2010's Mörbisch Lake Festival has brought an operetta classic to the stage. It has an unusually tragic plot for this genre but became a hit, largely though Richard Tauber’s association with the work. Here the Romanian tenor Tiberius Simu sings the role of the Zarewitsch.

Together with his fellow-Hungarian Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán (1882-1953) was one of the leading operetta composers of the first quarter of the 20th c. Following the success of his first operetta in 1908, the years 1912-26 brought him a string of four further and farther-reaching operetta successes, including 1915s Die Csárdásfürstin (The Gipsy Princess). This 2002 production from the Seefestspiele Moerbisch Austria Festival, celebrated as a reference performance, stars Vera Schoenenberg and Ferdinand von Bothmer as Sylva Varescu and Edwin Ronald respectively.

Carlo Ventre, Lise Lindstrom, Bruno Caproni, Markus Brueck, Abutjun Kotchinian, and Jacquelyn Wagner star in this world premiere Deutsche Oper Berlin production of the Franchetti opera conducted by Renato Palumbo.

Also available on Blu-ray

Giacomo Puccini
La Bohème
from the Palau de les Arts "Reina Sofía", Valencia

Directed by Riccardo Chailly
Staged by Davide Livermore

Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana
Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana
Escola Coral Veus Juntes de Quart de Poblet
Escolania de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats

Gal James (Mimì), Aquiles Machado (Rodolfo)
Carmen Romeu (Musetta), Massimo Cavalletti (Marcello)
Gianluca Buratto (Colline), Mattia Olivieri (Schaunard)
Matteo Peirone (Benoît)

The musical notes of this Puccini masterpiece provide the starting point and foundation for a new, highly successful collaboration between Riccardo Chailly and Davide Livermore. In their interpretation, there is "no moment, no movement, that goes against the musical meaning" (R. Chailly). The result is an energetic, authentic, and atmospherically strong Bohème, "in which every sacred phrase receives its own orchestral colour, its own dynamic and its own expression." (Corriere della Sera)

Bonus Film (20 min)
“The Making of La Bohème in Valencia”
(Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French)

Picture Format DVD: NTSC 16:9 Sound Formats DVD: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Original (Italian), English, German, French, Korean, Japanese
Running Time: 114:13 min
Number of Discs: 1

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

Also available on standard DVD

Giacomo Puccini
La Bohème
from the Palau de les Arts "Reina Sofía", Valencia

Directed by Riccardo Chailly
Staged by Davide Livermore

Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana
Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana
Escola Coral Veus Juntes de Quart de Poblet
Escolania de la Mare de Déu dels Desemparats

Gal James (Mimì), Aquiles Machado (Rodolfo)
Carmen Romeu (Musetta), Massimo Cavalletti (Marcello)
Gianluca Buratto (Colline), Mattia Olivieri (Schaunard)
Matteo Peirone (Benoît)

The musical notes of this Puccini masterpiece provide the starting point and foundation for a new, highly successful collaboration between Riccardo Chailly and Davide Livermore. In their interpretation, there is "no moment, no movement, that goes against the musical meaning" (R. Chailly). The result is an energetic, authentic, and atmospherically strong Bohème, "in which every sacred phrase receives its own orchestral colour, its own dynamic and its own expression." (Corriere della Sera)

Bonus Film (20 min)
“The Making of La Bohème in Valencia”
(Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French)

Picture Format Blu-ray: Full HD
Sound Formats Blu-ray: DTS HD Master Audio, PCM Stereo
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Original (Italian), English, German, French, Korean, Japanese
Running Time: 114:13 min
Number of Discs: 1

R E V I E W:

PUCCINI La bohème & • Riccardo Chailly, cond; Gal James (Mimì); Aquiles Machado (Rodolfo); Massimo Cavalletti (Marcello); Carmen Romeu (Musetta); Mattia Olivieri (Schaunard); Gianluca Buratto (Colline); Matteo Peirone (Benoit); Andrea Snarski (Alcindoro); Pablo Garcia López (Parpignol); Comunitat Valencia O; Ch of the Generalitat Valencia • ACCENTUS 10283 (Blu-ray: 114:13+20:00) Live: Valencia 2012

& The Making of La Bohème

All major opera houses need a production of Puccini’s ever popular La bohème. It provides almost guaranteed full houses, is not terribly difficult to cast, and is a staple of the operatic repertoire. Now, in conjunction with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Valencia has theirs, strictly traditional, with a visual thematic emphasis on the Impressionist masters of the era, Renoir, Van Gogh, Degas. Several paintings of this genre are projected onto the garret wall in act I, while they simultaneously appear on Marcello’s easel. Hopefully, the boys weren’t burning those in the stove for heat before Rodolfo’s play is sacrificed. It seems like all new productions of Bohème lately have attempted to outdo one another in the act II party scene in and around the Café Momus. This one comes with marching children, circus performers, ballet dancers, comedic waiters, and an overactive chorus reminiscent of the famous Zeffirelli style, all performed in front of a Van Gogh-inspired painting of the Paris skyline. It is very entertaining, if not a bit overwhelming to both Mimì and the video viewer.

The young cast seen here is quite good. Baby-faced Venezuelan tenor Aquiles Machado looks a bit like a young Andrea Bocelli with fatter cheeks, but he sings quite well in the role of Rodolfo. At times, Machado forces his high notes at double forte, but when he is singing more softly he is charming. I believe this is one of Machado’s signature roles, but even so, now and then his acting can be a bit sketchy. Young Israeli soprano Gal James makes a lovely Mimì and is quite the best voice on the set. Her famous act I aria, “Mi chiamano Mimì” (“They often call me Mimì but my real name is Mr. Earl.” Oops, sorry, that’s the Cadillacs) is a highlight, as is the duet with Rodolfo that follows. James brings enough pathos to the dying young seamstress in act IV to elicit tears, as we all secretly hope she will. Of the other bohemians, the Colline of Gianluca Buratto stands out, particularly in the coat aria in act IV. Carmen Romeu delivers a quite lovely Musetta’s waltz in the midst of all the gaiety in act II. All of the principal cast sings quite well, as do the chorus and the children. Maestro Riccardo Chailly takes firm control of the Comunitat Valencia orchestra and together they deliver a vigorous rendition of Puccini’s score. One quibble here: The sound is unbalanced, with the singers quite recessed, more noticeable in PCM stereo than in the surround format.

So, did we really need another video version of La bohème? Perhaps not. I make the number of competing video sets to be in the low 20s, with seven now on high definition Blu-ray disc, including this one. My own favorite is the Met production with Angela Gheorghiu and Ramón Vargas, where the singing is superior and we get the real Zeffirelli production. But there are many fine choices, now including this one where you can enjoy the Impressionistic tinting and the quite manic party scene. Recommended.

FANFARE: Bill White

Also available on Blu-ray

Verdi composed I masnadieri, based on a play by Schiller, for Her Majesty’s Theatre, the Haymarket, in London. It was premiered in 1847 and was his first non-Italian commission—an honor that had not been bestowed on his three great predecessors, Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti. It was his sixth opera in four years, appearing just four months after Macbeth. The opera starred Jenny Lind, known as “The Swedish Nightingale”, probably the most famous soprano in the world at the time, in the opera’s only female role. Verdi did not compose cadenzas for her two arias—she was known to devise her own—and the opera was well received, with Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, and the Duke of Wellington in attendance.

Despite it being chock-full of exciting, blood-boiling melodies and rhythms, with fine—if conventional—arias, duets, and ensembles, its initial success was never repeated, most likely due to its poor, and very depressing, libretto. Amalia, the Jenny Lind role, is a bore in every way except musically—all she does is complain and mourn—and the story is both a bummer and hard to relate to. The old Count Massimiliano Moor’s two sons are Carlo and Francesco: Carlo, the older, is courageous and intellectual (when we meet him in Act 1 he is quoting Plutarch!); Francesco is cruel and conniving. Carlo is away at university when he receives a letter purportedly from his father, which was actually written by the evil Francesco, telling him not to bother returning home. Furious, he convinces his fellow students to become bandits(!).

At home, Francesco has turned Massimiliano against Carlo and convinced an ally to claim that Carlo is dead so that he is now the heir apparent—there’s plenty of mustache twirling. Amalia, Carlo’s betrothed, is told that Carlo’s last wish was for her to marry Francesco. Massimiliano collapses and appears to be dead; when he is seen to be alive, Francesco hurls him into a dungeon. To make a long story short, Francesco is so evil and guilt-ridden that he dreams of the Last Judgment and asks a priest for forgiveness, which the priest denies; Carlo and his fellow thieves attack the castle; Carlo sets Massimiliano free, and Amalia is happy to see him but is miserable about him becoming a bandit and begs him to kill her, which he does, as Massimiliano watches and Carlo turns himself over to the authorities. When Francesco is last seen, he is railing against God. Huh? And the text itself, devised by librettist Andrea Maffei, is awkward and scans poorly.

This compilation of performances in March, 2012 from Naples’ San Carlo serves the music handsomely. Tenor Aquiles Machado, whom I’d previously seen only in a well-sung but warped production of Tales of Hoffmann from Bilbao, is a splendid Carlo. His voice has grown since then, and he sings with passion, strong, centered tone, freedom at all registers, and utter commitment. And if he tires in the last act, it may be Verdi’s fault—the role is long and difficult. He may not cut a particularly heroic figure, but Carlo is at least part intellectual, so it works.

Artur Rucinski, a singer new to me, is remarkable as Francesco, a true Verdi baritone role. He’s made to be lame—hunchbacked and stiff-legged—as if his inward appearance were visible, which is hardly a necessary addition. Rucinski carries it off well enough and his singing is vital and expressive. Lucrecia Garcia is a vocal find as Amalia. The voice is big, bright, and agile; she, on the other hand, seems to be performing by rote and without direction or any subtlety in her phrasing. She gets most of the trills and coloratura and rides over climaxes well, but she’s emotionally detached. Giacomo Prestia’s Massimiliano is nicely sung and well-acted; he is victimized and sympathetic. The cast’s other standout is the Priest of Dario Russo, a comprimario role that nonetheless shows off a fine voice.

Neither the stage direction by Gabriele Lavia nor Alessandro Camera’s sets are worthy of either the opera or the musical performance. The set looks something like a seriously ruined old home, with no roof, dirt and leaves all over the floor, and dangerous-looking planks of wood—sort of like a run-down neighborhood. What does that have to do with the aristocracy? Or robbers (“masnadieri”)? Andrea Viotti’s costumes also are anachronistic (anachronistic with everything else on stage as well, not only with the opera and its presumed settings), with the robbers in long leather coats, sunglasses, and red scarves, and women at Francesco’s castle in tutus with pointy punk haircuts. There is a huge backdrop of a skull that reads “freedom or death”, and for Amalia’s prayer, a huge wooden cross descends into the midst of this mess. The characters’ gestures are stock opera behavior, save for Francesco’s lameness. All entrances are made from the center rear of the stage. You get the impression that the director simply despised the opera.

Nicola Luisotti’s leadership is excellent, from the warm cello solo that is featured in the prelude, through the introspective moments, to the angry confrontations, and the chorus and orchestra shine throughout. Luisotti has a fine sense that this opera is neither one of the truly “early” works, like Oberto or Alzira, nor as sophisticated as, say, Ballo or Forza. It is a work filled with conventional forms, but imbued with the energy of a professional, rather than a brilliant, novice.

The verdict? Well, I suspect that another video version of this opera will not come along for a while, and musically it is more than worthwhile, so it gets my recommendation. Subtitles are in all major European languages plus Korean, Japanese, and Chinese.

-- Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com



Giuseppe Verdi
I MASNADIERI

Massimiliano – Giacomo Prestia
Carlo – Aquiles Machado
Francesco – Artur Rucinski
Amalia – Lucrecia Garcia
Arminio – Walter Omaggio
Moser – Dario Russo
Rolla – Massimiliano Chiarolla

San Carlo Theatre Ballet School
San Carlo Theater Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Salvatore Caputo)
Nicola Luisotti, conductor

Gabriele Lavia, set director
Alessandro Camera, set designer
Andrea Viotti, costume designer
Carlo Netti, lighting designer

Recorded live at the Teatro di San Carlo, Naples, 21, 25, 27, 29, 31 March 2012

Bonus:
- Introduction to I Masnadieri

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese
Running time: 124 mins (opera) + 11 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

Also available on Blu-ray

Barcelona’s prestigious Gran Teatre del Liceu presents Mozart’s beloved Singspiel in an elegant, dramaturgically twisted production with a sparkling cast of top-rank international stars headed by coloratura soprano Diana Damrau as Konstanze and rising star Olga Peretyatko as Blonde. Stage director Christof Loy has conjured up a thought-provoking and strikingly original scenario in which both Konstanze and Blonde are feeling respect, admiration and even profound love for their captors. The result is a tantalizing approach that overturns the traditional patterns of good and evil.

“Diana Damrau achieved a huge success at the Barcelona Liceu.” Opera News “Franz-Josef Selig, the best Osmin I have ever seen.” Opera News

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL

Selim – Christoph Quest
Konstanze – Diana Damrau
Blonde – Olga Peretyatko
Belmonte – Christoph Strehl
Pedrillo – Norbert Ernst
Osmin – Franz-Josef Selig

Liceu Grand Theatre Chorus and Orchestra
Ivor Bolton, conductor

Christof Loy, stage director
Herbert Murauer, set and costume designer
Olaf Winter, lighting designer

Recorded live at the Grand Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, 2011

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish, Catalan, Chinese, Korean
Running time: 188 mins
No. of DVDs: 2

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.

Starring Alessandro Corbelli, Giacomo Prestia, Marie Devellereau.

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

'- 2 DVDs | - All Regions | - NTSC | - Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS, PCM Stereo 2.0 | - Colour | - 16:9 | - 160 min.

Every operatic composer has a title that marks a turning point, one that raises him from being almost unknown to sudden fame. For B

VENICE, NEW YEAR'S CONCERT 200

BELLINI La sonnambula • Maurizio Benini, cond; Eglise Gutiérrez (Amina); Antonio Siragusa (Elvino); Simone Alaimo (Count Rodolfo); Sandra Pastrana (Lisa); Gabriella Colecchia (Teresa); Gabriele Nani (Alessio); Teatro Lirico di Cagliari O & Ch • DYNAMIC 55616 (Blu-ray: 141:00) Live: Cagliari 2008

For those of you who may hold the opinion that Vincenzo Bellini was rather a minor composer, you need to see and hear this opera, La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker), particularly the last 15 minutes or so. The music transcends the heavens, it surpasses anything written by Rossini, Donizetti, or even Verdi. Okay, I guess my enthusiasm is showing a bit, but I truly love this music, however it stacks up in the pantheon of consummate 19th-century Italian composers. The story is simple. The betrothed young village girl, Amina, is discovered in the bed of the local Count in his room at the village inn, he returning to his native environs for the first time in many years. Everyone is shocked, horrified, including the prospective groom, Elvino. Lisa, the young mistress of the inn, also smitten with Elvino, takes advantage to whisk the tenor hero away from his now disgraced intended. It turns out Amina sleepwalks, which the townsfolk and Elvino eventually discover, and after a ravishing double aria for the leading lady in the finale of act 2, all is set well again. The simple tale is charming and if you enjoy bel canto, it doesn’t get any better than this.

I was pleased to get this disc for review because I have been hearing the praises sung for young Cuban American coloratura Eglise Gutiérrez for a few years now, and have not had much opportunity to see or hear her. (She was the fairy godmother in Massenet’s Cendrillon, which I enjoyed, but that opera is hardly prime bel canto land.) I am here to report Gutiérrez is the real deal. Vocally she harkens back to the days of the true Bellini divas, to Giuditta Pasta and Maria Malibran. The young singer’s top range is incredible and solidly in place, everything is precisely on key, sung easily and cleanly. Vocal agility is excellent: Gutiérrez has not the slightest problem with Bellini’s pyrotechnics and she ornaments tastefully and often, like the best of bel canto songbirds. If her acting and stage presence are at times rather ordinary in this 2006 rendering, we should remember that La Sonnambula does not require the histrionics of a Tosca. The young soprano’s portrayal is very charming here, certainly a plus for the production.

Sets are kept simple and traditional, with rustic pastoral settings evoked by a grassy forestage and colorful painted backdrops. It is lovely to watch and far outshines its more famous Metropolitan Opera counterpart (to be seen again this April with Diana Damrau). The costumes, if anything, seem a bit too lavish and colorful for peasant wear, but sumptuous to the eye; I am not complaining. Staging is strictly traditional, as this little charmer of an opera almost necessarily requires. The visual realm is almost completely in service to the music here, and when La Sonnambula is performed in this fashion cannot fail to please even the most jaded opera goers.

Warning: now comes the caveat! Unfortunately, the tenor Elvino is disappointing. Antonio Siragusa sings well and with excellent pitch control, but has an annoying nasal vocal tone, especially when he pushes the voice, that quite spoils his part in the proceedings. It is something you can get used to when he sings alone, but next to the ravishing voice of Gutiérrez and the other fine voices on this set in duets and ensembles, it is continually noticeable and jarring. The Count Rodolfo is sung by veteran Simone Alaimo, who still brings plenty of rich baritone beauty to the role and just the right touch of innocent paternal concern for the beleaguered Amina. Another standout vocally is young Sandra Pastrana as Lisa, who also handles Bellini’s fioratura with delightful expertise and is a big asset to this production. Smaller roles are likewise filled with quite good singers, and the orchestra from the Teatro Lirico Cagliari gives us an impressive rendition of Bellini’s wonderful score. The chorus, a particularly integral part of La Sonnambula, also turns in a first-class performance. It really seems a shame to me that Gutiérrez could not have been paired with a tenor who could at least have gotten out of her way here, let alone the hopeless wish for a Juan Diego Flórez or Lawrence Brownlee in the role. If that had happened this would be a La Sonnambula for the ages; as it is, it’s still very good.

As is to be expected these days, the Dynamic Blu-ray is quite sharply detailed and in exceptionally vivid colors, with state of the art audio formats providing excellent sound. The only current Blu-ray competitor is a recent release to be found on the C Major label. I have not seen it, but soprano Jessica Pratt is also a rising young coloratura star and from what I have heard on YouTube, is very, very good as Amina. The tenor is also promising. Also worth your attention is the VAI DVD issue with Anna Moffo from 1956. Moffo doesn’t have a clue about bel canto style but her young voice is ravishing, the production charming, and she is very lovely to watch, even before her famous nose job. Check out what all the furor was about! The Mary Zimmerman-directed production from the Met has a great cast, but archly ridicules the original story while failing to make much sense itself. As for this disc, it could have been a world beater, but if you can get used to the nasal tenor, it is still very enjoyable. Recommended.

FANFARE: Bill White

• The inaugural broadcast of the Peabody and Emmy®-award winning series The Met Live in HD.
• The Magic Flute has delighted audiences of all ages for centuries. Julie Taymor’s dazzling English-language production brings one of Mozart’s greatest works to life as never before.
• James Levine leads a cast that includes Ying Huang as Pamina in her Met debut, Nathan Gunn, Matthew Polenzani, Erika Miklosa and Rene Papa.
• Taken from the December 30, 2006 live performance.
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1

She Stoops to Conquer, Oliver Goldsmith's classic comedy of manners, tells the clever schemes and comic ruses that unfold one night at a country house. An ambitious step-mother, impassioned sweethearts, a pragmatic father and a pair of star-crossed suitors are sent spinning through a hilarious comedy of errors by one of the great characters of the stage, Tony Lumpkin. In it's day, this eighteenth century masterpiece was considered so "low" that it might never have reached the stage. When it was finally produced, it enjoyed immediate and lasting success, breaking the mold with it's satirical swipe at polite society. Goldsmith made comedy funnier and more natural than the "sentimental" stuff of his contemporaries - yet his characters burst with warmth as well as great wit. Max Stafford-Clark, director, sets the story of the ultimate dysfunctional family in the hinterland of Lichfield. His triumphant production played to great acclaim at the National Theater and on tour.

Falstaff
Sir John Falstaff - Bryn Terfel
Ford - Roberto Frontali
Fenton - Kenneth Tarver
Dr Caius - Robin Leggate
Bardolph - Peter Hoare
Pistol - Gwynne Howell
Alice Ford - Barbara Frittoli
Nannetta - Desirée Rancatore
The Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House
Bernard Haitink, Conductor
Graham Vick, Stage Director

Il trovatore
Manrico - José Cura
Count di Luna - Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Leonora - Verónica Villarroel
Azucena - Yvonne Naef
Ferrando - Tómas Tómasson
Ines - Gweneth-Ann Jeffers
Old gypsy - Thomas Barnard
The Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House
Carlo Rizzi, Conductor
Elijah Moshinsky, Stage Director

Rigoletto
Duke of Mantua - Marcelo Alvarez
Matteo Borsa - Peter Auty
Count Ceprano - Graeme Broadbent
Countess Ceprano - Dervla Ramsay
Rigoletto - Paolo Gavanelli
Marullo - Quentin Hayes
Sparafucile - Eric Halfvarson
Gilda - Christine Schäfer
The Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House
Edward Downes, Conductor
David McVicar, Stage Director

Extras:
Each opera has an illustrated synopsis, various documentaries and interviews with members of the creative team

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound format: Dolby Surround / Dolby Stereo
Region code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English
Running time: 8 hours 15 minutes
No. of DVDs: 3

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

Also available on standard DVD



PERGOLESI Adriano in Siria. Livietta e Tracollo 1 • Ottavio Dantone, cond; Marina Comparato ( Adriano ); Lucia Cirillo ( Emirena ); Annamaria dell’Oste ( Farnaspe ); Nicole Heaston ( Sabina ); Stefano Ferrari ( Osroa ); Francesca Lombardi ( Aquilio ); 1 Monica Bacelli ( Livietta ); 1 Carlo Lepore ( Tracollo ); Accademia Bizantina • OPUS ARTE OA 1065D (2 DVDs); OA BD7098D (Blu-ray: 190:00 + 12:00) Live: Jesi 2010


Adriano in Siria is a Baroque opera and a prime example of the genre of opera seria , a stylized form that was to dominate Italian opera production for nearly the entire first half of the 18th century. Handel and Vivaldi both composed opera seria but were good enough musicians and smart enough theater professionals not to let the conventions rule them; they made numerous changes to the format to suit their own audiences. Adriano has a libretto by Pietro Metastasio, as many other operas of the period do. His poetry dominated the era and his librettos were set over and over again by many different composers. Adriano had been written only two years previously when Giovanni Batista Pergolesi set it for Naples in 1734, and it had already been set by two other composers and would be set by many more to follow. Pergolesi was from the town of Jesi in the Italian Marches near the Adriatic coast, but was sent to Naples as a boy to study at one of the music academies. When he graduated he was talented enough to find a patron there. His entire short career (he died at 26, it is thought from tuberculosis) was spent in the orbit of the then-dominant Naples music establishment. Pergolesi wrote eight surviving works for the stage as well as his well-known Stabat Mater and other sacred works. In 2010 the Pergolesi Spontini Foundation in Peri announced it would be helping to underwrite the production and video recording of all of Pergolesi’s operas and intermezzos, the first two of which are seen here. Interpolated between the three acts of Adriano is the short comedic intermezzo Livietta e Tracollo.


To say the libretto is by Metastasio is a bit misleading, since many of the arias were rewritten by local poets to suit the particular singers. In the case of Adriano, seven of the 27 musical numbers provided by Metastasio were jettisoned, and of those remaining, 10 were rewritten. The stars of the original production were the castrato Caffarelli and the soprano known as “La Droghierina,” both of whom later appeared with Handel in London. Two additional arias are cut here, which seems a bit odd if one reason for recording the work is to save it for posterity. A new critical edition of the score prepared by Dale E. Monson is used. The story involves the Roman Emperor Hadrian (yes, the same guy who built the wall in Great Britain to keep out the wild Scots from the north). He is in Antioch after defeating the Parthians and their king, Osroa. He holds captive Osroa’s daughter, Emirena, with whom he is falling in love. Farnaspe, a Parthian army leader and Emirena’s beloved, comes to plead for her release. To complicate the situation Adriano’s own intended, Sabina, shows up from Rome wondering what’s going on, and Osroa, the defeated king, is also present in disguise. After quite a bit more opera and many musical numbers, Adriano does the noble thing, pardoning all the Parthians, giving the king back his kingdom, and reuniting Farnaspe and Emirena, pledging his own love for Sabina.


This production from the small regional opera house in Jesi is quite charming. Although Pergolesi’a opera calls for six scene changes, there is only one set here, an open area surrounded by broken columns and fallen large building stones as if in the ruins of a great castle. Chains come down from above to form a cell door when a prison scene is needed. Of the four male roles three are taken here by women; only Osroa is a male, and unusually, a tenor King! All of the six young singers seen on the video sing exceptionally well in this music, though Pergolesi apparently doesn’t really challenge the singers in these roles like Mozart or Handel were wont to do. Annamaria dell’Oste, who plays the soldier Farnaspe, suffers from rather amateurish makeup and her costume does nothing to hide her rather voluptuous female curves. The acting is a bit stilted, as one would expect from young singers, and many of the arias are stand-and-deliver, but that is partly the nature of opera seria . The small Baroque pit band propels the action well but doesn’t show much flexibility in tempos to accommodate the singers; it just keeps chugging along. The intermezzo seen between acts of the main opera is quite charming as well. Two singers, including the only one here I’d ever heard of before, mezzo Monica Bacelli, drive the comedic action of this piece. It is not as good or funny as the only other intermezzo Pergolesi wrote, the famous La Serva Padrona , but it makes a refreshing break from the more serious opera.


Adriano is not really compelling drama; apparently most of the Italian patrons already knew the story, ignored the recitatives, and only paid attention when the most florid singing was occurring. Otherwise they chatted, ate, or played cards. Tough crowd. This production is, however, a fascinating glimpse of a genre long dead, performed and sung well in a setting not unlike one where it may have been performed nearly 300 years ago. It is much more compelling visually in the Blu-ray format. I enjoy it; you just might as well. Conductor Ottavio Dantone talks about the opera, the composer, and this production in the interesting bonus feature.


FANFARE: Bill White


------

Adriano Marina Comparato
Emirena Lucia Cirillo
Farnaspe Annamaria Dell’Oste
Sabina Nicole Heaston
Osroa Stefano Ferrari
Aquilio Tribuno Francesca Lombardi

Accademia Bizantina

Director Ignacio García
Conductor Ottavio Dantone

Recorded live from the Teatro Comunale Pergolesi, Jesi, 2010

Extra features:
Interview with Ottavio Dantone
Cast gallery

Duration: 188 mins
Regions: All regions
Picture Format: 1080i High Definition
Sound Type: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian

Melanie Diener, Roberto Sacca, Kresimir Strazanac, Lucio Gallo, Alfred Mugg, Sandra Trattnigg, and Christoph Strehl star in this Zurich Opera production of the Beethoven opera conducted by Bernard Haitink.

This very special release includes the legendary concert of the Original Three Tenors - José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, conducted by Zubin Mehta at the Terme di Caracalla, Rome 1990 on the eve of the Football World Cup in Italy, watched by 1.6 billion spectators worldwide. For the first time available on Blu-ray, digitally remastered! This edition includes the new documentary The Three Tenors - From Caracalla to the World featuring recent interviews with José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, Pavarotti‘s widow Nicoletta Mantovani, Lalo Shifrin, Brian Large, Mario Dradi, Paul Potts, Sir Bryn Terfel, Norman Lebrecht, Didier de Cottignies and many more. Previously unpublished backstage material shows the tenors unadorned and offers a fascinating insight into what takes place beyond the spotlight in Rome, 1990 and the sequel in Los Angeles, 1994. The film takes a completely new look at the concert legends. For the first time, they talk about José Carreras‘ struggles with leukemia, their rivalries and friendships, their spectacular contract poker and life as an opera star.

Directed by Hans Hulscher. Starring Heinz Kruse, Jeannine Altmeyer, Henk Smit.

Rachmaninov: The Miserly Knight

Also available on standard DVD

Leocadia Begbick - Jane Henschel
Fatty "the Bookkeeper" - Donald Kaasch
Trinity Moses - Willard White
Jenny Smith - Measha Brueggergosman
Jim Maclntyre - Michael König
O’Brien/Higgins - John Easterlin
Bank-Account Bill - Otto Katzameier
Alaska-Wolf Joe - Steven Humes

Conductor: Pablo Heras-Casado
Stage Direction : Alex Ollé, Carlus Padrissa – La Fura dels Baus

A hard-hitting new production of Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by the Catalan collective La Fura dels Baus at the Teatro Real de Madrid.

Composed in the 1930s by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, this is a mordant satire on capitalism and the inexorable industrialisation of a society in which the ultimate crime is not having money. In twenty scenes the authors tell the story of a city lost in the middle of a desert and run by three thugs; in Mahagonny food, sex, gambling and violence rule supreme.

The production by Alex Ollé and Carlus Padrissa, both of La Fura dels Baus, combines enormous inventiveness, joy and energy with awe-inspiring ferocity.

Perfect casting brings together a group of singers – Measha Brueggergosman, Michael König, Jane Henschel and Willard White – who are also marvellous actors.

The Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus are directed by young Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, who actually began his career at the Teatro Real. In November 2010, he received the “El Ojo Crítico” prize, awarded annually to Spain’s most outstanding artists in the classical music field.

Director: Andy Sommer
Length: 138 min
Subtitles: French / English / German / Spanish
Zones: All Zones - 1 disc

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

Also available on standard DVD

"I attended the premiere, fearful that the opera would be tawdry and terrible, that the work would make fun of Smith, who died in 2007 at 39. But it proved a weirdly inspired work: engrossing, entertaining and ultimately quite moving... Here is an unlikely holiday gift that should delight and fascinate anyone interested in contemporary opera and American popular culture." -- Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times [11/20/2012]

In a tragic-comic take on the extremes of celebrity culture, composer Mark Anthony Turnage, librettist Richard Thomas and director Richard Jones add Anna Nicole Smith to opera’s gallery of bad, sad girls. A pneumatic Playboy model who married an octogenarian billionaire, she achieved grotesque fame before her destitute, drugriddled death. With its jazz-coloured score and Eva-Maria Westbroek’s starry performance, this is, as the New York Times said: “an engrossing outrageous, entertaining and, ultimately deeply moving opera”.

"...It's a tremendous show...shocking it isn't; stunning it is!" The Independent

Anna Nicole – Eva-Maria Westbroek
Old Man Marshall – Alan Oke
The Lawyer Stern – Gerald Finley
Virgie – Susan Bickley
Cousin Shelley – Loré Lixenberg
Larry King – Peter Hoare
Aunt Kay – Rebecca de Pont Davies
Older Daniel – Dominic Rowntree
Blossom – Allison Cook
Doctor – Andrew Rees
Billy – Grant Doyle
Mayor – Wynne Evans

Royal Opera Chorus
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Antonio Pappano, conductor

Richard Jones, stage director

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, 23 & 26 February 2011.

Bonus:
- Cast Gallery
- Illustrated synopsis
- Behind the scenes feature including artist interviews

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 + DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: ca. 120 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

Also available on standard DVD

Starring Dimitra Theodossiou, Daniela Barcellona & Carlo Ventre. From the Macerata Festival, Italy, 2007. 2 DVDs. (165 min)

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

Also available on standard DVD

Benjamin Britten
PETER GRIMES

Peter Grimes – John Graham Hall
Boy – Francesco Malvuccio
Ellen Orford – Susan Gritton
Captain Balstrode – Christopher Purves
Auntie – Felicity Palmer
First Niece – Ida Falk Winland
Second Niece – Simona Mihai
Bob Boles – Peter Hoare
Swallow – Daniel Okulitch
Mrs. Sedley – Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Rev. Horace Adams – Christopher Gillett
Ned Keene – George von Bergen

Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Robin Ticciati, conductor

Richard Jones, stage director

Recorded live at the Teatro alla Scala, June 2012

Bonus:
- Interviews with cast and crew

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 168 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

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REVIEW:

Robin Ticciati brings transparency and detail to the score, director Richard Jones focuses on Grimes the outsider and the entire cast gives a magnificent performance.

– Gramophone