“The cast is a dream team,” wrote the Financial Times after the premiere of this production of Verdi’s La forza del destino at the Wiener Staatsoper. Powerful performances by Nina Stemme, who gives a fullblooded portrayal of Leonora, Alastair Miles as her father, Salvatore Licitra as Alvaro, Carlos Álvarez as Don Carlo and Nadia Krasteva as Preziosilla resulted in one of the Viennese ensemble’s most celebrated achievements of recent years. Zubin Mehta leads the Staatsoper Orchestra with agility, subtleness and relaxed mastery, and right from the start David Pountney establishes an atmosphere of entrapment by fate. “A perfect utopia.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).
Maria Callas: Magic Moments of Music – Tosca 1964
This film tells the story of one of the most magic moments of music. The beginning of 1964 held a great surprise for the music world: Maria Callas returns to the opera stage as prima donna. Her “Tosca” at the Royal Opera House becomes a sensation. Not even the Beatles received more press coverage. All this, for an artist whose glorious career was said to be over, with the singer herself passing over to legend. It is no longer her performances, but her scandals that, are dominating the headlines. Unlucky in love with her billionaire boyfriend Aristotle Onassis, Maria Callas wants to show them all that the title of ”Primadonna assoluta” is still rightfully hers. On condition that famed stage director Franco Zeffirelli takes on the production, the exceptional vocalist is prepared to take on the role of Tosca. Her fans queue outside the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden for four, even five nights. To get their hands on the sought after tickets, they spend the freezing winter nights in sleeping bags and on fold up chairs. The film tells the story of the event from today´s perspective and features interviews with Antonio Pappano, Rolando Villazón, Rufus Wainwright, Thomas Hampson, Anna Prohaska Wolfgang Joop, Jürgen Kesting, Brian McMaster, Kristine Opolais. As bonus the performance of Tosca´s second act is included. It is one of the most dramatic acts in opera history. The film recording is one of the few opportunities to see Maria Callas on stage and witness her emotional dramatics and vocal competence.
Bruckner Symphony No. 1
Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden already released the Bruckner symphonies Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 and continue their Bruckner Cycle at the Philharmonie in Munich with a radiant performance of Symphony No. 1. Thielemann, widely regarded as the leading Brucknerian of our age, demonstrates his skill once more and shows a masterly control over his orchestra. Thielemann opted for the more lively early original Linz version of this symphony. Bruckner himself called it “a cheeky wench” and said about the finale: “Never again have I been so audacious and bold.” “How Thielemann elicits diabolical trills and how he puts emphasis on syncopation, no matter how small – that’s in a class of it’s own.” (Die Presse.com)