Munich’s court theater was the venue for the premiere of Mozart’s ‘Idomeneo’ on 29 January 1781; today, it hosts another premiere of this same work, now to celebrate the reopening of this sparkling Rococo gem of a theater, now known after its architect as the Cuvilliés Theater. Restored at the cost of over 25 million euros, the theater provides an exultant red, gold and white setting for Mozart’s opera seria, which is considered as the first of the seven uncontested masterworks of Mozart’s dramatic oeuvre. In the title role, John Mark Ainsley tackles his demanding lines with impressive firmness. Idamante, a role usually sung by a contralto, is rivetingly portrayed by the tenor Pavol Breslik. As Ilia, Juliane Banse glows with tenderness, the opposite of Annette Dasch’s darkly simmering Elettra.
Nabucco
‘Nabucco’ has long been at home in the Arena di Verona, and for many, the ‘Va pensiero’ chorus is, along with the triumphal march from ‘Aida,’ the very embodiment of the Verona experience. This video production vividly captures this unique experience and provides the viewer with fascinating details that escape many of the Arena’s spectators. Stage director Denis Krief casts the work in a sparse modern setting, providing a highly effective showcase for the true heroes of the evening, the singers under conductor Daniel Oren.
La Bohème
‘My principal motivation in filming the opera “La Bohème” is to set a memorial to the singers Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón,’ says director Robert Dornhelm, adding: ‘I think that this film, this music, this story will beguile not just opera lovers.’ The pairing of one of the most beloved operas of all time with the world’s current ‘dream team’ of singers is a recipe for success. Produced by Unitel and Vienna’s MR Film with a budget of five million euros, the theatrical film is helmed by Hollywood director Robert Dornhelm, Oscar nominee for ‘The Children of Theater Street’ and most recently director of the sensational four-part TV adaptation of Tolstoy’s ‘War and Peace.’
Fidelio
Thunderous applause and loud cries of ‘bravo’ greeted the premiere of Ludwig van Beethoven’s ‘Fidelio’ at the inaugural performance of the first opera season in Valencia’s new Palau de les Arts on 25 October 2006. Attending the stellar performance in architect Santiago Calatrava’s breathtaking theater complex was Queen Sofía of Spain, who added to the glamour of the event. With this spectacular production directed by Pierluigi Pier’Alli, Valencia has put itself back on the map of the international opera world. Dominating the activity on stage are two of today’s most distinguished German singers: Waltraud Meier as Leonore and Peter Seiffert as Florestan.
Tosca
A superlative staging of Puccini’s Tosca by Italian opera producer Hugo de Ana brought to you from the world-famous Arena di Verona and complete with all the splendour that a Puccini opera demands! The popular tragedy is sung by a dream team cast of excellent singer-actors and conducted by long-established Arena di Verona conductor Daniel Oren.
The recording captures one of those special Verona summer evenings, when the audience fills the historic circle in expectation of the enjoyment of an open-air opera performance. Verona’s amphitheatre, known as the ‘arena’, provides an atmospheric setting for the summer festival. To view an opera in the former amphitheatre, the second largest of its kind after the Colosseum in Rome, can truly be regarded as an impressive experience. The TV transmission, however, provides a closer look at the stage and the singers and brings this dramatic opera directly to the home viewer.
Così fan Tutte
At the age of 27 Peter Sellars was hailed as a wunderkind of the U.S. theater and was already the general manager of the American National Theater in Washington’s Kennedy Center. In his productions, Sellars brings out the timelessness and topicality of the works with such naturalness that he arouses interest around the world and stimulates lively discussions as to whether he is brilliantly modernizing the works or brutally maiming them. Besides “Don Giovanni,” Sellars has also staged “Le nozze di Figaro” and “Cosi fan tutte” and moved their stories to present-day New York, whereby, however, he invented a new world for each opera. Thus “Don Giovanni” plays in Spanish Harlem, “Figaro” in the noble Trump Tower on Park Avenue, “Così fan tutte” in Despina’s dilapidated coffee shop. The Da Ponte trilogy is for Sellars, who studied at Harvard, the nonplus ultra of opera literature. With his Mozart productions, Sellars first caused a ruckus in the New York cultural scene, when he presented his work to the public between 1986 and 1988 at the University theater festival Pepsico Summerfare. Then his da Ponte operas went on a European tour and were finally recorded for television in Vienna. Since then Sellars numbers among the most sought-after, unorthodox directors on the international opera scene. But in spite of his gags and witty ideas, Sellars is not out to provoke; instead, he takes the action of the opera literally, transposing it with dramatic sharpness and intelligence. His productions prove that even a 200-year-old opera does not have to be cut off from present-day life.
Bach, Matthäuspassion (St. Matthew’s Passion) BWV 244
Johann Sebastian Bach’s monumental St. Matthew Passion in a recording from Leipzig’s historic St. Thomas church, where it was first performed in 1729. Georg Christoph Biller, who was appointed the 18th “Thomaskantor” since J.S. Bach in 1992, leads Leipzig’s internationally acclaimed Gewandhaus Orchestra, the St. Thomas Choir and other distinguished artists such as Andreas Schmidt (Jesus), Olaf Bär (Pontius Pilate), Monika Frimmer, Bogna Bartosz and Martin Petzold
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Wolfgang Wagner’s Bayreuth Festival production of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg” was recorded in HDTV 1250 and Betacam Digital 16:9. A boisterous, colorful interpretation, this “Meistersinger” follows the original stage instructions and respects the historical framework of the piece. Beneath a stylized globe symbolizing the universal validity of the artist’s search for his role in society, the action unfolds in an intricately choreographed interplay of solo scenes and ensembles. Daniel Barenboim’s musical direction was unanimously acclaimed by the press. Le Monde, for example, wrote that he “fully possesses its spirit: poetic, fluid, very slender, his instrumental discourse is irresistible”. Among the vocal soloists, Peter Seiffert (as Walther von Stolzing) and Robert Holl (as Hans Sachs) have been consistently singled out for their superb interpretations in the past years. Emily Magee confers a subtle, youthful grace upon the coveted young daughter of the goldsmith Veit Pogner, sung by Matthias Hölle. The cast also includes Endrik Wottrich as David, Birgitta Svendén as Magdalene, Andreas Schmidt as Beckmesser, Bernhard Schneider, Roman Trekel, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Torsten Kerl, Peter Maus, Helmut Pampuch, Sándor Sólyom-Nagy, Alfred Reiter, Jyrki Korhonen as the Mastersingers and Kwangchul Youn as the night watchman. Prepared by Norbert Balatsch, the chorus of the Bayreuth Festival once again masters the exceptionally demanding choral part of this opera, which reaches a climax of intricacy at the end of the second act and culminates in the grand finale of Act III.
Cosi fan tutte
From the Drottningholm Court Theatre 1987 Described as “the Östman pièce de resistance” (Financial Times), this production is performed by an extensively-rehearsed cast of young Swedish singers who “…proved a triumph of stylish teamwork, with singers and orchestra listening to each other, almost, as it were, breathing together” (Daily Mail). Östman collaborated with producer Willy Decker and designer Tobias Hoheisel to realise his vision of Mozart’s charming comic opera. (Sung in Italian)
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
August Everding staged Mozart’s Singspiel “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” (The Abduction from the Seraglio) in Munich’s National Theater as a sunny comic opera but, as the director says, one with the “depth” required by Mozart. The buffo characters, for instance, take on compellingly human traits. The stage consists of a bright, orientally suggestive architecture, whose elements are constantly sliding or revolving. The set designer Max Bignens speaks of a “choreographic” setting: “For Mozart’s music, we wanted nothing heavy and, above all, no major scene changes.” Karl Böhm, who conducted his first “Entführung” in 1924, plunges into the depths of the music and uncovers its magic and brilliance, its eros and spirituality. At the center of the performance is Edita Gruberova, whose coloraturas are dazzling and always precise. As Osmin, Martti Talvela is a supple, shifty swaggerer. Thomas Holtzmann speaks the Bassa Selim as a nervous, passionate potentate. Francisco Araiza sings Belmonte with glowing lyricism. Norbert Orth is a spirited Pedrillo and Reri Grist a Blondchen with a natural charm and musical sensitivity.