The Wiener Staatsoper presents a Wagner classic staged by duo Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito, who showcase Lohengrin as a crime thriller with a twist. At the podium is Christian Thielemann, who more than proves his reputation as the Wagner-expert par excellence. On stage, David Butt Philip as the titular Lohengrin is a "heldentenor with radiance and stamina" (Kleine Zeitung), while Malin Bystrom portrays an Elsa who might not be as innocent as the libretto suggests and convinces with "dramatic furore" (Der Standard). Anja Kampe sings her Ortrud "beautifully, yet so expressively, with such diction" (Kurier) and Martin Gantner's Telramund is "flawless in it's precision" (News). / "When it comes to Wagner, Christian Thielemann really is in a class of his own" (Der Standard) / "The choirs were a force to be reckoned with, and the orchestra proved it's outstanding quality in harmony with the great Wagnerian Thielemann" (Salzburger Nachrichten)

Hannibal Lokumbe
CAN YOU HEAR GOD CRYING?
A Spiritatorio

Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano
Rodrick Dixon, tenor
Paula Holloway, vocals
Homayun Sakhi, rubâb
Alyn E. Waller, readings

The Celebration Choir
(chorus master: J. Donald Dumpson)
The Music Liberation Orchestra
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Dirk Brossé, conductor

Recorded at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, United States, 21 September 2012
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereobr
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Englishbr
Running time: 71 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 5)

NTSC Region 0. This release presents an impressive concert by a true all star combo. Recorded in London in 1964, the event brings together a group of veteran musicians with distinguished careers behind them. Featuring Coleman Hawkins, Harry Edison, Jo Jones, Sir Charles Thompson, Jimmy Woode and George Arvanitas. As a bonus to this amazing performance a complete short film made in Brussels by Coleman Hawkins backed by Jimmy Woode on bass, French pianist George Arvanitas, as well as American drummer Kansas Fields. The most unusual tune is Hawkins unaccompanied opening improvisation as he was the first musician to commercially record an unaccompanied tenor saxophone solo. Featured performances include 'September Song', 'What's New', 'WIllow Weep for Me' and more. Impro-Jazz. 2006.

A documentary by Günter Atteln

with
Sofia Gubaidulina
Paul Hillier
Gidon Kremer

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: German, English, French, Korean, Japanese
Running time: 56 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

This delightful documentary takes you an amazing ride as it celebrates the wonderful variety of French Louisiana's treasured musical heritage. In the intimacy of their homes as well as in rollicking honky-tonks.

AN AUDIO-ONLY DVD. 1998 Grammy Award Nominee. Living legend Babatunde Olatunju unleashes the rhythm of passion on his first Chesky release. Featuring an ebullient ensemble of guitarists, singers and a myriad of percussionists, "Love Drum Talk" is a heart-pounding celebration of love. This disc is simply staggering. It's as if some elemental, primeval, mystical musical force were somehow magically captured on a piece of polycarbonate, that sound quaity is as staggering as the music.

The inimitable James Rhodes performs live in an intimate concert recorded live at the Arts Theatre, London.

Together with his joyful Johann Strauss Orchestra and numerous international soloists, Andr� Rieu celebrated a cheerful and emotional party, which ended night after night with a grand firework display. The numerous highlights on this DVD include world hits such as Ballade pour Adeline, Can't Help Falling in Love, Volare, Bolero, An der sch�nen blauen Donau and Highland Cathedral with around 300 bagpipers. The emotional highlight of the concert was the French ESC title "Voil�" sung by the extraordinary 15-year-old singer Emma Kok, who moved the audience to tears and went viral on the internet.

First, Love You Madly is a profile of Duke Ellington that features interviews and such timeless selections as "Rockin' in Rhythm," "In My Solitude," "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," and more. Then, A Concert of Sacred Music at Grace Cathedral includes unforgettable renditions of "In the Beginning, God," "The Lord's Prayer," "Come Sunday," and other songs of praise. 116 min. Total. Standard; Soundtrack: English. Region Free

When the King of Navarre and his three courtiers forswear all pleasure – particularly of the female variety – in favour of a life of study, the arrival of the Princess of France and her ladies plays havoc with their intentions. Using every kind of verbal gymnastics to poke fun, Shakespeare’s most intellectual comedy is brought to hilarious life in Dominic Dromgoole’s highly entertaining production, rich in visual humour and sexual innuendo. Jonathan Fensom’s knot garden and original music by Claire van Kampen create the framework for an engaging performance by an excellent cast. Filmed live in High Definition and true surround sound.

King of Navarre: Philip Cumbus
Berowne: Trystan Gravelle
Longaville: William Mannering
Dumaine: Jack Farthing
Princess of France: Michelle Terry
Rosaline: Thomasin Rand
Maria: Jade Anouka
Katharine: Siân Robins-Grace
Boyet: Tom Stuart
Don Armado: Paul Ready
Moth: Seroca Davis
Holofernes: Christopher Godwin
Sir Nathanial: Patrick Godfrey
Dull: Andrew Vincent
Costard: Fergal McElherron
Jaquenetta: Rhiannon Oliver
Mercadé: James Lailey

Directed by Dominic Dromgoole
Designed by Jonathan Fensom
Composed by Claire van Kampen

Recorded live at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, in October 2009.

Extra features:
Cast gallery
Famous Speeches

Format: dvd
Duration: 167 mins
Catalog Number: OA 1035 D
Regions: All regions
Picture Format: 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Type: 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: EN (in Shakespearean English)

"Dominic Dromgoole’s zestful production succeeds in captivating the audience to a degree that I would not have thought possible… It’s a treat." -- The Independent

"With a delightful design and jaunty music it has abundant charm… Entirely enchanting." -- The Times

Also available on Blu-ray

R E V I E W S:

Die Fledermaus:
When a director and a production team have a concept for an opera production that alters the composer-librettist’s original vision, the results can vary from imaginative to hubristic expressions of a director trying to be unique—or just unusual. The concepts that work best are the ones that retain the integrity of the opera. Such is the case with this DVD of Die Fledermaus derived from performances at Glyndebourne. The action has been moved into the early 20th century, art deco simplicity has replaced 19th-century fussiness. The score remains intact, but the dialogue is new—yet it remains quite faithful to the story line. It was adapted by Stephen Lawless and Daniel Dooner, written in English, and then translated into German by Johanna Mayr. Purists are not likely to be offended by Glyndebourne’s updated Die Fledermaus, and most viewers will probably greatly enjoy this production.

The cast is a talented ensemble that excels not only as musicians but actors as well. Thomas Allen and Pamela Armstrong are wonderful as the Eisensteins. Their comic timing creates characterizations that are in equal measure sophisticated and droll. The act-II seduction with the watch is terrific. Lyubov Petrova makes the most out of Adele, the chambermaid with a mind of her own. Håkan Hagegård is an especially genial Dr. Falke, with intriguing glimpses of the anger prompting the Revenge of the Bat. Pär Lindskog makes a suitably lecherous Afredo. Special kudos to Malena Ernman in the trouser role of Prince Orlofsky. She does a convincing male impersonation complete with bushy mustache.

Udo Samel has the non-singing role of Frosch, the jailer. Frequently the role is assigned to the comedian of the day who pads the third act with a monologue of trademark shtick or topical humor. Mr. Samel introduces himself as Frosch — James Frosch. He admits his banter is intended to cover a scene change; however, this interplay with the audience has been edited from the operetta and appears as part of the Extras.

The biggest liability of Die Fledermaus is the third act. The first act lays the groundwork for the disguises and intrigues in act II. The third act serves as the dénouement, the unmasking after the splashy second-act party...Happily, this Glyndebourne production keeps affairs moving along nicely. The cast maintains the energy level from the first two acts. Quite a feat, since it appears the entire performance was done without intermissions.

Scene designer Benoit Dugardyn has created a clever set on a revolving stage...in this case the set is interesting and adapts quite well to the scenic demands of each act. A rather nifty scene change transforms the Eisenstein home into the Orlofsky ballroom. During the second act, the set frequently revolves, adding interesting dimensions and scenic interest.

Acts I and II and the Entr’acte to act III are on the first disc, act III is on the second disc, along with a number of interesting extra features and interviews. A compliment is due to television director Francesca Kemp and television producer Ross MacGibbon for the excellent transference of a stage production to home video. This video is respectful of the stage production without gimmicky distractions. There is very much a sense of being in the theater while watching....the new Glyndebourne production makes any evening New Years Eve.

David L. Kirk, FANFARE

La cenerentola
This is a conventional production of La cenerentola in most respects. The stage sets are sparsely suggestive rather than literal and detailed, but sufficient. Costumes are excellent, and Peter Hall gets superior comic acting from his principals. Timing and definition of gesture are especially good, with Di Pasquale and Alberghini making the most of their respective parts, minus any distracting add-on gags that all too often disrupt both the work’s rhythm and audience’s attention.


I have one reservation concerning Hall’s production, however: his treatment of the concertato . This Italian operatic convention completely stops the action and allows all characters on stage to express their thoughts simultaneously; which in Rossini’s comic operas invariably means stupefaction and derision. Hall exchanges conventional lighting at these instances for blue scrims, and sets his performers moving and weaving about in odd, slow motion patterns. In theory, this is interesting; in practice, I admittedly found it hard not to laugh at something Hall intended to be taken earnestly. I could only recall Eugene O’Neill’s pretentious 1929 play, Strange Interlude , with its characters given to occasional zombie-like speeches out of time, revealing their thoughts; or to Groucho Marx’s satire on it in the 1930 movie, Animal Crackers : “I see figures . . . strange figures . . . weird figures . . . Steel 186, Anaconda 74, American Can 138 . . .”. Hall’s desire to gussy up each concertato (and there are several, if you count smaller sections of otherwise standard ensembles, as Hall does) with a psychological dimension definitely raised a specter, but I don’t think Rossini had bushy eyebrows, a moustache, and a cigar. It’s possible to work up an academic thesis about the depth and seriousness of anything meant humorously, and the liner notes accompanying this release strive earnestly to accomplish this. But sometimes the light is just that—all light, no shadows; and this composer wasn’t a post-modernist.


Like most other Rossini operas, for many years La cenerentola went unperformed because of changing public tastes that in turn led to an absence of singers who could handle the parts. This was a vicious circle—for a lack of appropriate voices meant a lack of productions, and the absence of productions meant no need to train the voices. What are Rossini voices? They require the same qualities that can be found in other bel canto music: great agility, firm breath support, good enunciation, proper score-reading habits, and schooling in style. All of these qualities can be found in varying degrees in the seven performers who take a major stage part in this La cenerentola . Please note this; because if you ever doubted we’re entering a renewed age of bel canto , then a Rossini production that can boast of three basses, a tenor, two sopranos, and a mezzo, all reasonably fluent in coloratura, is surely as good an indication as any. However, I will single out only Ruxandra Donose for praise. Hers is a dusky mezzo, even in coloration, volume, and support across the registers. The voice is able to handle exacting coloratura without any aspiration or evidence of strain. Her forthright, focused attack in her final aria (“Non più mesta”) brought memories of Marilyn Horne in the 1970s; and like Horne, Donose builds her part from the text, not by working around it. A young singer with little as yet on CD or DVD, she clearly bears watching.


Jurowski is incisive, and alert to his singers’ needs. Sound is available in LPCM stereo and surround sound, while the video is offered in 16:9 anamorphic. Finally, there are subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian, as well as one of those bits-and-pieces interviews (entitled “Insights,” just in case you missed what it offered) that tries to sell a darker view of the opera. It doesn’t work, but it also doesn’t matter. This production of La cenerentola was a good one for Rossini, and the audience agreed. I think you will, too.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal


Cosi Fan Tutte
Simply put, this widely praised Glyndebourne production is the Così we’ve been waiting for. Yes, there are plenty of alternatives. But little of the video competition has fared well on these pages. Sometimes the problems stem from the musical performance: the Pritchard-led Glyndebourne predecessor was dismissed as “largely routine” by David Kirk (29:5); the Östman was ruled out of court by Barry Brenesal, who said that the “conducting belonged to the then-new movement that found only three tempos in Mozart operas: fast, faster, fast forward” (30:4). Others were panned because of inadequate production values: Chereau’s “takes itself far too seriously,” according to Brian Robins (30:3); Bob Rose was less charitable still with Hermanns’ “simply rotten” production that, he said, “reveals the producers’ lack of understanding Mozart’s genius” (30:6). Only Muti’s Vienna production (Brenesal 32:3) and Harnoncourt’s from Zurich (Christopher Williams, 30:1) received passing grades.


So what makes this performance stand out? First, the singing of the young cast is uniformly excellent. Or perhaps not quite uniformly: as is the case with her new Susanna in Pappano’s Figaro , Miah Persson is even better than excellent, combining a gorgeous, flexible, and stunningly controlled voice (even in the most challenging coloratura passages) with her by-now familiar depth of dramatic insight. Just listen to (and watch) the solid scorn on “Come scoglio”—or, even better, the subtle variations in mood in her wrenching account of “Per pietà”—and you’ll understand why she’s my favorite Mozart soprano these days.


But the rest of the cast is nearly as good. Anke Vondung holds her own as Dorabella (certainly, a less rich part), and their voices blend extremely well. Topi Lehtipuu and Luca Pisaroni capture the emotional wobbles of the two self-deluded lovers—their ardor, their ungrounded confidence, their fury—with unerring security and luxurious tone. More than most performances, too, this one reveals a key social dynamic: the deception works in part because they’re so much sexier when their costumes allow them to abandon the constraining propriety imposed by the social conventions that normally govern their behavior. Ainhoa Garmendia is a pert, disdainful Despina who doesn’t over-camp the impersonations; and running the show tactfully is Nicholas Rivenq. An unusually attractive Don Alfonso, he’s younger and far more fit than most in this role (he looks as if he just came off the racquet-ball court), and he seems an intellectual without a trace of pedantry; you can really believe that he wants to educate these two naive friends. Iván Fischer conducts with more romantic flexibility than you often get with period-instrument orchestras—and balance (both among the singers and between stage and pit) is finely calibrated. Purely as an audio version, this would stand up to any I’ve heard.


Fortunately, Nicholas Hytner’s production is equally impressive—hardly a false step from beginning to end. In general, this staging takes the opera—arguably, Mozart’s most intellectually challenging—seriously. But the seriousness does not bring solemnity. Hytner may avoid extreme farce, but there’s plenty of wit, energy, and color throughout. More important, he doesn’t condescend to the characters: you can understand both why they’re so foolish and why they’re so torn, and the final shots (where the resolution is clearly only partial) create tremendous poignance. The sets and costumes—simple but far from austere—suggest the late 18th or early 19th century, without creating a very specific moment; and while the production doesn’t ostentatiously update the action, it stresses those aspects of character and situation that still ring true today. One point highlighted here is the bond between the sisters—indeed, one could argue that it’s really Dorabella who seduces Fiordiligi; and while there is nothing louche or tasteless in the presentation of their relationship, it’s obvious that they have a strong erotic link. Not that there’s any lack of heterosexual electricity—as a result, the final scene, where nearly every possible pairing seems highly charged, is as smoldering as any you’ll see. Yet aside from one or two moments, the sex is handled with tact: the performance is hardly prudish, but it’s never aggressive either.


The Blu-ray video quality is stunning: you can see each leaf on the salads that our heroines are eating in act I. The 5.0 channel PCM is excellent as well. And while the extras are nothing special, both the conductor and the director offer intelligent insights into the opera. Two numbers are omitted, No. 7 (the duet “Al fato dan legge”) and No. 24 (Ferrando’s “Ah, io veggio”), but that’s a minor issue. All in all, if this doesn’t make it to my next Want List, we’ve got quite a year in store for us.


FANFARE: Peter J. Rabinowitz

In 2024, Riccardo Chailly and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra continued their acclaimed Rachmaninoff cycle with a concert spanning the composer's lifetime: from the youthful freshness of the composer's earliest works like the rarely performed "Youth Symphony" and his Piano Concerto No. 1, to the musical mastery and maturity of his last major work, the "Symphonic Dances". Young piano prodigy Alexander Malofeev, in whose repertoire Rachmaninoff's music occupies a special place, gave his much-lauded Lucerne Festival debut as the soloist of the evening with an electrifying performance.

The legendary soprano Anna Moffo stars in this expansive 1971 film of the opera, directed by Mario Lanfranchi, and lavishly filmed in authentic locales and castles.

Mauricio Kagel directs a surreal story about the return of Beethoven. We are in the year 1970 and Beethoven returns to see his hometown and his house in the year of his 200th birthday. A wondrous 35mm B&W film tells of Beethoven's experiences in the 20th century.

Starring Antonio de Gobbi, Alberto Gazale, Francesco Demuro.

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 Galat�e, a pastorale h�ro�que, and one of his final masterpieces. It's plot - the cyclops Poliph�me's love for the nymph Galat�e - drew from Lully an astonishing alternation of effects, a profound monologue for the nymph in Act III and a magnificent concluding Passacaille, all framed by a succession of dances and vividly conceived choruses.

Also available on Blu-ray

Jean-Baptiste Lully’s Atys, a tragédie en musique, became known as the ‘king’s opera’ due to Louis XIV’s fondness for it. The work stands as a testament to the Sun King’s courtly refinement, as well as his moves to make France the center of European artistic culture. The opera’s themes of romantic dilemmas and ultimate tragedy, set amidst the poetic atmosphere of Ovid’s classical mythology, create the perfect vehicle for a narrative filled with dramatic intensity combined with a myriad of moving and expressive arias and duets. William Christie conducts this acclaimed production – hailed by The New York Times as being ‘as satisfying as it is bold’.

REVIEW:

The role of Atys is physically as well as vocally taxing, but is here superbly realised by the German tenor, Bernard Richter, while the French soprano, Emmanuelle De Negri, is an excellent Sangaride, with the creamy voice of the mezzo, Stephanie D’Oustrac, as Cybele completing the love triangle. The cast list is large, and with the Compagnie Fetes Galantes providing the dancers, the stage is at times totally filled. The reviews at the time of filimg (2011) were suitably euphoric regarding the casting, and equally of the presence of the period instrument orchestra, Les Arts Florrissants, with the idiomatic conducting of William Christie. The filming itself is immaculate in its ideal mix of full stage and close-up images, while the sound quality is gorgeous.

– David's Review Corner (David Denton)

This production shows for the first time in two centuries Molière and Lully's comédie-ballet in its original and unabridged 1670-version, with the sung and danced interludes interwoven into the action, recreating the atmosphere of unbridled hilarity, which is the hallmark of comédie-ballet.

With his Te Deum (1677), Lully produced a singularly important work, which was to impose an "official" genre which lasted a century: a chef-d’oeuvre of musical architecture, the imposing forces require trumpets and timpani and was the religious work the most often performed at that time. Another substantial work the Missa Salisburgensis by Biber is of an exceptional ostentation. The music, is written for fifty-three different voices, which have to be divided up in the space into two choirs. The impressive forces of trumpets and percussion, indicate the solemnity of the ceremony and thereby resonate splendidly, responding to the angelic choirs like divine acclamations, in order to build a musical monument which would be talked about for eternity.

MacBeth is one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies, telling the story of a power couple galvanised by witchcraft and superstition, and obsessed by a craving to conquer the throne by force, even by murder. This French version of Verdi's opera takes us into a sphere of decorum and decency that hides monsters capable of the worst atrocities, portrayed in some of the composer's most blood-curdling and intense passages of music. A genuine rarity on stage, this 2024 production of the French version was acclaimed for it's powerful vocal performances and fine acting.

In this interpretation of Verdi's MacBeth, stage director Christof Loy skillfully navigates the interplay of light and dark, infusing the opera - based on Shakespeare's work - with remarkable depth and drama. The outstanding vocal ensemble vividly captures the psychological nuances of the characters, featuring Ludovic Tezier as the paranoid MacBeth and Martina Serafin as Lady MacBeth, the mastermind behind the crimes. Giampaolo Bisanti pours his passion into the score, while The Symphony Orchestra and the Liceu Choir deliver exceptional performances in response. Consequently, the audience experiences a flawless blend of lyrics and music, crafted by the Milanese composer, librettist Francesco Maria Piave, and poet Andrea Maffei. "It is a unique scenography." El Pais

Violeta Urmana, Dimitri's Tiliakos, Ferruccio Furlanetto, and Stefano Secco star in this Paris Opera production of the Verdi opera conducted by Teodor Currentzis and staged by Dmitri Tcherniakov.

From a kaleidoscopic abstract ballet to a poignant elegy, celebrate Kenneth MacMillan's endless invention in three works. Kenneth MacMillan (1929-92) was the leading choreographer of his generation. Renowned for his full-length dramatic works which dug deep into the human psyche, MacMillan's creativity knew no bounds. His one-act works also reshaped the collective identity of The Royal Ballet, challenging the art form to reflect real-life emotions, passions and human frailty. In three varied works, this mixed programme offers a taster of MacMillan's exceptional craft.

Also available on Blu-ray

From The Royal Ballet’s classical origins in the works of Petipa, to the home-grown choreographers who put British Ballet on the world stage, this mixed programme highlights the versatility of the Company. Petipa’s Raymonda Act III is Russian classical ballet summarized in one act, full of sparkle and precise technique, while Ashton’s Enigma Variations is quintessentially British in every way – from its score by Elgar and period designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman, to Ashton’s signature style, the essence of British ballet. Concerto, MacMillan’s fusion of classical technique with a contemporary mind, completes a programme that shows the breadth of the Company’s heritage. “The Royal Ballet is at the top of its game in a new triple bill of MacMillan, Ashton, and a pinch of Petipa…” (The Guardian) “O’Sullivan dances with a sunbeam brightness and zest to match her tangerine-colored costume… The ‘Nimrod’ variation is a memorable evocation of mature friendship; catching at the shifting currents of conversation and companionship with a finespun physicality… Princely Vadim Muntagirov follows suit with pantherine leaps and there’s strong support from the soloists and fluffy-hatted corps.”