C Major Entertainment
240 products
Schubert: Fierrabras / Metzmacher, Zeppenfeld, Kleiter, Werba, Schade
Fierrabras of 1823 is the last of Franz Schubert's stage works. Rarely performed to this day, this heroic-romantic opera has now been staged for the first time ever at the Salzburg Festival by famous director Peter Stein. The strong cast includes the "marvellously expressive miracle Dorothea Röschmann" (Die Zeit) and "Michael Schade, who exudes his exceptional tenor in Fierrabras's heroic arias" (Der neue Merker). Under the energetic baton of lngo Metzmacher, the Vienna Philharmonic unfold "the melos, the poetry, the sweetness and the dramatic force of Schubert's highly refined and atmospheric sound worlds" (Kleine Zeitung) in highly romantic fashion. Bonus: The Making of Fierrabras.
Franz Schubert
FIERRABRAS
König Karl - Georg Zeppenfeld
Emma - Julia Kleiter
Roland - Markus Werba
Eginhard - Benjamin Bernheim
Boland - Peter Kálmán
Fierrabras - Michael Schade
Florinda - Dorothea Röschmann
Maragond - Marie-Claude Chappuis
Vienna State Opera Chorus
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Ingo Metzmacher, conductor
Peter Stein, stage director
Ferdinand Wögerbauer, stage designer
Annamaria Heinreich, costume designer
Joachim Barth, lighting designer
Recorded live during the Salzburg Festival, 2014
Bonus:
- The Making of Fierrabras
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format:PCM Stereo / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 164 mins (opera) + 10 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 2 (DVD 9)
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REVIEW:
Peter Stein's Salzburg Festival production sets Fierrabras more or less in its historical period. All four main roles are convincingly taken, with the palm going to Julia Kleiter's Emma, alluringly voiced and phrased, and soaring without shrillness into the stratosphere.
– Gramophone
The Little Mermaid - San Francisco Ballet / Auerbach, Neumeier
Subtitles: German, French
Booklet: English, German, French
No. of Discs: 2
Run time: 134 minutes
Disc Format: DVD
Picture: NTSC, 16:9
Audio: PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1
Bonus Material: The little Mermaid- behind the scenes
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
R E V I E W:
AUERBACH The Little Mermaid • Martin West, cond; John Neumeier (choreography); Yuan Yuan Tan ( Little Mermaid ); Lloyd Riggins ( Poet ); Tiit Helimets ( Prince ); Sarah van Patten (Princess ); Davit Karapetyan ( Sea Witch ); San Francisco Ballet; San Francisco Ballet O • C MAJOR 708608 (2 DVDs: 119:00 + 35:00); 708704 (Blu-ray: 119:00 + 35:00) Live: San Francisco 4/30–5/7/2011
Bleak, brutal, and heartbreaking, John Neumeier’s dance adaptation of The Little Mermaid is likely to traumatize those children it does not baffle; this is a thoroughly adult account—inspired by certain aspects of Hans Christian Andersen’s life as well as his source story—of sexual repression, longing, and denial, and the literally disabling nature of unrequited love. The Mermaid, after saving a dashing Prince from drowning, falls in love with him and wants to pursue him onto land. But to do so, she must be stripped of her tailfin, which Neumeier presents as an agonizing flaying; the Mermaid’s new legs and feet, awkward and weak, are so useless that she spends most of her time on land despondent in a wheelchair. The Prince, meanwhile, regards the Mermaid lightly as a funny, gangly, odd little kid sister; his romantic attention turns elsewhere. All the while, in Neumeier’s account, the story is being written as we watch by an emotionally wrung-out Poet, a stand-in for Andersen, who himself seems to have been gut-wrenched by an adored male friend who went off and married a woman. No, actually the Poet doesn’t write the story as we go; it seems to unfold almost against his will, and ultimately to his horror. The Poet shadows the Mermaid through much of the ballet, and the story ends not at all happily, but with a duet that suggests the possibility of future transfiguration after long suffering.
Neumeier, as usual, employs only some elements of traditional ballet vocabulary, melding them into movement patterns drawn from modern dance, and paying special attention to gesture and facial expression; this story is acted as much as it is danced. Yuan Yuan Tan portrays the Mermaid as a happy, graceful creature in her natural element who becomes gangly, awkward, even a bit physically ugly when she thrusts herself into a realm in which she doesn’t belong. Together with choreographer Neumeier, in the “Mermaid’s Room” scene she creates a particularly realistic and distressing depiction through movement of claustrophobia and depression. Lloyd Riggins, as the Poet, has a role that is nearly as challenging, and turns in the most poignant performance here. Tiit Helimets is a virile, athletic Prince, and manages to make his character seem obtuse but not unlikeable. Davit Karapetyan is a menacing, very physical presence as the Sea Witch, who strips the Mermaid of her tail, while Sarah van Patten is more ethereal in her more limited role as the Princess.
Neumeier designed every element of this production except the music; that task fell to Lera Auerbach, whose chamber scores, at least, often call to mind Shostakovich and the more accessible side of Schnittke. Here, wresting much color from a full orchestra (including a subtly employed theremin, associated with the Mermaid), Auerbach knits together some memorable motifs and sequences that sometimes evoke other composers without ever seeming derivative (but what about that bit in the Sailors’ Dance that sounds like an allusion to Rota’s La Strada —accidental, or sly and intentional?). Perhaps the best stylistic comparison would be to John Corigliano’s Red Violin Passacaglia, although an actual passacaglia Auerbach provides for an intricate pas de quatre is more reminiscent of early Panufnik. In other words, it’s a dark work, but something easy enough for an audience to embrace. The excellent playing of the orchestra under Martin West puts the lie to the notion that pit orchestras are the worst orchestras.
The Blu-ray edition provides clarity through the underwater murk without sacrificing atmosphere, and the DTS-HD audio track gives the orchestra realistic depth and timbral precision. The 35 minutes of interviews are actually quite worthwhile in terms of expressing the dancers’ approaches to characterization, not the usual tedium of each artist praising all the others as geniuses who are wonderful to work with.
Neumeier’s Little Mermaid is not for people who prefer the pretty, psychologically shallow old story ballets. Put the kids to bed, watch this, and weep.
FANFARE: James Reel
Beethoven's Ninth: Symphony for the World / Currentzis
To this day, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 is one of the most popular pieces of classical music in the world. But what is it about this global hit? The film charts the success of the symphony around the globe and encounters passionate amateur musicians and musical personalities. Watch as Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis works on Beethoven’s Ninth with his ensemble, MusicAeterna. Follow Chinese composer and Oscar winner Tan Dun as he creates a new composition inspired by the great Beethoven symphony. Experience the Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as they play the Ninth. Visit a favela in Brazil, where Beethovens’s music helps people get off the streets. Be amazed as a choir of 10,000 in Japan sings the final chorus of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, with great enthusiasm. Learn how Paul Whittaker helps make Beethoven accessible for deaf people. And find out how British DJ Gabriel Prokofiev performs a symphonic remix of Beethoven’s Ninth.
Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet / West, San Francisco Ballet Orchestra [Blu-ray]
From grand spectacles to poignant close-ups, experience Helgi Tomasson's bravura interpretation of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet like you've never seen it before. With passionate choreography, spine-tingling swordsmansip, and a celebrated score by Sergei Prokofiev, San Francisco Ballet's passionate retelling of the Bard's greatest tragedy has packed houses around the world. Romeo & Juliet is one of the Company's most popular and widely toured ballets and has been seen by more than 200,000 people since it premiered in 1994. Choreographed by Helgi Tomasson, with sets and costumes by Jens-Jacob Worsaae, this visually stunning production and the brilliant dancers of San Francisco Ballet bring this powerful and touching tragedy - and Renaissance-era Verona - vivdly to life. "Tomasson lifts Shakespeare's complex and familiar language off the gilded pages and translates it into lucid classical choreography that is visceral, fresh, and ultimately sublime" (Huffington Post).
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro / Alvarez, Welser-Most, Teatro alla Scala
For the 225th anniversary of Mozart’s death, La Scala Theatre presents a new production of Le nozze di Figaro that had been entrusted to the extraordinary director Frederic Wake-Walker (author of a production of La finta giardiniera which was the revelation of the Glyndebourne Festival in 2014). He focusses the action of the piece on the instability of love: “Le nozze di Figaro presents us with an impossibility – a world where everyone is loving and forgiving.” The approach to his direction is “elaborate and very innovative” and “also musically, the new production of Figaro is worth a tour to Milan." (NZZ) "the cast is magnificient.” (Kurier) “… when Diana Damrau enters as the Countess, we get a performance of special gravitas. Even the orchestra, under Franz Welser-Möst’s baton, melts to such grace.” (Financial Times)
Verdi: La Traviata
Beethoven: Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 / Thielemann, VPO
The Beethoven cycle of the 21st century!
Christian Thielemann joins forces with the prestigious Wiener Philharmoniker in a unique and monumental project BEETHOVEN 9, their first-ever recording of all 9 Symphonies in full high definition and Surround Sound. This recording from the Golden Hall of Vienna´s Musikverein is accompanied by nine(!) hour-long documentaries, one on each symphony, featuring Christian Thielemann and Germany´s most eminent music critic, Prof. Joachim Kaiser. From insights into Beethoven´s musical thinking to interpretational comparisons, including excerpts form legendary performances by Karajan, Bernstein, Böhm, Järvi etc., to historical perpsectives – no aspect of Beethoven´s symphonic oeuvre will remain untreated! This 3 DVD-set contains Beethoven Symphonies 1, 2 & 3 and the Documentaries about Symphonies 1, 2 & 3.
Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies Nos. 1, 2 and 3
Coriolan Overture
Egmont Overture, Op. 84
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Christian Thielemann, conductor
Recorded live at the Goldener Saal der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna
including:
Discovering Beethoven
with Joachim Keiser and Christian Thielemann
one-hour long documentary for each symphony
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Japanese Running time: 155 mins (symphonies) + 170 mins (documentaries)
No. of DVDs: 3
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Tango Under the Stars
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic accent the colors, rhythms and passion of music by leading composers from Argentina in this invigorationg evening at the Hollywood Bowl - Astor Piazzolla, the master of Nuevo Tanog, who's four tangos feature on stage the dance company Tango Buenos Aires, known worldwide as the most authentic and uncompromising representative of the tango, Alberto Ginastera, one of the most important 20th century classical composers of the Americas and Piazzolla's first teacher, and Lalo Schifrin, who, beside his concert music, is the composer of the famous scores of "Mission: Impossible" and "Dirty Harry". His "concerto for Guitar and Orchestra", a world premiere recording, is composed for Angel Romero, an iconic master of the classical guitar.
Neumeier: Nijinsky / Hamburg State Opera Orchestra
“Nijinsky“ is the title of this “choreographic approach“ to a dance phenomenon that has been part of Neumeier‘s life ever since the beginning of his career. During his approximately ten years as a dancer, Vaslav Nijinsky (1889-1950) set a new standard both technically and expressively, while in his choreographic work he pointed the way towards modern dance. All three aspects - the dancer, the choreographer and the person Nijinsky - form the starting point for John Neumeier‘s latest creation. Neumeier, who as early as 1979 presented a short ballet, “Vaslav“, is regarded as one of the leading Nijinsky experts worldwide. Nevertheless, it was not without reluctance that he took up the task of honoring through dance a dance legend: “In creating a work about a historical person, what aspect should we concentrate on? Who was he truly: The man? The artist? Which witness, what information can we trust, which theories should one follow? What point of view can we take towards the complex puzzle Nijinsky? An instinctive choice must be made...“ Also included is an interesting interview with John Neumeier about Nijinksy.
Great Conductors
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann
Music Is The Language Of The Heart And Soul - A Portrait Of Mariss Jansons
Mariss Jansons is one of the most influential conductors of our age. In 2012 the charismatic Latvian musician conducted his second New Year Concert in Vienna, an honour that very few conductors have enjoyed. For the present documentary portrait, the film maker Robert Neumüller observed Jansons at work in Amsterdam, Riga, St Petersburg, Vienna and Salzburg. The film shows Jansons working with his various orchestras, including rehearsals for the 2012 New Year Concert, and also explores his private life, resulting in a number of fascinating insights into Jansons’ artistic development and philosophy. By way of a bonus, this release features a complete performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons.
Subtitles: G, E, F, Sp, Chin, Kor
Booklet: E, G, F
No. of Discs: 2
Run time: 145 minutes
Disc Format: DVD
Picture: NTSC, 16:9
Audio: PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte
Faccio: Hamlet
Brahms: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2
Sibelius: Symphonies 1, 2, 5 & 7 / Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic
Recorded live at the Wiener Musikvereinssaal, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1990.
Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 166 mins
No. of DVDs: 2 (DVD 9 + DVD 5)
In the mid 1980s, Unitel began recording a complete cycle of Sibelius symphonies with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic. Bernstein´s death in 1990 unfortuantely cut short this project after the release of Symphonies Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 7. Recorded live at Vienna´s Musikverein, these ecstatic performances were the object of stellar reviews. On this double-disc set, Bernstein´s unique and by now legendary interpretations of Sibelius are released for the first time on DVD.
Andre Previn - A Bridge Between Two Worlds
With:
André Previn, Mia Farrow, Renée Fleming, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Tom Stoppard, David Finck, and others
Bonus:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
Piano Quartet No. 2 in E flat major, K. 493
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, K. 478
André Previn, piano
Rainer Küchl, violin
Günter Seifert, viola
Franz Bartolomey, cello
André Previn is one of the leading musicians of our day. The eighty-one-year-old cosmopolitan pianist, conductor and classical composer has not only received no fewer than four Academy awards for his film adaptations but was also one of the most influential jazz musicians of the fifties and sixties. A Bridge Between Two Worlds is a portrait of Previn's fascinating musicianship and also looks candidly at his private life, including his relations with his two ex-wives, Mia Farrow and Anne-Sophie Mutter. As a bonus, this release features Mozart's two Piano Quartets K. 478 and K. 493 with André Previn at the keyboard.
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0 / Dolby Digital 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 52 mins (documentary) + 55 mins (performance)
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)
Verdi: La forza del destino
Offenbach: La Belle Helene / Priessnitz, Larmore, Han, Galliard, Rud
Jacques Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène (1864) has always been one of its composer’s most successful works.
• Its first, slightly scandalizing performance in Paris was quickly followed by productions in Vienna, Berlin, London, Milan and New York.
• A satire of middle-class values, this opéra bouffe – told through the story of Paris and Helen, and her abduction by the Trojan prince disguised as a shepherd – pillories narrow-mindedness in society.
• Adopting a pro-active stance, director Renaud Doucet and designer André Barbe treat the piece as a “great show” with numerous choreographic elements, relocating the action of Offenbach's classical spoof and setting it on a cruise ship in the 1960s, when Flower Power, love and drugs were all the rage.
• “La Belle Hélène is a firework display for ears and eyes...” (Hamburger Morgenpost), “opulent and amusing” (Bild), and, in the title role, Jennifer Larmore convinces with her “fantastic vocal performance.” (Das Opernglas)
Subtitles: French (orig.), English, German, Spanish, Chinese Korean
Booklet: English, German, French
No. of Discs: 1
Run time: 117 minutes
Picture Format: NTSC, 16:9
Audio Format: PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
Bizet: Carmen
MINKUS: DON QUIXOTE
Puccini: La Boheme / Noseda, Torino Teatro Regio
Tutto Verdi Highlights
From the innovative and gorgeous "Tutto Verdi" project comes a chance to catch all the high points! "Tutto Verdi" includes arias from 20 Verdi operas. The selections hail from the best-known and loved productions like Aida, La Traviata and Rigoletto as well as lesser-known beauties, all in HD.
Giuseppe Verdi
TUTTO VERDI - The Complete Operas
(Highlights)
excerpts from:
Oberto
Un Giorno di Regno
Nabucco
I Lombardi alla prima crociata
Ernani
I due Foscari
Giovanna d’Arco
Attila
Macbeth
Il Corsaro
Luisa Miller
Rigoletto
Il Trovatore
La Traviata
I Vespri Siciliani
Simon Boccanegra
Un Ball in Maschera
La Forza del Destino
Falstaff
with:
Anna Caterina Antonacci
Barbara Bargnesi
Silvia Dalla Benetta
Daniela Dessì
Norma Fantini
Tamar Iveri
Nino Machaidze
Susan Neves
Dimitra Theodossiou
Sylvie Valayre
Svetla Vassileva
Marcelo Alvarez
Marco Berti
Francesco Demuro
Antonio Gandia
Carlo Guelfi
Ambrogio Maestri
Francesco Meli
Leo Nucci
Luca Salsi
Roberto Scandiuzzi
Vladimir Stoyanov
Parma Teatro Regio Chorus and Orchestra
Recorded live from the Teatro Regio di Parma
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Italian, English
Running time: 94 mins
No. of DVDs: 1
