When Tchaikovsky premiered his famous ballet The Nutcracker in Saint Petersburg 130 years ago, it was presented as a double bill, as standard at the time, together with the opera Iolanta. The Volksoper Wien, being part home to the famous Wiener Staatsballett, under the helm of the new artistic director Lotte de Beer and music director Omer Meir Wellber presents both works again in one evening, but not as two separate pieces, but by fusing the two works into one. It’s a “successful debut that is also musically convincing” and the “two pieces intertwine like gears”. Jorine van Beek’s costumes makes it a “feast for the eyes” (Die Presse). “This imaginative ‘music theatre for the whole family’ enchants above all the numerous children and young people. (...) The Volksoper Orchestra once again demonstrated its power of performance” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). In short: it’s a family-show to the core!

Premiered in 1951, ‘Amahl and the Night Visitors’ was the first opera specifically composed for television, though Gian Carlo Menotti admitted that he had conceived it for the stage. The magical story tells of Amahl, a disabled boy who befriends the Three Kings when they stop at his house on their journey to see the newborn Jesus. Amahl decides to give his crutch to Jesus, at which point his leg is miraculously healed. Long a Christmas favourite, this new Viennese production, sung in German, boldly re-examines the story finding its key elements to be fantasy, empathy and the enduring power of love.

REVIEW:

...the cast under Magnus Loddgard’s baton is good. Boy soprano Tempu Ishijima is outstanding in the title role, incredibly touching but not mawkish, and as his mother, Dshamilja Kaiser has a strong mezzo.

-- Opera Now

Rossini’s La donna del lago, premièred in 1819 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, is a masterpiece based on the poem The Lady of the Lake by Sir Walter Scott, which is full of passion and romantic frisson. “With characteristic boldness, Michieletto reformulates this glittering music into something otherworldly” (Financial Times) and the performance is “musically brilliant.” (Die Presse.com) “Marko Mimica and Varduhi Abrahamyan produce strong performances as Douglas and Malcom respectively. Flórez is laser like and fresh as ever and thrilling brutish …“ (Financial Times) while the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes: “Michele Mariotti and his outstanding orchestra were the stars of the evening.“

It is impossible to imagine today’s opera repertoire without Puccini’s Tosca, but rarely has an opera been so brutal: Murder, torture and love, jealousy and passion – everything is present in abundance. When it was written in 1900, this thriller set to music caused considerable controversy due to the political figureheads involved. Only much later the story about the deeply religious Tosca, the passionate Cavaradossi and the sadistic Scarpia was interpreted as the psychological drama it was meant to be. The drama on stage is accompanied from the orchestra pit by Marc Albrecht conducting the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra by pointed sketches of the characters, but also - as typical for Puccini - by lyrical turns and beautiful melodies that make this opera shocker unique.

“Marc Albrecht, with a fabulously disposed ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, [...] – a masterly achievement.” (Opernwelt). Next to Kristine Opolais, “a great, highly dramatic singing actress whose interpretation gets under the skin” (Kurier), sings the discovery of the evening, “the young tenor Jonathan Tetelman stems Caravadossi with juvenile power and tenoral beam that almost bursts the dimensions of the house.” (Opernwelt)

Three documentaries on the Stuttgart Ballet and its outstanding dancers Marcia Haydée and Friedemann Vogel.

Find Grimaud's previous DVD release from the Elbphilharmonie on Arkiv as well!

Hélène Grimaud headlines a spectacular evening with the illustrious Camerata Salzburg, directed from the front desk by concertmaster Giovanni Guzzo, at one of the world's most famous contemporary concert halls, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. She selected pieces that are all in minor keys, yet composed during intensely creative periods in both Mozart’s and Robert Schumann’s careers.

Mozart did not write many works in minor tonalities but Grimaud chose to emphasize the minor mode because it “provides a glimpse behind the mask of jollity that surrounds many of his famous works.“ As an encore: a work by a living Ukrainian composer whose music has accompanied Grimaud through much of her career, Valentin Silvestrov.

“Hélène Grimaud and the Salzburg Camerata hypnotise the audience in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie on this unforgettable evening, with piano concertos of the early Romantic era of Mozart and Schumann that are unique in sound.“ (operaversum.de)

Domenico Cimarosa was riding high on the triumphant success of Il matrimonio segreto when he embarked on the ‘commedia per musica’ Le astuzie femminili in 1794. The narrative for this opera revolves around the clever and resourceful Bellina, who devises a plan to avoid an unwanted marriage while gaining a large inheritance and marrying her love Filandro. Styled somewhere between Mozart and Rossini, Cimarosa’s witty and tender score includes deliciously comical moments such as Filandro’s outlandish Italian-German imitation of a Magyar officer. The spirited performance and lively pace of this opera buffa accounted for its acclaimed reception at the 2022 Reate Festival.

Premiered in 1883, 'Lakmé' remains one of the most popular of all French operas. Reflecting contemporary tastes, the original source material presented a tragic liaison between a French officer and a Tahitian woman on a Pacific island, but Delibes moved the location to British-ruled India where the two central characters are torn between passion and loyalty, and assailed by a fanatical religious leader. For this opera Delibes wrote music of indelible beauty, including the much-loved ‘Flower Duet’ and ‘Bell Song’.

Dona Nobis Pacem – give us peace. This title is of great importance to me – even at the risk of seeming naïve; sentimental or even pretentious. In light of the constant and growing tensions in our world; this thought remains an important aspiration and inspires me to approach Johann Sebastian Bach's multifaceted composition with conviction. In my 50th season as artistic director; I consider this creation a great opportunity. John Neumeier; A Historic Document - The film version of “Dona Nobis Pacem” takes us close to the creative evolution of this ballet. Even though there were very high expectations; John Neumeier agreed for the first time in his career to have one of his ballets filmed during the week of the world premiere. Thus; the film became an impressive document of the outstanding quality of the Hamburg Ballet ensemble. It excels not only in terms of technical brilliance; but also expressive intensity and wholehearted dedication.

Romeo and Juliet is the most famous love story of all time. In Charles Gounod's operatic adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona "Saimir Pirgu and Aida Garifullina mesmerize as the tragic lovers.“ (Euronews) Charles Gounod is one of the great representatives of French lyric drama and due to his famous aria “Je veux vivre,” ravishing melodies; magical duets and the unique ballet scene in Act IV; Roméo et Juliette continues to gain much popularity. This production by Stephen Lawless once again demonstrates the abundance of ideas that Shakespeare’s legendary tale is able to inspire; even in the 21st century. In addition to the lavish stage sets and the carefully chosen costumes and props; the production captivates the audience thanks to its refined dramaturgical logic: “Lawless successfully creates a dignified and logical background to the
ongoing story […].” (Metropolitan Barcelona)

Beethoven's symphonic cycle is one of the most quintessential in the Western classical canon. They chart a course from the influence of Haydn and Classical models in the early symphonies; through works of startling innovation and the birth of Romanticism; to his monumental Ninth Symphony for soloists; chorus and orchestra. Zubin Mehta conducts the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in these live recordings from 2021/22.

Franz Schreker’s career was cut short by the events of 1933 in Germany but he achieved real fame with his operas; and the huge success of 'Der Schatzgräber' (‘The Treasure Hunter’) in the 1920s was the high point of his career. In a complex and ultimately tragic tale of destructive greed; desire and toxic social hierarchy; the innkeeper’s daughter Els is forced to confront the consequences of her murderous intent in what conductor Marc Albrecht considers ‘a work of exceptional quality; concentration and significance’. Following the huge success of Korngold’s 'Das Wunder der Heliane' (Naxos DVD 2.110584-85 / Blu-ray NBD0083V); director Christof Loy continues his exploration of strong female characters and neglected 20th-century masterpieces with this highly acclaimed Deutsche Oper Berlin production.

From the headlong rush of the overture, Mozart’s timeless comedy is a breathless journey through one very eventful day in the life of an 1830s château. Figaro and his bride Susanna conspire to foil the unwanted advances of Count Almaviva, while the Countess has her heart stolen by a cross-dressing pageboy. Mozart’s music unfolds with beautiful solos and ensembles to amplify the deep emotions behind the seemingly farcical surface. Music Director of The Royal Opera Antonio Pappano brings his specialist perspective to Mozart’s effervescent score. A young and predominantly Italian cast, including Ricardo Fassi, Giulia Semenzato and Germán E. Alcántara, perform this revival of David McVicar’s sumptuous and hugely popular period staging.

First performed in 1896, Andrea Chénier is rightly regarded as one of the key works of verismo. With his melodrama about the historical poet André Chénier during the upheavals of the French Revolution, the composer Umberto Giordano created an undisputed masterpiece, an emotionally charged work in which a great love that triumphs over class differences and social discord finds fulfilment only in death. Previously unseen at Munich’s Nationaltheater, Giordano’s opera entered the repertory in 2017 in a production by Philipp Stölzl, who was making his debut with the Bayerische Staatsoper.

Stölzl’s is a household name in the German-speaking world both as a filmmaker (Baby, North Face, Goethe!, The Physician and Winnetou – Der Mythos lebt) and as a director of plays and operas, including Benvenuto Cellini at the Salzburg Festival, Rigoletto at the Bregenz Festival and Turandot at the Berlin State Opera. Both before and since then he has demonstrated his imaginative, detailed and powerfully expressive approach to direction. And it was this conviction that formed the basis of his concept for his Munich Andrea Chénier: “My ideas emerge from the piece itself. I work outwards from the inside. Any director needs to find something to latch on to in history. I want to narrate what’s there. I don’t need to invent anything. The characters function as they do because they act within fixed historical images. My aim as a director is to discover this panorama and reveal it to my audiences.”

The cast is a spectacular one. Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros have been seen as the operatic dream couple since they appeared together in Lohengrin in 2009. This is the fourth time that they have worked together on a new production in Munich. A fortunate set of circumstances meant that it was possible to record two revivals later that same year. Like the first night, all were completely sold out. This record of a thrilling and inspiring operatic interpretation is now available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Based on a play by Victor Hugo, Verdi’s Ernani was an immediate success, and as his most popular and frequently performed opera it became a cornerstone of his burgeoning reputation in the mid-1800s. Contemporary critics remarked that ‘coming out of the theatre, people were already singing [those] catchy tunes … Few scores have made a stronger, more powerful impression.’ Ernani is a dramatic and intensely memorable tale of rebellion and romance – the chilling presence of the man in black and the drama of a joyful wedding turned to intense tragedy remains one of Verdi’s most compelling operatic creations. This acclaimed production was the first to be staged at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino since 1965.