Ottorino Respighi’s La bella dormente nel bosco (‘The Sleeping Beauty’) was originally commissioned by the renowned puppeteer Vittoria Podrecca. The revised version we hear today preserves much of the kaleidoscopic approach and magnified characters and emotions of that original; now enhanced by the composer’s matchless orchestration. This famous story in which the Princess pricks her finger on a spindle and sleeps for centuries until kissed by her Prince is given a magical atmosphere through director Leo Muscato’s colorful staging, and the superb cast of this Teatro Lirico di Cagliari production truly inhabits an enchanted realm.
-----
REVIEW:
Ottorino Respighi’s La bella dormente nel bosco (‘The Sleeping Beauty’) was originally commissioned by the renowned puppeteer Vittoria Podrecca. The revised version we hear today preserves much of the kaleidoscopic approach and magnified characters and emotions of that original; now enhanced by the composer’s matchless orchestration. This famous story in which the Princess pricks her finger on a spindle and sleeps for centuries until kissed by her Prince is given a magical atmosphere through director Leo Muscato’s colorful staging, and the superb cast of this Teatro Lirico di Cagliari production truly inhabits an enchanted realm.
The opera La campana sommersa (‘The Sunken Bell’) is Respighi’s operatic masterpiece. A symbolist drama on a supernatural theme, it is steeped in beauty, mystery and foreboding, and orchestrated with the Romantic opulence familiar from his sumptuous trilogy of Roman tone poems. Its triumph at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1928 was repeated at La Scala, Milan, and this most recent production at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, world-renowned for its staging of rarities, was hailed for its ‘brilliant production’ and magnificent performances. Directed by Pier Francesco Maestrini, this production features a lineup of modern opera stars including Valentina Farcas, Maria Luigia Borsi, Agostina Smimmero, Angelo Villari, and more.
First performed in Rome in 1934, now ignited to spectacular effect in Berlin. The timeless, rarely performed drama about witch-hunts, power games between wife and husband, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law and prejudice is brought to life in a captivating way on the stage of the Deutsche Oper. Impressive singing and colossal tableaux accompany a story of intrigue, power struggles and an affair between stepmother and son in Ottorino Respighi's last great opera. Surrounded by political struggles, the characters become entangled in personal conflicts that mercilessly lead to catastrophe and end with a cruel outcome at the stake.
Ottorino Respighi's 'mystery in three episodes', Maria egiziaca, started out as a concert triptych. It's intensely dramatic and at times symphonic qualities give it a character somewhere between an oratorio and an opera. Based on the life of Saint Mary of Egypt, the archaic story of Maria egiziaca revolves around faith seen through it's various characters, with Maria's journey from prostitution to sainthood conveyed as an expressive and eloquently immediate musical fresco. This Teatro La Fenice production of Respighi's profoundly moving and deeply sensuous stage work was critically acclaimed.
Rhapsody & The Two Pigeons / Ashton, Wordsworth, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House [Blu-ray]
Opus Arte
Blu-Ray
$39.99Oct 28, 2016
This release features two Frederick Ashton ballets in one exquisite evening performance. Principals Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae dance Ashton’s Rhapsody, created for The Royal Ballet in 1980 by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lesley Collier, with spectacular choreography to suite the dancers’ star reputations. Lauren Cuthbertson and Vadim Muntagirov lead a charismatic cast in Ashton’s poignant and heart-warming reflection on love, The Two Pigeons, based on an old French folk tale and first performed on Valentines Day 1961. These two ballets from the company’s founder choreographer capture The Royal Ballet’s famous skill and distinctive style. Barry Wordsworth conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in the rapturous Rachmaninoff and Messager scores. Financial Times gave this performance five stars, stating: “…Steven McRae… cutting tremendous shapes in the air, wrapping the score round himself…”
Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq d'Or (The Golden Cockerel)
BelAir Classiques
Blu-Ray
$36.99Mar 23, 2018
The old Tzar Dodon, tired of ruling his country, manipulated by his political advisors - among which the obscure Astrologer - and showing little interest in protecting his kingdom against foreign agression, relies on a magic Golden Cockerel to warn him in case of an attack. But when the Cockerel tells him of his own defeat, the Tzar quickly falls in love with his enemy, the beautiful Tzaritza of Shemakha, who easily convinces him to surrender his empire by making him propose to her. A cruel and sardonic fairytale, Rimsky-Korsakov's Golden Cockerel draws from a poem by Alexander Pushkin, and undoubtedly counts among the most subversive works in the history of music. A very direct attack against autocracy, stupidity and political inertia, it was censored and premiered only in 1909, one year after Rimsky-Korsakov's death. This new production from the Theâtre de la Monnaie was imagined by Laurent Pelly. Drawing from the modernity of Rimsky-Korsakov's musical and dramatic imagination, the ambiguities of it's specular structure, and it's underlying reflection on language, manipulation and absurdity, the French stage director underlies the heavily symbolical aspects of this fierce and pitiless tale, all the while remembering both it's historical context and it's universal philosophical depth... French conductor Alain Altinoglu works wonders with the Theâtre de la Monnaie Symphonic Orchestra, and reaffirms his strong affinities with Russian music, which were already made clear in the Tchaikovsky dyptich Iolanta / The Nutcracker at the Paris Opera in 2015.
In the 13th century, the rich merchants of Novgorod mock the dreams of far-away journeys and of commercial conquests brought forth by Sadko, a musician and singer. But Volkhova, the Sea King’s daughter, is enchanted by Sadko’s voice, and promises to help him fulfill his dreams... Sadko is a decisive work in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s aesthetic evolution. As in many operas, the composer draws his artistic material from Russian folk and fairytales, but also from old musical and poetic forms. The result is a prodigious opera, whose modernity - both dramatic and musical - erupts from the fabulous resources of traditional Russian epics, but also from the wonders of the marine universe, close to his former navigator self’s heart. A subtle analyst of the slavic soul, stage director Dmitri Tcherniakov comes back to the great stage of the Bolshoi Theater and devises a surprising production that perfectly underlines the ambiguities of this paradoxical opera, between past and present, fantasy and reality. He surrounds himself with magnificent Russian soprano Aida Garifullina, but also some of his favorite singers : Mikhail Petrenko, Ekaterina Semenchuk... In the pit and at the head of the Bolshoi Theater Orchestra, young Russian conductor Timur Zangiev breathes in this little-know masterpiece all the energy, all the poetry, and all the passion it requires.
Scottish Ballet’s 50th anniversary year came to a spectacular close with the world premiere of The Snow Queen. This glittering new production is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s much-loved tale – which was also the basis for Frozen. It is set to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, performed live by the full Scottish Ballet Orchestra. From the bustle of a winter’s market to the shivers of a fairytale forest, take a journey to the Snow Queen’s icy palace. Along the way you’ll meet a colorful cast of characters, from young lovers parted by a spell to a circus ringmaster with a few tricks up his sleeve. This glittering production is sure to delight the whole family. “Scottish Ballet’s Christmas present to us all... a truly memorable high.” (The Glasgow Herald)
Based on an historical case, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride takes place in the suburbs of Moscow during the reign of Tsar Ivan IV, “the Terrible”, during the latter half of the 16th c. Widowed, he is looking for a new wife, his third. He chooses the young Marfa. She loves another man but bends to the Tsar’s will and renounces her love for the other. From this plot, Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov retains only the frame. A live competition is organized for a virtual monarch, much like the reality shows of today. Here, the characters become the various players of the audiovisual industry bringing an acerbic critic to contemporary television. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin. With Olga Peretyatko, Anita Rachvelishvili and Johannes and Martin Kränzle. Recorded at Staatsoper, Im Schiller Theater Berlin, in October 2013.
Roberto Devereux is the fourth and finest of Donizetti's works dedicated to the Tudor period of English history, and is considered by many to be the ultimate masterpiece amongst his Italian operas. The tragic narrative is a tale of intrigue and vengeance in the court of the elderly and weary Queen Elisabeth I, with Donizetti's powerful score expressing all of the intense drama and sorrowful emotion demanded by the opera's finely etched characters. This star-studded Donizetti Opera Festival production received wide critical acclaim.
She is a piano legend, he has collaborated as a soloist with all leading conductors and orchestras around the world. Now Martha Argerich and Guy Braunstein come to the Pierre Boulez Saal with their first-ever duo program-an artistic encounter that promises to be an extraordinary musical experience.
Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.
William Shakespeare ROMEO AND JULIET (Blu-ray Disc Version)
Prince Escalus – Andrew Vincent Mercutio – Philip Cumbus Paris – Tom Stuart Montague – Michael O'Hagan Lady Montague – Holly Atkins Romeo – Adetomiwa Edun Benvolio – Jack Farthing Abraham / Apothecary – Graham Vick Balthazar / Peter / Gregory – Fergal McElherron Capulet – Ian Redford Lady Capulet – Miranda Foster Juliet – Ellie Kendrick Tybalt – Ukweli Roach Nurse – Penny Layden Friar John / Sampson – James Lailey Friar Lawrence – Rawiri Paratene
Dominic Dromgoole, director Simon Daw, design Sian Williams, choreographer Music composed by Nigel Hess
Recorded live at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London, August 2009.
Bonus: - Cast gallery - Famous speeches
Picture format: 1080i High Definition Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Region code: 0 (worldwide) Menu language: English Subtitles: English Running time: 171 mins No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)
Dominic Dromgoole’s production brings refreshing clarity to one of Shakespeare’s most famous and best-loved tragedies, drawing out the contemporary relevance of this passionate teenage love story. Ellie Kendrick, a truly youthful Juliet, and Adetomiwa Edun, a boyish Romeo, head an excellent cast whose period costumes point to the timelessness of parental disapproval, adolescent temperament, rivalry and violence. Filmed before a live audience at Shakespeare’s Globe in the heart of London, its intimate and atmospheric setting adds immediacy and vitality to the humour and passion of Shakespeare’s verse. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound.
Here the iconic Verona opera - and Charles Gounod's masterpiece - makes a superb comeback in the majestic setting of the Arena di Verona. 'Romeo et Juliette' had not been performed in the Arena since 1977. The new production was entrusted to Italian director Francesco Micheli, who opted for a personal, highly original version: 'An arena within the Arena, like a blood-red Elizabethan theatre. A senescent world that will not let it's own children live.' Juliette is sung by Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze, in a return to one of her early roles at the Salzburg Festival. Stefano Secco, often heard at the Opera Bastille in Paris and other international venues, is Romeo.
This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.
Also available on standard DVD Opera Vlaanderen of Antwerp continues its Rossini Cycle under the musical direction of conductor Alberto Zedda (87), with the rarely performed opera Armida. Armida is clearly a tenor opera par excellence, as we have four tenors here among the main roles. Enea Scala , Robert McPherson, Dario Schmunck and the young Adam Smith. Director Mariame Clément and her usual set designer Julia Hansen will also return to Opera Vlaanderen after the successfull Giasone by Cavalli released by Dynamic. They are now taking a critical look at the world of the Crusaders. Clément sees Armida as the incarnation of the concept of ‘love’, which in itself is magic and for which noble and heroic knightly ideals are cast aside. However, it is a love that turns into a destructive frenzy.
The Biblical story of Belshazzar's hubristic arrogance set against the valour of the young warrrior-leader Cyrus provided the 20-year-old Rossini with a dramatic story with West-Eastern resonances which still speak to us today. For the title role of Cyrus, Rossini wrote what would be his longest-ever contralto role, to which the great Rossini singer Ewa Podles is both naturally attracted and ideally suited. She is partnered by two young stars of Rossini singing, Jessica Pratt and Michael Spyres, and a conductor-scholar, Will Crutchfield, of immense experience and sympathy.
What the press said: ''In the title role, the booming contralto Ewa Podles gives the kind of old-style, intensely felt performance that is her trademark. As Amira, the soprano Jessica Pratt established herself in two daunting arias as a brilliant new presence on the bel canto scene.'' New York Times
Gioachino Rossini CIRO IN BABILONIA (Blu-ray Disc Version)
Ciro – Ewa Podles Amira – Jessica Pratt Baldassare – Michael Spyres Zambri – Mirco Palazzi Argene – Carmen Romeu Arbace – Robert McPherson Daniello – Raffaele Costantini Ned Keene – George von Bergen
Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus and Orchestra Will Crutchfield, conductor
Davide Livermore, stage director
Recorded live at the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, August 2012
Bonus: - Cast gallery
Picture format: 1080i High Definition Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1 Region code: 0 (worldwide) Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean Running time: 165 mins No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)
Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia / Mazzola, London Philharmonic [Blu-ray]
Opus Arte
Blu-Ray
$39.99Jun 23, 2017
The ''sheer visual sophistication'' of Annabel Arden's Barbiere serves ''a triumphant celebration of Rossini's musical genius'', featuring de Niese's ''powerfully sung'' Rosina, Burger's ''gale-force'' Figaro and Stayton's ''pure and mellifluous'' Almaviva - a leading trio ''musically and dramatically beyond compare'' (The Independet - 5 stars). Contributing to the ''ensemble precision'', the rest of the cast includes a ''scene-stealing'' Berta in Kelly, a ''suavely unctuous'' Basilio from Stamboglis and Corbelli's Bartolo, ''an object lesson in comic understatement'' (The Guardian). With Enrique Mazzola at the helm of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, ''the score bubbles along on a Puckish current of merry mischief'' (The Telegraph).
Rossini’s comic masterpiece The Barber of Seville was based on Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais’s French play Le Barbier de Séville and is the ultimate opera buffa. The score is a compendium of the composer’s wittiest and most brilliant writing, and includes the famous entrance aria Largo al factotum and a raft of superbly dynamic ensembles. This vibrant and youthful production features Florian Sempey, one of the world’s best Figaros, the ‘Rossini tenor’ Michele Angelini, vivacious and critically admired Catherine Trottmann, and the award-winning team of acclaimed director Laurent Pelly and conductor Jérémie Rhorer who directs his spirited period ensemble Le Cercle de l’Harmonie.
-----
REVIEW:
The cast are in modern dress but the interaction of characters is so forceful as to sweep away any lurking objections. Add to this some very fine singing, particularly from Michele Angelini’s glorious high tenor as Almaviva, and there is a great deal here to admire and enjoy.
![Romeo and Juliet / Edun, Kendrick [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/1654440.jpg?v=1786839882&width=400)
![Respighi: La bella dormente nel bosco / Renzetti, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3782379-2539353.jpg?v=1786832041&width=800)
![Respighi: La bella dormente nel bosco / Renzetti, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/51JP81oWN5L.jpg?v=1786832041&width=800)
![Respighi: La bella dormente nel bosco / Renzetti, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3782379-2539353.jpg?v=1786832041&width=400)
![Respighi: La Campana Sommersa / Renzetti, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3793229.jpg?v=1786837222&width=800)
![Respighi: La Campana Sommersa / Renzetti, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3793229.jpg?v=1786837222&width=400)
![Rhapsody & The Two Pigeons / Ashton, Wordsworth, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3485697_c8f968af-45be-49b3-9978-c5d067c63a68.jpg?v=1786835557&width=800)
![Rhapsody & The Two Pigeons / Ashton, Wordsworth, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3485697_c8f968af-45be-49b3-9978-c5d067c63a68.jpg?v=1786835557&width=400)
![Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko / Zangiev, Bolshoi Theater Orchestra [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/4012964-2754030.jpg?v=1786831936&width=800)
![Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko / Zangiev, Bolshoi Theater Orchestra [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/71hFn40f5BL.jpg?v=1786831936&width=800)
![Rimsky-Korsakov: Sadko / Zangiev, Bolshoi Theater Orchestra [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/4012964-2754030.jpg?v=1786831936&width=400)
![Rimsky-Korsakov: The Snow Queen / Scottish Ballet Orchestra [Blu-Ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3890284-2655496.jpg?v=1786831901&width=800)
![Rimsky-Korsakov: The Snow Queen / Scottish Ballet Orchestra [Blu-Ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/71vy0nvjydl._sl1200.jpg?v=1786831902&width=800)
![Rimsky-Korsakov: The Snow Queen / Scottish Ballet Orchestra [Blu-Ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3890284-2655496.jpg?v=1786831901&width=400)
![Rimsky-Korsakov: Tsar's Bride / Barenboim, Peretyatko, Tomowa-Sinto, Kranzle, Cernoch [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3002896.jpg?v=1786832767&width=800)
![Rimsky-Korsakov: Tsar's Bride / Barenboim, Peretyatko, Tomowa-Sinto, Kranzle, Cernoch [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3002896.jpg?v=1786832767&width=400)
![Romeo and Juliet / Edun, Kendrick [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/1654440.jpg?v=1786839882&width=800)
![Romeo and Juliet / Edun, Kendrick [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/51nmUHvhBBL.jpg?v=1786839882&width=800)
![Rossini: Armida / Zedda, Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Opera Vlaanderen [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3525335.jpg?v=1788384191&width=800)
![Rossini: Armida / Zedda, Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Opera Vlaanderen [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/51EUnWDv72L.jpg?v=1788384192&width=800)
![Rossini: Armida / Zedda, Symphony Orchestra & Chorus Opera Vlaanderen [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3525335.jpg?v=1788384191&width=400)
![Rossini: Ciro Di Babilonia /Crutchfield, Podleś, Spyres, Pratt, Palazzi [blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/2290397.jpg?v=1788219239&width=800)
![Rossini: Ciro Di Babilonia /Crutchfield, Podleś, Spyres, Pratt, Palazzi [blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/91uhDoY6boL.jpg?v=1788219240&width=800)
![Rossini: Ciro Di Babilonia /Crutchfield, Podleś, Spyres, Pratt, Palazzi [blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/2290397.jpg?v=1788219239&width=400)
![Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia / Mazzola, London Philharmonic [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3662609.jpg?v=1786828239&width=800)
![Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia / Mazzola, London Philharmonic [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/61TvVmueDXL.jpg?v=1786828239&width=800)
![Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia / Mazzola, London Philharmonic [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3662609.jpg?v=1786828239&width=400)
![Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia / Rhorer, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3707679-2418372.jpg?v=1786831992&width=800)
![Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia / Rhorer, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/51mOAk9mjAL.jpg?v=1786831992&width=800)
![Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia / Rhorer, Le Cercle de l'Harmonie [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3707679-2418372.jpg?v=1786831992&width=400)