“Something wicked this way comes…” Returning home from battle, the victorious Macbeth meets three witches on the heath. Driven by their disturbing prophecies, he sets out on the path to murder. This contemporary production of Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller marks both Christopher Eccleston’s RSC debut and the return of Niamh Cusack to the Company. This recording was produced live from Stratford-Upon-Avon. "Christopher Eccleston and Niamh Cusack make a gripping central couple." (The Stage 5 Stars) "Urgent and wonderfully sinister." (Evening Standard 4 Stars)

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.

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On Christmas Eve, a young girl has a dream... Emotional awakening, physical transformation, childhood that slowly merges into adulthood... behind what seems to be a tale for children slowly emerges a danced initiatory journey. And while children revel in Drosselmeyer’s magic tricks and enjoy a good scare with the apparition of the Mouse King, the adults notice all the finesse that pervades this narrative and admire the virtuosity of the choreography. A first class company, the Ballet Company of the National Opera of Ukraine has toured all around the world: from the United States to Europe and Asia. Thanks to its rich classical heritage, the Company has managed to win the hearts of its audience thanks to its amazing technique and artistic maestria, and as in every good dance company, the whole is equal to the sum of its parts. The Company has also, over the years, establised itself as a unique talent pool, that has nurtured first class dancers such as Iana Salenko (Staatsballet Berlin), Alina Cojocaru (Royal Ballet), Maxim Beloserkovsky and Irina Dvorovenko (American Ballet Theater).

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Recorded live at the Gwandhaus in 2018, this excellent program from the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and their conductor Andris Nelsons features Tchaikovsky’s Symphonies Nos. 4, 5, and 6, as well as works by Mozart, Mussorgsky, Shostakovich, and Weinberg, making for a thrilling and well-rounded programme. Andris Nelsons is Music Director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. These two positions, in addition to his leadership of a pioneering alliance between both institutions, have firmly established Grammy Award-winning Nelsons as one of the most renowned and innovative conductors on the international scene today. “Andris Nelsons conducted with concise focus and vigor and elicited the orchestra both tonal beauty and technical precision and visible enthusiasm.” (THE BOSTON GLOBE)

 

REVIEW:

 

Tchaikovsky’s “Pathétique” shows a dynamic use of tempo: In general, the fast music is very fast, the slow music quite slow, and Nelsons speeds up and slows down as the mood of the music changes. The first movement has lovely woodwind solos, particularly the important ones for clarinet. There is fine attention to dynamics, particularly in the second and fourth movements. The ending disappears into silence, and the hall remains silent for what seems like an impossible length of time before finally erupting into applause.

 

Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony is a fairly standard reading, although there is lots of rubato and expressive use of tempo modifications. The first movement is exciting; the second-movement horn solo is excellent.

 

This all-Russian concert concludes with Tchaikovsky’s Fourth Symphony. Nelsons’s approach is similar to the way he conducts the Fifth: standard tempos which are modified according to the nature of the passage; rhythmic precision, notably in the difficult development section of the first movement; and, no funny business like a huge ritardando or unwritten pause in the coda. The second movement is effective at a rather slow tempo, with excellent dynamics. The Scherzo is fast and virtuosic, the Finale energetic.

– Fanfare

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Rameau’s first opera Hippolyte et Aricie delivered a lyrical tragedy of such extraordinary intensity it changed the course of French music, stunning and overwhelming its audiences. This breathtaking spectacle involves prince Hippolyte, who asks his mother-in-law Queen Phédre for help in wooing the beautiful Aricie, little knowing that Phèdre secretly wants Hippolyte for herself. In a single work Rameau re-invented tragédie en musique with dramatic expressiveness and shocking harmonic innovations. It is seen here in an acclaimed Opéra Comique production that personifies Rameau’s assertion that ‘music must speak to the soul, its true aim must be to express thoughts, feelings, and passions’.

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In 1957, Paul Anka’s debut hit single “Diana” immediately catapulted the 16-year-old into Hall of Fame status. For decades now, Anka has been one of the most successful composers around, penning the lyrics to such hits as Tom Jones’ “She’s a Lady” and Frank Sinatra’s signature song “My Way.” He has released over 120 albums, sold over 100 million records, and been named the 21st most successful artist in Billboard history. He is known today as the last great crooner. When he translates his own as well as cover songs into elegant swing and gives free reign to his charm on stage, Anka embodies the purest form of entertainment.

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This box set contains four exceptional and star-studded opera and operetta recordings from the Opernhaus Zürich: Bellini’s I Capuleti e I Montecchi, Berg’s Wozzeck, Massenet’s Werther, and Lehar’s Das Land des Lachelns. Philharmonia Zurich is the orchestra of Zurich Opera. As an independent body of 116 contract players, it has existed since 1985 under the name of Zurich Opera Orchestra. It was renamed in 2012 with the appointment of director Andreas Homoki and general music director Fabio Luisi. The Choir of the Zurich Opera House, with its 60 permanent members and the participation of up to 160 performances per season, forms an essential cornerstone of the artistic ensemble at the Zurich Opera House. Under the umbrella of the most traditional Swiss opera house, it unites singers on the highest professional level, whose musical and stylistic versatility is combined with the power of acting and spontaneity. On a regular basis, the members also prove their artistic format as soloists. The choir reflects the claim and the radiance of the Zurich Opera in its international composition, which have been proven by numerous DVD recordings and were awarded the “Opera Company of the Year” in 2014.

Excerpts of reviews of previously released volumes in this set:

Berg: Wozzeck

This is a finely honed production that follows its premise to an absurdist conclusion with slick theatricality and dispassionate zeal. All sentimentalism is banished here. So, largely, is the opera’s plea for justice and compassion. It is left to Christian Gerhaher’s Wozzeck to fight that battle, which he does with formidable diction and great lyrical beauty, offering, where he can, a still centre in the tumult.

– Gramophone (DVD/Blu-ray of the Month, November 2016)

Massenet: Werther

Director Tatjana Gürbaca and designer Klaus Grünberg have transformed Massenet’s masterpiece into a compelling drama that glues you to the edge of your seat from start to finish. Flórez gives the performance of his career as a hero who knows that death is where passion is fulfilled. Anna Stéphany’s Charlotte, by turns terrified, tender and tearful, is with him all the way.

–BBC Music Magazine

David McVicar’s classic production embraces both the seriousness and comedy of Mozart’s work. The audience is transported to a fantastical world of dancing animals, flying machines and dazzlingly starry skies. The setting provides a wonderful backdrop for Mozart’s kaleidoscopic score, from the Queen of the Night’s coloratura fireworks to Tamino and Pamina’s lyrical love duets and Papageno’s hearty, folksong-like arias. Prince Tamino promises the Queen of the Night that he will rescue her daughter Pamina from the enchanter Sarastro. He begins his quest, accompanied by the bird-catcher Papageno – but all is not as it seems…

The Tuscan region stretches from the Apennines to the Tyrrhenian Sea and includes, among its nine provinces, Pisa, Siena and Lucca. The music chosen for this tour of Tuscany is largely Italian, ranging from the sixteenth-century Milanese lutenist Francesco Canova da Milano to the Venetian Vivaldi, the Genoese-born violinist Paganini and the opera composers Donizetti, Verdi, Catalani and Puccini. Place is also found for appropriate music by the Italian-trained Gluck and from Mozart’s Italian opera Don Giovanni.

This series of DVDs features travel scenes accompanied by classical music.

This series of DVDs features travel scenes accompanied by classical music.

The Places

Scotland’s rugged landscape has a unique quality that marks it out from the rest of Britain, contrasting most clearly with England, the traditional enemy and occupier. We visit the remote Hebrides, travelling through wild scenery to the mellower Lowlands and to Edinburgh, Scotland’s capital, with its royal palace and castle.

The Music

Although none of the pieces are Scottish in origin, they complement beautifully the places visited. A Mass by Byrd accompanies the old Abbey of Iona. Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony and Hebrides Overture draw respectively on historical Edinburgh and the wild scenery of Fingal’s Cave. And Donizetti’s opera Lucia di Lammermoor is based on the novel The Bride of Lammermoor by the great Scottish romantic novelist Walter Scott.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD
Giuseppe Saverio Mercadante was a contemporary of Donizetti and Rossini, and his prolific output of operas proved influential in founding dramatic techniques that were taken on by Verdi. Set in the ancient and besieged city of Carthage, Didone abbandonata is the dramatic and tragic tale of ill-starred lovers whose decisions ultimately place an entire populace in peril. A genuine rarity in the theatre, Didone has strong ties to the 18th century but also points towards the bel canto innovations that were to come. This carefully researched and critically acclaimed production presents the work in the sound and playing style of Mercadante’s time.

EXHIBITION ON SCREEN presents Lucian Freud: A Self Portrait. One of the most celebrated British painters of our time, Lucian Freud is also one of very few 20th-century artists who portrayed themselves in self-portraiture with such consistency. Spanning nearly seven decades his self-portraits give a fascinating insight into both his psyche and his development as a painter, from his earliest portrait painted in 1939 to the final one executed 64 years later. This intense and unflinching gaze has produced a body of powerful, figurative works that places him in the forefront of great British painting. Featuring fascinating interviews with past sitters, friends and leading art experts such as Tim Marlow, Martin Gayford and Anita Taylor this intensely compelling documentary reveals the life's work of a master which, when seen together, represents an engrossing study into the dynamic of ageing and the process of self-representation.

This series of DVDs features travel scenes accompanied by classical music.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Charles Gounod was enchanted by the young Provençal-born Frédéric Mistral’s epic love poem Mirèio, and enlisted the distinguished Michel Carré to fashion a libretto. Against the grain of prevailing operatic practice in the 1860s, and its promotion of glamour and spectacle, Gounod relished instead the lives of modest country people and their idyllic world. He utilizes folk dances and a shepherd’s lament to chart the story of his tragic heroine whose desire to marry her true love ends in her death. ‘Everything feels true to the opera’s pastoral spirit’ wrote Gramophone about this production, which marked the opera’s first appearance at the Paris Opera.