Making of “Cyrano de Bergerac”

Domingo creates the magical illusion that Alfano wrote the role especially for him: Domingo de Bergerac” (review of the premiere in the Madrid daily ABC). Plácido Domingo’s triumph in Valencia’s stunningly futuristic theater El Palau de les Arts in February 2007 echoes the overwhelmingly positive reception he obtained at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in this role. A coproduction of the New York, London and Valencia houses, Franco Alfano’s little-known 1936 opera “Cyrano de Bergerac” has been reawakened to life by the great Spanish tenor. Although Alfano (1875-1954) enjoyed a long and prolific career as an opera composer, he is known today above all for having completed Puccini’s “Turandot”. His earlier works not surprisingly reflect Puccini’s verismo style, but his later works – including “Cyrano de Bergerac” – are clearly inspired by Debussy, Ravel and Strauss. Opulent scoring and colorful orchestral effects elegantly underscore the tragic story based on Rostand’s famous drama of 1897, which achieved international celebrity in the Oscar-nominated 1990 film adaptation with Gérard Depardieu. Alfano’s work faithfully relates the story of the large-nosed soldier poet who pines for the beautiful Roxane and writes her glowing love letters in the name of his fellow soldier Christian, who also loves her. At an age when most singers start contemplating retirement, Domingo unearthed this opera, which was premiered in Rome in 1936, and added the role of Cyrano to his repertoire – as the 121st of his career! Domingo had long been looking for a new role that was both a vocal and dramatic challenge. He was particularly delighted by the role’s “anti-hero” quality. “It’s a beautiful role”, he asserts, “and I’m so happy I could discover it this late in my career.” With his charismatic stage presence, Domingo clearly dominates the production, directed by Michal Znaniecki and conducted by Patrick Fournillier, one of France’s leading conductors. Nevertheless, his pairing with American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky could hardly be more felicitous, as she brings a full, dramatic voice that rises effortlessly above the work’s luxuriant orchestration. The many supporting roles are equally well cast and accompanied by the expressively playing Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana.

Portrait Anna Netrebko – Report About Anna

Her rise to international fame may have been meteoric, but her radiance is nothing less than galactic: Anna Netrebko, soprano and superstar. A phenomenal artist, she has been breaking all records in the world of classical music, and has injected a much-needed shot of youthful vitality into the classical scene. She can dominate the musical stage as Violetta Valéry in “La Traviata” or blend seamlessly into an ensemble as Susanna in “Le nozze di Figaro.” She can move audiences to tears with Russian songs or bring down the house with operetta arias. She is versatile, talented, gorgeous – and deserves to be in the spotlight. Yet though she may have all the makings of a diva, she prefers to play with the notion rather than live it out. This documentary shows Anna Netrebko as she really is: a natural, unaffected young woman full of fun, energy and, yes, boundless ambition and self-confidence. We accompany her to her parents’ home in Krasnodar and to her apartment in St. Petersburg. She relates her beginnings at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, where she scrubbed the floors of the lobby¿ And we see the visible impact she makes on a dignified public when she is awarded the Russian State Prize by President Putin. In candid conversations, she tells us about her plans for the future, her hobbies, her loves, but also her fears and how fame has changed her life. Revealing insights are also provided by conductor Valery Gergiev, Netrebko’s mentor, and tenor Rolando Villazón, her most important stage partner. The program contains a wealth of excerpts from Netrebko’s most recent performances in operas such as “La Traviata,” “La Bohème,” “Rigoletto,” and “War and Peace,” and features a side-splitting rendering of Lehár’s “Meine Lippen küssen so heiss” that brilliantly spotlights the humor, spontaneity and naturalness of this one-of-a-kind artist.

Diana Damrau – Diva Divina: Nine Months With The German Opera Star

She is simply one of the best singers in the world,’ proclaimed the New York Sun triumphantly after another of Diana Damrau’s spectacular performances at the Metropolitan Opera. And while The Guardian gushed: ‘The German soprano…has become a cult figure,’ the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted succinctly: ‘Whoever says coloratura says Damrau.’ In private moments with her parents and her first teacher, Damrau talks about her childhood and youth, about her discovery of opera while watching TV, her early career and her international breakthrough in 2002 in roles such as Donna Anna and Zerbinetta. The film portrays an exciting, high-intensity, fast-paced jet-set life tempered by the harmony of a rewarding family life with her husband, her parents and, at the end of the film, with her brand-new baby!

Portrait Alison Balsom – The Trumpet’s Splendour

In only a few years, trumpeter Alison Balsom has shot forward to the topmost ranks of today’s instrumental soloists, reaching untold popularity for her playing – and for the trumpet. At the latest since her appearance in a live international broadcast of the ‘Last Night of the Proms,’ she has become one of the best-known UK artists of today, with sales of her CDs topping the charts. At the center of the documentary are two performances. One is a public performance of Haydn’s celebrated Trumpet Concerto in E flat major with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin under the Chinese conductor Xian Zhang, recorded in the classicistic hall of the Konzerthaus Berlin. The other is a ‘private’ recording of Bach’s Concerto in D major BWV 972 and Gigue BWV 1008, Debussy’s ‘Syrinx’, and George Thalben-Ball’s Elegy for trumpet and organ, performed with organist David Goode at Berlin’s historic Sophienkirche.

Portrait Edita Gruberova – The Art of Belcanto

Edita Gruberova turned the bel canto style – as exemplified primarily by the early 19th-century operas of Bellini and Donizetti – into her own, unmistakable specialty. But what is the nature of bel canto? What is the secret of her vocal gift? These are a couple of the questions the film addresses. In addition to rehearsal excerpts from ‘Lucrezia Borgia,’ the film shows Gruberova in the title role of ‘Norma’ and as Elisabetta in ‘Roberto Devereux’. Archival recordings allow us to admire her in ‘Rigoletto’ with Luciano Pavarotti, the legendary ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ under Karl Böhm, and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s film adaptation of ‘Così fan tutte’ under Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Christine Schäfer – My Art of Singing

In this light-hearted documentary portrait, Christine Schäfer reveals how she has come to position herself in the top ranks of today’s sopranos while still maintaining her artistic freedom. With razor-sharp wit and intelligence, she describes how she keeps herself grounded in a world that craves celebrities. Among the friends and colleagues who provide insights into her artistry as well as her refreshing normality are conductors Christian Thielemann and Sylvain Cambreling, stage director Christoph Marthaler, music journalist Jürgen Kesting, singer José van Dam and others.