is a summit of vocal giants, recorded for posterity at Berlin’s spectacular outdoor Waldbühne. Accompanied by the Prague Philharmonia under Marco Armiliato, the three singers beguiled the audience with a program ranging from famous arias to forgotten gems. There’s something for everyone, from the connoisseur to the layman who rarely listens to classical music. Also of the highest standard is the recording itself, with expert camerawork ensuring that the concert’s unique atmosphere is vividly transposed to the screen.
The Most Beautiful Operas of All Time: Tosca
Take life, drama, and comedy. Add stage and music. Voilà: you‘ve got opera! But once an opera has gone out into the world from the stages of Milan, Paris or Vienna, each work begins to develop a life of ist own. How do audiences of the 18th or the 21st century understand the work? How much of the composer‘s own biography has gone into his work? How does opera co-exist with the other arts of ist time? These and other topics form the core of ten half-hour documentaries, a one-of-a-kind tour of the most beautiful operas of all time. Evocative visuals, stylish re-enactments, statements from leading international singers, conductors and directors, excerpts from the most prominent productions of each opera – all of this is served up in a cool, modern aesthetic aimed at viewers who are not the traditional target audiences of opera.
The Most Beautiful Operas of All Time: La Bohème
Take life, drama, and comedy. Add stage and music. Voilà: you‘ve got opera! But once an opera has gone out into the world from the stages of Milan, Paris or Vienna, each work begins to develop a life of ist own. How do audiences of the 18th or the 21st century understand the work? How much of the composer‘s own biography has gone into his work? How does opera co-exist with the other arts of ist time? These and other topics form the core of ten half-hour documentaries, a one-of-a-kind tour of the most beautiful operas of all time. Evocative visuals, stylish re-enactments, statements from leading international singers, conductors and directors, excerpts from the most prominent productions of each opera – all of this is served up in a cool, modern aesthetic aimed at viewers who are not the traditional target audiences of opera.
Making of “La Bohème”
Classical Summit 2006 – Three Superstars in Berlin
In the tradition of the original ‘The Three Tenors,’ world-class singers Plácido Domingo, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón joined forces to entertain a live audience of 20,000 spectators on location and millions more around the world on TV. They sing the most famous arias and duets from the world of opera, accompanied by the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and its conductor Marco Armiliato.
3 Stars in Vienna
Bathed in the warm light of the setting sun, Vienna’s imperial Schönbrunn Palace provides a romantic setting for this open-air concert held shortly before the final match of the Euro 2008 football championship. And shining even more brightly than the palace are the stars of the evening, Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón and Plácido Domingo. The trio’s first joint concert, given at Berlin’s Waldbühne for the 2006 football World Cup, was recorded by UNITEL CLASSICA and awarded the Platinum DVD for sales of over 50,000 DVDs in Germany and over 100,000 worldwide. The Schönbrunn concert also broke records with 3.3 million viewers watching the concert live or deferred in Germany and Austria.
Salzburg Festival 2022: Suor Angelica
In Suor Angelica the perspective has narrowed to the tragic fate of a single figure, the young nun Angelica. Banished to the convent for an indiscretion, she leads a joyless existence and waits for news of her son, whom she has been forbidden to see since his birth. When she learns that he has died, she resolves to put an end to her life. The climax of the opera is an extended monologue lasting 20 minutes in which Angelica works through her doubts as a devout Catholic and frees herself from her feelings of guilt and remorse. In a redemptive ending she finally transcends all her pain and escapes her agony. With a radiant finale Puccini opens up a path for her into the spheres of celestial paradise. “Overwhelming” Opernwelt