Topi Lehtipuu - DVD & Blu-ray videos

“The camerawork – mostly close-up – is superb, focusing on the intimacy of the Glyndebourne stage and the visual expressiveness of a young cast. Vicki Mortimer’s Biedermeyer sets are notably more handsome on film than in the theatre, and the performance (captured late in the inaugural run) breathes a general air of wellbeing” Financial Times, 22nd September 2012 ***

“McVicar's staging stokes the glow of Meistersinger's humane heart...and above all he reminds us that this is an opera about youth and self-discovery. Gerald Finley's pivotal Sachs relish[es] this intensely verbal role with a Lieder-singer's skill and beauty...Jurowski completes the ensemble with a beautiful account, unfolding the story with pace and details...Together they make the immense performance the most uplifting performance I can recall” BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 *****

“Jurowski handles the score with seriousness and pomp...Finley has the role of Hans Sachs massively in focus, both musically and dramatically. He is compulsively watchable throughout...McVicar's production is best at one-to-one emotional confrontations but rather loud and messy in ensemble scenes...it would be mealy-mouthed not to notice the commitment and enthusiasm steaming off the stage, while Finley's work has to be seen and heard” Gramophone Magazine, December 2012

“The long rehearsal period, the expertise of everyone involved and the authority of the solo singers: all this quickly becomes evident...All the soloists embody their roles to an engrossing degree of identification...this is a defiantly modern performance, one that exults in disturbance and the irony that arises from a deeply intimate staging within the round of the Berlin Philharmonie: appropriate in terms of architectural politics but jarringly opulent and public.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012

“Some of Sellars's gestures...are searing, and the rapt attention of the audience leaps out of the screen...Padmore is a great Evangelist and this must be his greatest performance of the role...while the symbiosis entwining vocal and instrumental soloists leavens Simon Rattle's compelling musical direction. Ultimately, a St Matthew Passion even greater than the sum of its parts - and they were already pretty awesome to being with!” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 *****

“It sounded like a risky undertaking...but the resulting “ritualization” of Bach’s oratorio, captured on DVD, is most riveting and moving. Mr. Sellars has the choirs and orchestras facing each other in the round, turning the Passion into a soul-searching dialogue between individual and society, man and God. Instrumentalists and singers, too, enter into communion with one another” New York Times, 23rd November 2012

“superbly cast, with not a weak link. Bo Skovhus, as a central Mephistophelian operator de nos jours, plays a savage dance-driven double-act with Patricia Petibon's red-haired biker of a Despina...Within a single, minimalist duplex apartment interior, illusion and disillusion constantly shift.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 ****

“Guth is deft at choreographing the pain and the embarrassment of "wrong" couples getting together...this is already a mighty contribution to the otherwise rather naturalistic Così filmography. Its musical performances are solid...its acting ones much more than that.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“Guth has drawn marvellously natural acting from this cast (the hammy Despina excepted)...this opera's sisters have never been more gorgeous to behold...The ultra-suave Skovhus's Don Alfonso is a very cool customer indeed, full of cynicism and self-satisfaction...Playing with extreme beauty and technical mastery but not without incisiveness, the Vienna Philharmonic responds aptly to every dramatic nuance.” International Record Review, November 2010

“Les Troyens hasn't fared well on DVD, but this superb authentic-instrument performance of October 2003 from the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, equals Sir Colin Davis's pioneering original. Orchestrally it's everything we've come to expect from Gardiner's Berlioz, his tempi swift and dynamic, sharing the composer's delight in complex rhythmic interplay, yet always propelling the drama. Passages like Andromache's entrance and Hector's ghost nevertheless have their proper gravitas and sombre hues against the brighter shades of Carthage. Colour is the great gift of the period instruments, revealing a wide range of sonorities, and creating a sense of freshness and discovery. The effect is sometimes rawer, sometimes more classical, but almost always more complex and dramatic than the homogenised modern sound. Gardiner's singers, too, could hardly be more committed. Anna Caterina Antonacci is a fiery Cassandra, superbly classical-looking, so wrung and tormented that some moments of strain scarcely matter. Gregory Kunde tackles Aeneas with ringing tone, looks and acts pretty well, and brings a welcome bel canto touch to the gorgeous duet. Susan Graham, though, needs no caveats: a radiant Dido, queenly yet youthful, lyrical and lighter-toned than Janet Baker, but in her final despair no less tragically moving. Other roles are generally excellent. The mostly youthful chorus sounds marvellous, and is a constant force in Yannis Kokkos's moderately modern production. The stage is plain and bare, capped by a reflector in which most of the décor appears: an Italian Renaissance cityscape for Troy, and the Horse only as a menacing head. Carthage is a classical vision of white walls and blue sea with stylised ships. The Trojans wear the inescapable greatcoats the brutal Greeks, inevitably, American combat gear, and the Carthaginians vaguely North African whites and pastels. This is a mostly straightforward, lively staging which lets characters and drama speak for themselves, and so works well on screen. The magnificent high-definition recording does it ample sonic and visual justice. For anyone who loves Les Troyens, this is a revelatory and essential performance.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“At Glyndebourne, both Despina and Alfonso are played traditionally and with notable brio by Garmendia and Rivenq… the delightful Persson and Vondung make a wholly believable and vocally attractive Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and deliver their music in ideal Mozartian tone and style. ...Fischer conducts with an unassumingly correct sense of timing: brio nicely matched to loving attention to detail.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2007

“When I saw this production at Glyndebourne last May, I thought that it was one of the three perfect operatic performances that I have ever been to. That view is only strengthened by seeing this marvellous DVD, which does the fullest justice to the brilliance of Nicholas Hytner's production, and the glorious orchestral playing and the magnificent singing under Iván Fischer. ..the whole opera is both more funny and more painful, much more painful, than it usually is. We are left at the end bewildered by the treachery of the human heart and delighted by the beauty in the music with which Mozart brings this home to us.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2007 *****

“Dressed in shades of sand and stone by Vicki Mortimer, and bathed in summer light by Paule Constable, Hytner’s period production marries elegance, farce and psychological acuity.” The Independent

“Hytner on Opus Arte succeeded on every front, bringing out the fine qualities of the whole cast, both vocally and dramatically, brilliantly supported by Ivan Fischer...Starriest of all is Miah Persson as Fiordiligi, singing gloriously with pure, even tone...The teamwork as ever at Glyndebourne is superb” Penguin Guide, 2010 ****

“Since 1934 when Glyndebourne revived this then-neglected work and began its run of success it has presented a succession of exemplary stagings all within the parameters of da Ponte's libretto. When this, the latest, was produced it was universally hailed: as faithful a representation of the equivocal comedy as one could wish. That's confirmed by this DVD. Both Despina and Alfonso are played traditionally and with notable brio by Garmendia and Rivenq. The delightful Persson and Vondung make a wholly believable and vocally attractive Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and deliver their music in ideal Mozartian tone and style. Similarly Lehtipuu is a charming and wide-eyed Ferrando and Pisaroni a warm-voiced and personal Guglielmo. They both woo with seductive charm. As reviews at the time reported, Fischer conducts with an unassumingly correct sense of timing and has the inestimable advantage of the OAE's period instruments.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“At Glyndebourne, both Despina and Alfonso are played traditionally and with notable brio by Garmendia and Rivenq… the delightful Persson and Vondung make a wholly believable and vocally attractive Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and deliver their music in ideal Mozartian tone and style. ...Fischer conducts with an unassumingly correct sense of timing: brio nicely matched to loving attention to detail.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2007

“When I saw this production at Glyndebourne last May, I thought that it was one of the three perfect operatic performances that I have ever been to. That view is only strengthened by seeing this marvellous DVD, which does the fullest justice to the brilliance of Nicholas Hytner's production, and the glorious orchestral playing and the magnificent singing under Iván Fischer. ..the whole opera is both more funny and more painful, much more painful, than it usually is. We are left at the end bewildered by the treachery of the human heart and delighted by the beauty in the music with which Mozart brings this home to us.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2007 *****

“Dressed in shades of sand and stone by Vicki Mortimer, and bathed in summer light by Paule Constable, Hytner’s period production marries elegance, farce and psychological acuity.” The Independent

“Since 1934 when Glyndebourne revived this then-neglected work and began its run of success it has presented a succession of exemplary stagings all within the parameters of da Ponte's libretto. When this, the latest, was produced it was universally hailed: as faithful a representation of the equivocal comedy as one could wish. That's confirmed by this DVD.
Both Despina and Alfonso are played traditionally and with notable brio by Garmendia and Rivenq. The delightful Persson and Vondung make a wholly believable and vocally attractive Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and deliver their music in ideal Mozartian tone and style. Similarly Lehtipuu is a charming and wide-eyed Ferrando and Pisaroni a warm-voiced and personal Guglielmo.
They both woo with seductive charm.
As reviews at the time reported, Fischer conducts with an unassumingly correct sense of timing and has the inestimable advantage of the OAE's period instruments.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Hytner on Opus Arte succeeded on every front, bringing out the fine qualities of the whole cast, both vocally and dramatically, brilliantly supported by Ivan Fischer...Starriest of all is Miah Persson as Fiordiligi, singing gloriously with pure, even tone...The teamwork as ever at Glyndebourne is superb” Penguin Guide, 2010 ****

“The camerawork – mostly close-up – is superb, focusing on the intimacy of the Glyndebourne stage and the visual expressiveness of a young cast. Vicki Mortimer’s Biedermeyer sets are notably more handsome on film than in the theatre, and the performance (captured late in the inaugural run) breathes a general air of wellbeing” Financial Times, 22nd September 2012 ***

“McVicar's staging stokes the glow of Meistersinger's humane heart...and above all he reminds us that this is an opera about youth and self-discovery. Gerald Finley's pivotal Sachs relish[es] this intensely verbal role with a Lieder-singer's skill and beauty...Jurowski completes the ensemble with a beautiful account, unfolding the story with pace and details...Together they make the immense performance the most uplifting performance I can recall” BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 *****

“Jurowski handles the score with seriousness and pomp...Finley has the role of Hans Sachs massively in focus, both musically and dramatically. He is compulsively watchable throughout...McVicar's production is best at one-to-one emotional confrontations but rather loud and messy in ensemble scenes...it would be mealy-mouthed not to notice the commitment and enthusiasm steaming off the stage, while Finley's work has to be seen and heard” Gramophone Magazine, December 2012

“Full of colour and light, and brimming with wit, this is a production that lifts the performers...Lehtipuu conveys [Tom's] fresh-faced innocence, making his gradual demise all the more heart-breaking. Bass Matthew Rose is not the most chilling Nick Shadow, but is all the more believable as an apparently supportive, and likeable, friend to Tom, until the veil drops...[Persson] underpins [Anne's] heartfelt love with a steely determination...An absolute triumph.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2012 *****

“It is hard to imagine a Tom Rakewell who looks the part better than the lanky, almost adolescent Topi Lehtipuu, his wide-eyed innocence an open invitation to corruption, and he sings the role with elegance. Miah Persson is almost his equal...The combination of Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra ensures crisp ensemble of the highest quality.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“Star of the show - as she is so often - is Miah Persson, who turns out to be a radiant and steadfast Anne...[Lehtipuu] manages to give us a Tom whoe fundamentally endearing qualities shine through, even when he's at his most cocky...Matthew Rose's portrayal of Nick Shadow has been criticized in some quarters for its lack of venom, but I find that the mellifluous coating to his malevolence only adds to the effect.” International Record Review, February 2012

“Full of colour and light, and brimming with wit, this is a production that lifts the performers...Lehtipuu conveys [Tom's] fresh-faced innocence, making his gradual demise all the more heart-breaking. Bass Matthew Rose is not the most chilling Nick Shadow, but is all the more believable as an apparently supportive, and likeable, friend to Tom, until the veil drops...[Persson] underpins [Anne's] heartfelt love with a steely determination...An absolute triumph.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2012 *****

“It is hard to imagine a Tom Rakewell who looks the part better than the lanky, almost adolescent Topi Lehtipuu, his wide-eyed innocence an open invitation to corruption, and he sings the role with elegance. Miah Persson is almost his equal...The combination of Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra ensures crisp ensemble of the highest quality.”” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“Star of the show - as she is so often - is Miah Persson, who turns out to be a radiant and steadfast Anne...[Lehtipuu] manages to give us a Tom whoe fundamentally endearing qualities shine through, even when he's at his most cocky...Matthew Rose's portrayal of Nick Shadow has been criticized in some quarters for its lack of venom, but I find that the mellifluous coating to his malevolence only adds to the effect.” International Record Review, February 2012