Originally performed at La Scala in 1967 to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Toscanini’s death, this production with the orchestra and chorus of the Teatro alla Scala was presented in Moscow, Montreal and New York, in addition to Milan. It was recorded on film in 1967, now with the young Luciano Pavarotti replacing Carlo Bergonzi. One of Karajan’s earliest film productions (and his first color film), it reflects his innovativeness especially through his choice of Henri-Georges Clouzot as director. Clouzot was the creator of classic “films noirs” such as “Quai des Orfèvres” and “Wages of Fear”.
La Traviata
Acclaimed film and stage director Franco Zeffirelli spared no costs to reproduce the opulent settings of Violetta Valéry’s happiness and downfall. The unparalleled musical quality of the production is guaranteed by some of the world’s foremost musicians: New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, conductor James Levine and singers Teresa Stratas and Placido Domingo. As Violetta, Teresa Stratas strikes the right balance between emotional grandeur and physical weakness. And with his meltingly lyrical voice and magnetic stage presence, Placido Domingo embodies Alfredo Germont with a rarely seen passion.
La Traviata
Within only a few years, Anna Netrebko has become one of the most acclaimed performers of our time, whose popularity transcends by far the boundaries of classical music. With her CDs garnering phenomenal sales and her stage appearances causing worldwide box-office stampedes, Anna Netrebko is on her way to becoming the new diva assoluta. This recording of Verdi’s “La Traviata” from the 2005 Salzburg Festival – the uncontested and hopelessly sold-out highlight of the festival season – captures the triumphal performance not only of Anna Netrebko as Violetta Valéry, but also of Rolando Villazón as her lover Alfredo. The glamorous Russian soprano and the heartthrob Mexican tenor have become the new dream team of the opera world.
Rigoletto
Along with “Il Trovatore” and “La Traviata,” “Rigoletto” is part of the immortal triumvirate of milestone operas written by Giuseppe Verdi and premiered in the early 1850s. It has become one of the most popular operas in the entire repertory, with stupendous music for the baritone, soprano and tenor leads. The work contains such beloved numbers as “Caro nome,” Gilda’s coloratura aria; the Duke of Mantua’s famous “La donna è mobile”; and the quartet “Bella figlia dell’amore” from the third act. In this production from the early 1990s from Milan’s La Scala, Roberto Alagna sings the part of the Duke, Renato Bruson the title role and Andrea Rost the role of Gilda. The staging is by Gilbert Deflo, whose vision is supported by the distinguished set designer Ezio Frigerio and costume designer Franca Squarciapino. The aristocrat of conductors, the autocrat of the baton, Riccardo Muti cuts a noble figure at the head of any orchestra, and ennobles every ensemble through his charismatic personality and red-blooded musicality. In many respects, including his unwillingness to compromise over artistic matters, he is reminiscent of Arturo Toscanini, who was also a demanding ruler at the podium. His rise to international fame set in with his guest conductorships at the Salzburg Festival in 1971 and at the head of the Berlin Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1972. Muti became principal guest conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra a few years later, and was named its music director in 1980. Always a conductor of both the symphonic and operatic repertoire, Muti advanced to the post of music director of La Scala in Milan in 1986. The 1990s saw Muti consolidating his reputation at the head of this venerable institution, as well as in countless other high-caliber venues around the world. Today he is one of the undisputed giants among the leading conductors of the world.
Tutto Verdi – The Complete Operas
Operas: Oberto, Un giorno di regno, Nabucco, I Lombardi, Ernani, I due Foscari, Giovanna d´Arco, Alzira, Attila, Macbeth, I masnadieri, Il corsaro, La Battaglia di Legnano, Luisa Miller, Stiffelio, Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, La Traviata, I vespri siciliani, Simon Boccanegra, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Don Carlo, Aida, Otello, Falstaff. “This is how Verdi should be played.” FAZ Including all 26 Verdi Operas + Requiem + BONUS: 10 mins introductions of each opera + documentary “Verdi´s Backyard” + booklet 280 pages
Un Ballo in Maschera
Praise for the Bayerische Staatsoper’s new Ballo in maschera: “A formidable vocal feast” (Bayerische Staatszeitung). Ten years after stepping down as music director of the Bavarian State Opera, a “grand Zubin Mehta“ (Bayerischer Rundfunk) returned to Munich in March 2016 to celebrate his 80th birthday conducting Verdi’s masterpiece for the first time in a staged production. His cast features some of today’s finest Verdi singers: soprano Anja Harteros, singing Amelia for the first time and “filling every note with Verdian intensity”, tenor Piotr Beczala as a “visually and vocally dashing Riccardo” and George Petean as an “exemplary” Renato (Neue Musikzeitung). In director Johannes Erath’s musically super-sensitive new production, this historically-based tale of illicit love, conspiracy and betrayal unfolds in a surrealistic, shadowy setting transformed by lighting and projections. Special praise was showered by the enthusiastic critics on Maestro Mehta, who “creates concentrated musical connections, miraculously guiding his orchestra and unsurpassable voices the way a thermal lifts a paraglider … Musically the performance was a dream” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). “A total triumph” (La Razón). “This production shows what a utopia opera can be” (Abendzeitung).
I due Foscari
In his ‘new life’ as a baritone, Plácido Domingo has triumphed in the role of Francesco Foscari in Los Angeles, London and Vienna. Now he takes to the role to La Scala, Milan, the theatre that is the symbol of Italian opera. I due Foscari, premiered in 1844, famously one of Verdi’s darkest operas, is staged by Alvis Hermanis, who made such an impact at the Salzburg Festival with “Die Soldaten” and “Il trovatore”. Domingo is joined by two of Italy’s most exciting singers, the soprano Anna Pirozzi and the tenor Francesco Meli, and the acclaimed Italian conductor Michele Mariotti. The Financial Times was deeply moved by Domingo’s performance, calling his interpretation of the role “sublime”.
Macbeth
With his Macbeth, Giuseppe Verdi broke with the operatic conventions of the time and created one of his darkest and most abysmal works. Directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski, the timeless drama unfolds in a new interpretation that takes the audience on an intense journey into human abysses. An opera of this kind demands not only outstanding voices but also outstanding actors. “Vladislav Sulimsky is forceful and brutish in the title role, at times truly frightening, always utterly assured.” (Financial Times) Asmik Grigorian is giving her debut as Lady Macbeth and performs “with an urgency of expression that needs no further explanation.” (Salzburger Nachrichten) “Her singing becomes a victory over expressive resistance.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine) “Philippe Jordan celebrated a triumph on the podium of the Wiener Philharmoniker” (Kurier), his “Macbeth crackles with power and electricity, propelled by its own velocity. The orchestra attacks the score with relish.” (Financial Times) “A triumph for ‘Lady Macbeth’ Asmik Grigorian.” (Kronen Zeitung)
Simon Boccanegra
Verdi’s masterpiece „Simon Boccanegra“ is presented in a „clear and levelheaded“ (The New York Times) staging by Andreas Kriegenburg from the Salzburg Festival. The tragedy of the corsair who becomes Doge of Genoa and is poisoned shortly after having found his lost daughter is conducted by Valery Gergiev, „makes for gorgeously beautiful tone colours“ (Der Kurier). The excellent cast includes Luca Salsi („Italy’s finest baritone today“, Financial Times) in the title role, René Pape („in sumptuous voice“, Financial Times) as his contrahent Fiesco, as well as Marina Rebeka and Charles Castronovo as the loving couple Amelia and Adorno who „together create islands of bliss in duet and action.“ (Neue Zürcher Zeitung). Valery Gergiev provides for an excellent musical realization, the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor perform superbly: “The Wiener Philharmoniker seemed to have virtually conspired with the conductor and the work, shining into every hidden sound angle, playing out all their sovereignty and opera experience” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).
Macbeth
In this interpretation of Verdi’s Macbeth, stage director Christof Loy skillfully navigates the interplay of light and dark, infusing the opera – based on Shakespeare’s work – with remarkable depth and drama. The outstanding vocal ensemble vividly captures the psychological nuances of the characters, featuring Ludovic Tézier as the paranoid Macbeth and Martina Serafin as Lady Macbeth, the mastermind behind the crimes. Giampaolo Bisanti pours his passion into the score, while The Symphony Orchestra and the Liceu Choir deliver exceptional performances in response. Consequently, the audience experiences a flawless blend of lyrics and music, crafted by the Milanese composer, librettist Francesco Maria Piave, and poet Andrea Maffei.