One of the first operas deserving of the name, Didone is our first surviving musical version of the famous episode in Virgil's Aeneid where the Trojan hero loves and then cruelly leaves the noble Dido. Cavalli learnt at the feet of Monteverdi, and his dramatic transformation of the story is all the more expressive for it's intimacy, worthy of the examples set by his master. At the centre of this bold and simple staging - the first opera production by comic actor Clement Hervieu-Leger - is the Queen of Carthage herself, sung with uncompromising intensity by Anna Bonitatibus. William Christie and his singers and players show themselves entirely attuned to the world of Cavalli, where meaning and music fuse.

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Francesco Cavalli, a natural successor to Monteverdi, was the most famous and influential Italian opera composer during the mid-17th century. Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister to the king, commissioned Cavalli to create a Parisian spectacle to celebrate the wedding of the ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV and the Infanta of Spain. Ercole amante (‘Hercules in Love’) was the flattering subject chosen for this regal extravaganza combining larger-than-life characters with mythology, and genuine human emotions with natural and cosmic phenomena. The result is a sumptuous Baroque spectacle, conceived on a vast scale in this lavish production by directors Valerie Lesort and Christian Hecq.

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Francesco Cavalli was the most successful Venetian opera composer of the mid-seventeenth century. In the wake of Monteverdi, opera was enjoying a real boom, and this spread to the rest of Europe because the ruling classes often met up at the Venice carnival. Giasone displays Cavalli’s sense of drama and musical lightness, as well as a grotesque humour typical of the great Italian baroque operas.

This new production is orchestrated and conducted by the internationally reputed baroque specialist Federico Maria Sardelli. It is directed by the young Frenchwoman Mariame Clément, who is currently making a name for herself with her infectious directing in German and French opera houses. The title role is sung by the promising countertenor Christophe Dumaux.

Francesco Cavalli
IL GIASONE
Federico Maria Sardelli, conductor
Symfonisch Orkest van de Vlaamse Opera
Mariame Clément, stage director
Julia Hansen, scenes & costume designer
Giasone: Christophe Dumaux
Medea: Katarina Bradic
Isifile: Robin Johannsen
Giove/Besso: Josef Wagner
Demo: Filippo Adami
Delfa/Eolo: Yaniv d’Or
Amore/Alinda: Angélique Noldus
Ercole/Oreste: Andrew Ashwin
Vlaamse Opera, Antwerpen, 2010

Sound Format: LPCM 2.0, Dolby digital 5.1
Picture Format: 16:9
Running Time: 198 minutes & 5 minutes (interview)
Language: Italian
Subtitles: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Korean
Booklet Notes: English, German, French, Italian

Filmed at the Teatro del Silenzio (Theatre of Silence) in Lajatico over 3 nights in 2024 and marking his 30th year as an artist, this once-in-a-lifetime event sees classical star Andrea Bocelli appear in his home of Tuscany with a star-studded lineup of special guests performing songs that have been the pillars of his career. This 2-disc Blu-ray package features two shows - "The Celebration" and "30 Years of Musical Inspiration" and over 4 and a half hours of performances. With incredible staging, including a stunning sundial centerpiece in the middle of a lake, and 500 drones which lift into the sky in 3 breathtaking moments, Bocelli is joined by an 80-piece orchestra, a cast of over 200 musicians and family and friends including Ed Sheeran, Jon Batiste, Shania Twain, Brian May and more. It's a night that transforms both the landscape and beautiful Tuscan sky into something totally spectacular. The result: a mesmerizing and truly unforgettable concert. Digipak with 20-page booklet.

Filmed at the Teatro del Silenzio (Theatre of Silence) in Lajatico over 3 nights in 2024 and marking his 30th year as an artist, this once-in-a-lifetime event sees classical star Andrea Bocelli appear in his home of Tuscany with a star-studded lineup of special guests performing songs that have been the pillars of his career. This 2-disc Blu-ray package features two shows - "The Celebration" and "30 Years of Musical Inspiration" and over 4 and a half hours of performances. With incredible staging, including a stunning sundial centerpiece in the middle of a lake, and 500 drones which lift into the sky in 3 breathtaking moments, Bocelli is joined by an 80-piece orchestra, a cast of over 200 musicians and family and friends including Ed Sheeran, Jon Batiste, Shania Twain, Brian May and more. It's a night that transforms both the landscape and beautiful Tuscan sky into something totally spectacular. The result: a mesmerizing and truly unforgettable concert. Digipak with 20-page booklet.

In occasion of it's 200th season opening, Teatro Real presents a spectacular new production of Gounod's Faust, directed by �lex Oll� (La Fura dels Baus). Set in a futuristic laboratory, Goethe's timeless themes of knowledge, desire, and redemption are reimagined through the lens of artificial intelligence and human emotion. Star singers including Piotr Beczala, Marina Rebeka, and Luca Pisaroni lead the cast in this gripping drama. Under the baton of Dan Ettinger, the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real deliver a thrilling performance that, as Bachtrack wrote, "takes it's cue from Goethe but doesn't shy away from theatrical imagination." // "Beczala's voice was brilliant, dark and even powerful with ringing high notes as he proved with his ringing high C in Salut demeure chaste et pure." (Operawire)

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The works of award-winning composer Chaya Czernowin have been performed worldwide at significant new music festivals and prestigious venues, and she is the first woman to be appointed composition professor at Harvard University. Commissioned by Deutsche Oper Berlin and widely acclaimed in the critical press, ‘Heart Chamber’ uses voice and stage as internalized sonic and visual landscapes to create a genuine multi-sensory musical experience. With only two characters and a hint of a narrative, this is a grand opera on the smallest of transformations, focusing on the intense beauty and vulnerabilities of falling in love. ‘It is seldom that audiences at the Deutsche Oper Berlin have listened with such rapture to a new commission’ (Online Merker). Director Uli Aumüller’s feature film ‘I did not rehearse to say I love you’ is also included and takes a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the opera.

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Three years after the creation of Médée, Krzysztof Warlikowski and Christophe Rousset were together again at La Monnaie for the revival of one memorable production whose staging reinforces the violence, tension and cruelty of this tragedy.

Whilst this work by Cherubini is considered part of the 'opéra-comique' genre, it is only due to the presence of spoken dialogue, which has been modernised here in the Polish stage director's interpretation.

Written in 1797, Cherubini's faithful version of Euripides' ancient tragedy is one of the most savage and powerful works of the opera repertoire, relating the cruel vengeance of a wounded woman for whom infanticide seems to be the only solution to her humiliation in love. As a continuation of Gluck's music, Cherubini's work is of boundless emotion, at once a refined, terrifying and desperate portent of a tragic outcome.

The cast : Nadja Michael as Médée, Kurt Streit as Jason, Christianne Stotijn as Néris Médée’s slave, Vincent Le Texier as King Créon and Hendrickje Van Kerckhove as Dircé Créon’s daughter. Christophe Rousset is conducted Les Talens Lyriques and the Chœurs de la Monnaie.

Director: Stéphane Metge
Length: 138 min - Image: Color, 16/9, NTSC
Audio: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: French / English / German / Dutch

REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 191 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.0 PCM
SUBTITLES: ENGLISH/FRENCH/GERMAN/SPANISH/ITALIAN (extra features)
NO OF DISCS: 2

Based on the Alexandre Dumas novel that also inspired the stories of Verdi’s La Traviata and Hollywood’s Moulin Rouge, John Neumeier creates a riveting dance drama around the famous woman of lore, La Dame aux camélias. The passionate tale of Marguerite Gautier and Armand Duval unfolds ingeniously through a drama-within-a-drama as they meet at the theatre during a performance of Manon Lescaut. So begin their romantic adventures in Paris, brought to life by Neumeier’s intense and refined choreographic language. Chopin’s ravishing music highlights this exceptional neo-classical ballet, featuring the star dancers of the Paris Opéra Ballet. This lavish production, filmed live at the Palais Garnier in High Definition and full surround sound, is all about love, passion, danger and glorious dancing from one of the best ballet companies in the world.

Marguerite Gautier: Agnès Letestu
Armand Duval: Stéphane Bullion
Monsieur Duval: Michaël Denard
Prudence Duvernoy: Dorothée Gilbert
Manon Lescaut: Delphine Moussin
Des Grieux: José Martinez
Olympia: Eve Grinsztajn
Gaston Rieux: Karl Paquette
Le Duc: Laurent Novis
Nanine: Béatrice Martel
Le Comte de N.: Simon Valastro

The Paris Opera Ballet
Orchestra of The Opera national de Paris
Conductor: Michael Schmidtsdorff
Stage Director: John Neumeier

Recorded live at the Palais Garnier, Paris, on 2nd, 5th and 8th July 2008.

Plus
Illustrated synopsis.
Cast gallery.
Flashback to the Lady of camellias.

Reviews
‘John Neumeier has created a ballet in which emotions go crescendo … Agnes Letestu, the great dramatic heroine, triumphs in this ballet danced to music by Chopin.’ Figaro

This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

Nebolsin is the real thing, a genuine virtuoso who can interpret Chopin with imagination and style.

Most long-time admirers of Chopin’s First Piano Concerto are well aware of Artur Rubinstein’s classic 1961 recording, available now on an RCA CD. Other eminently worthy recordings include Argerich, on both DG (1968) and EMI (1999), Ax, on Sony (using a period-instrument piano), and Perahia, also Sony.

Young Uzbek-born, Spain-based pianist Eldar Nebolsin enters the ring. On no count is he ever less than thoroughly compelling in the concerto, from his dramatic and stormy entrance in the first movement to the brilliant but always tasteful virtuosity of his finale. His articulation is clear without sounding brittle, his phrasing elegant and warm, and his technique all-encompassing. Notice how deftly he captures Chopin’s lyrical side in the way he imparts delicate mystery to the first movement’s main theme or how he floats the main theme to the ensuing Romanza in lovely singing tones. In Nebolsin’s hands inner voices often emerge to impart greater impetus to the music: try the coda to his first movement where the left-hand figures - often buried in other performances - convey a sense of agitation and drive as the music hurtles nervously toward the ending. And if he doesn’t quite match the effervescence of Rubinstein’s finale coda, he comes very close.

In the end, Nebolsin makes the decision between him and the others a tough one. However, what tilts the scales in favor of Naxos is the clear and powerful sound and the incisive conducting of Antoni Wit, a conductor who, in an oxymoronic irony, is famous for being unknown. His extraordinary talents were overlooked for years, as critic after critic lobbied in the wilderness on his behalf. Now, owing to their persistence and Wit’s numerous acclaimed recordings on Naxos, he has earned much justly deserved recognition. Wit makes the most of Chopin’s generally bland scoring, often giving it weight and muscle, or pointing up inner detail, or simply letting the music sing where appropriate.

In the accompanying works, Nebolsin is just as compelling: the Fantasia on Polish Airs sounds fresh and vital despite its somewhat less inspired music. Krakowiak comes across with brilliant colors and chipper moods, Nebolsin’s fingers seeming to negotiate the thorniest passages with utter ease. Again, the sound is vivid. The Warsaw Philharmonic play with spirit and accuracy in all works. Notes by Keith Anderson are informative, as usual.

I must point out, as is noted in the heading, that this Blu-ray disc is an audio-only, high-definition production. Also, there is a blurb on the album cover stating that this is the, “First recording to use the new Polish National Chopin Edition.” However, I noticed nothing different in the scores from other performances, and whatever differences there might be are probably negligible. On the whole, this is a splendid release and augurs well for a second DVD from these same forces shortly, presenting the Second Concerto and other Chopin works. In sum, Nebolsin is the real thing, a genuine virtuoso who can interpret Chopin with imagination and style.

-- Robert Cummings, MusicWeb International

Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

Using the new Polish National Chopin Edition, acclaimed pianist Eldar Nebolsin and Poland’s national orchestra conducted by the renowned Polish conductor Antoni Wit, here present fresh interpretations of Chopin’s great works for piano and orchestra. The Second Piano Concerto was written before the first and completed in 1830, the year in which the composer set out for Vienna and then Paris. Chopin’s Variations on Là ci darem la mano, bear witness to his admiration for Mozart, instilled by his earliest teacher, the Bohemian Wojciech ?ywny. The Grande Polonaise brillante in E flat, Op. 22, was written in Vienna, and later augmented with the introductory Andante spianato.

Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Francesco Cilea's Gloria, performed here in it's 1932 revised edition, takes as it's theme the ultimately tragic story of two lovers caught up in a conflict in 14th-century Siena. The libretto is based on Victorien Sardou's play La Haine (Hatred) and the opera features Cilea's refined orchestral writing inspired by the Russian and French schools, with vocal lines that are varied and rewarding. Opera Today called this production 'musically magical', while Operawire. Com extolled the inventive and convincing staging along with Francesco Cilluffo's compelling musical direction.

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A MusicWeb International Recording of the Month!

Francesco Cilea, a Calabrian, is remembered principally today for his opera Adriana Lecouvreur (1902), He wrote several other operas but these are rarely performed. Quite a discovery, this is the world première on commercial video of Cilea’s three act opera L’Arlesiana (The Girl from Arles). It is directed by Rosetta Cucchia and is a co-production with Wexford Festival Opera. The Italian libretto by Leopoldo Marenco was based on the play L’Arlésienne (1872) by Alphonse Daudet one of the most celebrated of his collection of short stories Letters from my windmill (Lettres de mon moulin). It was Georges Bizet who wrote the incidental music to the play L’Arlésienne, adapted and produced by Léon Carvalho, which flopped although Bizet’s music prospered.

Originally in four acts, Cilea’s verismo score was first performed in 1897 at Teatro Lirico di Milano with a young Enrico Caruso in the role of Federico. Nevertheless in 1898 the score was revised as a three-act opera with a prelude added. Over the next 44 years Cilea made a number of revisions. In 2011 whilst going through the collection of Cilea’s papers in Palmi the Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti unearthed the manuscript of Federico’s aria Una mattina m’apriron nella stanza that had been cut from the four act version. Filianoti had the Una mattina orchestrated by composer Mario Guido Scappucci and it is here included in Act 3.

This psychological drama revolves around Federico, a young shepherd, who becomes increasingly infatuated with a mystery woman from Arles (L’Arlesiana). As his mental state deteriorates Federico’s infatuation becomes a dangerous obsession which the people around him are unable to assuage. The woman from Arles is traditionally never shown but here she is depicted by an actress with long red hair as an apparition that haunts Federico. In the traditional ending Federico jumps to his death out of a hayloft window, whilst in this production by director Rosetta Cucchi, our hero takes his life by slashing his own throat. The elephant in the room, and maybe one of the reasons why this opera is rarely performed today, is that the plot includes an important character which is Federico’s brother, referred to as L’Innocente, who is cognitively impaired and is described in the booklet as “mentally retarded”. Mental health can be a difficult subject to broach as several reviewers of recent productions fail even to mention L’Innocente. Running through the score is the prevailing theme of mental illness and it seems that Cilea during his youth witnessed his own mother’s mental breakdown.

Sarah Bacon’s set and Claudio Pernigotti’s costumes are mainly contemporary with the opera’s composition date except for a few modern touches. Bacon’s set is the courtyard of the whitewashed Provençal farm-house that by Act 3 has become the inside of a ward in a mental home with an elevated caged area for confinement.

Russian tenor Dmitry Golovnin plays the role of Federico. It took me some time to warm to Golovnin’s bright vocal, nevertheless by Federico’s famous Lament the 2 aria È la solita storia del pastore (track 14) a favourite of Gigli, Di Stefano and Pavarotti, Golovnin’s voice has opened splendidly displaying fluidity and focus. It’s a moving account with the anguished Federico lying on the kitchen table and his brother L’Innocente cowering underneath. In act 3 the tenor’s aria Una mattina (track 21) receives a splendidly moving rendition and Golovnin can be justly proud of his portrayal of the tormented shepherd.

Luckless and long suffering Rosa Mamai is given a characterful and suitably anguished portrayal by Annunziata Vestri. With plenty of steel in her expressive voice the Italian mezzo-soprano excels in her Act 1 Romanza Era un giorno di festa (track 6) and the great Monologue from Act 3 Esser madre è un inferno (track 23). Designer Claudio Pernigotti sees fit to dress Rosa mannishly in a grey jacket buttoned up to the neck rather in the manner of James Bond villains Dr. No, Blofeld and Drax.

Cutting a persuasive figure on stage, if dressed rather too stylishly for an old shepherd, was Stefano Antonucci as Baldassarre. Complete with limp and walking stick the compassionate Baldassarre dispenses sage-like advice that no one seems to heed. From Act 1 the old shepherd’s aria Come due tizzi accesi (track 3) and from act 2 Vieni con me sui monti (track 6) are effectively sung, expressive and focused by the Italian baritone who acts sensitively throughout.

The part of the demure and girlish Vivetta is capably sung by the Italian Mariangela Sicilia. Dressed mainly in grey and hiding behind her winter tweed coat and hat it was a surprise when Vivetta undresses down to her underwear in a pitiful attempt to seduce Federico. From Act 1 Vivetta’s Romanza Dalle fresche pendici is sung effectively by Sicilia with a bright, flexible and warm soprano, although, I am not entirely convinced by her diction.

Looking like a fearsome pantomime villain baritone Valeriu Caradja in the small role of swarthy horse-herder Metifio is suitably dark and angry.

It’s a local superstition that a child such as L’Innocente brings good fortune on a household. In this household only Baldassarre pays the boy any attention. Marked by a shock of blonde hair L’Innocente is played by counter-tenor Riccardo Angelo Strano. In what is more of an acting role L’Innocente does slightly contribute vocally but nothing too serious.

Francesco Cilluffo conducts his Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana with verve and assurance. Similarly the well prepared 'Coro Lirico Marchigiano V. Bellini' maintains the high standard.

As I expected from Dynamic, the sound quality is satisfactorily balanced and agreeable, being clear, if a touch lacking in warmth. In High Definition the picture quality is most pleasing with an excellent definition. The accompanying booklet includes translations of a splendid essay by Giancarlo Landini and an informative note by director Rosetta Cucchi. The synopsis provided is a traditional scenario and is not totally in step with what we saw on stage under Rosetta Cucchi’s direction.

Filmed at Teatro Pergolesi, Jesi, Ancona the video direction by Tiziano Mancini is admirable, employing cameras actively. This avoids fatigue or tedium. The audience at Teatro Pergolesi is only seen whilst taking their seats before curtain up. The camera fixes on the stage action and doesn’t break to any orchestral players in the pit for solos.

This is a strong production that generates considerable dramatic tension. For those with a particular interest in verismo this Cilea work is a real find and is easy to recommend.

– MusicWeb International (Michael Cookson)

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All are equal before the work, before the mysteries of a score; this was Claudio Abbado’s heart-felt conviction. For him, the willingness to be open to one another and to the independent life of musical processes was the only prerequisite for making music. In the live performances documented here for the first time on DVD/Blu-ray, Abbado could be sure of the devotion of these world-class artists: the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the sopranos Christine Schäfer and Juliane Banse, as well as the actor Bruno Ganz. They shared his credo of “listening togetherness” (Die ZEIT) that made possible those precious moments of musical truth toward which this great conductor strove throughout his life.

CLAUDIO ABBADO CONDUCTS MOZART AND BEETHOVEN
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Misera, dove son!, K. 369
Ah, lo previdi, K. 272
Vorrei spiegarvi, oh Dio, K. 418
Symphony No. 35 in D Major, K. 385, “Haffner”

Ludwig van Beethoven: Egmont, Op. 84

Christine Schäfer, soprano
Juliane Banse, soprano
Bruno Ganz, narrator

Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor

Recorded live at the Concert Hall of KKL Luzern, 19–20 August 2011 (Mozart) and 8–10 August 2012 (Beethoven)

Picture format: 1080i Full-HD
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Italian, German, English, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 89 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 25)

Mozart's final opera returns to Glyndebourne after an absence of nearly 20 years in a 'stark, compelling and very well acted' production directed by Claus Guth. Richard Croft sings the title role 'with exemplary stylistic poise and tonal sweetness', and Anna St�phany is a Sesto 'touchingly full of angst and remorse... with terrific �lan and immaculate technical control' in the arias (The Telegraph) - her "Parto, Parto" 'simply breathtaking' (The Guardian). Guth's vision sets the first-century Roman story in a two-storey office suite bureaucracy 'exquisitely lit by Olaf Winter', aptly framing the scheming of Vitelia, sung by Alice Coote 'in terrific form'. The OAE under Robin Ticciati 'brings out the sheer beauty' of Mozart's score (Express). Extra features on this release include 'When Worlds Divide' and a cast gallery. The press gave rave reviews: '... The director gives an exceptionally convincing cast the time to develop their characters, conflicting relationships and moral dilemmas' (The Times) 'Conductor Robin Ticciati combined elegance with urgency' (The Guardian) 'Stark, compelling and very well acted' (The Daily Telegraph)

Three-disc set includes: The Young Ones (1961)Once in every lifetime comes a Cliff Richard musical like this, with the British pop idol playing Nicky Black, a lad out to stop millionaire land developer father Hamilton (Robert Morley) from destroying a local youth center. Cliff raises the cash to buy the land with a rock-and-roll show, but other complications ensue, including the kidnapping of the elder Black by one of Nicky's fans. With The Shadows, Carole Gray and Teddy Greene. Songs include "The Young Ones," "What Do You Know We've Got a Show" and "We Say Yeah." AKA: "Wonderful to Be Young." 108 min. C/Rtg: NR Summer Holiday (1963)British pop star Cliff Richard stars with his group The Shadows in this pleasing musical comedy caper in which four mechanics travel in a double-decker bus across Europe. During a trial run, they smash into a car carrying an all-girl musical trio, then decide to take them to Athens. During the tune-filled trip, the lads also encounter an American girl singer posing as a boy, talkative French mimes and more. Lauri Peters, Melvyn Hayes and Ron Moody co-star; directed by Peter Yates. Songs include "Bachelor Boy," "Dancing Shoes" and the title track. 108 min. C/Rtg: NR Wonderful Life (1964)Having been fired from their jobs on a ferry, Johnnie (Cliff Richard) and his bandmates (played by Cliff's backing group, The Shadows) find themselves on the Canary Islands where they get mixed up with an eccentric filmmaker (Walter Slezak). Johnnie is hired as a stuntman and is soon wooing a beautiful actress (Susan Hampshire) while he and the fellas try to turn the movie-a boring desert picture-into an upbeat musical. Songs include "A Girl in Every Port," "On the Beach," "Do You Remember," and more. 109 min. AKA: "Swinger's Paradise." C/Rtg: NR Widescreen; Soundtrack: English; Subtitles: English (SDH); more.

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CORIGLIANO Symphony No. 3, “Circus Maximus.” Gazebo Dances • Jerry Junkin, cond; U Texas Wind Ens • NAXOS NBD0008 (Music-only Blu-ray disc: 52:54)


This program is the first music-only Blu-ray release from Naxos; when the busiest classical record label on the planet decides to take a particular technical direction, it behooves us to take note. Naxos has previously issued both SACDs and DVD-Audio discs but has fallen silent for some time, as far as a high-resolution product is concerned. DVD-Audio is gone and SACD, despite the fierce loyalty of a relatively small base of enthusiasts (like me), hasn’t moved beyond the category of a niche product. Blu-ray movies, of course, have been selling like hotcakes to a wide audience and it follows that there are a hell of a lot of Blu-ray players out there. The technology also provides a medium for state-of-the-art music reproduction, and Naxos now joins a number of more obscure labels including 2L, AIX, and Surround Records to provide us with a specimen of what could become the dominant physical carrier of high-resolution digital music.


Significantly, Naxos has not chosen a “sonic spectacular” warhorse to introduce the new format—another Planets, Carmina Burana, or 1812 —but instead offers the first recording of a major work by an important contemporary composer. John Corigliano’s Symphony No. 3 for large wind ensemble, “Circus Maximus,” composed in 2004, is certainly the right stuff to show off the possibilities of an audiophile medium. The piece considers the similarities between the appetite in ancient Rome for spectacle of ever-increasing extremity and the media-driven, lowest-common-denominator reality-show entertainment culture of our own day. The composer observes in his liner note: “Many of us have become as bemused by the violence and humiliation that flood the 500-plus channels of our television screens as the mobs of imperial Rome, who considered the devouring of human beings by starving lions just another Sunday show.”


Corigliano’s technique involves settling on an “architecture” for a piece before actually developing specific musical materials. The Circus Maximus was, of course, Rome’s enormous outdoor public entertainment venue and the composer wanted his work to “justify the encirclement of the audience by musicians, so that they were in the center of an arena.” His “Circus Maximus” is scored for a typical concert wind ensemble positioned onstage, in front of the listener, plus a substantial “surround band” deployed quite specifically around the hall. (The notes reproduce a diagram for positioning the instruments as published in the G. Schirmer score.)


The 35-minute composition consists of eight sections that run continuously. “Introitus” opens with fanfares from 11 trumpets located around the perimeter of the auditorium’s first tier, soon joined by the onstage players. This attention-grabbing movement leads to “Screen/Siren”—a quartet of saxophones plus string bass placed distantly and emitting plaintive, beckoning cries, a song sung in a tritone-laden harmonic milieu. This is rudely interrupted by “Channel Surfing,” as hyperactive music seems to come from every direction. In the manner of Mahler’s Seventh, there are two contrasted “Night Music” sections, one evoking a dangerous backwoods—wild animals howl—and the second an energetic nocturnal urban environment. Then comes the “Circus Maximus” itself: “Exuberant voices merge into chaos and a frenzy of overstatement,” in the words of the composer. Relief follows in the form of a “Prayer” that possesses a degree of harmonic uncertainty but always seems to have a IV to I resolution as the favored destination. “Coda: Veritas” reprises the first section’s fanfares, building to an almost unbearably intense unison note for all the trumpets, terminated by the firing of a 12-gauge shotgun. (Thoughtfully, Corigliano suggests in the printed score that a performing organization may want to hire “a licensed pyrotechnician,” rather than entrust the operation of the firearm to an everyday percussionist.)


The multichannel audio program, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, is virtually mandatory for a full appreciation of a work in which the spatial deployment of the performers is critical. (In the “Circus Maximus” section, a marching band actually moves through the cacophony produced by the other considerable forces.) Producer Stephen Epstein and engineer Richard King—both have worked for Sony Classical—have created an incredible sonic experience that may change your outlook in terms of the level of visceral excitement achievable with large-scale repertoire in a home listening environment.


Corigliano’s Gazebo Dances, composed originally for piano four-hands, is a much earlier work. There have actually been six previous recordings of the version for band. The four brief movements are inspired by a turn-of-the-last-century concert-band-in-the-park ethos. The composer describes the opening Overture as “Rossini-like”—I hear the Bernstein of Candide. There’s an off-kilter Waltz and a wistful Adagio that reaches a troubled climax. An exuberant Tarantella ends this affable piece, which is surely within the capabilities of most college bands and maybe even a few ambitious high school groups. Delightful stuff.


FANFARE: Andrew Quint


There are two distinct issues with this disc: the music and the recording. Readers of MusicWeb International want to know what to expect from two unknown works by a rarely heard composer. Your reviewer would however be failing in his duty if he did not herald the arrival of a 'new' format for music.
 
The music first. The symphony is scored for a large wind-band which is detailed in the insert giving not only instrumentation but a diagram of its distribution around the large auditorium at the University of Texas. As it is the composer’s intention that we are surrounded by the players and impacted from all angles, the DTS Master soundtrack is the one to hear. The opening leaps out from behind the listener and much of the first three movements come from discrete groups of musicians placed behind and to the sides. The work fully deserves the title 'symphony' because the themes announced in the early stages are developed extensively in proper symphonic style culminating in recalls of earlier music near the end. Corigliano writes about his wish to draw parallels between the shows at the Ancient Roman Circus Maximus and the current preoccupation with an increasingly intrusive media pandering to the lowest common denominator through 'reality' shows. Whilst we may not feed the religious to the lions, we do seem to watch public humiliation with greater and greater relish. The idea also gave him the excuse he sought to surround his audience with performers. For me the music works quite well and is certainly not hard to enjoy even if it is a bit nerve-racking awaiting the next unexpectedly angled assault. The two Night Music movements are reminiscent of Mahler's pairing in the Seventh Symphony with their fierce activity but here the two nights are of nature and of the city. Night Music 1 is atmospheric but more than just sound-effects because it is thematically linked to what has gone before, particularly the 'primitive calls' heard in the Introitus. Night Music 2 serves as a scherzo for his Symphony, full of dance rhythms and punctuated by fierce outbursts culminating in a climax of quite devastating impact. This is followed by the reflective Prayer and a short but dramatic coda Veritas. The work closes with a gun-shot for which detailed instructions are given in the score, just in case anyone should try to use the 'wrong' gun! The Gazebo Dances are orchestrated from a set of piano four-hand pieces and scored for a more normal wind-band. They are very agreeable with the easy charm of Malcolm Arnold's light music and as beautifully recorded as the main work.
 
To focus on the recording and the medium. This is not the first music issue on Blu-Ray but it is the first from mass-market leaders Naxos and they have announced several more including four Dvorák symphonies. Clearly they are seriously testing out the market for a medium which will not play on anything except a Blu-Ray-capable player, thus the notice on the packaging about it not working on a CD or standard DVD player. Given that the classical market is a tiny fraction of the CD market, that modern classical music is a fraction of that fraction, and finally that Blu-Ray is a fraction of the DVD market, Naxos have set themselves a huge task to sell more than a handful of any one disc in this series. This 2006 recording was made in 24-bit 88.2 kHz and this fact is emblazoned across the top of the cover as if it mattered. What you hear is not 24-bit / 88.2 kHz, that was the digital format for the failed DVD-Audio market, but DTS High Definition Master Audio and that provides 24-bit 96 kHz in 6 channels: 5 surround and one for the subwoofer if you have one. Naxos made a series of DVD-A discs a few years back, thus the present recording format; then they tried out SACD - yet another format. Both failed because few people had the equipment to play the discs and Naxos withdrew from that market. Blu-Ray is different because it is possible to play these music-only discs on any Blu-Ray video equipped home cinema system. How many people will purchase both the latest Hollywood blockbuster and John Corigliano's latest symphony remains to be seen! This particular issue is very well recorded indeed. I would go so far as to say it is one of the best I've ever heard. Since the music demands actual surround distribution of forces the use of the extra channels is not merely self indulgence by the engineers. The dynamic range on the disc is little short of frightening. If you do not jump when the music starts you have not turned the volume up far enough and you will not hear the quietest passages, of which there are plenty. Why the disc requests contact with the internet I do not know. I tried saying yes and no for two playings and detected no change in facilities. Maybe someone somewhere in Naxos marketing has noted the fact that I played the disc. I will be very interested to hear the Dvorák symphonies which make very different, much subtler, demands on a surround recording.  

-- Dave Billinge, MusicWeb International

'The school for lovers', Mozart's alternative title for Cos� fan tutte, is given a playful, theatrical treatment by German director Jan Philipp Gloger, who sets this new production for The Royal Opera in a theatre. The four lovers are performed by a cast of young rising stars, with Sabina Puertolas as the fun-loving Despina and acclaimed German baritone and comic genius Johannes Martin Kranzle as the impresario Don Alfonso, who leads the lovers on a role-playing journey full of picturesque settings. Semyon Bychkov conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in one of Mozart's most beautiful scores, packed with wonderful arias and ensembles. "Ensemble singing is strong; the standout is Daniel Behle's gorgeous tenor as Ferrando. Above all, Semyon Bychkov's impeccable balance and pacing in the pit allows it full space to blossom." (The Independent) "Semyon Bychkov gives an enthralling lesson in Mozart from the outset. Conducting his first Mozart opera in 20 years, he has a style might be said to belong (in the best sense) to the old school. But, Bychkov draws glowingly warm playing, and the textures are lithe and lively. The score's darker colours are all brought out in a performance that bristles with dramatic tension." (The Daily Telegraph)

After it's first performance in Vienna, the operetta Die Fledermaus set out to conquer the world. It is one of the few operettas which are regularly staged by the great opera houses of the world such as the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Milan Scala, The

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Frederic Chopin Year 2010 coincides with the 60th anniversary of Daniel Barenboim’s stage debut, and as a pianist he has decided to devote this year to the great Romantic master of the keyboard. Chopin was born on 1 March 1810 in a small village near Warsaw, and on the eve of the 200th anniversary of this date Barenboim gave this wildly acclaimed Warsaw recital as part of an extensive European tour. The program comprised some of the composer’s best-known works, including the great B flat minor Sonata with its famous Funeral March, which sounded to many “as the composer may well have imagined it”. While Chopin used to advise his piano scholars to take singing lessons, Barenboim, as an experienced conductor of operas is most familiar with the human voice as well. With his brilliant virtuosity, he lead the audience through a most colorful program, once again proving his talent for this composer.

"After almost six decades of experience on stage, Daniel Barenboim continues to need and to seek out contact with an audience. […] Musically speaking, those contacts have always been particularly intense when Barenboim has been able to display his ability to play quietly, an ability that continues to amaze, with its feeling for a velvet touch that is neither brittle nor saccharine but always characterized by a serious, substantial beauty." -- www.klassikinfo.de

Recorded live at the Filharmonia Narodowa, Warsaw, 28 February 2010.

Picture format: 1080i Full-HD
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 91 mins
No. of Discs: 1

DANIEL BARENBOIM PLAYS & CONDUCTS

Always smile and always be cheerful, always satisfied, no matter what happens, smile in spite of your sorrows and a thousand aches and pains, sings Prince Sou-Chong, thus introducing the fundamentally melancholic tone of Das Land des Lachelns (The Land of Smiles), which has a tragic ending in store. For the new production of this operetta, world-class tenor Piotr Beczala returned to the Opernhaus Zurich as Sou-Chong. He has an equal partner in Julia Kleiter, who plays the role of Lisa. Fabio Luisi and Andreas Homoki also know that the genre of operetta requires particular care- which is why they have assumed personal responsibility for this production. Homoki let's the plot take place in a Paris Variete theater from the 1920s, complete with show staircase and heavy curtains. To emphasize the operatic elements, he condensed the piece, cutting several secondary roles and shortening dialogues. This production was recorded at the Opernhaus Zurich in June 2017.

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This release is the world premiere recording of Brett Dean’s new opera based on Shakespeare’s best-known tragedy: To be, or not to be. This is Hamlet’s dilemma, and the essence of Shakespeare’s most famous and arguably greatest work, given new life in operatic form in this original Glyndebourne commission. Thoughts of murder and revenge drive Hamlet when he learns that it was his uncle Claudius who killed his father, the King of Denmark, then seized his father’s crown and wife. But Hamlet’s vengeance vies with the question: is suicide a morally valid deed in an unbearably painful world? Dean’s colorful, energetic, witty and richly lyrical music expertly captures the modernity of Shakespeare’s timeless tale, while also exploiting the traditional operatic elements of arias, ensembles and choruses. Matthew Jocelyn’s inspired libretto is pure Shakespeare, adhering to the Bard’s narrative thread but abridging, reconfiguring and interweaving it into motifs that highlight the main dramatic themes: death, madness, the impossibility of certainty and the complexities of action. ‘World Premiere of the Year’, 2018 International Opera Awards, London ‘…one of the unmissable operatic events of the year.’ (The Sunday Times 4 Stars) ‘…a richly imaginative composer at the top of his game.’ (The Times 4 Stars) ‘Dean’s music is many-layered, full of long, clear vocal lines … new opera doesn’t often get to sound this good … Hannigan’s spectacular high-soprano unhinging is the more shocking following her poise and inwardness’ (The Guardian 4 Stars) Clayton triumphs with ‘unimpeachable vocal and acting credentials’ (The Independent 4 Stars)

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This new Pelléas et Mélisande from the Opernhaus Zürich should be remembered as one of Dmitri Tcherniakov's most innovative production. Forget about the fountains, the caverns, the forest, the castles and the towers : here, the density of Maurice Maeterlinck’s and Claude Debussy’s symbolism becomes the starting point of an analytical journey into the human mind : it is now the psychoanalyst, ‘‘doctor’’ Golaud, who has to uncover the secrets of Melisande, an unfortunate and traumatized creature he brings home, and whose silence and puzzling attitude eventually bring him on the verge of insanity. But this production is also the occasion for a reunion between Dmitri Tcherniakov and French conductor Alain Altinoglu, after the tremendous success of the Tchaikovsky diptych Iolanta / The Nutcracker - arguably one of the most successful titles of the Bel Air Classiques catalogue. Their artistic complicity is intact : the precise, analytical but also nuanced and poetic baton of Altinoglu proves to be the best possible response to Tcherniakov’s subtle exploration of the human psychology. Corinne Winters, as Melisande, Jacques Imbrailo, as Pelléas, and especially Kyle Ketelsen, as Golaud, embody with an incandescent realism these characters plagued by a form of evil and violence that we will never quite understand.

When Debussy completes the score, based on the eponymous symbolist play by Maurice Maeterlinck, of Pelleas et Melisande in 1902, the world of opera still abides by Richard Wagner and the upheaval he caused with Tristan und Isolde. But Debussy decides to stand on the exact opposite side, and uses his new opus to preach a new aesthetic creed. In depicting the forbidden love story between the timid Pelleas and the beautiful Melisande, kept apart by an unfortunate marriage, the French composer brings us back to the immortal legend of Tristan and Isolde, but this time showing the world that the future of music could very well lie far away from Wagner’s overwhelming lyricism and outsized rhetoric. This new production, created by one of the rising stars of French stage direction Benjamin Lazar for the Malmö Opera (headed by Ingmar Bergman from 1952 to 1958), encapsulates all the different aspects of this mysterious work, from the oniric poetry invented by Maeterlinck and Debussy to the realism, poignant because openly simple and even mundane, of these profoundly human beings lost in a forest full of sound and symbols that will never let them escape. The young French conductor Maxime Pascal, the Orchestra of the Malmö Opera, and an almost all-French cast (among which the excellent Marc Mauillon and Jenny Daviet), bring forth with intelligence all the refinement and all the vitality this unique and fascinating score has to offer.