From the Glyndebourne Festival Opera 1992: Producer Graham Vick, designer Richard Hudson, conductor Sir Andrew Davis, the London Philharmonic and the full cast of singers won unanimous critical acclaim for their revelatory interpretation of this mesmeric and psychologically harrowing work. Hudson’s eighteenth-century costumes are sumptuously realistic, while his set is abstract and modern. The cast features three top Russian singers – Sergei Leiferkus, Dimitri Kharitonov and Yuri Marusin. Nancy Gustafson, Felicity Palmer and Louise Winter also won high praise for their performances in this “marvellous and brilliant piece of modern music-theatre” (Financial Times). (Sung in Russian)
Greek
A Film by Peter Maniura and Jonathan Moore: Turnage’s critically-acclaimed opera, set in London’s backstreets, is a modern version of the Oedipus myth, based on a play by Steven Berkoff. The composer has matched the raw potency of Berkoff’s graphic language and bold imagery with a rasping lyricism and remorseless drumbeat. This powerful television production was adapted by Jonathan Moore from his original stage version. The cast includes Helen Charnock, Fiona Kimm, Quentin Hayes and Richard Suart. Richard Bernas conducts The Almeida Ensemble. (Sung in English)
La grande messe des morts (Requiem)
The magnificent cathedral of Regensburg is a perfect setting for this recording of Colin Davis conducting the Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphony Chorus and Orchestra in a splendid, moving performance of Berlioz’s monumental work, with tenor Keith Lewis as soloist. The performance is completed by the pealing of the cathedral bells. Regensburg Cathedral provides a superb setting for this live recording of Berlioz’s resounding Requiem, written in 1837 for the dead of Napoleon’s catastrophic wars. Sir Colin Davis conducts the Bavarian Radio Symphony Chorus and Orchestra in a magnificent and moving performance of this work, with soloist Keith Lewis (tenor).
Excerpts from Eugene Onegin Op.24
Hailed by the press as “the definitive video production” of Tchaikovsky’s music, this exceptional concert series, recorded live from the Alte Oper Frankfurt, features the leading Russian conductor Vladimir Fedoseyev and the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra. Fedoseyev’s perceptive reading of the works of his fellow countryman, the masterly playing of the orchestra and guest soloists combine to produce performances which are revelatory in their execution and understanding of Tchaikovsky’s music and the Russian heritage.
Symphony No.9
For a long time Beethoven was unsure whether he ought to write a choral symphony or not, before deciding to use Schiller’s ‘Ode to Joy’ for the last movement of his 9th symphony. He could not know that this work would be his last symphony, and that ‘nine’ would always be regarded as a ‘fateful number’ for the symphonic works of others. This work received ist first performance in Vienna in 1824, under his own direction (Beethoven was already almost completely deaf by then!).
In 1991 Kurt Masur conducted the choir and orchestra of the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester, whose direction he took over in 1970. The events of 1989 have left Masur and the Gewandhaus orchestra forever linked in people’s memories. The quartet of soloists in this performance consisted of Venceslava Hruba-Freiberger, Doris Soffel, James Wagner and Gwynne Howell.
St Matthew Passion BWV 244
Recorded live from the Romanesque church in Alpirsbach, Enoch zu Guttenberg conducts the Neubeuern Choral Society and the Munich Bach Collegium, with soloists Claes-Hakon Ahnjsö (tenor), Margaret Marshall (soprano), Jard van Nes (contralto), Aldo Baldin (tenor) and Anton Scharinger (bass). The culmination of Bach’s writing for the Church, this massive choral work is a deeply moving combination of joy and grief which attains the utmost heights of expressiveness.
Dead Dreams of Monochrome Men
This visually stunning and emotionally raw piece of dance theatre was conceived with reference to the notorious Dennis Nilsen’s murders of homeless London teenagers. It is a passionately sympathetic look at loneliness, at the terrible consequences of lust imagined as love and trust turned to vicious sexual torment. Created by Lloyd Newson, Nigel Charnock, Russell Maliphant and Douglas Wright, who perform in this film version, it was specially reworked for the cameras, losing none of its hard-hitting intensity. (Music by Sally Herbert)
Pulling Out the Stops – A History of the Organ
The organ is one of the oldest and most glorious musical instruments known to man. Since the early fifteenth century, its history has been closely linked with the religious setting in which it came to reside. Visiting churches in Italy, Spain, France, Holland, Germany and Switzerland, this series looks at the work of the great organ-builders of Europe. Leading organists demonstrate the magnificent range and beauty of this complex instrument’s sound, from sixteenth-century compositions to contemporary masterpieces, among them works by de Cabézon, Frescobaldi, Couperin, Sweelinck, Buxtehude, Bach, Widor and Messiaen.
Death in Venice
From the Glyndebourne Touring Opera 1990. Stephen Lawless’s production, conducted by Graeme Jenkins, won universal critical praise, typified by The Financial Times: “One may wonder whether the score has ever sounded fuller, richer in colour and content, more beautiful, than it did in [this] production… It opens a new chapter in the opera’s performance history.” Britten’s final opera, a haunting rendering of Thomas Mann’s story of obsessive, self-deluding love, features outstanding performances by Robert Tear and Alan Opie.” (Sung in English)
The Sleeping Beauty
The stylish grandeur of choreographer and artistic director Oleg Vinogradov’s production shows the entire company at its best. The superb tradition in dance continues with Larissa Lezhnina, one of Kirov’s stars at that time, brilliant as Princess Aurora, and Farukh Ruzimatov’s performance in the role of Prince Désiré demonstrates both power and grace. It may be a truism to say Russians interpret Russian music best, but based on this stunning Kirov Ballet performance it’s excitingly and exhilaratingly accurate. From the principal dancers to the last member of the ensemble, the grace and mastery of this world-class company is clearly in evidence. With its perfect fusion of music and choreographic ideas, “The Sleeping Beauty” is the quintessential romantic ballet, and it finds its spiritual home preserved in the outstanding classic traditions of the Kirov Ballet (now Mariinsky Ballet).