Stiffelio
TUTTO VERDI – this edition to mark the Verdi bicentenary sets standards by which all similar projects will be judged. It includes all twenty-six operas by the greatest Italian stage composer, together with his immortal Requiem, all of them in definitive performances. “This is how Verdi should be played” – Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on TUTTO VERDI
The wife of a Protestant preacher as an adulteress – problems with the censor were inevitable from the outset with Verdi’s opera Stiffelio, which was premièred in November 1850. Even today the finale seems astonishingly bold: superficially it deals with forgiveness and reconciliation, but the orchestral writing is in such striking contrast that Verdi appears to be tolling the death knell of the protagonists’ marriage.
Roberto Devereux
London, 1601: love, desire and a death sentence at the English royal court – an ideal combination for an Italian grand opera. And Gaetano Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux could hardly be grander or more fit for a queen. The ideal showcase for Edita Gruberova! The prima donna assoluta of bel canto triumphs in this rarely performed work. In Christof Loy’s production at Munich’s National Theater, Edita Gruberova sings the role of Queen Elizabeth I. Friedrich Haider conducts the chorus and orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera; the HDTV recording is directed by Emmy award winner Brian Large.