From city streets to the world’s great stages, from underground to establishment – this is the story of a theater collective without parallel in the world today, La Fura dels Baus. The film starts with one of their most widely seen productions – the gigantic opening ceremony of the Shanghai Expo 2010 – and relates the story of this visionary ensemble that is now setting new standards in opera production worldwide. Elements such as flying actors, human sculptures, socio-political critique and esotericism have helped create the “brand” La Fura dels Baus in the over 30 years of their existence.
Thielemann conducts Faust
Under the direction of romantic-music specialist Christian Thielemann, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden performs a special Franz Liszt memorial concert at the Semperoper in Dresden to commemorate the 200th anniversary year of one of the 19th century’s greatest composers. The “Faust”-themed concert opens with the Overture to “Faust” in D minor by Richard Wagner, who was Liszt’s son-in-law, before leading into Franz Liszt’s symphonic masterpiece “A Faust Symphony”. “A top orchestra and a top conductor have found one another” (Die Welt).
Rolando Villazon – ¡Viva México!
A lively documentary and road movie with Rolando Villazón. His very personal homage to Mexico and to the beautiful Mexican songs like ‘Bésame mucho’, ‘Cucurrucucú paloma’, ’Noche de ronda’ and ‘Solamente una vez’. The programme also includes a medley of ‘Cielito lindo’ and ‘México lindo y querido’ as well as other internationally familiar standards.
Gala Concert from the Semperoper Highlights from ‘The Merry Widow‘
This gala evening in the beautiful Semperoper devoted to operetta melodies with classic superstars Renée Fleming and Christopher Maltman under the baton of Christian Thielemann was a tremendous success and, as Deutsche Grammophon put it, started ‘a new tradition’. Thielemann, heading the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden and an ensemble of distinguished soloists and choral singers, presents the most beautiful highlights from Franz Lehár’s ‘The Merry Widow’ and succeeds in giving the famous and universally beloved melodies a perceptive new reading while still creating first-class entertainment. A short entr’acte performed in the foyer by members of the theater’s ballet ensemble allows the viewer a glimpse into the luxurious interior of the Semperoper. The New Year’s Eve gala concert ends with an homage to Dresden: the waltz ‘An der Elbe’, the last waltz written by Johann Strauss.
Russian Songs
When world-class soprano Anna Netrebko gives a recital of exquisite, rarely heard Russian songs, you can be sure that she will pour her entire Russian soul into her interpretation, and draw out every last drop of expressiveness from these songs. Indeed, what she and her accompanist, the all-round musical phenomenon Daniel Barenboim, presented in Berlin was a truly one-of-a-kind concert: a rare occasion to enjoy these Russian songs sung from and by the heart. And despite the vast dimensions of the Philharmonie, the two artists succeeded in creating an incredibly intimate atmosphere.
Bruckner, Symphony No.5 in B flat major
The performance of all six of Anton Bruckner’s mature symphonies on six nearly consecutive evenings is an accomplishment that can truly be called “superhuman” (Der Tagesspiegel). Daniel Barenboim – conductor, pianist, all round musical genius – set himself this task in June 2010 with the Staatskapelle Berlin at the Berlin Philharmonie. What Barenboim and his orchestra – he has been its principal conductor since 1992 – achieve in this marathon is a new view of the Bruckner opus that opts for grandeur and the mighty theatrical gesture. Bruckner’s symphonies as “operas without words” (Der Tagesspiegel).
Bruckner, Symphony No.8 in C minor (Edition Robert Haas)
The performance of all six of Anton Bruckner’s mature symphonies on six nearly consecutive evenings is an accomplishment that can truly be called “superhuman” (Der Tagesspiegel). Daniel Barenboim – conductor, pianist, all-round musical genius – set himself this task in June 2010 with the Staatskapelle Berlin at the Berlin Philharmonie. What Barenboim and his orchestra – he has been its principal conductor since 1992 – achieve in this marathon is a new view of the Bruckner opus that opts for grandeur and the mighty theatrical gesture. Bruckner’s symphonies as “operas without words” (Der Tagesspiegel).
Brahms, Sonatas for Violin and Piano
As Anne-Sophie Mutter herself puts it, ‘the apple was ripe and simply had to be picked.’ The ‘apple’ is the complete cycle of Brahms’ sonatas for violin and piano. Mutter, perhaps the best-known and most widely respected violinist of our time, has been fascinated by the Brahms sonatas since her youth. Several early recordings testify to her love for these works which, in her words, reflect Brahms’ understanding of ‘the singing quality’ of the violin. Over the years, she and her longtime piano partner Lambert Orkis have ‘ripened’ their interpretation of these works. Now, with the sonatas ‘under their skin’, the multiple award-winning violinist and her partner felt the time was right for their first audiovisual recording of the complete set.
Thomas Hampson sings Schumann
If there is one genre of music which baritone Thomas Hampson is exceptionally passionate about, it is the lied. To Hampson, song and singing are ‘the diary of our existence’ and he has invested a great amount of time, work and love to luring this genre out of the shadow of the more spectacular opera. One composer he particularly cherishes is Robert Schumann. Hampson begins this Schumann recital, recorded at Munich’s Prinzregententheater with Wolfram Rieger at the piano, with the cycle Zwölf Gedichte op. 35 on poems by Justinus Kerner. The second part of the recital is devoted to the original version of the popular Dichterliebe op. 48. While Hampson was preparing his first performance of the cycle based on poems by Heinrich Heine, he consulted the composer’s manuscript, only to find that the original cycle of 1840 was a completely distinctive work containing many musical and textual differences. Among the most notable differences was the presence of four songs that were omitted from the later cycle. These works – ‘Dein Angesicht so lieb und schön,’ ‘Lehn deine Wang an meine Wang,’ ‘Es leuchtet meine Liebe’ and ‘Mein Wagen rollet langsam’ – are featured here as first-ever recordings of these rediscovered works.
Bruckner, Symphony No.4 in E flat major
Bruckner originally wrote the Fourth Symphony in 1874, but revised it thoroughly in 1880 before its premiere in Vienna in 1881, which was a resounding success. Although he continued to revise it in later years,the version most often played today is the first revised version of 1880. This is also the version featured on this recording of a concert held at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, which was greeted with storms of applause. Leading the Münchner Philharmoniker in this concert is ist principal conductor Christian Thielemann, a maestro internationally known and admired above all as a specialist of Romantic music.