La Clemenza di Tito was commissioned to celebrate the coronation of the Emperor Leopold II as King of Bohemia in 1791, and was written in eighteen days. Nicholas Hytner’s elegant new staging, performed in the original Italian language, was premiered during the Mozart Bicentenary season at Glyndebourne on 28th June, 1991. An impressive cast is led by Philip Langridge (Tito), Ashley Putnam (Vitellia) and Diana Montague (Sesto). New recitatives, to replace those written by Mozart’s pupil Süssmayr, were commissioned from composer Stephen Oliver for this production. Andrew Davis conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Peter Grimes
From the English National Opera 1994: Tim Albery’s startlingly original treatment of Britten’s vivid tragedy was hailed as a landmark production when it was staged at the English National Opera. The critics were unanimous in their praise of Philip Langridge’s remarkable portrayal of Grimes, and the whole company, including Janice Cairns, Alan Opie and Ann Howard, won countless accolades, as did the inspired musical direction of conductor David Atherton. The individual set against the community: this is the theme of the opera and never has this stark opposition been so sharply realised as in Albery’s very abstract vision. Hildegard Bechtler’s stark but beautiful sets underline Grimes’ alienation. (Sung in English)
From the House of the Dead
From the Salzburg Festival 1992
Based on Dostoevsky’s ‘diary’ of his years as a political detainee, Janácek’s singular opera, with ist profoundly disturbing, but ultimately uplifting, message about the human condition, is set in a nineteenth-century Siberian prison camp. This Salzburg Festival production by Klaus-Michael Grüber graphically depicts the grinding tedium of life in this penal colony. A superb cast is headed by the great Bulgarian bass Nicolai Ghiaurov, and Claudio Abbado conducts the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance hailed as a musical triumph. (Sung in the original Czech version)
Billy Budd
A cast of luminaries supported by the English National Opera gives a profound and masterful reading of Britten’s gripping opera of sadism and injustice aboard a British man-o’-war this month. Following the widely acclaimed Peter Grimes, released on Arthaus in May 2003, this production reunites Tim Albery’s direction with the phenomenal talent of Philip Langridge, often acclaimed as a natural successor to Peter Pears. The libretto, by E.M. Forster and Eric Crozier, is based on the literary masterpiece by Herman Melville and tells the tale of a young seaman, Billy Budd, who is persecuted malevolently by his master-at-arms, Claggart. Accused of mutiny, the stammering Budd accidentally strikes Claggart dead and the tormented Captain Vere has no alternative but to hang him. The opera explores many universal themes – the individual at odds with society, the corruption of innocence, the continual conflict of good and evil – which no doubt lay close to the heart of Britten’s own pacifism and are themes common to much of his dramatic music.
This production has Britain’s leading operatic baritone, Thomas Allen, in one of his most distinguished roles, as Billy. He is noted not only for his superb abilities as a singer, but also for his acting skills, particularly necessary for the demanding role of the naive and virtuous character of Billy Budd. Philip Langridge as Captain Vere repeats his recently highly-praised portrayal.
Monteverdi, Vespro della Beata Vergine (Vespers of the Blessed Virgin)
Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643) contributed more to the music of his time than any other composer: he perfected the art of the madrigal, gave decisive impulses to the young genre of the opera by his imaginative use of descriptive and dramatic effects and by giving each figure an individual character, and introduced the expressive language of secular music into the rigid sacred music of his time. In his “Marian Vespers,” composed in Mantua in 1610, Monteverdi combined elements from the traditional church music style with the new “stile concertato” and polychoral forms, but also boldly made use of Gregorian chant. Whether for solo voice and continuo, for chorus a cappella or for the mighty forces of the chorus and orchestra – Monteverdi cast each single piece in the Marian Vespers in its own mould, thereby obtaining an expressive diversity within a stylistically unified framework. Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus musicus are the ideal interpreters of Monteverdi’s music. Their year-long specialization in the field of early music and original performance practice guarantees an authoritative and gripping interpretation. The concert was recorded at the Baroque Cathedral of Graz, Austria, in 1986.
Oedipus Rex
This ambitious production uses a number of striking visual elements including a massive set that floats above a reflecting pool, huge puppets and sculptures. The noted Butoh artist, Min Tanaka, dances the role of Oedipus, and is joined by twenty dancers to portry this classical tragedy.