Praise for the Bayerische Staatsoper’s new Ballo in maschera: “A formidable vocal feast” (Bayerische Staatszeitung). Ten years after stepping down as music director of the Bavarian State Opera, a “grand Zubin Mehta“ (Bayerischer Rundfunk) returned to Munich in March 2016 to celebrate his 80th birthday conducting Verdi’s masterpiece for the first time in a staged production. His cast features some of today’s finest Verdi singers: soprano Anja Harteros, singing Amelia for the first time and “filling every note with Verdian intensity”, tenor Piotr Beczala as a “visually and vocally dashing Riccardo” and George Petean as an “exemplary” Renato (Neue Musikzeitung). In director Johannes Erath’s musically super-sensitive new production, this historically-based tale of illicit love, conspiracy and betrayal unfolds in a surrealistic, shadowy setting transformed by lighting and projections. Special praise was showered by the enthusiastic critics on Maestro Mehta, who “creates concentrated musical connections, miraculously guiding his orchestra and unsurpassable voices the way a thermal lifts a paraglider … Musically the performance was a dream” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). “A total triumph” (La Razón). “This production shows what a utopia opera can be” (Abendzeitung).
John Cranko’s Onegin
John Cranko’s mastery of the art of the pas de deux finds its climax in Onegin, one of the most successful full length ballets of the 20th century. Set to sweeping music by Tchaikovsky, it tells Alexander Pushkin’s tragic love story of the world-weary aristocrat Onegin and the naïve country girl Tatiana in a superbly nuanced way. Featuring world stars Friedemann Vogel and Alicia Amatriain, this production is a must for all lovers of dramatic – and romantic – ballets. With Onegin, John Cranko secured his place in the pantheon of great 20th century choreographers. He created the three act work for the Stuttgart Ballet – of which he was Director – in 1965 and revised the ballet two years later. Over the last 50 years, the ballet has entered the repertoire of almost every leading ballet company in the world, including the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet in London, the Bolshoi Ballet, the Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala and the American Ballet Theatre. Friedemann Vogel and Alicia Amatriain – the leading couple of the Stuttgart Ballet who have been showered with international prizes and accolades – demonstrate here why they are deemed the elite of the dance world. But it is legendary prima ballerina Marcia Haydee (80 years) who creates the night’s special magic: Once Cranko chose her to be the very first Tatiana in 1965, now she guest stars as nurse; the close bonds between Haydee and the ensemble are palpable throughout and it is a truly touching moment when the original Tatiana meets the current one.“Onegin is the perfect Ballet” (Marcia Haydée); “Onegin is so good, that it can easily hold its own against any Broadway show!” (Newsday)
Leonard Bernstein – Young People’s Concert (Vol. I)
Awarded three 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 at prime-time on CBS from 1958 to 1972, 52 one-hour programs were written and hosted by Leonard Bernstein, “certainly the most influential American maestro of the 20th century” (New York Times). 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. Young People’s Concerts Vol. 1 comprises 17 episodes of the legendary series, which remains unmatched until today. “Leonard Bernstein did this better than anyone. He was brilliant – as a musician and as an ambassador for music” (Whoopie Goldberg). “There had never been a communicator about music with anywhere near Bernstein’s brilliance, humor, energy, reach and importance.” (New York Times). Volume 1 includes 17 Episodes – the Concerts Nos. 1-14 plus Young Performers Nos. 1-3 (featuring Seiji Ozawa and Lynn Harrell)
Bernstein at 100: The Centennial Celebration At Tanglewood
The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood spotlights Bernstein’s wide-ranging talents as a composer, his many gifts as a great interpreter and champion of other composers, and his role as an inspirer of a new generation of musicians and music lovers across the country and around the globe. The gala concert features a kaleidoscopic array of artists and ensembles from the worlds of classical music, film, and Broadway. The entire first half of the program is dedicated to selections from such brilliant Bernstein works as Candide, West Side Story, Mass, and Serenade. Music from the classical canon very dear to Bernstein’s heart-selections includes from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, the finale of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony and music by Aaron Copland, plus a new work by John Williams.