‘Translucence, transparency, warmth’ are the qualities identified by Bernard Haitink as necessary for an ideal sound performance of Beethoven’s only opera, and all are present in this fantastic recording of Katharina Thalbach’s new production for Opernhaus Zurich. Haitink conducts the Zurich Opera Orchestra in a magnificent performance in which Leonore Overture No. 3 provides an interlude between the two scenes of the second act, following a tradition started by Gustav Mahler. German soprano Melanie Diener, in the role of Leonore, leads a brilliant cast including Alfred Muff as Rocco, Roberto Saccà as Florestan, Sandra Trattnigg as Marzelline and Christoph Strehl as Jaquino.
Bach, Weihnachtsoratorium (Christmas Oratorio) BWV 248
This production of Bach’s “Christmas Oratorio” was recorded at two highly exceptional places: Palestine and Israel, the authentic, historical locations of the Christmas story. The recording of the work’s first three cantatas took place in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve, and the second set of cantatas at the Evangelical Church in Jerusalem on Christmas Day. Conductor Riccardo Chailly leads the Zurich Opera’s acclaimed early-music ensemble along with a roster of top soloists. The program is interspersed with shots of various historical sites of Israel and Palestine.
Parsifal
It was in Zurich that Richard Wagner, as he himself noted, obtained the inspiration for ‘Parsifal’ in 1857. And it was the Zurich Opera which, in 1913, was the first opera house outside of Bayreuth that was allowed to perform the work. On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Wagner’s ‘stroke of genius’, we can once again experience ‘the purest Wagner bliss’, as the Neue Zürcher Zeitung put it, thanks to Hans Hollmann’s production and Bernard Haitink’s inspired conducting of the Zurich Opernorchester.
Tosca
Puccini’s verismo masterpiece demands a trio of vocal soloists of stellar quality. This Munich Festival production of “Tosca” meets all expectations. The great Finnish soprano Karita Mattila infuses her Tosca with passion and controlled intensity. As her lover Cavaradossi, Jonas Kaufmann once again confirms his status as one of the leading tenors of our time, and Juha Uusitalo’s evil Scarpia brims with dark menace.
The Passenger
Continuing its tradition of unearthing little-known 20th-century operas, the Bregenz Festival presented the first staged production of Polish- Russian composer Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s “The Passenger” in 2010. Written in 1967/68, the opera relates the chance meeting of a former concentration camp guard and one of her former inmates on an ocean liner years after the war. Bringing the work to vibrant life are the Wiener Symphoniker under Teodor Currentzis; topping the cast are Michelle Breedt and Elena Kelessidi. The work is well served by David Pountney’s stage direction and Johan Engels’ two-level set, with the ocean liner above and the concentration camp below.
Carmen
Stealing the show of this “Carmen” production is Anna Netrebko as Micaela, who gives the role a strikingly authentic touch. The lead role is sung and acted with a panther-like grace by Bulgarian mezzo Nadia Krasteva. She and her equally dazzling fellow leads Massimo Giordano as Don José and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo as Escamillo infuse this revival of Franco Zeffirelli’s 1978 production with drama and irrepressible life. Imparting his own personal stamp on the music is the young Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, who leads the Orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper with contagious passion and fresh, brisk tempi.
Der Freischütz
German conductor Ingo Metzmacher was appointed General Music Director of the Hamburg Opera in 1997, where he conducted a series of internationally acclaimed productions, many of them in collaboration with Stage Director Peter Konwitschny, over eight seasons. “Der Freischütz” was one of the highlights of their collaboration. The German opera magazine “Opernwelt” voted the Hamburg Opera House “Opera House of the year 2005”.
The Nutcracker
Tschaikovsky’s perhaps best-loved and most famous work in an amazing production from the Berlin State Opera featuring Vladimir Malakhov, who is recognized worldwide as one of the greatest dancers of his generation.
Les Troyens
Monumental operas deserve epochal stagings. And ‘Les Troyens’ by Hector Berlioz is such a work. This grand opera, complete with ensembles and ballets, large choruses and orchestral set pieces, is given an appropriately grand treatment in this production by the renowned Catalan theater group ‘La Fura dels Baus’ recorded at Valencia’s Palau de les Arts. In this coproduction with St. Petersburg’s Mariinski Theater and Warsaw’s Wielki Theater, the Fura’s director, Carlus Padrissa, has gathered around him his faithful collaborators Franc Aleu (video), Roland Olbeter (sets), Chu Uroz (costumes) and Peter van Praet (lighting) who crafted Valencia’s sensational ‘Ring des Nibelungen’ (also available from UNITEL ). ‘That this is such a feast for the eyes, a veritable orgy of optical opulence, is due to the sheer inexhaustible fantasy and creativeness of the Catalan artist group’ (Das Opernglas).
Bregenz Festival 2009: Aida
Stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure up an ‘open-air spectacle of superlatives’ (Die Zeit) that throws a bridge between ancient Egypt and today’s U.S. Under Carlo Rizzi, the Wiener Symphoniker brilliantly support the chorus and soloists, among whom Iano Tamar (Amneris) and Tatiana Serjan (Aida) stand out.