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MAGIC FLUTE FOR CHILDREN
MAHALIA JACKSON SINGS
Mahler: Symphony No 2 / Chailly, Oelze, Connolly, Leipzig Gewandhaus
Recorded live at Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, 17 and 18 May 2011.
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French
Running time: 95 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)
Mahler: Symphony No 4 / Chailly, Gewandhaus-Orchester

Gustav Mahler
SYMPHONY NO. 4
Christina Landshamer, soprano
Gewandhaus Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Recorded live at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig, 26–27 April 2012
Bonus:
- The Welte-Mignon Piano Player Device
- Mahler plays Mahler – Symphony No. 4 in G major: IV. Sehr behaglich
- Riccardo Chailly on interpreting Mahler’s 4th Symphony with the Gewandhaus Orchestra
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Japanese
Running time: 61 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)
Mahler: Symphony No 6 / Chailly, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
MAHLER Symphony No. 6 & • Riccardo Chailly, cond; Gewandhaus O • ACCENTUS 20268 (DVD: 86:25 + 18:28)
& Panel discussion with Riccardo Chailly and Reinhold Kubik
A Mahler Sixth in which the Andante movement comes second? And where the last movement has two hammer blows, not the three that Mahler himself included at the premiere)? Well, yes, and those are just two of the things that make Riccardo Chailly’s interpretation of this over-familiar work sound new. Another is the incredibly swift, truly scherzo-like tempo with which Chailly takes the (now) third movement, not at a pace mimicking the first, as usually happens when it comes second.
Some of the mystery is explained in the 18-minute conversation that Chailly holds in the bonus feature. The “wrong” order of the movements (Allegro energico, Andante moderato, Scherzo, and Finale: Sostenuto) is how they appeared in the conductor’s score that was actually published in March 1906. By the time a second score was published in November of the same year, the Scherzo now came second, and this is how it was premiered. In addition, the premiere had three hammer blows in the last movement, not the traditional two; that came later, too. Early in the interview Chailly admitted that he had copiously studied the scores owned by conductor Willem Mengelberg, who had known Mahler and who wrote down all sorts of things, including metronome markings (usually not in Mahler’s symphonies), that he slavishly followed for years. “But now,” Chailly says, “I am no longer such a slave to tradition.” Musicologist Reinhold Kubik of the Mahler Society mentions that when Mengelberg wrote to Alma Mahler about the order of the movements, she said that the Andante came second—and she stuck by that judgment even as late as 1957. Was she wrong? She did mention that he had conducted it that way in a city where he never played this work, but memory is a tricky thing, and the fact that she emphatically insisted that the Andante came second in letters written some 40 years apart should count for something.
Whatever your judgment of these decisions, there is no question that Chailly’s Sixth is simply mind-boggling. The first movement itself is taken at an Allegro that is certainly more energico than I’ve ever heard it before in my life. In a certain sense, this new, brisker tempo rather eliminates the feeling of jackboots marching that most other conductors bring out in it; rather, it sounds like the blind rush of a madman, interrupted by the calmer middle section.
But there is much more to Chailly’s Mahler than just faster tempos. There is a much stronger feeling of organic unity and structure in the music, a more songful legato line in each and every movement, and the playing of the Gewandhaus Orchestra is staggeringly beautiful and dramatically effective. Chailly seats the orchestra the way Mahler himself wanted it: first and second violins split left and right, cellos in the middle right behind them, other instruments spaced out so as to create the balances Mahler so carefully constructed. (Michael Gielen seated his orchestra the same way when he conducted Mahler in Cincinnati during the 1980s.) The “traditional” seating used by most orchestras, Kubik tells us, originated from that used by Leopold Stokowski when he conducted Mahler in America in the early-to-mid 20th century. And in the last movement, which runs 34 minutes, Chailly creates a world-within-a-world. His hammer blows are not just some bangy little hammer on an anvil, but a HUGE wooden mallet that looks like it needed Thor to handle it.
On the podium, Chailly presents the image of an excited schoolboy, jumping up and down, raising his arms and slicing his baton through the air like the drop of a guillotine. Perhaps it is a bit overdone, especially if you are accustomed (as I am) to watching such conductors as Kempe, Böhm, Toscanini, Gielen, and Ormandy conduct, but it doesn’t really seem like an affectation, either. Most of what he does is either in response to the music or in anticipation of how he wants the next attack or the next phrase to go. He is simply emotionally involved in each and every bar of the score, and he wants it just so. Considering the great results he gets, I can’t really find much fault with that. After all, he does ask all the principal wind players to stand up and take a bow at the end.
So often, for me, watching a conductor perform an orchestral concert is a bit like watching paint dry, unless you are a really big fan of conductor X and you want to study the way he moves on the podium, but in this case I found myself completely caught up in watching Chailly and the orchestra because they’re so deeply into what they are doing. In the trailer on this disc for his video of the Fourth Symphony, Chailly mentions that both he and the Gewandhaus Orchestra musicians have come to an understanding of how to best play Mahler: They get involved but always remain in control. “If you let Mahler control you,” he warns, “you’re heading for trouble.” In addition to all this, the high-resolution digital sound is as spectacular as Chailly’s interpretation, capturing the slightest rustle of harp strings and the sound of stays on the oboe with astounding clarity.
Looking at the trailers, there are also DVDs out of Chailly conducting the Second, Fourth, and Eighth Symphonies. The snippets I’ve heard of all of them sound amazing. I recommend looking for all of them, and also awaiting the rest of the series.
FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley
Mahler: Symphony No 6 / Haenchen, La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra
The ICA Classics Live series features performances from ICA’s own artists recorded in prestigious venues around the world. The majority of the recordings are enjoying their first commercial release.
MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 2
MAHLER: SYMPHONY NO. 2 IN C MI
Mahler: Symphony No. 8 / Chailly, Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Gustav Mahler’s 8th Symphony breaks the boundaries of the symphonic form in a world-embracing gesture. Riccardo Chailly is one of the staunchest performers of this work, and therefore it seemed appropriate in many ways that he chose this work for his inaugural concert as Claudio Abbado’s successor and new music director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. The artistic statement was combined with a deeply personal conviction: it should be a “tribute to Claudio,” the highly esteemed friend and colleague to whom Chailly, as he emphasizes, owes very much. On 12 August 2016, Claudio Abbado’s unfinished Mahler cycle with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra was completed in a breathtaking performance of the Mahler 8th, simultaneously heralding in a new era in Lucerne.
Mahler: Symphony No. 9
MARCO POLO / O.B.C.
Maria Stuarda
MARIA STUART
MARIE-ANTOINETTE
Marlowe: Doctor Faustus
Doctor Faustus is Christopher Marlowe’s most renowned and controversial work. Famous for being the first dramatized version of the Faustus tale, the play depicts the sinister aftermath of Faustus’s decision to sell his soul to the Devil’s henchman in exchange for power and knowledge. In the first-ever staging of this menacing drama at the Globe Theatre, Matthew Dunster’s production features Paul Hilton as the arrogant, power-hungry Faustus and Arthur Darvill as the sardonic Mephistopheles, and includes several impressive magical stunts along the way.
Review
"A triumph of spine-tingling spectacle. Director Matthew Dunster conjures in a way that would delight the Prince of Darkness himself." (The Spectator)
MARTHA ARGERICH BOX
Martin Y Soler: Il Burbero Di Buon Cuore / Rousset
Elena de la Merced; Veronique Gens; Cecilia Diaz; Saimir Pirgu; Juan Francisco Gatell; Luca Pisaroni; Carlos Chausson; Josep Miquel Ramón
Orquesta Titular del Teatro Real (Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid)/Christophe Rousset
Irina Brook, director
NTSC All Region; 16:9; SS 5.1/LPCM 2.0; Approx. 140 mins.
Subtitled in Italian, English, German, French & Spanish
Recorded in High Definition on November 14th-18th, 2007, Teatro Real, Madrid
Il Burbero di buon cuore is a dramma giocoso in two acts composed by Vicente Martín y Soler to a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, based on one of the most popular and amusing French comedies by Carlo Goldoni, Le bourru bienfaisant. The recording of Il Burbero di buon cuore confirms the collaboration between Dynamic and Teatro Real of Madrid (which started with the release of the double CD in World Premiere Recording La Conquista di Granata by Emilio Arrieta). This opera had been absent from Madrid’s stages since 1792. In October 1789, in fact, Mozart composed two “substitute arias” for this opera: Chi sa, chi sa qual sia KV 582 and Vado, ma dove? Oh Dei! KV 583, which, given their superior musical quality, have opportunely been inserted in this edition of the opera, sung by Véronique Gens. Soprano Véronique Gens appears also on Dynamic’s DVD Agrippina by Handel, which won the Record Academy Award 2007 in Japan in the category DVD opera. Director Irina Brook is the daughter of the famous British director Peter Brook, at her debut in Teatro Real. She sets the action in today’s times and mixes several styles and epochs, creating a very well lit and bright setting with a very effective result. The touch of classical and baroque expert Christophe Rousset perfectly enhances the music. The French conductor delivers a lesson of style extracting from the Symphonic Orchestra of Madrid a sweet and smooth sound ideally harmonized with the partitura.
R E V I E W:
MARTÍN Y SOLER Il burbero di buon cuore • Christophe Rousset, cond; Elena de la Merced ( Angelica ); Carlos Chausson ( Ferramondo ); Véronique Gens ( Madama Lucilla ); Salmir Pirgu ( Giocondo ); Cecilia Diáz ( Marina ); Juan Francisco Gatell ( Valerio ); Luca Pisaroni ( Dorval ); Josep Miquel Ramón ( Castagna ); Madrid Teatro Real O • DYNAMIC 33580 (2 DVDs: 140:00) Live: Madrid 11/2007
The plot to Il burbero di buon cuore was taken from a 1771 play by Goldoni, Le bourru bienfaisant . As with all of Goldoni’s mature comedies, stereotypes of commedia dell’arte and old Roman farce are humanized with vivid personal detail. Thus, the Bartolo-like antagonist, Ferramondo, isn’t a conventional blusterer, but a kindly, well-intentioned man who is easily irritated and possesses a hair-trigger temper. His niece, Angelica, is too frightened to do more than equivocate before her uncle. This, of course, only drives him quickly up a wall. The other figures surrounding them are similarly more than expected—such as Ferramondo’s nephew, emotive Giocondo, a master of bad financial decision making, who desperately tries to live up to his uncle’s standards; and Giocondo’s wife, Lucilla, a spendthrift who dearly loves her husband, and doesn’t realize the monetary hole they’re in. (Not for nothing is the opera described as a dramma giocoso , which is usually taken to mean a work that mixes buffo and semi-seria elements.) Even the servant, Castagna, is deftly characterized, an alert, ironical philosopher who lectures Giocondo on living within his means. Lorenzo Da Ponte, not surprisingly, creates a clever libretto out of this material, and Martín y Soler provides a thoughtful setting that starts simple—not unlike Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro —only to grow in technical complexity and expressive depth as matters become more complicated.
Speaking of Figaro brings to mind the friendly rivalry of the two composers on Viennese operatic stages, best known for Mozart’s wink at Martín y Soler’s success with a musical quote from Una cosa rara (1786) in Don Giovanni (1787). Mozart also wrote a pair of substitute arias for Louise Villeneuve, the original Lucilla, when Il burbero was revived in 1789. They’re used in this performance, though one could wish the originals had been offered as a purely audio alternative among the extras. (There are also some significant cuts here, including material relating to a sub-plot involving the placement of Angelica in a nunnery so that Giocondo can acquire her dowry.)
The time and setting have been changed in this production, and we find ourselves in modern times, in the lobby of a moderately shabby hotel, still showing signs of former quality—along with a broad ragbag of typical hotel bric-a-brac from the late 19th century on up to the present. Irina Brook’s direction makes excellent and understated use of the lobby layout and its many appropriate props, with characters working, relaxing, and eating—in short, engaging in activities one would expect to occur where they are, instead of being placed in empty, sterile environments where they can only sit and wait for their lines. To her credit, the actors’ movements and reactions seem both natural and inevitable.
But you have to watch out when you change an opera’s time and location. They’re tricky things. Even here, with so much being handled well, the act I finale is problematic. Why should Ferramondo and his chess partner, the placid Dorval, suddenly express horror followed by anger at finding a man they don’t know in Marina’s hotel? The answer lies in the original setting. Marina wasn’t a hotelier, but a housekeeper, and the house belonged to Ferramondo. To find an unknown man upon entering one’s own house—and with only unmarried women present!—would have caused any man of the period grave concern.
There’s a casting choice that causes minor problems of its own, as well. Luca Pisaroni is a young bass-baritone, not more than 25 by his looks, yet there are several references in the libretto to his advanced age. Whether he was first choice for Dorval or not, he sings well, and acts in a pleasant if generalized “situation comedy” manner that works. Given a choice between having him shown at his proper age or disguised to look 20 years older or more isn’t a contest, as such disguises rarely work in realistic settings.
Most of the rest of the cast is similarly strong. Both Pirgu and Gatell possess effective lyric tenors, with the former getting the lion’s share of the work. His act I aria, “Degli anni sui fiore,” seems meant for a slower tempo than the quick, prosaic one Rousset wished upon it, but Pirgu floats an attractive tone and displays a pleasing sense of phrasing. Gens and Merced are vocally and interpretatively excellent, with the patricianly tone of the former and the sweetness of the latter providing good contrast. Ramón’s bass is little tested by his secondary aria, but he does a fine job overall. The best acting and some of the strongest singing comes from Chausson. He plays the choleric but large-hearted Ferramondo with a focus and attention to details of characterization that would grace a quality production of a Sardou play; yet he doesn’t lack for the customary verbal agility and solid, resonant depth of a basso buffo . Only Diaz seems overparted, her intonation sometimes suspect, her tone gray except at the bottom of its range when it blossoms out magnificently. The Madrid SO is in fine shape, and aside from rushing three slower arias, Roussett conducts sympathetically and with a light, engaging touch.
The camerawork is good, focusing on elements of action rather than whoever is singing—so you really do get to view all of what’s going on at any given time. Sound is Dolby Digital 5.1, and Linear PCM 2.0. Subtitles are available in Italian, English, German, French, and Spanish. The video format is 16:9.
In short—with a few noted reservations—this is a fine cast in an unusually well-directed production of an entertaining, forgotten opera. It’s far above the standard cut of modern premieres for works of its period, and really could stand as an example of how to build a stage environment that works with singers and helps develop their characters instead of narrowing their actions. Do I think this represents the edge of a new trend? Not a chance. Do I think Il burbero di buon cuore is worth a viewing or several? Without question.
FANFARE: Barry Brenesal
Martin Y Soler: L'arbore Di Diana / Bicket, Workman, Davislim, Vinco, Aikin
Charles Workman, Steve Davislim, tenors; Marco Vinco, bass-baritone; Laura Aikin, Ainhoa Garmendia, sopranos; Michael Maniaci, countertenor; Marisa Martins, Jossie Perez, mezzo-sopranos; Liceu Grand Theatre Orchestra, Harry Bicket, conductor; Thomas MacManus, choreographer; Francisco Negrin, director.
Audio Format: LPCM 2.0 | Region Code: 0 | Format: NTSC, 16:9
Booklet: English, French, Italian, German | Subtitles: English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Catalan
Running Time: 148 minutes
Location: Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona | Recorded: October 7, 2009 Packaging: DVD Keep Case
L’arbore di Diana is a two-act opera buffa by the composer Vincent Martin y Soler with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, first performed in Vienna in 1787. Popular throughout Europe at that time, this comic pastorale includes a plot that centers on an apple tree with apples that mutate in the presence of chaste and wanton individuals in the goddess Diana’s garden, and an unhappy god of Love who schemes to destroy the apple tree. Diana’s Tree is a trove of flowing melodies and a feast for the eyes.
“…immersed in an unreal atmosphere that takes advantage of cutting edge technology and an intelligent use of lighting and sound, …[transposing] the fable and satire..to modern times..with genius, explaining the story without confusing it.” – Pablo Meléndez-Haddad, ABC, October 2009.
“…Francis Negrin’s work has managed to maintain the piece’s narrative and to underline its best comical moments.” – Roger Alier, La Vanguardia, Oct. 2009.
Martin, Moon, Rimsky-Korsakov & Tchaikovsky: The Secret Theatre / Scottish Ballet
In a deserted city, a young boy stumbles into a theatre. He wanders through the auditorium, where rows of velvet chairs, draping curtains and chandeliers seem to lie in lonely wait for audiences to return. The theatre may be empty, but the show will go on...
Starring characters from the most popular festive ballets, the worlds of the Snow Queen and the Sugar Plum Fairy collide when the theatre bursts into life. In this spectacular, feature-length film, you’ll be treated to an extraordinary show filled with acrobats, snowflakes, clowns, princes and – of course – beautiful ballerinas.
The Secret Theatre features the choreography of Scottish Ballet founder Peter Darrell and CEO/Artistic Director Christopher Hampson, co-directed for the screen by Jess & Morgs. Featuring set and costumes designed by Lez Brotherston, music by Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky recorded live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra - including a new additional composition by Frank Moon, and of course spectacular performances from the full Scottish Ballet Company.
Martinu: The Greek Passion
MARVIN SAPP: THE VERY BEST
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana - Leoncavallo: Pagliacci
Mascagni: Iris / Agiman, Pucciniana Philharmonic Orchestra
