Burkhard Fritz, Laurent Naouri, Brindley Sherratt, Mikhail Petrenko, Maija Kovalevska, Philippp Stoezl, and Kate Aldrich star in this Vienna State Opera/Vienna Philharmonic production of the Berlioz opera conducted by Valery Gergiev.

Goethe' Faust is one of the highest peaks of German Romantic poetry, and fascinated composers across Europe: Berlioz, Liszt and Gounod were just some of the many entranced by it's visionary power.

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Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung) is one of the most remarkable achievements in all music, and Siegfried, the third in the cycle, contains some of the greatest moments in Wagner’s entire output. Wagner conceived Siegfried as a heroic ‘man of the future,’ and his fantastical tale is one in which the human dramas of treachery and violent struggles for power become magnified in a world of gods, dragons and magic. The previous opera in this cycle, Die Walkure, was acclaimed in The Guardian as “thrillingly vivid… easily maintains the high standard and promise of Das Rheingold.” (Naxos NBD0049).

A work of great depth and eloquence, and the longest work in Brahms’s œuvre, A German Requiem inspiration from Bach’s contrapuntal genius but avoids overt religious tradition. Brahms chose the texts himself, placing an emphasis on an affirmation of life with the suggestion that he would gladly have substituted ‘human’ for ‘German’ in the title. This release joins Antoni Wit’s ‘richly satisfying’ (Gramophone) recording of Brahms Choral Music [8.572694].

Based on stories by Henri Merger but also infused with the composer’s own experiences as a penniless graduate, Puccini’s powerful opera La Boheme portrays its youthful characters’ romantic outlook on life and the brutally tragic end to their innocence. The story is set around 1930 but director Orpha Phelan sees Puccini’s characters as equally at home in our times: “their story is universal, all that is needed is to understand what it is like to be young and in love!” This Malmo production was acclaimed in the Svenska Dagbladet as “one of the most moving renditions of Puccini’s opera I have ever seen.” In this production, we are in Paris. The wonderfully romantic city, made for falling in love. “Anyone who has been in Paris in a slushy winter knows there is nothing especially romantic about it!” Orpha Phelan states. She does not want to idealize bohemian life. “Nor is there anything particularly romantic about choking to death… in a poor, ugly, cold neighborhood… In the opera this misery is enacted against such oh-so-beautiful music. It’s that contrast that makes the opera great.”

Pixel is a stunning contemporary dance performance for 11 dancers in a virtual and living visual environment. A work on illusion combining energy and poetry, fiction and technical achievement, minimal music and hip-hop. It opens a dialogue between the synthetic world of digital projection and the real bodies of dancers. Pixel appeals to fans of contemporary dance, urban and hip-hop moves, with elements of circus too. Artistic Director and choreograper Mourad Merzouki, together with his Compagnle Kafig has elevated hip-hop to the world stage. In doing so he has created a multicultural contemporary dance form which takes equal place with modern dance and other idioms of the genre. He has incorporated circus elements, martial arts, contemporary dance and puppetry, and brought in performers from Algeria, Brazil and Taiwan in order to develop his ideas. The music was composed by French composer Armand Amar won a Cesar award for his original soundtrack.

This is an audio-only (i.e., with no video content) Blu-ray disc playable only on Blu-ray players.

It is also available on standard CD.

Taken from two concert performances in January, 2015, this is the first installment of an entire Ring Cycle from the Hong Kong Philharmonic under Jaap van Zweden to be recorded by Naxos. It makes you hungry for the rest.

The recording is clean and clear, with no artificial anything. Van Zweden’s approach is closest in memory to Herbert von Karajan’s–intimate and chamber-like, a family drama that happens to be played out in magical, mythological terms. Also like Karajan, van Zweden takes his time (at 2 hours and 33 minutes, this is on the longish side) and offers seamless segues between scenes. When a solo instrument is featured in Wagner’s dense orchestration, it is given a spotlight, and beautiful moments are to be bathed in–the motif after the Rainbow Bridge is created and the singing that follows rarely have sounded so tuneful and lovely. The Hong Kong Philharmonic is not Berlin or Vienna or the Met, but it has nothing to fear–the playing throughout is smooth and handsome. The opening Rhine passage is dark but clear, the piling up of the gold in Scene IV is beautifully built, and the opera’s final moments are indeed the grandest, as they should be–one of the few instances when van Zweden pulls out all the stops.

The storytelling is at the fore; impeccable diction is the order of the day. As revolting as Alberich always is, we can actually hear the flirtatious playfulness in the opera’s opening moments until he realizes that he doesn’t have a chance. And from then on, he’s simply vile–Peter Sidhom sings with an audible sneer and a ringing top to the voice that we rarely get in this role. He’s a baritone with remarkable “face”.

The back and forth between the fine, unexaggerated Fricka of Michelle De Young and the remarkable, surprising Wotan of Matthias Goerne is natural and familiar, and Goerne is the surprise of the performance. His experience and expertise as a Lieder singer comes in very handy in this opera: his interacting with Loge and his cajoling of Mime and Alberich all are textually and dynamically right-on. The bottom of the voice sounds remarkably rich, and while the top notes are brighter than we normally hear, he has authority. One wonders, however, about his Walküre Wotan….

David Cangelosi’s slimy Mime is vivid and actually sung–note for note, and Kim Begley’s Loge is performed with wonderful detachment: he knows he’s smarter than anyone else. Deborah Humble’s Erda could have been darker-hued, but her attention to the text turns her scene into the “event” it should be. Anna Samuil’s Freia is much like every other soprano’s who sings the part: good at complaining and being afraid. Kwangchul Youn’s Fasolt is on a grand scale; Stephen Milling’s Fafner not so much. Froh, small part though it is, deserves a better profile than Charles Reid gives it, and the Donner of Oleksandr Pushniak begins his “Heda…” on an unsteady note but recovers quickly. The Rhinemaidens–Eri Nakamura, Aurhelia Varak, and Hermine Haselböck–are a terrific, articulate, tuneful trio...


First choice among Rheingolds is still the Decca, but Testament’s release of a 1955 Bayreuth performance with Hans Hotter is certainly in the running, and as a non-gimmicky performance, may even be better. But this new set gives a wonderful overall view of this opera, and at a remarkable price.

-- Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

Antonín Dvořák’s huge popularity in England was built largely on the success of his Stabat Mater, which hehad conducted there in 1884 and 1885. It was well suited to the country’s choral traditions and ledeventually to a commission for a Requiem, which was premièred in Birmingham in 1891. Written in tenmonths during tours to Russia, England and Germany, its success was immediate. Sitting closer to thetradition of Cherubini than Verdi, its tone is compassionate and reflective, devoid of unnecessary drama,and movingly crafted with great sophistication.

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

The second and final release in this series of Rossini's complete overtures. Works include L'Italiana in Algeri, La Cenerentola, among others. The Prague Sinfonia Orchestra is led by conductor Christian Benda.

MASS IN B MINOR DVDA

BOLCOM: Songs of Innocence and of Experience

SHOSTAKOVICH: Hamlet, Op. 116

Elgar's 3rd Symphony, commissioned by the BBC, was left unfinished in 1932. Anthony Payne's elaboration of the sketches into full-scale symphonic form realized the potential of Elgar's conception, bringing the rich fragments to life.

MOZART: Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 (Highlights)