Cecilia Bartoli: Sacrificium – The Art of the Castrati

Mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli, one of the most successful classical artists of her time, is a passionate musical explorer who regularly uncovers thrilling but little-known chapters of music history. This time her in-depth research takes her on a fascinating expedition into the world of castrato singers. The legendary art of the castratos continues to exert a strong fascination today, and, despite the great human sacrifice it exacted, this extraordinary period justifies the new assessment that she delivers.

The Mozart Requiem Project

Mozart’s legendary Requiem is certainly one of the composer’s most famous and frequently performed works. Raphaël Pichon and the ensemble “Pygmalion” – one of the leading music ensembles (a choir and orchestra) following historical criteria and playing on period instruments, now present the work in a unique version: divided into four blocks, it is interspersed with various vocal works, specially chosen to provide an overarching theme and sweeping vision within the context of the genius’ musical oeuvre. Performed in the Palau de la Música Catalana, UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most beautiful concert halls in the world, the performance becomes “an aesthetic experience full of sensitivity, a performance close to the sublime and a refreshing reading of one of the most performed and programmed works of the sacred repertoire” (Platea Magazine).

Puccini, La Bohème

For the first time in his career, Riccardo Chailly conducts an opera in Spain: “La Bohème” at the magnificent Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia. The striking result is a lively, colorful symphonic reading of the opera that turns the orchestra into one of the stars of the performance, on a par with the vocal soloists. Stage director Davide Livermore interprets the work with the help of large video projections of Impressionist paintings that harmonize with the period in which the action takes place. This co-production with the Philadelphia Opera features a cast of up-and-coming young singers (cf. Documentary “Riccardo Chailly – A Portrait” Prog. No. 9858).

Making of “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. Calatrava’s sweeping structure recalls the organic forms of Catalonia’s “Modernisme” style. Hints of Gaudì and traces of Gothic arches and nave-like spaces project a feeling of openness and freedom. Not surprisingly, “Fidelio” was chosen to inaugurate the theater’s main concert hall – an about freedom set in Spain, and in which the contrast between the darkness of Florestan’s dungeon and the light of justice and love embodied by Leonore is both heard in the music and seen on the stage.

Making of “Cyrano de Bergerac”

Domingo creates the magical illusion that Alfano wrote the role especially for him: Domingo de Bergerac” (review of the premiere in the Madrid daily ABC). Plácido Domingo’s triumph in Valencia’s stunningly futuristic theater El Palau de les Arts in February 2007 echoes the overwhelmingly positive reception he obtained at the Metropolitan Opera and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in this role. A coproduction of the New York, London and Valencia houses, Franco Alfano’s little-known 1936 opera “Cyrano de Bergerac” has been reawakened to life by the great Spanish tenor. Although Alfano (1875-1954) enjoyed a long and prolific career as an opera composer, he is known today above all for having completed Puccini’s “Turandot”. His earlier works not surprisingly reflect Puccini’s verismo style, but his later works – including “Cyrano de Bergerac” – are clearly inspired by Debussy, Ravel and Strauss. Opulent scoring and colorful orchestral effects elegantly underscore the tragic story based on Rostand’s famous drama of 1897, which achieved international celebrity in the Oscar-nominated 1990 film adaptation with Gérard Depardieu. Alfano’s work faithfully relates the story of the large-nosed soldier poet who pines for the beautiful Roxane and writes her glowing love letters in the name of his fellow soldier Christian, who also loves her. At an age when most singers start contemplating retirement, Domingo unearthed this opera, which was premiered in Rome in 1936, and added the role of Cyrano to his repertoire – as the 121st of his career! Domingo had long been looking for a new role that was both a vocal and dramatic challenge. He was particularly delighted by the role’s “anti-hero” quality. “It’s a beautiful role”, he asserts, “and I’m so happy I could discover it this late in my career.” With his charismatic stage presence, Domingo clearly dominates the production, directed by Michal Znaniecki and conducted by Patrick Fournillier, one of France’s leading conductors. Nevertheless, his pairing with American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky could hardly be more felicitous, as she brings a full, dramatic voice that rises effortlessly above the work’s luxuriant orchestration. The many supporting roles are equally well cast and accompanied by the expressively playing Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana and the Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana.

Making of “Das Rheingold” – Valencia

“This production quite possibly shows us the path that musical theater will be taking in the future” (Die Zeit). Indeed, the Catalan city of Valencia is setting new accents in 21st-century opera not only with its spectacular, futuristic opera house, the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofía” designed by Santiago Calatrava, but also with the visually transfixing production of Wagner’s “Ring” staged there by Carlus Padrissa and his theater group La Fura dels Baus. The Barcelona-based Fura became known internationally when it designed and carried out the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and made its breakthrough in the classical world with its production of Berlioz’s “La damnation de Faust” at the 1999 Salzburg Festival. The Fura’s trademark is its spellbinding fusion of movement, sound, music, dance, acrobatics and technology into unforgettable stage events of sometimes raw but always captivating power. In the world of opera, the ensemble has defined its personal style through its exploitation of large-screen projections, the extraordinary mobility of the performers, and the magical use of human beings to create organic structures that evoke objects such as Valhalla (in this “Ring” production). Indeed, La Fura was predestined for Wagner’s visionary world: his dream of a Gesamtkunstwerk becomes reality as a shape-shifting sequence of tableaux unfolds before our eyes with all the elements that constitute the “lenguaje furero” or “Fura idiom”. Eminent conductor Zubin Mehta leads world-class Wagner singers such as Matti Salminen, Peter Seiffert, Juha Uusitalo, Jennifer Wilson and Lance Ryan. Most prominent among the younger cast members are Jennifer Wilson, a “singer we’ll be hearing more of” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) and Juha Uusitalo, whom the F.A.Z. hailed as a new “Number One among the opera gods”. Equally outstanding is the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, one of the “youngest and best opera orchestras in Europe” (Opernglas), playing “with rapturous beauty under Zubin Mehta. […] The suppleness, rhythmic presence and singer-friendly dynamic that Mehta achieves with this orchestra are nothing less than miraculous” (F.A.Z.). UNITEL CLASSICA is delighted to continue its proven collaboration with the Palau de les Arts of Valencia, which now features productions of “Fidelio”, “Cyrano” and “Turandot” in addition to the Ring. UNITEL also offers a “Making of” to each of the four Ring operas, as well as documentaries on set designer Roland Olbeter, video designer Franc Aleu and director Carlus Padrissa. With this Ring from Valencia UNITEL continues its cycles of Ring productions begun with the “Centennial Ring” of Patrice Chéreau and Pierre Boulez of the late 70s/early 80s, and followed by the Harry Kupfer/Daniel Barenboim production of the early 90s, both in Bayreuth.