Blame it on the Russian Revolution: it took Sergey Prokofiev (1891-1953) only a few months to write his early opera “The Gambler” between October 1915 and March 1916, but problems arose during rehearsals in January 1917, and the premiere in St. Petersburg (then Petrograd) had to be cancelled when the first revolution broke out in February. This first version of the work was never heard, since the composer revised the tempestuous score eleven years later, reducing it and eliminating what he considered “padding.” The work was premiered in this version in Brussels in 1929. Based on Dostoyevsky’s novel of the same name, “The Gambler” is a dark study of human failings and the corruptive power of money. In this work, everyone gambles: the hero Alexey, the General and even the wealthy aunt Babulenka gamble with money; Blanche, the Marquis and Polina – who loves Alexey – gamble with their fellow human beings. The results are humiliation, ruin and self-delusion. But when the Staatskapelle Berlin under world-famous conductor Daniel Barenboim provide the orchestral sound to the full, lustrous voices of Vladimir Ognovenko, Kristine Opolais, Misha Didyk, Stefania Toczyska and their colleagues, there is nothing even remotely dismal about the opera or its production. Directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, “the evening zips past entertainingly, yet leaves its traces in the listener’s mind: a stroke of genius like Prokofiev’s opera itself” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). One of the production’s brilliant touches is the movable set which allows us to look into various rooms while the characters think they are not being observed. With its restless, intense drive, the music underscores the novelty of the work, which rejects heady arias and set pieces. The Prokofiev renaissance has reclaimed one of the composer’s most daring, almost “futuristic” pieces from neglect – a work that is nothing less than “a discovery” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).
Christian Thielemann conducts Bruckner
Christian Thielemann is widely regarded as the leading Brucknerian of our age, and his performances with the Munich Philharmonic, of which he has been music director since 2004, enjoy cult status all over the world. This DVD features a world première of Bruckner´s two most popular works, the Symphonies No. 4 and No. 7, which he interprets as sublime cathedrals of late Romantic music, impressing his listeners in ways that few other conductors can do.
Leonard Bernstein conducts Sibelius
In the mid 1980s, Unitel began recording a complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic. Bernstein´s death in 1990 unfortuantely cut short this project after the release of Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 7. Recorded live at Vienna´s Musikverein, these ecstatic performances were the object of stellar reviews. On this double-disc set, Bernstein´s unique and by now legendary interpretations of Sibelius are released for the first time on DVD.
Aida
Set against the magnificent backdrop of Lake Constance, every production at the Bregenz Festival faces strong natural competitors. But with this first-ever production of Verdi’s “Aida” (in an abridged version) on the lakeside stage, it is easy to overlook the beauty of the surrounding nature. 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. The stage effects are stunning: ruins of the Statue of Liberty pieced together with the help of giant cranes, boats carrying priestesses and prisoners – parts of the opera even take place in the lake itself! And in the Grand March – one of the most famous marches in opera – a golden elephant comes sailing into view on a barge¿ Under Carlo Rizzi, the Wiener Symphoniker brilliantly support the chorus and soloists, among whom Iano Tamar (Amneris) and Tatiana Serjan (Aida) stand out. Drawing capacity crowds of over 200,000 spectators in just one season, “Aida” is the festival’s most successful opera to date, even more successful than the “Tosca” production, which has been immortalized in the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace”.
Salzburg Festival Opening Concert 2008
A dream of a line-up: Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez and the Vienna Philharmonic! Put one of the world´s greatest orchestras in the hand of one of the foremost specialists of 20th-century music, add a soloist who is one of today´s leading pianists and conductors, and you are assured of a concert of superlatives that pays glowing tribute to three major works of the past century.
“The mutual affection felt by conductor and orchestra once again made for captivating results. Even without dancers, the music danced.” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Salzburg Festival Opening Concert 2009
In one of the most unusual opening concerts of recent decades, Nikolaus Harnoncourt launched the 2009 Salzburg Festival with an exploration of the dance element in Austrian music. Dances by Schubert and Josef Strauss provided an introduction to the magnificent “Dance of Death” that emerged from the octogenarian maestro´s hands in Schubert´s C major Symphony (“Great”). The perfect orchestra for these authentically Viennese and yet universally valid works was, of course, the Vienna Philharmonic. “An interpretation of incomparable richness” (Münchner Merkusr)
Wagner: Die Walküre
In the words of the prestigious German weekly “Die Zeit,” the stage production of Wagner’s “Rheingold” and “Walküre” by La Fura dels Baus “quite possibly shows us the path that musical theater will be taking in the future.” There’s no doubt about it: the Catalan city of Valencia is setting new accents in 21st-century opera not only with its spectacular new theater designed by Santiago Calatrava, but also with its visually transfixing production of Wagner’s “Ring” staged by Carlos Padrissa and his theater group La Fura dels Baus. The Barcelona-based Fura blends music, dance, acrobatics and technology into unforgettable stage events of sometimes raw but always captivating power. The Fura made its breakthrough in the classical establishment with its production of Berlioz’s “La damnation de Faust” at the 1999 Salzburg Festival. The Fura’s fertile visual fantasy and endless combinations of savvy video technology, lighting and props (often formed of human beings) are predestined for Wagner’s visionary expressive world. Wagner’s dream of a Gesamtkunstwerk becomes reality as this shape-shifting sequence of tableaux unfolds before our eyes: 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the “Cirque du soleil,” and much more. In this production, “the visual codes of the digital era become elemental and dazzlingly employed means of narration” (Opernwelt). Musically, the first two parts of Wagner’s tetralogy – “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre” – are on a par with productions from historically more prestigious opera houses. Part Three, “Siegfried,” is scheduled for June 2008, and Part Four, “Götterdämmerung,” for June 2009. Legendary conductor Zubin Mehta leads world-class Wagner singers such as Peter Seiffert, Petra-Maria Schnitzer and Matti Salminen, and promising young talents that include Jennifer Wilson (Brünnhilde), John Daszak (Loge) and Juha Uusitalo (Wotan), whom the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung hailed as a new “Number One among the opera gods.” Equally outstanding is the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, an ensemble of top musicians hand-picked by Music Director Lorin Maazel.
Wagner: Siegfried
In the words of the prestigious German weekly “Die Zeit,” the stage production of Wagner’s “Rheingold” and “Walküre” by La Fura dels Baus “quite possibly shows us the path that musical theater will be taking in the future.” There’s no doubt about it: the Catalan city of Valencia is setting new accents in 21st-century opera not only with its spectacular new theater designed by Santiago Calatrava, but also with its visually transfixing production of Wagner’s “Ring” staged by Carlos Padrissa and his theater group La Fura dels Baus. The Barcelona-based Fura blends music, dance, acrobatics and technology into unforgettable stage events of sometimes raw but always captivating power. The Fura made its breakthrough in the classical establishment with its production of Berlioz’s “La damnation de Faust” at the 1999 Salzburg Festival. The Fura’s fertile visual fantasy and endless combinations of savvy video technology, lighting and props (often formed of human beings) are predestined for Wagner’s visionary expressive world. Wagner’s dream of a Gesamtkunstwerk becomes reality as this shape-shifting sequence of tableaux unfolds before our eyes: 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the “Cirque du soleil,” and much more. In this production, “the visual codes of the digital era become elemental and dazzlingly employed means of narration” (Opernwelt). Musically, the first two parts of Wagner’s tetralogy – “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre” – are on a par with productions from historically more prestigious opera houses. Part Three, “Siegfried,” is scheduled for June 2008, and Part Four, “Götterdämmerung,” for June 2009. Legendary conductor Zubin Mehta leads world-class Wagner singers such as Peter Seiffert, Petra-Maria Schnitzer and Matti Salminen, and promising young talents that include Jennifer Wilson (Brünnhilde), John Daszak (Loge) and Juha Uusitalo (Wotan), whom the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung hailed as a new “Number One among the opera gods.” Equally outstanding is the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, an ensemble of top musicians hand-picked by Music Director Lorin Maazel.
Wagner: Götterdämmerung
In the words of the prestigious German weekly “Die Zeit,” the stage production of Wagner’s “Rheingold” and “Walküre” by La Fura dels Baus “quite possibly shows us the path that musical theater will be taking in the future.” There’s no doubt about it: the Catalan city of Valencia is setting new accents in 21st-century opera not only with its spectacular new theater designed by Santiago Calatrava, but also with its visually transfixing production of Wagner’s “Ring” staged by Carlos Padrissa and his theater group La Fura dels Baus. The Barcelona-based Fura blends music, dance, acrobatics and technology into unforgettable stage events of sometimes raw but always captivating power. The Fura made its breakthrough in the classical establishment with its production of Berlioz’s “La damnation de Faust” at the 1999 Salzburg Festival. The Fura’s fertile visual fantasy and endless combinations of savvy video technology, lighting and props (often formed of human beings) are predestined for Wagner’s visionary expressive world. Wagner’s dream of a Gesamtkunstwerk becomes reality as this shape-shifting sequence of tableaux unfolds before our eyes: 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the “Cirque du soleil,” and much more. In this production, “the visual codes of the digital era become elemental and dazzlingly employed means of narration” (Opernwelt). Musically, the first two parts of Wagner’s tetralogy – “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre” – are on a par with productions from historically more prestigious opera houses. Part Three, “Siegfried,” is scheduled for June 2008, and Part Four, “Götterdämmerung,” for June 2009. Legendary conductor Zubin Mehta leads world-class Wagner singers such as Peter Seiffert, Petra-Maria Schnitzer and Matti Salminen, and promising young talents that include Jennifer Wilson (Brünnhilde), John Daszak (Loge) and Juha Uusitalo (Wotan), whom the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung hailed as a new “Number One among the opera gods.” Equally outstanding is the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, an ensemble of top musicians hand-picked by Music Director Lorin Maazel.
Ivo Pogorelich plays Chopin, Beethoven, Scrjabin
Chopins 200th birthday comes in 2010 and this recital includes some of Chopin´s finest works. At the international Chopin competition in 1980, his spectacular failure to win the first price made him famous overnight. Martha Argerich, a member of the jury resigned in protest, claiming “Pogorelich is a genius!” These fantastic performances are from 1986 and 1987, when Pogorelich was in his late 20s during his high point of his career. Unitel recorded these works with the artist in venues of particularly striking beauty (Vincenca, Vienna, Turin, Padua). Comparing him with Horowitz, the New York Times once wrote: „He was an entire orchestra.” Programm includes A05501579, A05501580, A05501577, A05501576, A05501575, A05501570/71/72