Having been granted unprecedented authority by Louis XIV, the Sun King, no one could stage operas in France without Jean-Baptiste Lully’s permission. By 1686, however, Lully’s authority was waning and his long-standing librettist deserted him to write sacred works. Despite these setbacks, Lully wrote Acis et Galatée, a pastorale héroïque, and one of his final masterpieces. (Dynamic)

The exquisitely decorated 15th century choir book known as the Old Hall manuscript was lost to history for the best part of 400 years until its reappearance in a Catholic seminary at the end of the 19th century. The largest surviving collection of medieval motets and mass movements, it immediately became the most celebrated source of English music of the period. It was written in the first instance by a single scribe to ensure that the music of his fellow singers was not forgotten. Many of them are known only from this manuscript, and on this album they find their voices again after more than half a millennium of silence, transformed by the singing of Trio Mediæval in the company of Catalina Vicens, alongside new music by David Lang and Marianne Reidarsdatter Eriksen. Hailed as a "fascinating journey with music of timeless beauty", Trio Mediæval’s highly acclaimed first album Words of the Angel in 2001 launched the group into the elite circles of early music ensembles and introduced them to a broad international audience. Formed in 1997, the Grammy nominated vocal ensemble consists of founder members Linn Andrea Fuglseth and Anna Maria Friman, and Jorunn Lovise Husan who joined the group in 2018. Trio Mediæval has recorded eight albums for ECM Records. An Old Hall Ladymass is their second release, following Solacium, with the Norwegian label 2L. Produced by Morten Lindberg.

This box set documents Riccardo Chailly's first years as principal conductor of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. In summer 2016, he steps into the office as Claudio Abbado's successor with Mahler's 8th Symphony. In a colorful, fresh and stirring performance of the overture and incidental music to William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Tchaikovsky's "Manfred" Symphony, Chailly and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra bring the musical imagery of both works to life. In summer 2018, the performers transport us to Ravel's musical universes full of colors, scents and flavors: from the pulsating three-four time of the waltzes to the ancient love story of Daphnis and Chloé and the relentless rhythm of the Boléro. A recording from summer 2019 of Rachmaninoff's Third Symphony and Third Piano Concerto with Denis Matsuev marks the various stages in the composer's life and demonstrates once again the close bond between the orchestra and their new principal conductor.

Please note: this is a recording of spoken theatre, not an opera or musical.

Anna Gmeyner's play "Automat" dates from 1932 and was inspired by the technological innovations of her age as well as by the reactionary attitudes of the bourgeoisie. The provinicalist Adam saves the beautiful stranger Eva from suicide by drowning and takes her along to the "Automatenbüfett", the restaurant owned by his feisty wife. Eva's arrival is an attraction to this largely male community and the shrewd Adam knows how to use it to further his plans. Barbara Frey and Martin Zehetgruber had designed the eponymous outomat, which provides a looming backdrop to sometimes cringeworthily funny and sometimes heartrendingly sad encounters between the outstanding cast. The play proved a draw in major theatres in Hamburg, Berlin and Zurich before its author was forced to flee in the face of persecution by the National Socialists. This production is a true rediscovery.

The canton of the Graubuenden, the Grey Leagues, covers the largest territory of all Swiss cantons, while remaining the most sparsely populated.

The music chosen for this tour of European gardens and parks is matched carefully with the places chosen.

Also available on standard DVD

Leocadia Begbick - Jane Henschel
Fatty "the Bookkeeper" - Donald Kaasch
Trinity Moses - Willard White
Jenny Smith - Measha Brueggergosman
Jim Maclntyre - Michael König
O’Brien/Higgins - John Easterlin
Bank-Account Bill - Otto Katzameier
Alaska-Wolf Joe - Steven Humes

Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado
Stage Direction : Alex Ollé, Carlus Padrissa – La Fura dels Baus

A hard-hitting new production of Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by the Catalan collective La Fura dels Baus at the Teatro Real de Madrid.

Composed in the 1930s by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, this is a mordant satire on capitalism and the inexorable industrialisation of a society in which the ultimate crime is not having money. In twenty scenes the authors tell the story of a city lost in the middle of a desert and run by three thugs; in Mahagonny food, sex, gambling and violence rule supreme.

The production by Alex Ollé and Carlus Padrissa, both of La Fura dels Baus, combines enormous inventiveness, joy and energy with awe-inspiring ferocity.

Perfect casting brings together a group of singers – Measha Brueggergosman, Michael König, Jane Henschel and Willard White – who are also marvellous actors.

The Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus are directed by young Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, who actually began his career at the Teatro Real. In November 2010, he received the “El Ojo Crítico” prize, awarded annually to Spain’s most outstanding artists in the classical music field.

Director: Andy Sommer
Length: 138 min
Subtitles: French / English / German / Spanish
Zones: All Zones - 1 disc

Also available on Blu-ray

A brand new production of ‘Tannhäuser’ from the Staatsoper Berlin, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, staged and choreographed by Sasha Waltz, who has brought to the stage this Romantic Wagner opera with a star cast of some of today's best Wagnerian singers: Peter Seiffert in the title role, Réne Pape as Landgraf and Peter Mattei as Wolfram, Ann Petersen sings Elisabeth and Marina Prudenskaya is Venus.

HD recording: Staatsoper im Schiller Theater, Berlin – 04/2014
DVD Running time: 192 min.
Booklet: French / English / German, Subtitles: French / English / German
16/9, NTSC, Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1

A year or so ago Oehms released a CD version of this opera from the same source that was recorded in 2011; this video version was made the following year. I was impressed with the earlier CDs, and this performance has much to recommend it as well. The added visual element is a definite plus–it’s a fascinating production.

Jens Kilian is the set designer and Vera Nemirova is the director. Yes, it is Regie, but there’s neither an overturned chair nor a Nazi to be found. The set is a huge, tilted circle; within it, like the rings of an old tree, are other, smaller circles that rise and fall. Some characters live and work on the lower levels (Mime and Erda), and some above; others travel between. The circle can open into smaller chambers for one-on-one moments–the Wanderer and Mime are chatting comfortably at times in a “comfortable” space. When Brünnhilde is placed on her rock–dead center of the huge ring–it rises to form a pillar, and the fire (real fire, by the way), the circumference of a larger ring, rises to protect her, like a nimbus. Aside from swords, spears, and a forge, there are no props. A most remarkable decision of Nemirova’s is to make the Forest Bird a lithe dancer (Alan Barnes, here) with long, feathery talons, who moves and flaps silently, and also moves appropriately when the off-stage voice of the bird (Robin Johannsen, quite lovely) sings.

Mime, wearing thick glasses, is dirty-looking and clumsy; Siegfried, blonde hair flowing, is in leather and a bear skin at the start (the stage direction, “enter, chasing bear”, has been altered to “enter, wearing a bear”), and later in what looks like a collection of wolf skins. The Wanderer goes from elegant dress pants to long, leather coat, but he’s always natty. In other words, due to the set and costume design, this Ring is universal; it takes place neither then nor now; it weds the phantasmagoric with the literal. Somehow, it all works.

Moreover, the characterizations are vivid. Siegfried may be an insensitive dolt, but he’s genuinely curious about baby animals looking like their parents, touched emotionally by the green around him during the Forest Murmurs, stumped and jumpy when he discovers that Brünnhilde is not a man, and almost maniacally happy at the opera’s close. Wotan is a tough guy in Act 1 with Mime, but is all too human in his confrontations with both Erda and Siegfried. And Brünnhilde’s transformation from goddess to woman is subtle and rings true.

Musically, there is much to marvel at, as there was with the audio-only CDs. Sebastian Weigle, while not holding back, gets a chamber-like effect from the orchestra, and the series of duets that make up the opera have an informality about them that practically turn some scenes into a drawing room comedy or drama. Siegfried and Mime banter irritatingly and Mime and the Wanderer play off one another. Mime’s commentary during the Forging Song is deliciously wicked (diction is impeccable from all singers throughout).

Casting a true Heldenbariton, rather than a bass Wanderer, is one of the keys. I was unfamiliar with Terje Stensvold and assumed him a relatively new find; in fact, he is 68 years old and has been singing for decades, with no deterioration of the voice’s core. As suggested above, his Wotan can be playful and grave by turns, godlike and ready to give up his godhood. It is a wonderful performance.

Similarly, Lance Ryan as Siegfried is more in the Windgassen than the bari-tenor mode (he studied with Gianni Raimondi and Carlo Bergonzi). His tone is bright and forward and his high notes are amazingly big and solid–he even articulates the high C at the end of his entrance laughter. The Forging Song sounds joyous. He’s tireless until the last 20 minutes, where at this point his tone becomes leathery, with pitch issues as well. But he’s exciting, good to watch, and one of the more “complete” Siegfrieds I’ve ever seen.

Susan Bullock’s Brünnhilde is matronly–she actually does look like Siegfried’s aunt–but she acts up a storm and almost makes up for it. She’s in better vocal condition than on the CDs, with the voice solidly produced, a real trill, her enunciation perfect. The voice may not be pretty but she inhabits the role, and the high notes ring out as well. As the pair acknowledges their love, Brünnhilde’s pedestal lowers–they’re finally on the same level. A nice touch, again.

Peter Marsh’s Mime is just right, a slime-ball who thinks he’s smarter than he is, with a voice that’s laser-focused. Jochen Schmeckenbecher’s Alberich, in somewhat regular, modern dress, is not as dark-toned as we’re accustomed to (Neidlinger, Kelemann), but his nastiness is never in doubt. Magnus Baldvinsson’s Fafner, not amplified and hardly a huge sound, becomes all too human, wonderfully curious about the boy who kills him. Meredith Arwady’s Erda, assisted by crucial stillness from Weigle’s baton, makes the best of her scene, albeit with a far-too-wide vibrato.

Conductor Sebastian Weigle has no fear of pulling out all the stops, but he never drowns out the singers; inner voices are audible but not awkwardly underlined. His chosen tinta–lighter than the Furtwängler, Knappertsbusch, Levine crowd–is abetted by the surprisingly brilliant playing by the Frankfurt forces, whose brass is shiny and whose strings shimmer, but also by two other factors: the spotless recording, in which the harps and triangle can be heard even when up against the full complement of strings and winds.

The unhelpful booklet has only a synopsis in German and English; those are the subtitle choices as well. There are only three tracks per act–a really dumb, inconvenient choice. There is wild applause, and plenty of it, after each act. This is a good option for a non-traditional (i.e: the opposite of the Met’s literal set on DG) Siegfried, along with Barenboim’s on Warner Classics, in the Harry Kupfer, Bayreuth production.

-- Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

ANTONIO VIVALDI: "I Solisti Veneti"/Claudio Scimone; Wiener Singakademie Choir; Adriana Damato, soprano; Laur Brioli, mezzo. ANTONIO VIVALDI - GLORIA AND OTHER SACRED WORKS: Gloria RV 589; Concerto in D major RV581; Falve Regina RV 616: Ad Te suspiramus;Sonata Al Santo Sepolcro RV 130; Stabat Mater RV 621: Stabat Mater, O quam tristis, Fac ut ardeat cor meum, Amen; Dal Gloria RV 588: Qui sedes ad desteram; Concerto in D major RV 562: Allegro.

VIVALDI: The Four Seasons
Julia Fischer - violin; Academy of St. Martin in the Fields; Kenneth Sillito 'Fischer's playing is stylish and technically strong... with some gorgeously sonorous passage-work. The Academy's accompaniments are mint-condition.' Classic fM

'It's no surprise that Julia Fischer, with her looks of classic beauty, has been treated to a video debut... This recording...is clear and refreshing in a traditional way, with immaculate intonation from the soloist.' Gramophone

Region Code All Picture format 16:9 anamorphic
Running time 105 mins DVD 9
Sound format Surround Sound / LPCM Stereo
Menu languages GB Subtitle languages D/F/ES

'Fischer injects vivacity and attention to detail in her interpretation of the familiar work and the images in both edits are a delight' AD-LIB

Two dazzling picture edits over one sumptuous soundtrack bring new life to Vivaldi's perennial work. Choose between the 'director's cut' with stunning images of the changing seasons, filmed at the National Botanic Garden of Wales, or the 'performance edit' with shots of Julia Fischer and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, in the garden's futuristic glass dome by Norman Foster. The sensational young violinist Julia Fischer brings a fresh and sparkling interpretation of this popular work.

PLUS EXTRA FEATURES
* "When you reach a goal..." - an interview with Julia Fischer
* "Favourite Seasons" - views on the seasons' moods and Vivaldi's music
* 'Director's cut' and 'performance edit' options

Eighteen year-old Julia Fischer: 'not a talent, but a full-fledged phenomenal violinist' Die Welt (Germany)

Principal cast: Laura Cherici (Soprano - Martesia) ,Mary-Ellen Nesi (Mezzo Soprano - Antiope), Zachary Stains (Tenor - Ercole), Randall Scotting (Counertenor - Teseo), Marina Bartoli (Soprano - Ippolita), Filippo Mineccia (Countertenor - Telemone), Luca Dordolo (Tenor - Alceste).

John Pascoe, director, set & costume designer.
Sara Erde, choreographer.

NTSC All Region
Sound: LPCM 2.0; Dolby Digital 5.1
Color
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Duration: 136 mins.
Subtitled in Italian, English, German & French

Singers of great renown were called upon for the first performance of Ercole sul Termodonte by Antonio Vivaldi in Rome, “in the hall of Signor Federico Capranica”, on 27th January 1723. An exclusively male singing cast, as was the custom on Roman stages, to tell the tale of the battle between Hercules, accompanied by the heroes Theseus, Telamon and Alceste, and the Amazons led by Antiope. The story, which is based on the ninth of the legendary labours of Hercules, and which concludes with the traditional happy ending here decreed by Diana, who proclaims the nuptial unions of Hippolyte, Antiope’s sister, (with Theseus, prince of Athens) and of Martesia, Antiope’s daughter (with Telamon, king of Ithaca), was arranged by the “regular canon of La Carità of Venice” Don Giacomo Francesco Bussani, on a libretto that had already been performed in 1678 at the San Salvatore theatre in Venice. The opera was successful, winning appreciation and at the same time astonishment , through its introduction of many passages written in a new “manner”, with an exciting, incisive rhythmic gait. This style so excited the Romans that from then on they demanded it almost exclusively in melodramas.

After the success of 1723, however, Ercole did not circulate widely and at a certain point the score was thought to have been lost. It has only recently been reassembled thanks to the precious rediscovery of some thirty arias and two duets in various archives, and has been reconstructed in its recitative passages. Arias and recitatives are indeed the traditional dramatic pillars supporting the dénouement of the story. The recitatives are generally “secco”, recreated along Vivaldian principles of expressivity and flexibility to accentuate the quality of the individual verses and respecting the general tone of the discourse. The orchestra, however, is present, punctually and in elaborate manner, not only in the more dramatic moments but also in the bucolic, descriptive arias, and stands in the service of the voice to accentuate onomatopoeic effects and to offer clearer depictions of the characters and the feelings that drive them. Now in his twenty-second opera score, Vivaldi brings into play all the technical means at his disposal to render the story comprehensible and to present the state of mind of the individual characters. The main desire of the “red priest” was to proceed smoothly, following the expressive substance of the verses, using shifting melodic invention to set the various scenic moments against a ceaseless search for lively collaboration between voices and instruments and a skilled use of harmonies and of a fanciful search for colors. The final “product”, based though it was on the structures of Neapolitan opera, thus emerges as something unique and personal.

NOTE: Contains nudity

This documentary highlights the violin world of Cremona. Cremona has been made famous by names such as Amati, Guarneri and Stradivari. In this DVD, Salvatore Accardo shows us fascinating insights into the City of Cremona, highlighting the violin makers’ craftsmanship and also showing us and playing some of the most prestigious instruments kept in the Lombard city.

Sound Format: LPCM 2.0
Picture Format: 16:9
Timing: 52 Minutes
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese
Region Code: 0 (All Region)

Praise for the Bayerische Staatsoper's new Ballo in Maschera: "A formidable vocal feast" (Bayerische Staatszeitung). Ten years after stepping down as music director fo 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 singesr: 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 Razon). "This production shows what a utopia opera can be" (Abendzeitung).

Also available on Blu-ray

Shakespeare provided lifelong inspiration for the towering operatic genius that was Giuseppe Verdi, but just three of the Bard’s plays ever emerged fully-fledged from the composer’s pen. This trio of landmark productions, featuring a veritable constellation of singers, conductors and directors, are united here under the banner of Verdi’s Shakepeare Operas: Macbeth, which lifted the young composer out of his hard-working ‘galley years’, propelling him to international fame and universal acclaim, and Otello and Falstaff, his final two crowning operatic achievements. Simon Keenlyside and Liudmyla Monastyrska are imposing as the Thane and his Lady in Phyllida Lloyd’s sumptuous production of The Scottish Play for The Royal Opera, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano, while José Cura interprets the Moor in a profound, intense staging by Willy Decker at Barcelona’s Liceu. By the end of his dramatic opera career, Verdi claimed he had ‘earned at last the right to laugh a little’, and Richard Jones’s Glyndebourne Festival production of Falstaff radiates humour, tinged with bitterness and wisdom and brought to life by an international ensemble cast with Christopher Purves in the title role under the inspiring baton of Vladimir Jurowski.

Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Catalan (Otello), Japanese (Macbeth)

Running time: 170 Minutes (Macbeth), 23 Minutes (Bonus), 151 Minutes (Otello), 136 Minutes (Falstaff)

Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS