This performjance is a presentation of no more and no less than the perfect blend of two human senses: a music lover’s eye and ear will both experience the very finest quality production. Alone the star-studded vocal ensemble, under the direction of internationally renowned director David Runnicles, guarantees a satisfactory interpretation of Puccini”s majestic opera. The aria, “Nessun dorma,” which has now become a global hit, is sung by the young Indiana-born tenor Michael Sylvester as Calaf. At the vanguard of the contemporary art genre, David Hockney has been hired as both director and designer to contribute his experience to this well-staged opera project.
Il barbiere di Siviglia
For his first opera production, Dario Fo, the theatre director known for his brilliant wit, chose to stage Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia for the Netherlands Opera. First mounted in 1987, it was a huge success and a live recording of ist revival in May 1992, the 200th anniversary of Rossini’s birth, has been made.
Fo has said that ‘Rossini is the musician of eating and love. He composes music rich in herbs and aromas, in which you find olives, tomatoes, fish, grapes, roses and rosemary, sheets and tablecloths, dry wine and the laughter of girls.’ His ‘Barbiere’ is a joyful carnival. During the overture he fills the stage with carnival revellers and immediately the commedia dell’arte origins of opera buffa are restored. Visual theatrics abound, never at the expense of the music, but highlighting it, engaging the eye as well as the ear. Fo addresses the heart more than the intellect and Rossini’s comedy comes up dazzling and vital.
La clemenza di Tito
La Clemenza di Tito was commissioned to celebrate the coronation of the Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia in 1791, and was written in eighteen days. Nicholas Hytner’s elegant new staging, performed in the original Italian language, was premiered during the Mozart Bicentenary season at Glyndebourne on 28th June, 1991. An impressive cast is led by Philip Langridge (Tito), Ashley Putnam (Vitellia) and Diana Montague (Sesto). New recitatives, to replace those written by Mozart’s pupil Süssmayr, were commissioned from composer Stephen Oliver for this production. Andrew Davis conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
War and Peace
From the Kirov Opera St. Petersburg 1991 This production marked an historic ‘first’ collaboration between Russian and British operatic talent. Producer Graham Vick, designer Timothy O’Brien and lighting designer Matthew Richardson mounted a War and Peace that was revolutionary in staging terms for the Kirov Opera. The galvanic conductor Valery Gergiev fielded a cast of the company’s finest singers, including Nicolai Othotnikov, Irina Bogachova, Yuri Marusin and Yelena Prochina, supported by a huge, expertly-rehearsed chorus. The impact of this War and Peace is formidable. (Sung in Russian)
Carmen
From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden 1991 Bizet’s much-loved opera, a fateful story of jealousy and passion, was staged at The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in a quintessentially Spanish production by the eminent director Nuria Espert, with designs by Gerardo Vera and costumes by Franca Squarciapino. Zubin Mehta conducts an outstanding cast, with Luis Lima as Don José, Gino Quilico as Escamillo, Leontina Vaduva as Micaela and starring the sensational Maria Ewing, aloof and magnetic, in the title role she has made her own. (Sung in French)
Orfeo ed Euridice
From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden 1991: Staged for the Royal Opera, Harry Kupfer’s production updates the Greek legend of Orpheus and employs ingenious sets by Hans Schavernoch, with projections onto revolving mirrors and screens, to conjure up images of a modern day Hell. It is sung using the original Italian libretto and, in the title role, the male alto Jochen Kowalski gives a “star performance of bewildering energy and commitment” (London Evening Standard). Soprano Gillian Webster is a radiant Euridice and Hartmut Haenchen conducts. (Sung in Italian)
Fidelio
“Those in search of a thoroughly teutonic Fidelio should speed to The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. It moves swiftly and surely, is powerfully cast and is conducted with fine muscular authority by Christoph von Dohnányi,” wrote The Times of this production by Adolf Dresen, which starred Gabriela Benacková and Josef Protschka. Designed in an austere but traditional style by Margit Bardy, it conveys Beethoven’s theme – the triumph of love and freedom over the forces of evil and oppression – with a natural, unadorned simplicity.
Mefistofele
From the San Francisco Opera 1989: Samuel Ramey’s powerful bass voice and compelling stage presence make him unforgettable in the demonic title role of Boito’s version of the Faust legend, a jewel of the nineteenth-century repertoire. Robert Carsen’s sumptuous production, steeped in a vivid and timeless symbolism, “breathes a sensitivity to the music and to Boito’s intentions that is rare on the operatic stage” (New York Times). Dennis O’Neill sings Faust, with Gabriela Benacková as Margherita. (Sung in Italian)
La Bohème
From the San Francisco Opera 1988: Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni’s incomparable partnership as Rodolfo and Mimi, the tragic lovers in Puccini’s much-loved bittersweet opera, is captured for posterity in this live recording from the San Francisco opera. Francesca Zambello’s production boasts a superlative cast with Gino Quilico as Marcello, Nicolai Ghiaurov as Colline, Stephen Dickson as Schaunard and Sandra Pacetti as Musetta. The Italian conductor Tiziano Severini drew critical acclaim for his passionate and spontaneous reading of the score.
La Cenerentola
From the Salzburg Festival 1988 Rossini’s version of the Cinderella story – an exciting mixture of comedy, pathos, coloratura fireworks and masquerade – features bel canto specialists Dame Ann Murray (Angelina) and Francisco Araiza (the Prince). The effervescent and noble score is conducted by Riccardo Chailly, whose masterly display of the Rossini style is visually matched by the ravishing sets of Mauro Pagano and the stylish direction of Michael Hampe. This is a performance of exceptional theatrical surprise and phenomenal vocal agility. (Sung in Italian)