Maria Stuarda is the most popular work in Gaetano Donizetti´s triology of bel canto operas on Tudor queens, a triology that also includes Anna Bolena and Roberto Devereux. The production of Venice´s beautiful Teatro La Fenice, which was gloriously rebuilt after the fire of 1996, shows Queen Mary and her embittered foe Elizabeth both as prisoners of passion for the same man, trapped in a labyrinth that is the central set-element in Italian-based Franco-Tunisian director Denis Krief´s staging. “To conjure up… hatred and jealousy, you don´t need a stage setting, just two splendid prima donnas: Sonia Ganassi and Fiorenza Cedolins.” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
Alfred Brendel über Musik Drei Vorträge
Alfred Brendel, einer der größten Pianisten und musikalischen Denker unserer Tage, unternimmt in diesen drei Vorträgen eine musikalische Entdeckungsreise hinter die Noten und in die Mysterien der Musik und fasziniert seine Zuhörer mit einer Vielfalt musikalischer Beispiele, mit denen er seine Aussagen am Klavier illustriert. Diese Vorträge, eigens für die audiovisuelle Aufzeichnung in den Räumen der Salzburger Festspiele präsentiert, sind dank der gelungenen Mischung aus Theorie und Musik nicht nur für den Experten aufschlussreich und unterhaltsam, sondern für jeden interessierten Musikfreund. „Ein Höhepunkt der Salzburger Festspiele. Der ausführende Künstler wird zum buchstäblichen Charakterdarsteller.“ Die Welt
Der Ring – Highlights
Special budget-priced DVD and Blu-ray
100 minutes of the most stunning visual and musical highlights of this production by La Fura dels Baus
Incl. two new documentaries about Franc Aleu and Carlus Padrissa
Ludwig van Beethoven Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 & 3. Discovering Beethoven with Joachim Kaiser and Christian Thielemann
The Beethoven cycle of the 21st century!
Christian Thielemann joins forces with the prestigious Wiener Philharmoniker in a unique and monumental project BEETHOVEN 9, their first-ever recording of all 9 Symphonies in full high definition and Surround Sound. This recording from the Golden Hall of Vienna´s Musikverein is accompanied by nine(!) hour-long documentaries, one on each symphony, featuring Christian Thielemann and Germany´s most eminent music critic, Prof. Joachim Kaiser. From insights into Beethoven´s musical thinking to interpretational comparisons, including excerpts form legendary performances by Karajan, Bernstein, Böhm, Järvi etc., to historical perpsectives – no aspect of Beethoven´s symphonic oeuvre will remain untreated! This 2 DVD-set or Blu-ray contains Beethoven Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 and the Documentaries about Symphonies 1, 2 & 3.
Beethoven – Thielemann – Wiener Philharmoniker from Elmar Kruse on Vimeo.
Il Mondo della Luna
2009 marked Haydn´s anniversary year as well as Nikolaus Harnoncourt´s 80th birthday. For this occasion the maestro chose Il mondo della luna, a delicious mixture of satire, comedy and science fiction based on a popular comedy by Carlo Goldoni. Haydn´s music unleashes a display of fireworks performed with irresistible energy by Harnoncourt and his ensemble. Renowned actor and director Tobias Moretti relates the story as a magical fairy tale infused with slapstick and fantasy costumes. “This piece is extreme, completely insane and very funny. Wherever you puncture the surface of Haydn, you come upon sheer madness.” Nikolaus Harnocourt
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Press Quotes
In this production “the visual codes of the digital era become elemental and dazzlingly employed means of narration” (Opernwelt).
„Quite a spectacle, brilliantly sung.“ The Sunday Times
“It looks like a landmark Ring cycle, it is outstanding.” BBC Magazine
4 Stars in Rondo
“Wagner like this is fun even for pop fans” Spiegel Online
“Wagner’s music drama ingeniously illustrated” Fono Forum
“This production positively crackles with tension” Crescendo
Awards
Rheingold: Echo Klassik 2010
Der Ring des Nibelungen: German Record Critics’ Award of New Releases for the Second Quarter 2010
Die Walküre: German Record Critics’ Award of New Releases for the First Quarter 2010
Das Rheingold: Diapason d´Or, DIAMANT d’Opera Magazine
Der Ring des Nibelungen: Choc de Classica
Karajan conducts Mozart & Dvorák
Combining the forces of two of the 20th century´s greatest musicians – Yehudi Menuhin and Herbert von Karajan in their only recorded performance together – this magnificent programme marks a high point in filmed classical music. Both features, Mozart´s Violin Concerto No. 5 and Dvorák´s “New World” Symphony, were directed by master film-maker and long-time Karajan collaborator Henri-Georges Clouzot (The Wages of Fear).
Bonus: Herbert von Karajan in conversation with Yehudi Menuhin (on Mozart) and Prof. Joachim Kaiser (on Dvorák). Special bonus feature: Previously unreleased rehearsal session prior to Violin Concerto No. 5!
King Roger
It is hard to believe that for decades Karol Szymanowski´s masterpiece, his magnificant opera King Roger of 1926, led such a shadowy existance until it was revealed for what it is by such powerful champions as Simon Rattle: one of the 20th century´s finest operas. The visually strong production by David Pountney provided the Bregenz Festival with one of it´s most abiding successes in recent years. Scott Hendricks in the baritone title role and Olga Pasichnyk as his queen, Roxana, were both rapturously applauded. “What grandiose music!” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
Messiah
To mark the 250th anniversary of Handel´s death, Vienna´s Theater an der Wien realized a truly extraordinary project: the staging of Messiah, the composer´s most popular oratorio.Collaborating with an exquisite cast of singers, Claus Guth, one of today´s highly renowned stage directors, delivered “an emotionally and psychologically charged sequence of images … “The audience was thrilled” (Süddeutsche Zeitung)
André Previn – A Bridge Between Two Worlds
André Previn is one of the leading musicians of our day. The eighty-one-year-old cosmopolitan pianist, conductor and classical composer has not only received no fewer than foru Academy awards for his film adaptations but was also one of the most influential jazz musicians of the fifties and sixties. A Bridge Between Two Worlds is a portrait of Previn´s fascinating musicianship and also looks candidly at his private life, including his relations with his two ex-wives, Mia Farrow and Anne-Sophie Mutter. As a bonus, this release features Mozart´s two Piano Quartets K. 478 and K. 493 with André Previn at the keyboard.