Castrati were the first "stars" in the history of music. They often held the title role (and in Rome all the female roles in the operas), creating on the stage a real competition of virtuosity and emotion between the singers, with the audience as the referee with it's demands for an encore. What if three of the best singers of our time were also part of this Competition of Virtuosity? Here come Valer Sabadus (Arad, 1986), Filippo Mineccia (Florence, 1981), Samuel Mariño (Caracas, 1993). Virtuoso arias, love duets and combative trios made the castrati triumph. Up to each and everyone to decide who is their winner!
Moscow, 1917. The wind of the Bolshevik Revolution blows away the old Russian society and brings along a new order. Lenin decides to nationalize the great private art collections, one of which belongs to the formidable collectors, brothers Mikhail and lvan Morozov. For more than two decades, these two Muscovite patrons, textile billionaires, acquired an astonishing collection of paintings, masterpieces by Monet, Renoir, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Gauguin, Serou and Vroubel. This film tells the story of these two flamboyant characters, bath major figures in the modern art scene, and follows the destiny of their fabulous collections
I Shardana is set in a free Sardinia, an island where rigorous rules are in force and it's people do not tolerate invasions or spiritual contamination, a time when - as Ennio Porrino (b. 1910) specifies in the score - shepherds were warriors and judges, "when man did not believe in one God but in the power of the stars, and worshipped the dead and the waters".The opera's first drafts date from 1934-35, but the work only debuted years later, on 21st March 1959, at the San Carlo theatre in Naples, with it's final title of I Shardana and Porrino himself conducting. The composer would die suddenly a few months later.
Milan's La Scala theatre as told by the protagonists of it's golden years. Enzo Biagi was one of Italy's most famous and beloved journalists. His fondness for the prestigious Milanese venue led to the programs Dynamic are now presenting on DVD, made in 1981/82. Documenting the La Scala productions of those years, Biagi entered the theatre during the rehearsals and interviewed the protagonists (conductors, singers and directors), not only the figures of those days but also the great stars of the past. A series originally produced on 16 mm film, now restored and offered to the public at large. Among the interesting and exciting content on offer on Vol. 2 are interviews with Riccardo Muti and Giorgio Strehler; a talk full of reminiscences with Giulietta Simionato; footage of Renata Tebaldi; and Mr. Biagi meets one of the great stars of La Scala's ballet dancers, Luciana Savignano.
More than 200 years after it's premiere at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Isabelle Faust, Jean-Guihen Queyras and Martin Helmchen have congenially mastered the artistic challenge of Beethoven's gemstone. Under Herbert Blomstedt's sensitive direction, the soloists unite chamber musical intimacy together with virtuoso sophistication - and prove once again that the Triple Concerto is an unduly underestimated, much too rarely programmed masterpiece. With the composer's 5th Symphony, Blomstedt succeeds in achieving an entirely new perspective of this work. In his Sixth Symphony, the "Pastoral", Ludwig van Beethoven conveys his musical message in such a way that let's the listener literally "see" images of beautiful nature, tempestuous storms, and shepherds singing in the fields, whereas in his Seventh Symphony, Beethoven let's the music speak for itself. The performances of these works by the Gewandhausorchester give the uplifting feeling that the intentions of both composer and performers are united in serving the musical message. The humanist and musician Herbert Blomstedt embodies this truth in a unique way, creating an atmosphere where the wonders of music all become true. Ludwig van Beethoven's 9th Symphony and the musical city of Leipzig are closely intertwined with each other: Felix Mendelssohn, Kapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester, made the work an indispensable part of the concert hall repertoire and Arthur Nikisch, one of his successors, established in 1918 the worldwide tradition of performing this groundbreaking and pioneering work at the end of the year. Herbert Blomstedt once again conducted Beethoven's Ninth in Leipzig for the 2016 New Year celebrations. With his former orchestra, of which he has been Conductor Laureate since 2005 and with whom he enjoys a close friendship, he achieves a gripping interpretation of this monumental work.
This outstanding live recording is the first ever collaboration between director Luc Bondy, conductor William Christie, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. This recording was taken in December of 2004 at the Opera National de Paris. Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie, does a beautiful job of performing the score by G. F. Handel.
This is L.A. Opera's latest production of Giuseppe Verdi's ''Macbeth'' featuring Placido Domingo in the title role alongside the Russian mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Semenchuk as Lady Macbeth. The opera is staged by Darko Tresnjak, who won a Tony Award for his direction of the Broadway music ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.'' ''Placido Domingo commands the stage and the music he sings...He was genuinely impressive.'' (Los Angeles Times) ''When I was a young tenor, I loved playing romantic or heroic leading roles. When I began to add baritone parts to my repertoire six years ago, I was particularly interested in playing fathers, as I could draw from my own experience as a family man. Macbeth is a completely different kind of role for me. He is a murderer, but I think that he is also something of a victim, drawn into his crimes by the witches and by Lady Macbeth.'' (Placido Domingo)
Pietro Antonio Cesti was one of the most outstanding champions of 17th-century Venetian opera, and La Dori was both his greatest success and a major influence on the genre in the expressiveness of its arias and duets. The story is set in Babylon on the shores of the Euphrates, and is a convoluted and richly tragicomedic tale of lost lovers, disguises and mistaken identities filled with larger-than-life and colourfully costumed characters. This revival of a forgotten masterpiece was acclaimed as ‘a production of the highest level in every aspect’ (musicaculturaonline.it).
Giacomo Puccini wrote what was supposed to be his last opera at a time where, riddled with disease and old age as he was, he felt like his own turmoil was reflected in the outside world: itself staggering, unsteady, overwhelmed and smashed by the chaos of European diplomacy. In spite of these obstacles, he persevered and worked until the very end of his life on this opera that he left unfinished but that proved to be a “way out” for him in many ways. Drawn from an ancient Persian epic from the 13th century, Turandot was indeed an excuse to escape into a new dramatic universe, one made of unexpected sounds and symbols. Here, in a world removed both geographically and chronologically from his own reality, he gave into the seductive powers of exoticism and eroticism, just as his own heroin Princess Turandot abandons herself to the mysteries of love and forgiveness. After twenty years of absence, Puccini’s Turandot was revived on the stage of the Teatro Real in a new production by American stage director Robert Wilson. One of the most important theatre and visual artist of our times, the director who gave life to Philip Glass’s Einstein of the Beach and who reinvented Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande hadn’t worked on a Puccini opera in twenty-five years, since his ground-breaking Madama Butterfly commissioned by the Paris Opera in 1993. This new encounter between his powerful visual universe and Puccini’s evocative music was bound to be an outstanding event. Carried out by a brilliant cast of singers, dominated by Irene Theorin as Turandot, Gregory Kunde as Calaf and Yolanda Auyanet as Liù, this magnificent production is conducted by the Teatro Real’s associate musical director Nicola Luisotti - and has been met with universal acclaim.
Amfortas is sung and acted with the greatest distinction by Gerald Finley. Denoke is always striking as Kundry but doesn't have quite a large enough voice for the demanding role. The minor roles are well taken. And the orchestra covers itself with glory, tirelessly magnificent for all 270 minutes.
– BBC Music Magazine
This is a well-thought-through production whose ideas don’t fight against the music. In musical terms, too, this is a simply excellent performance. Gurnemanz is a role that René Pape might have been born to sing. Finley is similarly balm to the ears as Amfortas. Denoke seizes every dramatic opportunity which the role gives her.
– MusicWeb International
Richard Wagner PARSIFAL
Parsifal - Simon O’Neill Gurnemanz - René Pape Kundry / Voice from Above - Angela Denoke Amfortas - Gerald Finley Klingsor - Willard White Titurel - Robert Lloyd
Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra (chorus master: Renato Balsadonna) Antonio Pappano, conductor
Stephen Langridge, stage director Alison Chitty, set and costume designer Paul Pyant, lighting designer Dan O’Neill, choreographer
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, February 2014
Bonus: - Interviews with Antonio Pappano and Simon O’Neill - 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: 270 mins (opera) + 25 mins (bonus) No. of Discs: 2 (Blu-ray)
Le nozze in villa (‘The Wedding in the Villa’) tells the story of Sabina and the young Claudio. They are in love, but this match goes against the will of her father, who wants her to marry the Schoolmaster Trifoglio. Misunderstandings and tensions between city emancipation and provincial narrow-mindedness are resolved, and romance ultimately triumphs thanks to the alliance of ‘gracefulness, faith and youth’. This early and virtually unknown opera buffa by Donizetti is full of Rossini-influenced lyrical inventiveness and beautiful arias. Specially restored for the 2019 Bergamo Festival, this revival brings out all of the opera’s ‘sparkling spirit and melodiousness’ (bachtrack.com).
One of the composer's most beguiling scores, La Favorite is Gaetano Donizetti's La favorita in it's original French form; a tale of love and war that represents a glorious mix of Italian bel canto and 19th c. grand opera. Vincent Boussard's arresting Toulouse production does full justice to this newly renewed masterpiece. Three international principals take on the work's demanding roles: Chinese tenor Yijie Shi is a 'revelation' (La Depeche) as Fernand, the rich-toned, authoritative French baritone Ludovic Tezier as King Alphonse XI and lauded American mezzo Kate Aldrich - 'the Carmen of this generation' (San Francisco Sentinel) - plumbing the emotional depths of Leonor's music. Conductor and bel canto specialist Antonello Allemandi adds to the passionate proceedings onstage. Maestro Allemandi demonstrated full authority over the stage for the musically complex scenes, and in the arias and duets demonstrated his confidence in the singers by establishing ample tempos to support their soaring vocal lines... (Opera Today)
Le nozze in villa (‘The Wedding in the Villa’) tells the story of Sabina and the young Claudio. They are in love, but this match goes against the will of her father, who wants her to marry the Schoolmaster Trifoglio. Misunderstandings and tensions between city emancipation and provincial narrow-mindedness are resolved, and romance ultimately triumphs thanks to the alliance of ‘gracefulness, faith and youth’. This early and virtually unknown opera buffa by Donizetti is full of Rossini-influenced lyrical inventiveness and beautiful arias. Specially restored for the 2019 Bergamo Festival, this revival brings out all of the opera’s ‘sparkling spirit and melodiousness’ (bachtrack.com).
Schubert, Maja Solveig Kjelstrup Ratkje, Benjamin Britten, J
2L
Blu-Ray with SACD
$44.99Mar 31, 2015
Perhaps the greatest single characteristic of Franz Schubert's Rosamunde Quartet (1823) is the elusive, longing and perhaps even tragically unconsummated atmosphere that pervades the entire work. Only in the Andante are we really allowed to relax in it's peaceful serenity. The ambiguity in the title of Maja Ratkje's Tale of Lead and Light (2011) reflects the dread which pervaded Oslo in the summer of 2011, and the life-affirming light of Beethoven's opus 59/1 which inspired Maja's work. It is a tribute to Benjamin Britten's inherent "joie de vivre" that optimism and love triumph in his Second String Quartet (1945), composed just after the 2nd World War. The quartet reaches it's emotional climax in the magnificent Chacony, a passacaglia with no less than 21 variations, inspired by Henry Purcell. Britten's 2nd string quartet received it's premiere on the 21st November 1945, 250 years to the day after Henry Purcell's death. Recording Joseph Haydn's Op. 76 No. 5 on our debut CD in 2008 inspired us to include the complete opus, arguably Haydn's greatest string quartet collection, in our repertoire as soon as possible. The heart of the Emperor Quartet, Opus 76/3 is also the most well known movement, Poco adagio. Haydn composed the psalm that he subsequently used as the theme of this movement after a prolonged stay in England. Something of a celebrity, Haydn mingled with the royals, and his admiration for the British national anthem inspired him to compose a tribute to Emperor Francis II. It was later used first as the Austrian and then as the German national anthem. Haydn used a musical cryptogram of the first line of the Anthem, "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" to create the opening theme of the first movement, using the first letters of each word in the German text. G e f d k/c, are the exact musical notes of the main theme in the Allegro. The simplest ideas are often the best!. Hybrid SACD Pure Audio Blu-ray two-disc-box at the price of one ordinary Blu-ray 5.1 SURROUND STEREO produced in DXD (Digital eXtreme Definition 352kHz/24bit) by Lindberg Lyd, Norway The compact disc looks like a normal CD and plays on all standard players and computers.
European Tour / Nordic Brass Ensemble [Blu-ray Audio]
2L
Blu-Ray
$44.99Nov 18, 2016
It is common to date the beginning of the Renaissance to the mid-14th century. From the ashes of the Black Death emerged a society that was fundamentally changed , and to a large extent saw itself as re-born - formed a new. It cannot be a coincidence that this transformation first took place in the very parts of Europe that had been at the centre of the Roman Empire when at it's strongest, in Italy. Florence became the main powerhouse of the new Europe, and from there the Renaissance spread rapidly, bringing an intense cultural flowering to France, England, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain. It is in these countries that Nordic Brass Ensemble has assembled the repertoire for "European Tour" - music arranged specially for this ensemble by Hans Petter Stagnes and Stian Aareskjold. Modern brass instruments have a hsitory going back to the Jaissaries, the Ottoman sultan's special military corps. Contact between Renaissance Europe and Islamic culture helped determine how European culture, and in particular it's music, would develop in this period. Nordic Brass Ensemble is made up of musicians from symphony orchestras and wind ensembles in the Nordic countries, and it has always played early music.
After the great success that Il Trovatore received in Paris, Verdi was proposed to compose a French version of the opera to suit the tastes of the local public. The original work, based on the Spanish play El trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez, had a libretto by Cammarano, which was translated into French by Émilien Pacini . Le Trouvère was first staged in Brussels in 1856 and premiered at the Paris Opera in 1857. In this new version the composer added some music in act 3 for the gypsie ballet scene, extended the finale of act 4 and made several other revisions. The plot is highly dramatic and captivating: Verdi portrays strong characters who deal with war, obsession and revenge. To use director Robert Wilson’s words “this is a family tragedy, and in many ways, it is a very contemporary story.” Wilson’s approach to the opera aims at preserving its emotional strength by using a very essential décor, whose main element is light: “As a director, when I design the stage and lighting, I think about if what I see can help me hear better. Le Trouvère requires a tremendous amount of concentration, so the set I designed is abstract in order to create a space for the music in the Farnese. I have designed an environment in concrete, creating a juxtaposition to the theatre’s ornate interior. […] Light in my work functions as part of the architectural whole. It is an element which helps us hear and see. Without light there is no space. To light a world that Verdi has described as so dark, one needs light to make the space darker.” In the set’s background the director also uses some photos by American photographer Robert Rosenkranz. This production was staged in the splendid Teatro Farnese of Parma, which was built in 1628 and belongs to the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta, one of the oldest museums in Italy. Extra content: Interview with the curator of the Museum subtitled in all languages.
In his Sixth Symphony, the “Pastoral”, Ludwig van Beethoven conveys his musical message in such a way that lets the listener literally “see” images of beautiful nature, tempestuous storms, and shepherds singing in the fields, whereas in his Seventh Symphony, Beethoven lets the music speak for itself. The performances of these works by the Gewandhausorchester under its conductor laureate Herbert Blomstedt give the uplifting feeling that the intentions of both composer and performers are united in serving the musical message. In the lively, subtly differentiated interpretation of the works, sincere happiness, deep respect, piety, joyful serenity and an affinity to nature as well as passion, vitality and spirit can all be felt. This is what the "authenticity" of making music is all about. The humanist and musician Herbert Blomstedt embodies this truth in a unique way, creating an atmosphere where the wonders of music all become true.
So memorably described as ‘a dancer who slashes across space faster than anyone else, who lacerates the air with shapes so clear and sharp they seem to throw off sparks’ (Independent), Carlos Acosta has been at the forefront of contemporary ballet since his arrival at the Royal Ballet in 1998. Here he sparkles in three of his most celebrated roles: the young lover Colas in the joyfully bucolic La Fille mal gardée, which received five stars from the Guardian, Times and Mail on Sunday; the innocent but doomed Romeo in Prokofiev’s sumptuously-scored adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play; and, acting as producer and choreographer for the first time, as Basilio in Don Quixote, a production that wowed audiences thanks to its ‘intelligent’ choreography and Acosta’s ‘titanic determination, bullet-proof charisma [and] delectably trusting and playful rapport’ with co-star Marianela Núñez (Daily Telegraph). These three compelling ballets showcase Carlos Acosta’s world-class reputation as a dancer and choreographer, bolstered by outstanding co-stars and artists of the Royal Ballet. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.
CARLOS ACOSTA – Dances Royal Ballet Classics (3 Blu-ray Disc Box Set)
Ferdinand Hérold LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE
Lise - Marianela Nuñez Colas - Carlos Acosta Widow Simone - William Tuckett Alain - Jonathan Howells
Royal Ballet Royal Opera House Orchestra Anthony Twiner, conductor
Frederick Ashton, choreographer Osbert Lancaster, set designer
Sergey Prokofiev ROMEO AND JULIET
Romeo - Carlos Acosta Juliet - Tamara Rojo Mercutio - José Martin Tybalt - Thiago Soares Nurse - Sandra Conley Lord Capulet - Christopher Saunders Lady Capulet - Elizabeth McGorian Paris - David Pickering Benvolio - Yohei Sasaki Royal Ballet Royal Ballet Sinfonia Boris Gruzin, conductor
Kenneth MacMillan, choreographer Nicholas Georgiadis, costume designer John B. Read, lighting designer
Ludwig Minkus DON QUIXOTE
Kitri - Marianela Nuñez Basilio - Carlos Acosta Don Quixote - Christopher Saunders Sancho Panza - Philip Mosley Lorenzo - Gary Avis Gamache - Bennet Gartside Espada - Ryoichi Hirano Mercedes - Laura Morera
Royal Ballet Royal Opera House Orchestra Martin Yates, conductor
Carlos Acosta, choreographer (after M arius Petipa) Tim Hatley, set and costume designer Hugh Vanstone, lighting designer
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, 2 February 2005 (La fille mal gardée), 2007 (Romeo and Juliet) and October 2013 (Don Quixote)
Bonus: - Cast gallery and illustrated synopsis (La fille mal gardée) - Interviews with cast and crew (Don Quixote) - Introductions to Acts II and III (Don Quixote)
Picture format: 1080i High Definition Sound format: LPCM 2.0 (all) / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote) / Dolby Digital 5.1 (La fille mal gardée) Region code: 0 (worldwide) Menu language: English Subtitles: French, German, Spanish, Italian (La fille mal gardée) Running time: 6 hrs 15 mins (ballet) + 12 mins (bonus) No. of Discs: 3 (BD 50)
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