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Also available on standard DVD

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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From the Queen of the Night’s vocal pyrotechnics to Papageno’s chirpy birdsongs, The Magic Flute is one of Mozart’s most charming and engaging operas. However, its fairytale surface conceals the mysteries of an initiation ritual and a multi-layered plot, packed with allegories to fire up the imagination. This celebrated production by artist William Kentridge joyfully bursts onto the stage of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, featuring the dazzling Russian coloratura Albina Shagimuratova as the Queen of the Night, and Italian bass Alex Esposito as Papageno, one of the most sought after artists of his generation.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE (Blu-ray Disc Version)

Sarastro – Günther Groissböck
Tamino – Saimir Pirgu
Queen of the Night – Albina Shagimuratova
Pamina – Genia Kühmeier
Papagena – Ailish Tynan
Papageno – Alex Esposito
Monostatos – Peter Bronder


Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Roland Böer, conductor

William Kentridge, stage director

Recorded live at La Teatro alla Scala, 20 March 2011

Bonus:
- Overview of The Magic Flute
- Illustrated synopsis

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Running time: 150 mins
No. of Discs: 1

Also available on Blu-ray



MOZART MOZART Die Zauberflöte • Roland Böer, cond; Saimir Pirgu (Tamino); Genia Kühmeier (Pamina); Alex Esposito (Papageno); Albina Shagimuratova (Queen of the Night); Günther Groissböck (Sarastro); Ailish Tynan (Papagena); Peter Bronder (Monostatos); La Scala O & Ch • OPUS ARTE OA 1066 D (DVD: 172:00); OA BD7099 D (Blu-ray: 172:00) Live: Milan 3–4/2011


This very Masonic opera pits the forces of Light—love, honesty, trust, reason, enthusiasm—against those of Darkness—lust, hatred, deception, fear, despair. William Kentridge in an interview included on this disc speaks of envisioning the original Masons in specific and the Enlightenment in general as part of a movement that brought “benign” colonialism to Africa, Asia, etc. He states that Die Zauberflöte is far less a matter of black-and-white sides when understood in this fashion, but instead of shades of gray. Fortunately, only some of this historically suspect interpretation actually finds its way into his production and set design. The result has its quirks, and some things definitely don’t work, but by and large it’s wildly creative and fun.


Multimedia has seldom been used so extensively in opera, so stylishly, or to such advantage. Kentridge essentially riffs on the idea of backlit projections as physical location, metaphor, and commentary, employing imagery drawn from turn-of-the-19th-century material. So when Tamino walks to a part of the stage, the words Tempel der Vernugt (Temple of Reason) are superimposed via projection; then he stands still, and the transparent gate of the stone edifice seems to pass over him. The second gate advances from the other side to silhouette itself on the first, a visual equivalent of the Prince’s compounded confusion. When Papageno’s music is first heard before his entrance, Tamino turns a projector/camera crank that throws on the back curtain a shadow image of a human who morphs briefly into a giant bird, and can pull birds out of thin air: Papageno, in other words, here depicted as something half-magical. Again, when Papageno and Monostatos cower on stage during their meeting, as each sings, the silhouetted image behind him is of the other looming over his huddled figure brandishing a weapon. I can’t praise such moments highly enough, and many others like them.


But I’m not convinced by Kentridge’s dressing up the Priest as an academician before a classroom chalkboard, showing geometric drawings—not when his discussion with Tamino is about love and virtue. Similarly, “In diesen heil’gen Hallen” doesn’t lend itself under any circumstances to backlit abstract geometric lines, equations, and a black-and-white silent film of a pair of pith-helmeted explorers viewing some previously unknown savannah. True, a bad king might speak such words as Schikaneder has written, while pursuing policies more along the lines of Belgium’s morally repulsive Leopold II; but no king could lie so convincingly to such music as Mozart has written. It’s a rule of opera (with very few exceptions) that music defines a character’s emotions, and Sarastro is all about benevolent, equalizing, all-embracing love, not logic and territorial invasion. The fit simply is wrong.


The static pictures that Kentridge often creates with his characters are necessary for the fluid animated line drawings à la Émile Cohl that loom over large portions of the stage. The performers’ acting is generally very good, though the singing is variable. Samir Pirgu offers a distinguished “Dies Bildnis,” but Ailish Tynan begins tremulously, with a few efforts at pitch that fail. Before the end of “Ich Vogelfanger bin ich ja” his voice settles down, revealing a thin but pleasant lyric baritone that turns harsh when pressed. Albina Shagimuratova is a lyric soprano Queen (and excels in this respect) rather than a stratospheric coloratura one, who manages the figurations of “Du wirst sie zu befreyen gehen” with slight uneasiness at the moderate speed Böer sets for her. Peter Bronder wobbles and barks his way through his part, but Genia Kühmeier delivers a beautifully refined “Ach ich fühls.” Günther Groissböck supplies a rock-solid bass and cantabile singing for Sarastro. I do feel his two arias go by too quickly under conductor Roland Böer, and are rendered prosaic as a result. This is as nothing compared to the music in the act I quintet that first introduces us to the Three Boys, however, which suddenly accelerates with a wrenching change of tempo, and rushes to its conclusion—as though people shouldn’t enjoy it. These are only a few of the changes to the score based as we are told on René Jacobs’s interpretation. There are noodling fortepiano chords between concert pieces and secco recitative at various times, such as at the conclusion of Tamino’s aria, and an entirely new section accompanying an overlong shadow play of Monostatos terrorizing Pamina. Since none of these alterations have ever been established as more than Jacobs’s personal preferences, however intelligent the source, it amounts to defining a new tradition every bit as arbitrary and in several instances anachronistic as any 19th-century one.


The camerawork by Patrizia Carmine is excellent, working obviously to second Kentridge’s design. Subtitles are furnished in English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian, with audio formats in Dolby Digital and DTS surround, and a visual format of 16:9 anamorphic.


I have my reservations, and some of them are strong. But for sheer visual exuberance and insight this Zauberflöte trumps the rest. I only wish Kentridge the stage director with an Idea didn’t get in the way of Kentridge the imaginative artist, but there’s so much of the latter that I’m more than willing to forgive the former. Strongly recommended.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal


Sarastro – Günther Groissböck
Tamino – Saimir Pirgu
Queen of the Night – Albina Shagimuratova
Pamina – Genia Kühmeier
Papagena – Ailish Tynan
Papageno – Alex Esposito
Monostatos – Peter Bronder


Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Roland Böer, conductor

William Kentridge, stage director

Recorded live at La Teatro alla Scala, 20 March 2011

Bonus:
- Overview of The Magic Flute
- Illustrated synopsis

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Running time: 150 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

An attractive looking production, very traditional but lively and detailed in cloak swirling commedia dell’arte style, in Mozart-era costume and massive neo-Classical sets.
Out of the old school, is Muti’s conducting, …reasonably brisk and dramatically effective. As such, though it’s not my favourite reading, I very much enjoyed it.

We’re lucky to have Sir Thomas Allen’s Don, though a decade after his Glyndebourne triumph in the role. His acting is more youthful and psychotically magnetic than in James Conlon’s Cologne recording. ‘La ci darem la mano’…an unsettling mix of seduction and stalking. Francisco Araiza is an ardently Italianate Ortavio. Ann Murray is…Donna Elvira, imperious and touching. Suzanne Mentzer’s sparkling but vulnerable Zerlina, convincing in her rapport with Natale de Carolis’s light-voiced…Mavetto. The chorus work a lot harder than they sometimes do at La Scala, to good effect. All told, this staging is much richer than Michael Hampe’s worthy but rather drab incarnations for Karajan and Conlon. At mid-price this is very appealing.’

- Gramophone

Daniela Dessi and Delores Ziegler lead the cast in Mozart's brilliant and witty opera, as the two women whose faithfulness in the face of romantic love is ruthlessly tested in Da Ponte's comic tale. Mozart lavishes some of the finest music ever written on the unfolding story of the two sisters' chaotic and fickle love affairs with their two Italian army officers.

Fiordiligi: Daniela Dessi | Dorabella: Delores Ziegler | Guglielmo: Alessandro Corbelli | Ferrando: Jozef Kundlak | Despina: Adelina Scarabelli | Don Alfonso| Claudio Desderi

Orchestra & Chorus of Teatro alla Scala, Conductor Riccardo Muti

Part six of this mid-price collection, this DVD includes a 32 page booklet with full libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

ALL REGIONS
SUBTITLES: ENGLISH
Running time 186 mins
Picture format 4:3
Sound format Dolby Stereo

Federico Moreno Torroba - LUISA FERNANDA

Vidal Hernando - Plácido Domingo
Luisa Fernanda - Nancy Herrera
Javier Moreno - José Bros
Duchess Carolina - Mariola Cantarero
Mariana - Raquel Pierotti
Aníbal - Javier Ferrer
Rosita - Sabina Puértolas
Don Florito Fernández - José Antonio Ferrer
Don Luís Nogales - Federico Gallar
Bizco Porras - David Rubiera

Chorus & Orchestra of the Teatro Real
(Madrid Symphony Orchestra & Chorus)
Jesús López Cobos, Conductor

Emilio Sagi, Stage Director

Recorded live at the Teatro Real, Madrid in July 2006

Bonus Material:
Interviews with Plácido Domingo, Emilio Sagi and Jesús López Cobos / Illustrated Synopsis / Cast Gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound format: DTS Surround / LPCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 105 minutes
No. of DVDs: 1

* Plácido Domingo heads an internationally renowned cast in Emilio Sagi's stylish new production for Madrid's Teatro Real of Moreno Torroba's enduring Zarzuela, whose story itself is set in the Spanish capital. Filmed using High Definition cameras and recorded in true surround sound. Jesus Lopez Cobos conducts the Chorus & Orchestra of the Teatro Real.

R E V I E W S

"The production at the Teatro Real in Madrid was a top-of-the- range version… Vidal is a peach of a role for Domingo: his voice easily commands its baritone range and he dominates the action, convincingly heroic in voice and figure and still able to project a greying virility in the style of Sean Connery. Nancy Herrara as Luisa and Jose Bros as Javier gave fine support." -- The Independent

"Luisa Fernanda is a fantastic addition to Opus Arte’s already very impressive catalog of classical releases. Aside from the small lighting issue, which I addressed in my technical analysis, this is just about a perfect disc. I am definitely looking forward to more Spanish music being released on Blu-ray. I hope Manuel de Falla isn’t too far behind. Very Highly Recommended." -- Dr Svet Atanasov, Blu-ray.com [April 2009]

"Luisa Fernanda deserves to be better known and appreciated. Hopefully this excellent BD performance will help foster that appreciation. Beautifully played and sung, and with a striking physical production, this is zarzuela at its finest. Highly recommended." -- Jeffrey Kauffman, DVD Talk [June 2009]

Also available on Blu-ray

Monteverdi’s seminal first opera tells the dramatic story from Ovid’s Metamorphoses of the descent of Orfeo (Georg Nigl) into the underworld to recover his beloved wife Euridice (Roberta Invernizzi), who has died from a snake bite. In a new production for La Scala, based on a painting by Titian and directed by Robert Wilson, the opera receives a powerful and inspiring performance from a fine cast, the Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala and Concerto Italiano under the much-admired Italian early music specialist, Rinaldo Alessandrini.

Claudio Monteverdi
L'ORFEO

Orfeo – Georg Nigl
Euridice / Eco – Roberta Invernizzi
Messaggera / Speranza – Sara Mingardo
Caronte – Luigi De Donato
Proserpina – Raffaella Milanesi
Plutone – Giovanni Battista Parodi
Apollo – Furio Zanasi

Concerto Italiano
Milan La Scala Orchestra
Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor

Robert Wilson, stage director
Jacques Reynaud, costume designer
A J Weissbard, lighting designer
Recorded live at La Teatro alla Scala, 21 and 23 December 2009.
Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Illustrated Synopsis

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound format: PCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 116 mins
No. of DVDs: 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



MONTEVERDI L’Orfeo • Rinaldo Alessandrini, cond; Georg Nigl ( Orfeo ); Roberta Invernizzi ( Euridice/Musica/Eco ); Sara Mingardo ( Messagerra/Speranza ); Luigi de Donato ( Caronte ); Raffaelaa Milanesi ( Proserpina ); Giovanni Battista Parodi ( Plutone ); Furio Zanasi ( Apollo ); Nicola Strada (dancer); La Scala O & Ch • OPUS ARTE OA BD7080D (Blu-ray: 121:35) Live: La Scala 9/21, 23/2009


This La Scala production of what the booklet notes rightly call “the first great opera” seems in most respects an attempt to evoke the work’s 1607 premiere, in terms of music and staging. According to Tim Carter’s fine notes, L’Orfeo was apparently meant to be performed by a small cast of singers, doubling roles and participating in the choral numbers. The pit orchestra, although it featured cornets, trombones, other wind instruments, and a large continuo contingent, employed a limited string ensemble, and so it goes here. Of course, we can’t know what the original staging was really like, but even in this department La Scala is nodding toward the work’s origins, with the singers dressed in costumes of Monteverdi’s time (rather than the garb of ancient Greece), and stage director (and set and lighting director) Robert Wilson creating a ceremonial, even static atmosphere. Frankly, this looks exactly like a typical Wilson production rather than some evocation of the early 17th-century stage. Wilson, here and in the past, has been more interested in tableaux and the purity of motion than in character- or plot-motivated action. This works reasonably well initially, but the second half of L’Orfeo devolves into face-the-audience, stand-and-deliver tedium, each character in physical isolation from the others. There may be some psychological justification for this, but the concept is far more effective in the abstract than in practice. One other detail that may strike contemporary viewers as odd: With the heavy, pale greasepaint on their faces, Orfeo and his shepherd friends from a distance all look distractingly like the android Data on Star Trek: The Next Generation.


Musically, though, this production can hardly be faulted. Start with the opening Toccata; conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini draws a real snarl from the orchestra, making the music sound primitive and ritualistic, more ancient Greek than Italian Baroque. Later, his ritornelli can be quite fast, but they’re treated as transitions between vocal segments; nobody is trying to dance to them. (There is one dancer on stage, strutting about in feathers and a Venetian bird mask, but his purpose beyond linking to the art and culture of Monteverdi’s time is inscrutable.)


German baritone Georg Nigl takes the title role, with only a few ardent outbursts interrupting his sweet, disconsolate, and quite lovely singing. He is well partnered by Roberta Invernizzi and Sara Mingardo in their multiple roles, and by the secondary vocalists. The singing is, for the most part, period-appropriate but never dry.


The DTS-HD 5.1 audio track brings clarity, tonal beauty, and precise imaging to the orchestra, and serves the singers well, too, although with little sense of depth. Video director Emanuele Garofalo does a good job of offering enough well-chosen shots to overcome stage director Wilson’s stasis without negating Wilson’s intentions. The Blu-ray picture quality is fine, maintaining clarity in a production that, in terms of color, is intentionally drab. Note that the disc’s total time includes seven minutes of curtain calls and end credits; there’s also a four-minute illustrated synopsis, but aside from cast information, no other extra features.


FANFARE: James Reel


Claudio Monteverdi
L'ORFEO

Orfeo – Georg Nigl
Euridice / Eco – Roberta Invernizzi
Messaggera / Speranza – Sara Mingardo
Caronte – Luigi De Donato
Proserpina – Raffaella Milanesi
Plutone – Giovanni Battista Parodi
Apollo – Furio Zanasi

Concerto Italiano
Milan La Scala Orchestra
Rinaldo Alessandrini, conductor

Robert Wilson, stage director
Jacques Reynaud, costume designer
A J Weissbard, lighting designer
Recorded live at La Teatro alla Scala, 21 and 23 December 2009.
Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Illustrated Synopsis

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: PCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 116 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

"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

Also available on Blu-ray

Claudio Monteverdi
L’INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA

Poppea – Miah Persson
Nerone – Sarah Connolly
Ottone – Jordi Domènech
Seneca – Franz-Josef Selig
Ottavia – Maite Beaumont
Drusilla – Ruth Rosique
Arnalta / Ottavia’s Nurse – Dominique Visse
Lucan – Guy de Mey
Valletto – William Berger
Damigella / Virtue – Judith van Wanroij
Liberto – Francisco Vas
Lictor – Josep Miquel Ramón
Fortune / Pallas Athene / Venus – Marisa Martins
Cupid – Olatz Saitua Iribar
Mercury – Josep Miquel Ramón
Praetorian soldiers – Guy de Mey / Francisco Vas

Baroque Orchestra of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Harry Bicket, conductor

David Alden, stage director
Paul Steinberg, set designer
Buki Shiff, costume designer
Pat Collins, lighting designer

Recorded live at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, February 2009

Bonus:
- Illustrated Synopsis
- Cast Gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: Dolby Digital 2.0 & 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Catalan
Running time: 183 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

R E V I E W:

"It is interesting that in the recent history of opera, works from the 17th and 18th centuries have become familiar fare, and it is difficult to believe that this is the first time that L' Incoronazione di Poppea has been presented at the Liceu, 366 years after its premiere in Venice.

For this, its first production of a Monteverdi opera, the Liceu has chosen one of the most interesting stage directors of the present day, particularly in the baroque repertoire. I am referring to David Alden, whose works were presented so frequently in Munich during the time of Sir Peter Jonas.

This production is not a new work, since it was premiered in Cardiff in 1997, has been revived on numerous occasions in Munich and has also been seen at the Palais Garnier in Paris. David Alden knows how to play with the sensuality and the humour of the opera, and directs actors magnificently. With imagination, spectacular lighting and careful direction, Alden was able to present Poppea’s scenes with an outstanding sensuality and eroticism. The costumes are very bright and colourful, emphasizing the figure of Poppea, making her into a real movie star. The production could have seemed iconoclastic, but in my opinion was not.

The magnificent libretto of Gian Francesco Busenello (combined with the music of Monteverdi) gives us several comic roles (the Nurse, Arnalta, Drusilla, Valletto and the Damigella) and Alden emphasises the humour of all of them. More debatable is Alden’s interpretation of the three Goddesses, especially Amor, as belonging to the comic cast. However, in other ways Alden is very respectful towards the music and there is no sign of provocation in his treatment of the great arias for Ottavia nor in the duets of Poppea and Nero.

Harry Bicket was in charge of the musical direction. He is a specialist in this type of music and he gave a good performance, particularly in the more intimate passages. He gave very good support to the singers, although the intensity was not always at the same level, and lacked a little spark in the comic pages. The reduced Liceu’s Baroque Orchestra, gave a good performance under his direction. The large cast demanded by this opera worked very well, without low points and with some extraordinary contributions.

It is difficult to imagine a more credible and convincing Poppea than the Swedish soprano Miah Persson. Her beauty, outstanding figure, her acting abilities and her beautiful voice, together with her great expressiveness, make her the Poppea of one’s dreams. It did not seem at all strange to me that Nero fell in love with her. After offering a splendid performance, she was wonderful in the final duet “Pur ti miro, pur ti godo”, a page that it is not Monteverdi’s.

This was one of the best performances I have seen from [Sarah Connolly], as she was very credible on stage and sang wonderfully, and was an outstanding Nero.

Maite Beaumont was a magnificent Ottavia, difficult to surpass. She sang her two great scenes, the sorrowful “Disprezzata Regina” and “Addio, Rome” in a spectacular way. Ms Beaumont is another singer who is outstanding in this repertoire, which is very well adapted to her vocal characteristics.

Drusilla, Poppea’s servant (or her friend in this production) was interpreted by Ruth Rosique, who was quite good. Her voice is well suited to the role and she is also a good actress.

Franz-Josef Selig brought nobility and the necessary stoicism to Séneca, singing the part with a voice very well suited to the character. Countertenor Dominique Visse doubled as the Nurse and Arnalta and was a superb comedian...his stage presence was wonderful."

-- José M. Irurzun, MusicWeb International
Reviewing live performance of this production

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

Also available on standard DVD

In the melting pot of Venice, trade is God. With its ships plying the globe, the city opens its arms to all – as long as they come prepared to do business and there is profit to be made.

When the gold is flowing, all is well – but when a contract between Bassanio and Shylock is broken, simmering racial tensions boil over.

A wronged father, and despised outsider, Shylock looks to exact the ultimate price for a deal sealed in blood.

Running time: 152 minutes
Subtitles: EN
Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

Also available on Blu-ray

In the melting pot of Venice, trade is God. With its ships plying the globe, the city opens its arms to all – as long as they come prepared to do business and there is profit to be made. When the gold is flowing, all is well – but when a contract between Bassanio and Shylock is broken, simmering racial tensions boil over. A wronged father, and despised outsider, Shylock looks to exact the ultimate price for a deal sealed in blood.

Running time: 152 minutes
Subtitles: EN
Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

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

Pietro Mascagni
CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA

Santuzza – Violeta Urmana
Turiddu – Vincenzo La Scola
Lola – Dragana Jugovic
Mamma Lucia – Viorica Cortez
Alfio – Marco di Felice

Ruggero Leoncavallo
PAGLIACCI

Canio – Vladimir Galouzine
Nedda – María Bayo
Tonio – Carlo Guelfi
Beppe – Antonio Gandía
Silvio – Ángel Ódena

Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Madrid
Jesús López Cobos, conductor

Giancarlo del Monaco, stage director

Recorded live at the Teatro Real, Madrid, in February and March 2007.

Bonus:
- Interviews with Giancarlo del Monaco, Jesús López Cobos, Violeta Urmana, Vincenzo La Scola, Vladimir Galouzine and María Bayo.
- Cast gallery.

Picture format: 1080i High Definition, NTSC 16:9 Sound format: PCM 2.0 and 5.0
Region code: 0 (all regions)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
Menu Language: English
Running time: 201 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray BD50 disc)

Also available on standard DVD

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

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

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

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

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

Extra features:
Cast gallery
Famous Speeches

Format: blu-ray
Duration: 167 mins
Catalog Number: OA BD7071 D
Regions: All regions
Picture Format: 1080i High Definition / 16:9
Sound Type: 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: EN (in Shakespearean English)

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

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

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