Erwin Schrott

Staged by Calixto Bieito.

Fantastic cast with Roberto Alagna, Erwin Schrott, Marina Poplavskaya, Béatrice Uria-Monzon.

This prestigious 2011 production from the Gran Teatre del Liceu was staged by the world famous and highly controversial stage director Calixto Bieito, admired for his raw and evocative stagings.

Running Time Total: 155 minutes

DVD: DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo

Arthaus presents an impressive staging of one of Rossini’s opera masterpieces. This production, staged by La Scala Milan is conducted by Riccardo Muti. Moïse et Pharaon - Rossini’s re-adaptation of the story of Moses in Egypt - emphasizes the dramatic moments of the biblical account beautifully and also demonstrates the composer‘s mastery of the French tradition: solos and choral work are superb compositions, the duets are expressive and touching. Including an extensive ballet scene at the beginning of Act III and featuring a preeminent international cast of singer-actors – Erwin Schrott, Barbara Frittoli, Sonia Ganassi - this recording brings a Rossini experience of the highest rank onto the screen.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: 2 x DVD 9, NTSC

Subtitle Languages: FR, DE, GB, ES, IT

Running Time: 181 mins

FSK: 0

Claus Guth - staging

Wild animals live in the woods. Robbers hide there. Mystery is at home there. And, when the woods are on the stage of Salzburg’s Haus für Mozart, a notorious ladies’ man and his unsavoury accomplice can also find shelter there. For here, in the dense forest planted by director Claus Guth, is the home of the rugged macho Don Giovanni, who, assisted by Leporello, lures the ladies with the heady scent of danger. In Guth’s almost cinematic Salzburg Festival production, every character in Mozart’s most realistic opera seems to carry a back-story of thwarted love and frustration. Everyone appears to be seeking either salvation or damnation in the woods – a compelling concept that removes the opera from its traditional pseudo-Seville squares and palaces.

And when Don Giovanni is played by Christopher Maltman, it’s no wonder that Donna Anna (Annette Dasch), Donna Elvira (Dorothea Röschmann) and even Zerlina (Ekaterina Siurina) are ready to throw themselves at his feet. With a physique as striking as his full-bodied baritone voice, Maltman embodies Don Giovanni as an almost reluctant seducer, a man fated to bring misery to women and, ultimately, to himself. Next to Maltman, it is Uruguayan bass-baritone Erwin Schrott who rivets the audience in this production: Schrott’s Leporello is an event in his own right, the event of the Salzburg Don Giovanni (Die Welt).

Under Bertrand de Billy, the Wiener Philharmoniker play with refreshing verve and spirit.

Picture format BD: 1080i Full HD - 16:9

Sounds formats BD: PCM 2.0, PCM 5.1

Region code: 0

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Subtitles: Italiano, English, Deutsch, Français, Español, 日本語

Running time: 177 mins

Audience: all

Stage Director - Sven-Eric Bechtolf

Stage Design - Rolf Glittenberg

Costume Design - Marianne Glittenberg

Lighting - Jürgen Hoffmann

The Zurich Opera House has recorded more productions for DVD than any other opera house in the world. During the last twelve years, conductor Franz Welser-Möst has conducted more than fifty premieres with the Zurich Opera. They perform regularly together in London, Paris, Tokyo and other major international cities.

Welser-Möst has enjoyed a long and very fruitful relationship with the Zurich Opera. From 1995 - 2002, he was Chief Conductor of the House, was Principal Conductor from 2002 - 2005 and was then appointed General Musikdirektor.

In June 2007, Welser-Möst was appointed General Musikdirektor designate of the Staatsoper, Vienna, a position he will assume in the 2010/11 season. Prior to that, he undertakes a new production of “The Ring” in Vienna, which started in the 2007/8 season. He is also Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Welser-Möst has assembled over the years a close-knit ensemble which is frequently praised for both its vocal and acting abilities. Please see below for press quotes on this production.

Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian

Bringing together a collection of arias and choruses from some of the world’s favourite operas, this disc showcases the outstanding artists and productions from the stage of the Royal Opera House.

The perfect gift for anyone who loves opera.

A unique collection from one of the world’s finest opera houses, showcasing the international opera stars and famous Royal Opera House productions.

The comprehensive packaging will include a synopsis of each opera, suggestions for further exploration of the catalogue and full subtitles.

International stars featured in the collection include: Jonas Kaufmann, Renee Fleming, Simon Keenlyside, Gerald Finley and Miah Persson.

Running time: 80 minutes

Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/JP/ES

Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

Staged by Calixto Bieito.

Fantastic cast with Roberto Alagna, Erwin Schrott, Marina Poplavskaya, Béatrice Uria-Monzon.

This prestigious 2011 production from the Gran Teatre del Liceu was staged by the world famous and highly controversial stage director Calixto Bieito, admired for his raw and evocative stagings.

Running Time Total: 155 minutes

BD: DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM Stereo

Set Design by ANTONIO MASTROMATTEI

Costumes by SILVIA AYMONINO

Slowly the camera roams through the narrow streets of Macerata, past the cathedral, the monuments, the library and the university, until it reaches the Arena Sferisterio. In the 1820s this was a competition venue for a handball game popular at that time. At the beginning of the twentieth century the ‘neo-classical monster’, as the stadium is disrespectfully called in the vernacular, was also discovered as an opera venue and a dazzling backdrop for the ‘Macerata Opera Festival’. The stage, which is 14.5 meters deep and 40 meters wide, is sufficiently large for all kinds of events and spectacles to be staged.

At the end of July 2002 the time had come again. An audience of 5000 had gathered to listen to the new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore under the direction Saverio Marconi, conducted by Niels Muus. Using a trick the director succeeded in preserving the open-air atmosphere while at the same time eliminating the annoying echo of the voices and instruments. The orchestra was seated in an enormous box that was put on the stage, while the singers, in traditional costumes by Silvia Aymonino, performed on stage in front of it, among them the young Valeria Esposito as Adina, Aquiles Machado in the role of Nemorino, Enrico Marrucci as Belcore and the very young Erwin Schrott as Dulcamara.

The premiere of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore in the Teatro della Canobbiana in Milan on 12 May 1832, was an unqualifi ed success; it resulted in a series of 32 sold-out houses for the composer and even inspired Richard Wagner in 1840 to produce a piano score of the work.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD5.1, DTS 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Menu Languages: GB

Subtitle Languages: GB, F, D, SP, IT, Chinese

Running Time: 136 min

FSK: 0