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The contemporary face of The Royal Ballet is shown in works from three of today's leading choreographers. Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour is based around seven couples separating and intermingling, to music by Vivaldi and Ezio Bosso and lit with the rich colours suggested by sunset. In Flight Pattern, Crystal Pite combines Górecki's haunting “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” with a large dance ensemble to create a poignant and passionate reflection on migration. Between them, Medusa is new work inspired by the Greek myth, created for The Royal Ballet by the acclaimed choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, which juxtaposes Purcell arias with an electronic score by Olga Wojciechowska.

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The contemporary face of The Royal Ballet is shown in works from three of today's leading choreographers. Christopher Wheeldon's Within the Golden Hour is based around seven couples separating and intermingling, to music by Vivaldi and Ezio Bosso and lit with the rich colours suggested by sunset. In Flight Pattern, Crystal Pite combines Górecki's haunting “Symphony of Sorrowful Songs” with a large dance ensemble to create a poignant and passionate reflection on migration. Between them, Medusa is new work inspired by the Greek myth, created for The Royal Ballet by the acclaimed choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, which juxtaposes Purcell arias with an electronic score by Olga Wojciechowska.

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Also available on standard DVD

Mozart’s third venture into the “opera seria” genre, demolished its traditional boundaries to open the way to lyric drama. Blending youthful earnestness with mature mastery, Mozart uses - while profoundly changing - the elements of a genre based on arias that come one after another with no real concern for dramatic progression. The importance and expressive power of the choruses, influenced by the operatic reforms of Gluck, foreshadows The Magic Flute. Idomeneo is often regarded as Mozart’s first masterpiece for the opera house. After the fall of Troy, King Idomeneo can finally dream of returning to his homeland after a long absence, during which his son Idamante ensured the continuity of his reign and guarded Trojan prisoners, including Ilia, King Priam’s daughter. To escape from a terrible storm that is keeping him from reaching Crete, Idomeneo promises Neptune to sacrifice the first living being he encounters upon landing. Unfortunately, it is his own son who greets him in his native land. By offering her own life in exchange for that of Idamante, whom she loves and who loves her, Illia manages to get Neptune to yield and to deliver Idomeneo from his fateful vow. Robert Carsen’s “politically poetic staging” (Opera News), set in present-day Crete, features a first-rate cast including Eric Cutler as Idomeneo, David Portillo as Idamante, Anett Fritsch, as Ilia, Eleonora Buratto, as Elettra, and Benjamin Hulett as Arbace.

“A landmark production as women take charge,” (Evening Standard) In a reimagined 1590, society is a matriarchy. Baptista Minola is seeking to sell off her son Katherine to the highest bidder. Cue an explosive battle of the sexes in this electrically charged love story. Shakespeare’s fierce, energetic comedy of gender and materialism is turned on its head to offer a fresh perspective on its portrayal of hierarchy and power, directed by Justin Audibert. “Bonkers but… brilliant.” (The Sunday Times)

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Mozart’s Singspiel Die Zauberflöte seamlessly alternates seriousness and jollity, and combines philosophical ideas with a fairytale world of wondrous animals and magical musical instruments. Fusing music, technology and stagecraft, this exciting production gives Die Zauberflöte a refreshing treatment both thrilling and simple. Following overwhelming stage success, McBurney’s unique production received five-star reviews in the Dutch press: ‘a feast for the eyes and ears’ (Het Parool) and ‘Delicious!’ (Trouw) ‘‘...inventively staged...’’ (Daily Telegraph)

Running time: 156 minutes
Subtitles: English/German/French/Dutch/Japanese/Korean
Picture Format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

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The last days of the American icon Walt Disney form a powerful and poignant subject for Philip Glass's latest opera, which was filmed at its first performances in Madrid in January 2013. Phelim McDermott's spectacular production is worthy of Disney's own visual imagination and its definitive influence on American culture, while in the pit is the conductor Dennis Russell Davies, an experienced and authoritative champion of the composer's hypnotically beautiful music, which gives wings to Rudy Wurlitzer's operatic transformation of Peter Stephan Jungk's novel, using both fact and fiction to peer into Disney's troubled psyche as illness forces him to confront his mortality.

What the press said: ''...one of the crowning events of the past year's globe-trotting celebration of Mr. Glass's 75th birthday.'' The New York Times

Philip Glass
THE PERFECT AMERICAN
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Walt Disney – Christopher Purves
Roy – David Pittsinger
Dantine – Donald Kaasch
Hazel George – Janis Kelly
Lillian Disney – Marie McLaughlin
Sharon – Sarah Tynan
Diane – Nazan Fikret
Lucy / Josh – Rosie Lomas

The Improbable Skills Ensemble
Madrid Teatro Real Chorus and Orchestra
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor

Phelim McDermott, stage director

Recorded live from the Teatro Real, Madrid, February 2013

Bonus:
- Cast gallery

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

Classical Music

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This new release from Opus Arte is a live recording from the Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, taken in October of 2015, of the first ever professional UK staging of Donizetti’s Poliuto. This masterpiece is rarely performed, but is nevertheless a masterwork that shows the magnanimous genius of this bel canto opera composer. The exhilarating American tenor Michael Fabiano sings the role of Poliuto, and fellow world-class singers Ana Maria Martinez and Igor Golovatenko round out a spectacular cast. “Every now and then the world of opera unearths a forgotten masterpiece […] Poliuto needs at least three world-class singers, and Glyndebourne has them” (What’s on Stage) Extra features include “Passion & Faith: Preparing for a UK premiere” and “Love & Opression: An interview with Mariame Clement.”

Picture Format: 16:9, 1080p HD
Sound Formats: LPCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running Time: 117 mins, 15 mins (Bonus)

Written by John Gay in 1728, The Beggar's Opera is widely considered to be the first musical comedy, and one that pre-empted by about 300 years the current vogue for " jukebox " productions, which create a plot to fit around hit songs. Gay took some of the best-known tunes of his day, both classical and popular, and worked them into a savagely satirical tale set amongst London's thieves, pimps and prostitutes. Wildly popular from it's first performance, The Beggar's Opera has been the basis for numerous stage, musical and cinematic adaptations ever since. It explores a cynical world where capitalist greed, crime and social inequality are the norm. Robert Carsen's new take on this classic is indeed "A brilliant tour de force between baroque and modernity" (Liberation).

Internationally acclaimed choreographer Cathy Marston, previously Associate Artist of The Royal Ballet and Director of Bern Ballett, created The Cellist for The Royal Ballet in 2020. The inspiration for her first work for the Royal Opera House Main Stage is the momentous life and career of cellist Jacqueline du Pre - from her discovery of the cello and her celebrity as one of it's most extraordinary players, to her pain, frustration and struggle with multiple sclerosis. Composer Philip Feeney incorporates some of the most moving and powerful music for cello by Elgar, Beethoven, Faure, Mendelssohn, Piatti, Rachmaninoff and Schubert into an exquisite score that is itself an homage to the cello. Jerome Robbins' elegant and elegiac classic, Dances at a Gathering, is the other work in the programme.' pure dance for five couples, set to music by Chopin, is a masterpiece of subtlety and invention."

Internationally acclaimed choreographer Cathy Marston, previously Associate Artist of The Royal Ballet and Director of Bern Ballett, created The Cellist for The Royal Ballet in 2020. The inspiration for her first work for the Royal Opera House Main Stage is the momentous life and career of cellist Jacqueline du Pre - from her discovery of the cello and her celebrity as one of it's most extraordinary players, to her pain, frustration and struggle with multiple sclerosis. Composer Philip Feeney incorporates some of the most moving and powerful music for cello by Elgar, Beethoven, Faure, Mendelssohn, Piatti, Rachmaninoff and Schubert into an exquisite score that is itself an homage to the cello. Jerome Robbins' elegant and elegiac classic, Dances at a Gathering, is the other work in the programme.' pure dance for five couples, set to music by Chopin, is a masterpiece of subtlety and invention."

#N/A

"Simply the most compelling account of L'Orfeo yet produced...John Mark Ainsley is simply superb as Orfeo..." -- BBC Music Magazine

Claudio Monteverdi
L’ORFEO

Orfeo – John Mark Ainsley
Euridice – Juanita Lascarro
La Messagiera – Brigitte Balleys
Apollo / Pastore II – Russell Smythe
La Musica – David Cordier
La Speranza – Michael Chance
Caronte – Mario Luperi
Proserpina – Bernarda Fink
Plutone / Pastore IV – Dean Robinson
Pastore I / Eco – Jean-Paul Fouchécourt
Pastore III – Douglas Nasrawi
Ninfa – Suzie LeBlanc

Tragicomedia
Concerto Palatino
Stephen Stubbs, conductor

Pierre Audi, stage director
Michael Simon, set designer
Jorge Jara, costume designer
Jean Kalman, lighting designer

Recorded live at Het Muziektheater Amsterdam, July 1997

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch
Running time: 140 mins
No. of DVDs: 2

Tchaikovsky’s unforgettable score combines with the magical choreography inspired by Lev Ivanov in an atmosphere of fantasy and the supernatural. Hoffmann’s Christmas story unfolds with breathtaking splendour and beauty in the most festive and enduring of all ballets. The Royal Ballet, whose Director, Sir Anthony Dowell, plays Drosselmeyer, is joined by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.

Anthony Dowell, Alina Cojocaru, Ivan Putrov, Miyako Yoshida, Jonathan Cope The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Evgenii Svetlanov

FORMAT: NTSC; REGION 1 | PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9 | APPROX RUN TIME: 133 MINS | SOUND: DOLBY SURROUND / LPCM STEREO

Extra features include
• The Transformation Revealed Behind-the-scenes secrets of the spectacular Christmas tree scene
• Producer Sir Peter Wright on the production and Sir Anthony Dowell on the role of Herr Drosselmeyer
• Fixed wide shots of the Snowflakes and Transformation scenes

R E V I E W S:

‘...gorgeously staged Nutcracker.’ -- The Guardian

‘…fabulously entertaining. …a deliciously mysterious Herr Drosselmeyer played by Dowell. I plan on returning to this ‘Nutcracker’ many,many times.’ -- The San Francisco Chronicle

‘Peter Wright’s traditional production of The Nutcracker is lovely Christmas stuff, with lots of tutus and tiaras.’ -- The Mail on Sunday

‘Now you don’t have to leave the comfort of your armchair to enjoy one of the most magical productions of recent years whenever you wish – in pin-sharp widescreen with CD-quality Dolby Digital surround sound. …Needless to say, the dancers are top class, the costumes exquisite, the music delightful and the sets as sumptuous as a wedding cake. Enjoy the best that ballet has to offer from the best seat in the house – your own.’ -- HMV Choice

Chirstopher Purves, Tassis Christovannis, Dina Kuznetsova, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and Adriana Kucerova star in this Glyndebourne production of the Verdi opera conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

Verdi (1813 - 1901) AIDA

Norma Fantini, Marco Berti, Ildiko Komlosi, Mark Doss, Orlin Anastassov, Guido Jentjens
Symphony Orchestra and Choir of La Monnaie - De Munt
Kazushi Ono

Stage director Robert Wilson

Picture Format : 16:9 Anamorphic (widescreen)
Sound Formats: DTS Surround / LPCM Stereo
Region Code: All regions
Menu languages: English Subtitles: English/French/German/Spanish/Italian
Running Time: 159 mins

Cult director Robert Wilson's highly stylised and intensely dramatic staging brings a Zen-like tranquillity to Verdi's great opera concerning the conflict between individual aspiration, tradition and duty. His visually calm, yet emotionally taut, direction is emphasised by outstanding performances from the cast and the Symphony Orchestra and Choir of la Monnaie - De Munt under the commanding and inspired musical direction of Kazushi Ono. Recorded live at the Royal Opera House (La Monnaie/De Munt) in Brussels, this riveting and painstakingly beautiful production, reminiscent at times of Japanese Noh theatre, offers a new and thought-provoking experience of a masterpiece. Recorded in High Definition and true surround sound.

R E V I E W S

"Wilson’s production of Aida is one of his truly great creations - highly disciplined and utterly convincing. ...The Monnaie’s performance was superb... The outstanding cast had no weak links vocally." -- Phil Ward, Opera

"...the Hungarian mezzo Ildiko Komlosi is a sensational Amneris, a singer of the highest calibre and a born tragédienne. The rest of the cast is equally outstanding... Verdi’s score acquired a chamber-music quality and the subtle instrumental details were lovingly underlined. A stunning production, not to be missed." -- The Bulletin

"...Monnaie orchestra was in tip-top rip-roaring form, brass firm focussed and cutting edge, woodwind, specially the flutes, longbreathed and luminous, strings reaching to top and bottom of their ranges with exemplary certainty and clarity." -- John McCann, Opera

"Amneris is sung by the rivetingly powerful Hungarian mezzo Ildiko Komlosi... Norma Fantini’s vibrant, emotionally confused Aida is sheathed in white... Mr Wilson ... creates a sense of visual calm and continuum that has you looking at the stage as you might contemplate a painting. ... Under his subtle, emotionally taut direction, the singers, chorus and orchestra sounded magnificent." -- The Wall Street Journal Europe

A Pl�cido Domingo prot�g�, soprano Angel Blue has enjoyed recent opera house triumphs in Valencia and at English National Opera. + Following her acclaimed 2013 Wigmore Hall recital, this new Rosenblatt Recital studio recording, on which Ms. Blue is accompanied by noted pianist Iain Burnside, features songs by Richard Strauss, Sergei Rachmaninov, a selection of zarzuelas, and George Gershwin's classic Summertime. + In partnership with Opus Arte, this and other CD releases will be based predominantly on studio recordings with occasional bonus live tracks. + A native of California, Angel Joy Blue's voice has been recognized for it's shining and agile upper register, "smoky" mid-register, and beautiful timbre. + She has performed internationally and won numerous awards. + "At her first meeting with Placido Domingo, he told her that she "reminded him of some of his former colleagues" - sopranos he'd worked with in the past, such as the great Leontyne Price." (The Telegraph)

To mark 100 years since the First World War, the Royal Shakespeare Company chose to set this uncommon but apt pairing of two of The Bard's comedies in the era of the Great War. The first of the two is situated in the relatively carefree period a few months before the outbreak of conflict in 1914; the second just after it's end four years later. Although the jury is still out on whether the play more commonly known as Much Ado About Nothing was alternatively titled Love's Labour's Won in Shakespeare's time, the coupling of plays is unquestionably fitting. The characters may be different, but the earlier comedy leaves a number of threads dangling (or labors seemingly lost) at it's conclusion, and it is much the same tensions - interpersonal, philosophical or political - that are shown to exist between other, analogous characters, and that are finally resolved, in the later play. The exquisite acting, ingeniously composed music and accomplished directing of these complementary productions by the company and staff of the RSC bring Shakespeare's comic masterpieces together to create a result both coherent and un-missable.

Handel: Water Music - Recreating A Royal Spectacular

Talbot: The Winter's Tale

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Richard Wagner’s Tannhauser, a tale of the struggle between spiritual and profane love, and of redemption through love, is given a radical visual update in Sebastian Baumgarten’s controversial Bayreuth production. • Joep van Lieshout’s giant installation ‘The Technocrat’ dominates the stage, its industrial interior suggesting that Tannhäuser is in fact one big experiment. • Torsten Kerl interprets the title role, with Camilla Nylund in the role of Elisabeth. • ‘‘Camilla Nylund’s Elisabeth and Kwangchul Youn’s Landgraf deservedly received the most applause at the curtain calls.’’ (Bachtrack)

Richard Wagner
TANNHÄUSER

Hermann / Landgrave of Thuringia - Kwangchul Youn
Tannhäuser - Torsten Kerl
Wolfram von Eschenbach - Markus Eiche
Walther von der Vogelweide - Lothar Odinius
Biterolf - Thomas Jesatko
Heinrich der Schreiber - Stefan Heibach
Reinmar von Zweter - Rainer Zaun
Elisabeth / The Landgrave’s niece - Camilla Nylund
Venus - Michelle Breedt
A Young Shepherd - Katja Stuber

Bayreuth Festival Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Eberhard Friedrich)
Axel Kober, conductor

Sebastian Baumgarten, stage director
Joep van Lieshout, set designer
Nina von Mechow, costume designer
Franck Evin, lighting designer

Recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival, July 2014

Bonus:
- Interviews with Sebastian Baumgarten, Axel Kober, Eberhard Friedrich, Torsten Kerl and Camilla Nylund
- Short films
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Korean
Running time: 252 mins (opera) + 30 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 2 (BD 50)

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

Also available on Blu-ray

Gloriously affirming the Salzburg Festival’s long-standing reputation as a supreme musical event, this concert honours one of its founding fathers, Richard Strauss. Renée Fleming, Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra unite for a programme of song, opera and tone poem, genres central to the composer’s extraordinarily fruitful career. Fleming interprets four of his songs with orchestra, including the deeply moving Befreit, and provides a substantial taste of perhaps her finest operatic role, Arabella. New vistas then open as Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic take the spectacular mountain journey mapped by the composer in his titanic Alpine Symphony.

Richard Strauss:
Befreit, Op. 39, No. 4
Winterliebe, Op. 48, No. 5
Traum durch die Dämmerung, Op. 29, No. 1
Gesang der Apollopriesterin, Op. 33, No. 2
Arabella: Mein Elemer!
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64

Renée Fleming, soprano
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Christian Thielemann, conductor

Recorded live at the Salzburg Festival, August 2011

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format; LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 84 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

R E V I E W:

R. STRAUSS An Alpine Symphony. Befreit. Winterliebe. Traum durch die Dämmerung. Gesang der Apollopriesterin. Arabella: act I concluding scene • Christian Thielemann, cond; Renée Fleming (sop); Vienna PO • OPUS ARTE 7101 (Blu-ray: 84:00) Live: Salzburg 8/2011


Renée Fleming, Christian Thielemann, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra giving a Richard Straus concert at Salzburg would seem to be a no-brainer for Richard Strauss fans. Put it on your Blu-ray machine, turn off the lights, and surrender to Strauss’s beloved soprano voice and luscious orchestration. Fleming has stated that his music is ideal for her voice. And so it is. Strauss was seemingly addicted to the soprano voice, but you have to wonder if he ever heard an instrument like Fleming’s singing his music. Her rich, creamy tone blends so perfectly with Strauss’s lush orchestration that you have to forgive her when she sometimes tends to over-interpret these songs. Her lovely tone and wistful mood are perfect for the concluding scene from Arabella. Yes, she owns the part with a voice that is even more innately suited to this music than Kiri Te Kanawa’s. Gesang der Apollopriesterin is overwhelming in the hands of Fleming, Thielemann, and the Vienna Philharmonic. Despite sometimes seemingly getting lost in the sheer beauty of the sound of her voice as it relates to this music (who can blame her?), Befreit also shows why Fleming is a great Straussian. The magnificent Vienna Philharmonic plays an equal role in the songs, as it should.


For some, An Alpine Symphony will never be more than a monstrous exercise in musical megalomania (sometimes I wonder whether those critics are afraid to allow themselves to actually enjoy music, rather than view it as a painful academic exercise). After all, orchestration and melody are in many cases just as important as counterpoint and structure (which is not to say that Strauss could not write structurally sound music, even if he was not a symphonist). Anyway, Thielemann seems content to let the orchestra do its thing with just the right amount of control, and the video director discreetly gives us a helpful view of all the soloists within Strauss’s gigantic orchestra, especially the woodwinds. What a pleasure it is to hear the trumpets playing effortlessly without sounding annoying or inappropriately piercing through the instrumental fabric. And those trombone fanfares are stunning. Thielemann’s tempos are generally slow, but he presses forward in the climactic “At the Summit,” thus assuring that his interpretation does not bog down or sound over-indulgent. On the other hand, he slows too much to the point of micro-managing without enhancing the music’s atmosphere for the “Vision,” “Elegy,” and “Calm Before the Storm.” For Thielemann, the true climax appears to be “Sunset,” where he broadens the tempo and unleashes a torrent of luxurious sound. The organ is too subdued in the “Storm,” but blends nicely with the orchestra elsewhere.


The DTS surround sound is ideal for the Alpine Symphony, and the video direction shows plenty of detail without being choppy. My one quibble would be that you never get a complete view of the important percussion section. There are extreme close-ups of drum sticks (but not the timpanist) and the wind and thunder machines, but not the rest of the players. Subtitles are available in English, French, German, and Spanish. What more can I say? It is hard to imagine a better audio-visual feast for Straussians.


FANFARE: Arthur Lintgen

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Also available on standard DVD
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