This release features five outstanding operas from Bregenz Festival’s amazing lake stage: Aida, Andrea Chenier, Die Zauberflote, Turandot, and Carmen. The reviews of these individual performances were gleaming. “Stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure up an open-air spectacle of superlatives.” (Die Zeit about Aida) “A gigantic set with iconic qualities- a masterly achievement.” (Die Welt about Andrea Chenier) “David Pountney finds stunning answers to the everlasting questions surrounding The Magic Flute.” (Der Togesspiegel about Die Zauberflote) “A bit of Hollywood in Bregenz: Melodies for millions, impressively staged grand opera.” (ZDF heute journal about Turandot) “… Kasper Holten’s production of Carmen on Es Devlin’s extraordinary set was a knockout…” (The Telegraph) Elisabeth Sobotka, the artistic director of the Bregenz Festival, sums it up by saying “Art doesn’t belong to a clique in society. Art is a jewel, a rich resource that must be made accessible to a large audience. See, and hear, for yourself… and enjoy the richness of the artistic offerings on the incomparable lake stage.”

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


Giuseppe Verdi
AIDA
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Set against the magnificent backdrop of Lake Constance, every production at the Bregenz Festival faces strong natural competitors. But with this first-ever production of Verdi’s “Aida” (in an abridged version) on the lakeside stage, it is easy to overlook the beauty of the surrounding nature. Stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure up an “open-air spectacle of superlatives” (Die Zeit) that throws a bridge between ancient Egypt and today’s U.S. The stage effects are stunning: ruins of the Statue of Liberty pieced together with the help of giant cranes, boats carrying priestesses and prisoners – parts of the opera even take place in the lake itself! And in the Grand March – one of the most famous marches in opera – a golden elephant comes sailing into view on a barge¿ Under Carlo Rizzi, the Wiener Symphoniker brilliantly support the chorus and soloists, among whom Iano Tamar (Amneris) and Tatiana Serjan (Aida) stand out. Drawing capacity crowds of over 200,000 spectators in just one season, “Aida” is the festival’s most successful opera to date, even more successful than the “Tosca” production, which has been immortalized in the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace”.

Il Re – Kevin Short
Amneris – Iano Tamar
Aida – Tatiana Serjan
Radamès – Rubens Pelizzari
Ramfis – Tigran Martirossian
Amonasro – Iain Paterson
Un messaggero – Ronald Samm
Una sacerdotessa – Elisabetta Martorana

Camerata Silesia
Polish Radio Choir, Krakow
Bregenz Festival Chorus
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Carlo Rizzi, conductor

Graham Vick, stage director
Paul Brown, stage and costume designer
Ron Howell, choreography
Wolfgang Göbbel, lighting designer

Recorded live from the Bregenz Festival, 22 and 24 July 2009.

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 135 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

Giuseppe Verdi
AIDA

Il Re – Kevin Short
Amneris – Iano Tamar
Aida – Tatiana Serjan
Radamès – Rubens Pelizzari
Ramfis – Tigran Martirossian
Amonasro – Iain Paterson
Un messaggero – Ronald Samm
Una sacerdotessa – Elisabetta Martorana

Camerata Silesia
Polish Radio Choir, Krakow
Bregenz Festival Chorus
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Carlo Rizzi, conductor

Graham Vick, stage director
Paul Brown, stage and costume designer
Ron Howell, choreography
Wolfgang Göbbel, lighting designer

Recorded live from the Bregenz Festival, 22 and 24 July 2009.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 135 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

R E V I E W:

At Bregenz one can expect spectacular productions – or at least conspicuous ones. I am talking about Opera on Lake Bodensee which takes place in July and August each year. It’s part of the Bregenz festival which provides a lavish offer of opera, theatre and concerts. The outdoor stage surrounded by water invites gigantic sets and the long distance to the grandstand on the shore requires amplifying equipment. I have seen some productions on DVD and also some stills. They are generally provocative, putting the characters in settings as far away from the original as can be imagined. Il trovatore a few years ago took place in an industrial landscape, possibly on an oil platform. This Aida goes even further. The water here isn’t ocean deep but allows the actors to wade, to swim, to fall in or splash, even to be drowned. During the prelude two lifeless bodies hanging on a wire attached to an enormous building crane, are slowly transported before the eyes of horrified onlookers until they are lowered down into a barge off the stage. In Trovatore fire was central to the proceedings; in Aida water has the same importance, the Nile being the life-blood of the Egyptians. There is a water ballet in the triumphal scene. The tomb episode takes place on a ship drifting among the waves. During the final duet the ship rises from the water and sails into the sky, leaving Amneris alone at the waters’ edge. A real amphibious opera.

Dominating the stage picture are two monstrously big, blue feet. Why are they there? Whatever the reason they appear to function as the firm foundation around which the action rotates, whether it be Aida, the slave girl, scrubbing the floor, Amneris in black dotted evening gown airing her human ‘dogs’ or high priests and soldiers invading the stage. There are activities aplenty with numerous extras just being there, costumes are a mix of modern and ancient. All this business tends to suffocate the central conflicts and it is typical of the performance that it is in the Nile scene – act III – that the action grabs the viewer by the throat; this is the first scene with no external distractions. In a way this is dramaturgically sensitive, since the first two acts primarily deal with festivities, while the core of the drama is the triangle Aida – Amonasro – Radames. This is an oversimplification of the plot. There are many strands in the libretto and Amneris – though basically an evil character but one who loves – is the hub around which everything rotates. In this performance it also becomes obvious why Verdi initially contemplated naming the opera Amneris.

Iano Tamar, the Georgian soprano who was also a great Leonora in Il Trovatore, is the star; her somewhat darkish timbre contrasting well with Tatiana Serjan’s girlish Aida. Tamar has authority and a thrilling lirico-spinto voice. In the first scene in act IV she is truly great. Serjan at first seems too lyrical for Aida, having a fluttery soubrette voice but it sits well with her youthful looks. Her Ritorna vincitor is however sung with intensity and in the third and fourth acts she grows in stature, no doubt inspired by Scottish baritone Iain Paterson’s powerful Amonasro. He is an unusually dangerous Ethiopian king. Rubens Pelizzari is a rather pale Radamès in the first two acts but like his Aida he grows and in the Nile duet he finds a glow that has eluded him before. O terra addio, though sung in a strange setting, is delivered with lyrical beauty and warmth by both artists. Tigran Martirossian is an acceptable Ramfis but Kevin Short’s King is terribly wobbly.

As so often with these Bregenz productions one ends up in two minds. They’re innovative for sure, and this Aida is no exception. One can marvel at ideas that suddenly illuminate the proceedings but just as often one thinks: ‘What’s the point of this?’ Carlo Rizzi keeps things together and draws splendid playing from the Wiener Symphoniker. The choral forces have no easy task to walk all those stairs and balance on wet slippery stones while keeping an eye on the conductor but they manage it well. Sound and pictures are good. Readers have to decide from my descriptions whether this is a DVD worth spending money on, but Iano Tamar’s glorious Amneris should definitely be seen and heard.

-- Göran Forsling, MusicWeb International

Verdi’s third opera was created at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan in 1842, in the epicentre of the “Risorgimento” and the capital of Italian nationalism, at a time where the supporters of Italian independence from Austrian occupation were starting to make their voices heard. The “Chorus of the Hebrew slaves,” a pivotal point in the third act where the Jews, exiled from Babylon by Nabuchodonosor, mourn their country, “so beautiful and lost,” immediately resonated with the Italian nationalists and has ever since been a symbol of Italian national identity. French director Arnaud Bernard goes as far as to center the entire opera during the popular uprisings of 1848 and in the insides of the Milanese opera house. A clever way to emphasize on the legends that have been building around Verdi’s operas and the role they played in the political process of uniting the Italian peninsula. Soprano Susanna Branchini steals the stage as Nabuchodonosor’s daughter Abigaille, while Israeli-born conductor Daniel Oren conducts with great panache this “lyrical epic” that holds such a special place in the heart of all Italians. As a film director, Ingmar Bergman was also a choreographer. His “invisible hand” is constantly directing the actor in a slow dance around the room. The renowned and innovative Swedish choreographers Alexander Ekman, Pär Isberg, Pontus Lidberg and Joakim Stephenson, with principal dancers Jenny Nilson, Nathalie Nordquist, Oscar Salomonsson and Nadja Sellrup from the Royal Swedish Ballet, interpret Ingmar Bergman through four unique dance performances reflecting on human relations and intense feelings. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Bergman’s birth, this movie is not only a tribute to the Swedish cineaste’s unique aesthetics, but also a way to deepen his search of the ineffable, his reflection on the visual poetry of movement, and on the emotional powers of silent contemplation. The movie won the Special Mention award at Golden Prague International Film Festival 2017 for exceptional artistic achievement.

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

Also available on standard DVD
Norma is considered not only Bellini’s masterpiece, but also one of the best 19th century operas tout court. Yet, its premiere at La Scala in 1831, three months from the beginning of its composition, was received with a coldness that surprised even Bellini. However, in the space of a few days Norma dispelled all doubts and started on a triumphant journey. This production was recorded at the Macerata Opera Festival, and features a superb cast. It was a particularly great success for Uruguayan soprano Maria Jose Siri, who performs the title role, and Italian mezzo Sonia Ganassi who is Adalgisa. “A perfect synthesis of cast, direction, sets, lighting, and costumes,” according to Italian critics. The aria “Casta diva” received a standing ovation.

This DVD box include some of the most operas popular Italian operas as Aida from Bregenz Festival, Madama Butterfly, Turandot staged by Chen Kaige, La Traviata and Rigoletto