Erich Wolfgang Korngold regarded Das Wunder der Heliane as his greatest work, but the opera has been neglected since its premiere in 1927. This 2018 production from the Deutsche Oper Berlin features the American soprano Sara Jakubiak as Heliane, and the American tenor Brian Jagde as The Stranger in the award-winning director Christof Loy’s acclaimed staging. The Orchestra and Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin deliver the large forces required for this hyper-Romantic opera, under the baton of Dutch National Opera’s chief conductor Marc Albrecht.
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REVIEWS:
Das Wunder der Heliane is Korngold’s most extravagant stage work and one that he considered to be his greatest score. Written for a huge ensemble, masterfully used, the music possesses voluptuous sweep and hyper-Romanticism. Its intensity is emphasised through an intoxicating array of effects, propulsive rhythms and glorious vocal lyricism, its arc of climaxes building from one act to another. This revelatory new Berlin staging in 2018 enjoyed an unprecedented 20-minute ovation at its premiere.
– Opera Lounge
The performance is conducted with all the necessary full-blooded fervour by Marc Albrecht, and Korngold’s score emerges in all its richly chromatic, glittering tonality and overheated intensity.
Britten: Death in Venice / Perez, Daszak, Teatro Real [Blu-ray]
Naxos AudioVisual
Blu-Ray
$34.99Oct 12, 2018
This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.
Also available on standard DVD Adapted from Thomas Mann’s 1912 novella, Death in Venice was Benjamin Britten’s last opera, the composer insisting on its completion while delaying badly needed heart surgery. The starkly simple narrative of a famous but failing novelist travelling to Venice to seek inspiration only to find unhealthy infatuation and deadly cholera, is given a chamber-like precision and clarity through Britten’s score, becoming a haunting drama filled with musical symbols, disquieting mystery and richly evocative atmospheres of Venice and its strange characters. Willy Decker’s Teatro Real production was described as ‘one of his most brilliant stage works… a remarkable technical feat.’
Henry IV is dead and Hal is king. With England in a state of unrest, he must leave his rebellious youth behind, striving to gain the respect of his nobility and people. Laying claim to parts of France and following an insult from the French Dauphin, Henry gathers his troops and prepares for a war that he hopes will unite his country.
Sound Format: 2.0LPCM, 5.1 DTS Subtitles: English Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)
In the melting pot of Venice, trade is God. With its ships plying the globe, the city opens its arms to all – as long as they come prepared to do business and there is profit to be made.
When the gold is flowing, all is well – but when a contract between Bassanio and Shylock is broken, simmering racial tensions boil over.
A wronged father, and despised outsider, Shylock looks to exact the ultimate price for a deal sealed in blood.
A political prisoner awaits death in his cell. A woman puts herself in mortal danger to seek justice. With its atmosphere of revolution and tale of devotional romance and a dramatic rescue from captivity, Pierre Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal was the direct forerunner to Beethoven’s Fidelio. Having been entirely overshadowed by its famous successor and lain hidden for centuries, this both darkly somber and entertainingly celebratory opéra comique is seen here in an acclaimed modern premiere whose timeless and inspiring story of female heroism and political injustice is as relevant today as ever. The Washington Post wrote of this production: “Opera Lafayette’s smart, efficient production brought the brief opera comique fully to life with vivid playing and singing… events such as this… are a rarity anywhere and a gift...”
Maestro Cav. Enrico Cecchetti (1850–1928) devised his method of training based on sound theoretical and anatomical principles. The Cecchetti Method hinges on a programme set over six days of the week, highlighting the rigorous demands and versatility required to be a professional dancer. Precision and speed of footwork, development of terre-à-terre and batterie technique are key aspects of this virtuoso training method. The Enrico Cecchetti Diploma is the culmination of the study of the Cecchetti Method. It is designed for professional dancers and there is no equivalent in any other system of training. The Diploma has never before been filmed in its entirety as a heritage, educational project. In this film, the dancers are instructed via discussion on background and various versions of the exercises and perform all the studies which today make up the Diploma syllabus.
CHOPIN Piano Sonata No. 2, “Funeral March.” Polonaise in f?, op. 44. Prelude in B?, op. 28/21. BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas: No. 27; No. 32. SCRIABIN Etude, op. 8/2. 2 Poems, op. 32 • Ivo Pogorelich (pn) • C MAJOR 701308 (DVD: 101:00)
This video was filmed in 1987, when Pogorelich was in his late-20s. The locale is an ornate Italian villa with excellent acoustics. The sound engineering has held up very well, and the camerawork is unobtrusive. There is no showmanship. Pogorelich simply plays the music, without jumping about or making faces. He has one of the most compulsively watchable pairs of hands I’ve ever seen. I haven’t been this taken with the physical act of a pianist’s playing since I saw Earl Wild play the Gershwin Concerto in 1986. There is a balance of form and function in Pogorelich’s hands that is just enthralling. Pogorelich performs the Chopin and the Scriabin in a black tunic, switching to a plain blue shirt for the Beethoven. Perhaps there’s something revealing in that. The video footage was originally divided into five separate television programs, which simply are played here in succession. I didn’t find this distracting.
I believe Chopin’s Second Piano Sonata was one of the works Pogorelich performed in the 1980 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. That was where Martha Argerich resigned from the jury after Pogorelich’s elimination, calling him “a genius.” This video contains a great rendition of the sonata. Even the brief introductory chords are dramatic and arresting. In the first movement, Pogorelich has a beautiful response to the second subject, varying it with richness and nobility on each of its appearances, the third time giving it beautiful tone coloring. The scherzo features a dynamic left hand, while its second subject is highly rhapsodic. The opening of the Marche funèbre is grand, even triumphant, whereas its second subject is shaded nocturnally. The return of the Marche is terrifying, leading to the finale’s splendid virtuosic chaos. Throughout the sonata Pogorelich’s conception is bold, dynamic, and vivid.
The remaining Chopin works are equally impressive. The polonaise is freely shaped, colorful, and propulsive. The return of its main theme at the end is immense and thrilling. Pogorelich’s interpretation of the prelude is slow and stately. He brings the same ingratiating talents as a miniaturist to the short works by Scriabin. They highlight his craftsmanship as a subtle colorist and superb technician. The étude is languorous. As for the Two Poems, the first is dreamy, while the second is torrential.
Pogorelich’s Beethoven is more provocative, owing to his preference for slow tempos. In the first movement of Sonata No. 27, I prefer to think of his tempo not as slow but as spacious. The music’s structure always is apparent. In the final movement, Pogorelich offers a truthful representation of Beethoven’s cantabile marking. This issue, however, bedevils the last sonata. In its first movement, Pogorelich’s concept of maestoso is assisted by his ability to clarify voices. This movement’s contrast of virtuosity and repose seems here to prefigure Liszt. Things bog down, unfortunately, in the last movement. There Pogorelich takes the adagio molto marking too literally, interfering in his slowness with the other instruction for cantabile playing. His phrasing becomes choppy. Beethoven did offer the instruction semplice, but that doesn’t mean to proceed so slowly as to be simple-minded. I watched this DVD four times before writing this review, and the last movement of Sonata No. 32 was the only performance I grew weary of.
If you are collecting these works on CD, I can make some recommendations. In the Chopin sonata, I like Cécile Ousset (whose muscularity recalls Pogorelich), Leif Ove Andsnes, and Idil Biret. Richard Goode and Bernard Roberts are interesting in both of the Beethoven sonatas. For No. 32, there also are fine recordings by Bruce Hungerford, Jerome Rose, and, on a Graf fortepiano, Peter Serkin. Scriabin’s Two Poems appears in a lyrical presentation by the Russian-American pianist Dmitry Paperno, on a lovely collection of shorter works titled Through the Years. As for Pogorelich’s DVD, it is fascinating and compulsively watchable almost all the way through. If you can overlook some rather zany Beethoven, it might be for you.
Part of Royal Opera's Britten centenary celebrations • 'Susan Bullock is an awe-inspiring Gloriana... Toby Spence, as Essex, has regained all his pristine vocal lustre' The Independent • 'Director Richard Jones... staging... is both moving and surprising... ' The Daily Telegraph • Extra features: Inside Rehearsals, Gloriana Behind the Scenes, cast gallery.
Virginia Woolf defied the false order of narrative conventions to depict a heightened, startling and poignant reality. Woolf Works recreates the synaesthetic collision ofform and substance in her writings. Each of the three acts springs from one of Woolf’s landmark novels: Mrs Dalloway, Orlando and The Waves – but these inspirations are also enmeshed with elements from her letters, essays and diaries. Woolf Works expresses the heart of an artistic life driven to discover a freer, uniquely modern realism, and brings to life Woolf’s world of ‘granite and rainbow’, where human beings are at once both physical body and uncontained essence. Woolf Works (2015) was Wayne McGregor’s first full-length work for The Royal Ballet. "At its creation in 2015, Woolf Works felt like a breakthrough for choreographer Wayne McGregor, adding a new emotional weight to his athletic force and fascination with technology. In this first revival, it’s even stronger, with Alessandra Ferri luminous as the Virginia Woolf figure… It’s a thoughtful, heartfelt performance in a ballet that is both intelligent and tender." (The Independent 4 Stars)‘‘Since its premiere in 2015, Wayne McGregor’s first full-length ballet has won the 2015 Critics’ Circle award for best classical choreography and the 2016 Olivier Award for best new dance production, while its star, the fiftysomething ballerina Alessandra Ferri, has won an Olivier for outstanding achievement in dance. No wonder the Royal Ballet decided to revive Woolf Works as part of the celebrations marking McGregor’s tenth anniversary as resident choreographer." (The Times 4 Stars)
Antonín Dvořák’s huge popularity in England was built largely on the success of his Stabat Mater, which hehad conducted there in 1884 and 1885. It was well suited to the country’s choral traditions and ledeventually to a commission for a Requiem, which was premièred in Birmingham in 1891. Written in tenmonths during tours to Russia, England and Germany, its success was immediate. Sitting closer to thetradition of Cherubini than Verdi, its tone is compassionate and reflective, devoid of unnecessary drama,and movingly crafted with great sophistication.
Mendelssohn: The Dream - Franck: Symphonic Variations - Liszt: Marguerite and Armand / Plasson, Royal Opera House [Blu-ray]
Opus Arte
Blu-Ray
$39.99Aug 24, 2018
This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.
Also available on standard DVD This exciting release presents three contrasting ballets by The Royal Ballet’s Founder Choreographer Frederick Ashton: The Dream (1964) is an enchanting adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to music by Mendelssohn. Symphonic Variations (1946) is an early Ashton masterpiece, and a breathtaking, abstract work on the beauty of pure movement. Marguerite and Armand (1963), here danced by former Royal Ballet Principal Zenaida Yanowsky and Guest Artist Roberto Bolle, is a tragic love story of great lyric beauty. The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House is conducted by Emmanuel Plasson. Each of these performances received stellar reviews. "First-rate dancing in an Ashton triple bill that offers comedy, serenity and demi-monde ardour. In one of her final performances as principal, Zenaida Yanowsky gives a tremendously intense and intelligent performance as the tragic courtesan" (The Stage) "A passionate tribute to an all-time genius The Royal Ballet is bringing this season – and its 70th-birthday celebrations – to a close with a perfectly chosen trio of works by its founder choreographer Frederick Ashton (1904-1988), works that remind us just how brightly and variously his genius blazed." (The Daily Telegraph)
Soprano Ermonela Jaho stars as Violetta Valery, with Charles Castronovo as her lover Alfredo and Placido Domingo as Alfredo’s stern father Giorgio Germont, in The Royal Opera’s much-loved production of Verdi’s La traviata. One of the greatest of all operas, La traviata is based on the novel and play La Dame aux camellias by Alexandre Dumas fils, inspired in turn by the life and death of the real Parisian courtesan, Marie Duplessis. The opera tells the profoundly moving story of a courtesan prepared to sacrifice everything for love, and contains some of Verdi’s most beautiful arias and duets. Richard Eyre’s engrossing naturalistic production features stunning designs by his regular collaborator Bob Crowley. Italian conductor Antonella Manacorda conducts Verdi’s sublime score, which offers a wonderful showcase for the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and Royal Opera Chorus.
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.
The world's first Blu-ray disc of chamber music featuring the Chamber Music Palisades Ensemble-one one of the oldest performing chamber music groups in LA. The music was recorded in REAL HD-Audio at 96 kHz/24-bit PCM... and is presented in DOLBY TrueHD. Users can select from 3 different audio mixes: 5.1 "Stage", 5.1 "Audience" & 2.0 Channel Stereo Disc contains bonus features including channel identification tones, a photo gallery, liner notes and musicians bios.
With an outstanding cast including Daniela Dessi, Fabio Armiliato, Alessandro Luongo, and Alida Berti, this incomparable performance is Puccini at his finest.; Directed by Ettore Scola, who has created a great number of award-winning films, this performance is from the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago.; One of the most represented operas in history, becoming the inspiration for many works to come, La Boheme is a rich, grandiose opera, which is wonderfully represented in this recording.
Picture Format: 1080i, 16:9 Sound Formats: PCM Stereo, DTS-HD MA 5.1 Subtitles: Italian, German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese Region: All Total Running Time: 123 mins
With its narrative of buccaneering bravado, exotic opulence, romance and traitorous intrigue, Le Corsaire is one of the most impressive narrative ballets of the 19th century, and it remains one of Adolphe Adam’s best-known works. Director of the Wiener Staatsballett, Manuel Legris, has choreographed a new version that draws on the rich performance traditions of Russia and France, and carefully combines spirited action, Adam’s delightful music, choreography, scenery and costumes into an elegant and impressive production which brings to life the colourful events that surround the leading couple of Conrad and Médora.
SCHMANN; LISZT; SCHUBERT; WAGNER/LISZT; RACHMANINOV: Lazar Berman, piano; Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, January 14, 1988.NTSC All Region; LPCM 2.0; Dolby Digital 5.1; 16:9; Approx. 100 mins. LAZAR BERMAN - THE 1988 TOKYO RECITAL - ROBERT SCHUMANN: Piano Sonta No. 1 in F sharp minor, Op. 11; FRANZ LISZT: Selections from"Annees de Pelerinage": deuxieme annees, Italie; FRANZ SCHUBERT/F. LISZT: Ave Maria; RICHARD WAGNER/LISZT: Isolde Liebestod; SERGEI RACHMANINOV: Moment musical in E minor, Op. 16 No. 4.
Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is one of the most remarkable achievements in all music, and Siegfried, the third in the cycle, contains some of the greatest moments in Wagner’s entire output. Wagner conceived Siegfried as a heroic ‘man of the future,’ and his fantastical tale is one in which the human dramas of treachery and violent struggles for power become magnified in a world of gods, dragons and magic. The previous opera in this cycle, Die Walkure, was acclaimed in The Guardian as “thrillingly vivid… easily maintains the high standard and promise of Das Rheingold.” (Naxos NBD0049).
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