PONCHIELLI UDOVICH; F. LBAO; A. PROTTI; N. SCOTT; MIGNON DUNN; CARLO FELICECILLARIO LIVE 1960 LA GIOCONDA

Classical Music

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

Amilcare Ponchielli's wind concertos number among the most virtuosic works of the romantic era. He distinguished himself with successful pieces for concertante winds during the mid-nineteenth century, and in every measure one hears that this Italian actually felt called to become a music dramatist. The Mecklenburg State Orchestra of Schwerin and the soloists Giuliano Sommerhalder, Roland Fröscher, and Simone Sommerhalder present us his concertos for trumpet, euphonium, and oboe in a swift parforce chase.

From a 1960 live performance in the Teatro Col�n Buenos Aires, Argentina, Ponchielli's La Gioconda's libretto was written by composter Arrigo Boito who adapted it from a play by Victor Hugo. A quintessential operatic tale of thwarted love and devotion this performance features the American soprano Lucille Udovich, noted mezzo-soprano Mignon Dunn, longtime Metropolitan Opera member bass Norman Scott, and tenor Flaviano Labo with the Teatro Col�n Orchestra and Choir conducted by Carlo Felice Cillario.

This set of three films provides an outstanding showcase for the artistry of dancer Roberto Bolle, a ballet star of our own time. For the 75th anniversary celebrations of The Royal Ballet, Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia was restored to the splendor of its elegant and opulent three-act form. Casting Bolle as Aminta alongside Darcey Bussell in the title role, this is a wonderful showcase for virtuosity, invention and classical beauty. By contrast Roland Petit’s Notre-Dame de Paris exudes modernity, with its cool choreography and chic costumes by Yves Saint-Laurent. Here Bolle’s tragic Quasimodo, by turns fierce and tender, dances opposite Natalia Osipova as Esmeralda. In a second production from La Scala, the Ballet Corp’s traditional Grand Gala aligns with Milan’s tenure as host city of EXPO 2015, and Roberto Bolle, as one of La Scala’s étoiles, plays a central role in the stunning programme of excerpts. He performs the pas de deux from yet another Petit masterwork, dancing Don José to Polina Semionova’s Carmen, along with the mesmerizing contemporary solo Prototype.

This set of three films provides an outstanding showcase for the artistry of dancer Roberto Bolle, a ballet star of our own time. For the 75th anniversary celebrations of The Royal Ballet, Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia was restored to the splendor of its elegant and opulent three-act form. Casting Bolle as Aminta alongside Darcey Bussell in the title role, this is a wonderful showcase for virtuosity, invention and classical beauty. By contrast Roland Petit’s Notre-Dame de Paris exudes modernity, with its cool choreography and chic costumes by Yves Saint-Laurent. Here Bolle’s tragic Quasimodo, by turns fierce and tender, dances opposite Natalia Osipova as Esmeralda. In a second production from La Scala, the Ballet Corp’s traditional Grand Gala aligns with Milan’s tenure as host city of EXPO 2015, and Roberto Bolle, as one of La Scala’s étoiles, plays a central role in the stunning programme of excerpts. He performs the pas de deux from yet another Petit masterwork, dancing Don José to Polina Semionova’s Carmen, along with the mesmerizing contemporary solo Prototype.