Edita Gruberova turned the bel canto style – as exemplified primarily by the early 19th-century operas of Bellini and Donizetti – into her own, unmistakable specialty. But what is the nature of bel canto? What is the secret of her vocal gift? These are a couple of the questions the film addresses. In addition to rehearsal excerpts from ‘Lucrezia Borgia,’ the film shows Gruberova in the title role of ‘Norma’ and as Elisabetta in ‘Roberto Devereux’. Archival recordings allow us to admire her in ‘Rigoletto’ with Luciano Pavarotti, the legendary ‘Ariadne auf Naxos’ under Karl Böhm, and Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s film adaptation of ‘Così fan tutte’ under Nikolaus Harnoncourt.
Alceste
Performed on the occasion of the official reopening of the Anna Amalia Library in Weimar in 2007, the sparing production of Anton Schweitzer’s Alceste (1773) by Hendrik Müller concentrates on the chamber-like interplay of the four lead roles. Alceste’s demanding, coloratura-filled parts are mastered with grace and seemingly effortless ease by all singers. In the lead role as the wife who sacrifices herself to save her beloved husband, Simone Schneider combines delicacy with dazzling technique, and harmonizes superbly with internationally acclaimed
Cyndia Sieden as Parthenia.
The Gambler (Der Spieler)
‘The Gambler’ is a dark study of human failings and the corruptive power of money. In this work, everyone gambles: the hero Alexey, the General and even the wealthy aunt Babulenka gamble with money; Blanche, the Marquis and Polina – who loves Alexey – gamble with their fellow human beings. The results are humiliation, ruin and self-delusion. But when the Staatskapelle Berlin under worldfamous conductor Daniel Barenboim provide the orchestral sound to the full, lustrous voices of Vladimir Ognovenko, Kristine Opolais, Misha Didyk, Stefania Toczyska and their colleagues, there is nothing even remotely dismal about the opera or its production. Directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, ‘the evening zips past entertainingly, yet leaves its traces in the listener’s mind: a stroke of genius like Prokofiev’s opera itself’ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung).
The Promise of Music
The Promise of Music is a full-length feature film about the story of Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela. The film documents Dudamel preparing his orchestra in Caracas for their upcoming concert at the Beethovenfest in Bonn, 2007. Following different young musicians in their day-to-day lives, the film shows how classical music has the capability of changing both the individual and their environment. A unique and deeply moving look behind the scenes of one of the most talked about phenomena in the musical world of today!
BEETHOVEN 9 – Overture “Coriolan”, Op.62
A one-of-a-kind musical event is in the making! Christian Thielemann, one of the most recognized conductors of our time, joins forces with the prestigious Wiener Philharmoniker and UNITEL, the world’s leading audiovisual production company for classical music, in a monumental project: BEETHOVEN 9, the recording of all nine symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven for TV, DVD and New Media: the “Beethoven cycle of the 21st century”! Using the newest technology of our century, UNITEL and Austrian Television (ORF) produce this “super-cycle” in the Golden Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein in HD and 5.0 Surround Sound. BEETHOVEN 9 kicked off in December 2008 with the recording of the First and Second Symphonies. At the rate of two recordings per year, the cycle will be completed by April 2010. The genesis and unfolding of this project will be accompanied by a documentary filmed in HD. Between 2010 and 2013 the orchestra will crown the venture with special event performances of the complete cycle in major cities around the world. These concert cycles will rank among the musical highlights of these years. They will be accompanied by the recordings, which will be released prior to the start of the world tour, when international attention is at its peak. Music lovers can enjoy Beethoven’s symphonies either live in the host cities or on television, Internet or DVD. Live transmission from the Golden Hall is possible already during the recording stage. BEETHOVEN 9 brings to a new climax the longstanding collaboration between Thielemann, who enjoys a sterling reputation as an interpreter of Beethoven and the German Romantics, and the Wiener Philharmoniker, which has been cultivating the music of Beethoven since its founding nearly 170 years ago and is one of the few great orchestras to have preserved its unique sound. UNITEL CLASSICA can look back on more than 40 years of collaboration with the Wiener Philharmoniker and on its pioneering cycles of Beethoven’s symphonic works with Herbert von Karajan and Leonard Bernstein.
Making of “Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Encounters with Mendelssohn
One of the world’s foremost violinists, Anne-Sophie Mutter is a musical celebrity known even by countless people who rarely listen to classical music. The artist and teacher, who promotes young musicians and commissions new works from contemporary composers, made her spectacular breakthrough under Herbert von Karajan at the 1977 Salzburg Easter Festival. She has since concertized at every major venue throughout the world. In 2008 she was awarded not only the prestigious Ernst von Siemens Music Award, but also the Leipzig Mendelssohn Award. The award ceremony in March 2008 was crowned by a gala concert at Leipzig’s Gewandhaus with the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Kurt Masur, at which Mutter performed the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor op. 64 presented here. The recording offers a selection of masterpieces by Mendelssohn (1809-1847) in a variety of instrumentations. In addition to Mutter, Masur and the Leipzig orchestra, the performers also include Mutter’s chamber-music partners Lynn Harrell and André Previn. On the occasion of the Mendelssohn Year, UNITEL CLASSICA also offers the documentary Anne-Sophie Mutter – Encounters with Mendelssohn, in which the artist discusses her affinity to Mendelssohn and explains why she particularly admires the works presented here. Mutter has performed the Violin Concerto several times in her career. Joining her in Mendelssohn’s Violin Sonata is pianist André Previn, who is also an internationally renowned conductor and composer. Previn accompanied Mutter in several Mozart Trios that are part of her “Mozart Project” available from UNITEL CLASSICA. He and cellist Lynn Harrell now interpret the D-minor Trio with her. This is a stunning anthology of chamber and orchestral music from one of the most vibrant composers of the early romantic era, performed by top artists of today!
Young Singers Project at Salzburg Festival
In 2008, an exciting new international opera-singer project was launched in the framework of the Salzburg Festival, the Young Singers Project, sponsored by Montblanc International. Led by world-renowned tenor Michael Schade and soprano Barbara Bonney, a small number of selected young talents from around the world were invited to train their vocal and acting skills for several weeks during the festival season. The “stars of tomorrow” live together, attend master classes with great singers, take part in rehearsals, learn roles from operas being given at the festival – in short, they are invited by the most prestigious music festival in the world to prepare for their future musical career. This documentary records the first edition of the “Young Singers Project,” an artistic endeavor that reflects the Salzburg Festival’s growing experience and success in providing the stage for the breakthrough of such renowned artists like Anna Netrebko. In this program, the students are briefly introduced by Schade and Bonney, and are shown working with their mentors, including such distinguished master class guest professors as Christa Ludwig and Jürgen Flimm. Their spontaneity and dynamism draw us into their lives; their talent and ambition make us hope that they will soon conquer the world’s great stages, such as the Salzburg Festival itself. As the crowning point of the documentary, the program also features excerpts from the final concert in which all eleven young singers perform with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg under the direction of Ivor Bolton. Here the festival public was able to admire the artists at the threshold of their international career. One of them, Joel Prieto, won the first prize in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition in 2008, and is thus already on his way to fulfilling his dream.
Lang Lang at Schönbrunn
Lang Lang, Zubin Mehta, the Wiener Philharmoniker – the only thing that could make an outdoor orchestral concert more attractive would be a spectacular venue, such as a majestic Baroque palace. And here it is: Vienna’s Schönbrunn Palace, with its brightly lit facade on a resplendent summer evening! Held the day before the final match of the Euro 2008 football championship, this concert rallied both football fans and music lovers to Vienna’s most beautiful imperial palace. At 26, Lang Lang is already considered as one of the top pianists in the world. He made his international breakthrough at the age of 17, and has since been performing with all major orchestras and leading conductors. In this concert, the young Chinese artist – the “pop star” of the international piano elite – dazzled his way into the hearts of the audience with his rendition of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2. “His mighty, lightning-fast finger acrobatics were virtuoso and technically perfect – amazing to the eyes and ears.” (Wiener Zeitung) Conductor Zubin Mehta, who had warmed up the Wiener Philharmoniker with Weber’s Oberon Overture before tackling the Chopin, led his musicians in a rousing performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony after the intermission. Now crisply outlined against the dark-blue sky, Schönbrunn Palace transformed itself into an expressive backdrop for Beethoven’s dramatic symphonic masterpiece. The excitement was not over with the last chord, however, as Lang Lang returned to give several encores, including Chopin’s A-flat major Polonaise, which “roused the audience to rapturous standing ovations.” (Wiener Zeitung)
3 Stars in Vienna
Bathed in the warm light of the setting sun, Vienna’s imperial Schönbrunn Palace provides a romantic setting for this open-air concert held shortly before the final match of the Euro 2008 football championship. And shining even more brightly than the palace are the stars of the evening, Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón and Plácido Domingo. The trio’s first joint concert, given at Berlin’s Waldbühne for the 2006 football World Cup, was recorded by UNITEL CLASSICA and awarded the Platinum DVD for sales of over 50,000 DVDs in Germany and over 100,000 worldwide. The Schönbrunn concert also broke records with 3.3 million viewers watching the concert live or deferred in Germany and Austria.