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Hans Peter Blochwitz (Tamino), Barbara Bonney (Pamina), Anton Scharinger (Papageno), Edita Gruberova (Königin der Nacht), Matti Salminen (Sarastro), Peter Keller (Monostratos), Edith Schmid (Papagena), Thomas Moser, Antti Suhonen (Zwei Geharnischten), Pamela Coburn, Delores Ziegler, Marjana Lipovsek (Drei Damen), Stefan Gienger, Markus Baur, Andreas Fischer (Drei Knaben) Chor und Orchester des Opernhauses Zürich, Nikolaus Harnoncourt | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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"From the first bars of the Overture you will hear a sound like none on any other version of this opera … This set reawakened my enthusiasm for a piece I thought I had heard a few times too often.” Gramophone | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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"Harnoncourt inspires the Berliners to the kind of playing - incisive, dramatic, volatile - that the super smooth Karajan ironed out. The results are as electrifying. … An exhilarating account. … a definite must hear!“ (Hugh Canning, The Sunday Times, 15 September 1996) "Nikolaus Harnoncourt's dazzling new version of Der Freischütz has plenty of ideas that the others never thought about. … This is a rare opera recording with everything to recommend it." (Alexander Waugh, Evening Standard, 24 October 1996) "Harnoncourt's interpretation has the ring of reality about it, uncovering the troubled psyche and element of superstition in this extraordinary piece. Harnoncourt has assembled a cast that equals or surpasses that on just about every other version of the work. … The recording is exemplary." (Alan Blyth, The Daily Telegraph, 14 September 1996) | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at Valencia's Palau de les Arts, Reina Sofia October 2006
Booklet Notes: English, German, French Thunderous applause and loud cries of "bravo" greeted the première of Beethoven's Fidelio at the inaugural performance of the first opera season in Valencia's new Palau de les Arts. With this spectacular production directed by Pierluigi Pier'Alli, Valencia has put itself back on the map of the international opera world. Dominating the activity on stage are two of today's most distinguished German singers,Waltraud Meier and Peter Seiffert, who have left their mark above all on Wagner interpretation, and the great Finnish bass Matti Salminen who stamped his forceful character on his role as the jailer Rocco. "Everything she does is unforgettable…" The Guardian (Waltraud Meier) “This recording features the opening performances given in the spectacular Palau de les Arts in Valencia… The cast is probably all round the best assembled for a production of Beethoven's great work for many years. …what we see and hear from the stage is moving and wonderfully committed.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2009 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Live Recording from The Zurich Opera 1999
Directed by Ruth Berghaus, Set Design by Hartmut Beyer & Costumes by Marie-Louise Strandt. Arthaus Musik presents a DVD release of Weber’s masterpiece Der Freischütz in a production by the legendary director Ruth Berghaus. Chorus and orchestra of the Zurich opera are conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, universally celebrated for the structural transparency of his interpretations, his intellectual penetration and his emotional understanding of both music and opera plot. An all-star cast made this production a highly memorable event, which was hailed by international music critics as a reawakening of this romantic opera by Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826). Berghaus created this Freischütz for Zurich Opera in 1993 and its revival in 1999 provided an opportunity to recapture a vivid example of her work. Her style often negated naturalism - she considered imagery, sign, gesture and visual contradiction more important than narrative. With sets by Hartmut Meyer and costumes by Marie-Louise Strandt, Berghaus’ staging eschews the local peasant colour conventionally associated with Weber's opera. Regimented, black-clad villagers people a stage defined by monolithic planes and blocks of coloured light emphasises geometric patterns, creating stage pictures that evoke the art of the Russian Constructivists. Weber’s glorious Romantic work was first performed in Berlin 1821 and was an immediate success. The famous chorus of the huntsmen is still a favourite with male choirs and performances of the opera have continued to captivate audiences with the work’s outpouring of grand and memorable music, its atmosphere of mystery and its dramatic depiction of good and evil. It is a gripping theatrical experience and this DVD recording provides the viewer with just that. Running Time: 159 min
Picture Format: 16:9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
Menu Languages NTSC: GB
Subtitle Languages NTSC: D, F, GB, I, SP
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| |  | A Finnish Songbook (Elämäni Lauluja)Orchestral songs by Finnish composers
Kilpinen: | Kesäyö (Summer Night) Vanha kirkko Rannalta I (From the Shore I) | Kuula: | Tuijotin tulehen kauan, Op. 2 No. 2 Kesäyö kirkkomaala, Op. 6 No. 1 Yö - Night | Luolajan-Mikkola: | Häätanhu (Wedding Dance) | Madetoja: | Yrtit tummat Op. 9 No. 1 (Dark Herbs) (Text: L. Onerva) Itkisit joskus illoin (If you'd sometimes weep at evening), Op. 25/5 | Merikanto, O: | Soi vienosti murheeni soitto Merellä Vallinkorvan laulu | Sibelius: | Souda, souda, sinisorsa (Swim, duck, swim) (A.V. Forsman-Koskimies) Lastu lainehilla, Op. 17, No. 7 Laulu ristilukista Op. 27 No. 4 | trad.: | Tällaaselle poijalle Tuuli se taivutti koivun larvan Niin kauan minä tramppaan | Turunen: | Sunnuntai (Sunday) |
Matti Salminen is an acoustic phenomenon, according to many the finest and darkest bass voice of our time. In the 1970s and ‘80s he inherited mantle of the legendary Martti Talvela as the great Finnish Wagner bass in Bayreuth, until, to the regret of Wolfgang Wagner, he decided to devote his summers to the Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland. James Levine, for his part, considers Salminen so essential that the scheduling of Wagner operas at the Met is adjusted to suit Salminen's diary. Salminen's journey to his present status has been a long one.The son of a working-class family, he earned his living at first as a tango king on Finnish dance-floors. From the dance-floor, his career has taken him to all the important opera houses of the world to sing with conductors including Daniel Barenboim, James Levine, Nicolas Harnoncourt and Pierre Boulez. On this new recording, Matti Salminen performs rarities outside the standard repertoire and delivers a personal account of orchestral songs from Finnish composers.Accompanied by the Helsinki Philharmonic under its new chief conductor John Storgårds, Salminen is completely at home singing this music. Many of these songs about nature and love deserve greater attention or discovery, for which this exceptional disc forms a perfect vehicle. “One of the greatest operatic basses of his generation and beyond, Matti Salminen…is, in effect, simply a folksinger. As its cosy "Finnish Songbook" title suggests, his latest disc celebrates the naturalness of his art, and the predominantly slow and lugubrious sequence of songs here ranges from mini-masterpieces by Sibelius to traditional numbers.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2009 | | | (also available to download from $10.50) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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| |  | Opera Night 2007Famous Arias From Rossini, Verdi, Massenet, Giordano, Orff, Puccini, Donizetti, Bellini & Lehár
Live from the Deutsche Oper Berlin for The German Aids Foundation
Running Time: 122 min
Picture Format: 16:9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo
Menu Languages PAL: D, GB
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“This is a pretentious, unmagical, often muddled Zauberflöte … Harnoncourt's conducting, often restless, sometimes self-indulgent, seizes on every opportunity for disruptive, destabilising detail. ” Gramophone Magazine, June 2008 “Astoundingly clever” Tages-Anzeiger | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | MALMSTEN, G.: Choral Music (Malmstenin Aapinen - Rakkaimmat lastenlaulut)
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