Based on a drama by Giovanni Verga, “Cavalleria Rusticana” relates the lives and passions of simple Sicilian peasants. It was the first opera of the “verismo”, or realist, school. Director Åke Falck adds a cinematic dimension to what would otherwise be a fairly straightforward screen document of celebrated director Giorgio Strehler’s La Scala production by means of outdoor shots of Sicily’s splendid landscapes during the overture and intermezzo. Combined with the lavish set and costumes by Luciano Damiani, these images intensify the feeling of a sultry southern landscape as a background to the inflamed passions and violence of the action. As Santuzza, Fiorenza Cossotto’s passionate intensity make a good contrast to Adriana Martino’s gaily-dressed, light-hearted Lola. Gianfranco Cecchele makes a rakish Turiddù, and Giangiacomo Guelfi is a strong, swaggering, confident Alfio. The production was filmed in 1968.
Bach, Suite (Overture) No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067
Commanding the podium with his slender figure, theatrical shock of hair and penetrating blue eyes, Herbert von Karajan projected the hieratic image of the conductor as officiant of some quasi-mystic rite. And anyone who ever saw him conduct live or on his many audiovisual recordings will agree that in his performances, music did indeed become a religion and Karajan its high-priest. Karajan (1908-1989) embodied classical music in the general consciousness as an epoch-making conductor, media star, opera producer, festival director and festival founder. But in spite of his Promethean and widely varied activities, he remained a superb conductor, with a grasp of the standard orchestral and operatic repertory from Mozart to Schoenberg that was unsurpassed among his peers.
Der junge Lord
“The Young Lord” is a true ensemble opera, with impressive songs and an orchestra hardly larger than that of a Mozart opera, the characters being accompanied by respective leitmotifs or instruments. Henze frequently uses purely tonal structures. Yet this does not mean that Henze returns to the past, or that he betrays his avantgarde achievements. His style reveals a kind of highly ‘artificial’ and witty handling of tradition. The connoisseur recognizes many subtle allusions to tradition, while the ordinary listener enjoys everything he expects from a comic opera: lightness, tempo, wit, warmth and a touch of dream-world. “The Young Lord” was commissioned by the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Although Henze knew what artistic talent and possibilities were to be expected there, his justifiably high expectations were probably surpassed when he saw the first performance on 7 April 1965. Filippo Sanjust conjured up a most imaginative and accurate picture of the Biedermeier world upon the stage, which contains just enough fantastic exaggeration to fit the work. The producer, Gustav Rudolf Sellner, has put life into all those details in a manner that particularly benefits the film. Finally, Christoph von Dohnányi has proved to be the ideal Henze conductor.
I Pagliacci
“Pagliacci” is often celebrated as one of the finest examples of verismo, or realist opera. It is even based on a true story: Leoncavallo’s father, a judge, once presided over the trial of an actor who, in a fit of jealousy, murdered his wife immediately following a performance. “Pagliacci” is frequently performed along with Mascagni’s one-acter “Cavalleria Rusticana”. Director and conductor Herbert von Karajan does not simply recreate a standard work; rather, he examines, it, psychoanalyzes its protagonists, lays bare the people behind the masks. In the process, he also makes a magnificent musical statement. Karajan is obsessed with faces – open, shadowed, distorted – suggesting his belief in the adage that eyes are the windows of the mind and the soul. Through elaborate intercutting from four or five cameras, he moves stealthfully from members of the crowd to his principals and back, gradually tightening the dramatic knot which binds them all together in this tale of love, hate and retribution. Joining the superb Jon Vickers is soprano Raina Kabaivanska as Nedda. Hers is a brilliant, multi-faceted performance of fascinating detail. The fine Tonio is Peter Glossop; George Wakhevitch designed the elaborate setting, the square of an Italian village.
Beethoven, Symphony No.9 in D minor, op.125 “Choral”
When, in the mid 1960s, Herbert von Karajan decided to record on film all nine Beethoven symphonies with the Berlin Philharmonic, he began with the “Fifth” and asked the famous French movie director Henri-Georges Clouzot (Quai des Orfèvres) to direct. Recognizing in the music-loving director a kindred soul and master of the symbolic image, Karajan found an inspired partner. In another of Karajan’s first efforts, he asked six directors to “stage” one movement each of a Beethoven symphony. For a full week, the directors had the Berlin Philharmonic and Herbert von Karajan – all in full dress – at their disposal, with all the 35mm film, cameras, lighting and technical assistance they needed. Karajan’s most controversial production was Hugo Niebeling’s highly personal interpretation of the “Pastorale”, with its abstract shots of instruments, rapid rhythms, fade-ins and symbolically arranged colors.
Young People’s Concerts: Quiz-Concert: How musical are you?
Awarded four Emmys and hailed by Variety as “a rare moment in the symbiosis of the arts and broadcasting,” Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts left their mark on television history. Aired on CBS from 1958 to 1972, these 53 one-hour programs were written and hosted by Leonard Bernstein. With the New York Philharmonic and guest artists providing the live music, these programs brought musical concepts and music history to life for generations of viewers. “Lectures accompanying music might not sound like the formula of a hit kids’ TV program, but Bernstein was the secret ingredient who made it work” (Variety). Balancing scholarship and showmanship, Maestro Bernstein brings the full range of his magnetic personality to play in these programs. And he succeeds in infecting viewers young and old, connoisseurs and the uninitiated, with his overwhelming love of music. Leonard Bernstein quizzes Avery Fisher Hall and television audiences on their musicality. Highlights include true-or-false questions with musical examples, and excerpts from Mozart, Prokofiev, and Rimsky-Korsakov.