Pier Luigi Pizzi’s much acclaimed 1992 production of La Traviata was recorded at what was one of Venice’s most exquisite 18th-century opera houses, La Fenice, tragically destroyed by fire in 1996, and now rebuilt. This glorious house is where La Traviata was premiered in 1853. In this memorable performance, Slovak soprano Edita Gruberova takes the leading role of Violetta, the tragic heroine, persuaded by Alfredo’s father, Giorgio, to sacrifice her happiness with Alfredo for the sake of family honour.
La Traviata
A live performance recording held together with incredible skill by Riccardo Muti, and wonderfully sung by high-class cast. Highly acclaimed both by audience and critics: Tiziana Fabbricini as Violetta.
Nederlands Dans Theater 3
According to the ancient Greek legend, Prometheus brought fire and culture to mankind, thus saving the world from being destroyed by Zeus. Through the ages, this story has inspired countless artists, poets and musicians to some of their grandest creations.
Christopher Swann’s film is based on a 1993 televised concert from Berlin’s Philharmonic Hall.
The program features music by Beethoven, Liszt, Skriabin and Nono based on the legend of Prometheus. The four compositions could not be more diverse in style and conception, representing highly different approaches: from the Prometheus as bringer of plague and destruction to the punished Prometheus chained to a rock.
In this film, Christopher Swann stresses a visual approach to this variety of ideas, using a number of modern film techniques to underscore and illustrate the musical presentation.
Performances by the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Claudio Abbado are first-rate, although it is the presence of Argerich that will make this DVD an obligatory purchase.
Il barbiere di Siviglia
For his first opera production, Dario Fo, the theatre director known for his brilliant wit, chose to stage Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia for the Netherlands Opera. First mounted in 1987, it was a huge success and a live recording of ist revival in May 1992, the 200th anniversary of Rossini’s birth, has been made.
Fo has said that ‘Rossini is the musician of eating and love. He composes music rich in herbs and aromas, in which you find olives, tomatoes, fish, grapes, roses and rosemary, sheets and tablecloths, dry wine and the laughter of girls.’ His ‘Barbiere’ is a joyful carnival. During the overture he fills the stage with carnival revellers and immediately the commedia dell’arte origins of opera buffa are restored. Visual theatrics abound, never at the expense of the music, but highlighting it, engaging the eye as well as the ear. Fo addresses the heart more than the intellect and Rossini’s comedy comes up dazzling and vital.
Prokofiev, Peter und der Wolf (Symphonic Fairy Tale for Children)
Die Walküre
In 1988, conductor Daniel Barenboim, stage director Harry Kupfer, set designer Hans Schavernoch and costume designer Reinhard Heinrich came to Bayreuth to realize their vision of Wagner’s Ring. They firmly turned away from the work’s time of origin and set their sights on a “critique of the history of mankind and of the entire evolution of culture, the destruction of which we are actively furthering” (Kupfer). While Wagner’s “critique of mankind’s desructive frenzy, its coldness and alienation” (Kupfer) was rooted in Germanic mythology, Kupfer’s team locates its Ring in a present that also embraces the past and the future. The place where present, past and future converge is the “road of history”, which sets the scene for struggles of power and love, and takes us straight into the depths of the human psyche. “Harry Kupfer has created a production of great coherency, hard, cutting, transparent, which will delight those who see in Wagner a contemporary and will displease those who consume Wagner like some consecrated artifact in a museum. The entire mythological apparatus is demolished bit by bit: what remains is what Wagner himself wanted: the ‘pure humanity’ of the myth. […] The entire ‘Ring’ unfolds like an intellectual adventure that provokes unforgettable emotions.” (La Repubblica)
Siegfried
In 1988, conductor Daniel Barenboim, stage director Harry Kupfer, set designer Hans Schavernoch and costume designer Reinhard Heinrich came to Bayreuth to realize their vision of Wagner’s Ring. They firmly turned away from the work’s time of origin and set their sights on a “critique of the history of mankind and of the entire evolution of culture, the destruction of which we are actively furthering” (Kupfer). While Wagner’s “critique of mankind’s desructive frenzy, its coldness and alienation” (Kupfer) was rooted in Germanic mythology, Kupfer’s team locates its Ring in a present that also embraces the past and the future. The place where present, past and future converge is the “road of history”, which sets the scene for struggles of power and love, and takes us straight into the depths of the human psyche. “Harry Kupfer has created a production of great coherency, hard, cutting, transparent, which will delight those who see in Wagner a contemporary and will displease those who consume Wagner like some consecrated artifact in a museum. The entire mythological apparatus is demolished bit by bit: what remains is what Wagner himself wanted: the ‘pure humanity’ of the myth. […] The entire ‘Ring’ unfolds like an intellectual adventure that provokes unforgettable emotions.” (La Repubblica)
Billy Connolly
Scottish comedian Billy Connolly has become internationally famous as a comic performer, best-known for his unstinting examinations of bodily functions and his broadsides on political and religious establishments. In this profile, he talks about his life and his work, expressing, with typical frankness, his uncompromising attitudes to his family, to wealth and to his treatment by the press. The programme includes extracts from his twenty-fifth anniversary show in Glasgow.
Two Ballerinas at the Royal Ballet: Viviana Durante & Darcy Russell
This programme focuses on two of The Royal Ballet’s outstanding ballerinas and affords an insight into the methods of the company itself and the sacrifices necessary to achieve success in the dance world today. Partnered by Irek Mukhamedov and Zoltan Solymosi, Durante and Bussell are seen performing a wide range of work, from nineteenth-century classics such as Giselle and Swan Lake, to modern works. Many key figures in British ballet make contributions.