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Picture Format: High Definition 16:9 - please note this Blu-ray disc - BD is not compatible with standard DVD players

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”.

In this production from 2009 stage director Graham Vick and set designer Paul Brown conjure up an “open-air spectacle of superlatives” (Die Zeit). Photos of the stage went to all over the world.

Bregenz festival´s lakeside stage is known from the James Bond film “Quantum of Solace”

Aida is Bregenz festival´s most successful opera ever!

Running Time 135 minutes

Picture 16:9, colour

Sound PCM Stereo, dts 5.1

Subtitles Italian (original language), English, French, Spanish, German

Packaging Blu-ray box

Booklet English, German, French

Verdi’s epic drama of ancient Egypt comes to life in the Met’s monumental production, captured here in a breathtaking Live in HD presentation. Violeta Urmana stars in the title role of the princess-turned-slave girl, opposite Johan Botha as her lover and Dolora Zajick as her jealous rival. Maestro Daniele Gatti conducts.

Set Design by DANTE FERRETTI

Zubin Mehta conducts Aida, Verdi’s most spectacular and over-the-top opera, in a new production from the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Starring Marco Berti, Luciana D’Intino and Hui He. Verdi’s Aida is one of the most popular operas of all time. It premiered at the Cairo Opera House on Christmas Eve, 1871, and was an immediate commercial success. The plot of Aida is filled with political intrigue, love, betrayal, passion, and vengeance, and has captivated audiences for generations. What piqued general curiosity about this new production of Aida was undoubtedly the operatic debut of Ferzan Ozpetek, a Turkish auteur who, after settling in Italy as a student, has become one of the most prominent directors of Italian cinema in the last decade, directing acclaimed films as “La finestra di fronte” (Facing Windows) and “Mine Vaganti” (Loose Cannons).

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

Resolution: 1080i FULL HD

Subtitle Languages: IT (Original Language), GB, DE, FR, ES, JP, Korean

Running Time: 151 mins

Blu-ray Disc: 25 GB (Single Layer)

FSK: 0

World Première on Blu-ray

C Major presents a concert performance of Verdi’s opera Alzira.

Alzira is based on the play by Voltaire and displays the composer's maturity through glowing lyric moments, and the weaving together of complex emotional and musical strands.

Picture: Full HD

Sound: DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM 2.0

Running Time: Total: 115 minutes

(Opera: 105 minutes, Bonus: 10 minutes)

Subtitles: Italian (original language), English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese

Booklet: English, German, French

Available Worldwide

Based on a Romantic tragedy by Zacharias Werner, Attila is set in the 5th century AD. The opera takes as its starting point Attila’s plans to storm Rome with his army of Huns and the Roman’s attempts to prevent him. As with Nabucco and I Lombardi, Verdi spiced up the action with a number of patriotic choruses, guaranteeing that – against the background of the Italian movement for unification – the opera was a great success.

Bonus: 10 minute introduction to the opera

Released for the first time on Blu-ray

Sound Format: Blu-ray: DTS-HD MA 5.01 PCM 2.0

Running Time: 125 mins (opera 115 mins)

Booklet: English, German, French

Subtitles: Italian (original language), English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese

AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE

The Mariinsky label is delighted to release the first of four operas on DVD in 2013 with Verdi’s 'Attila'. Released in celebration of Verdi’s anniversary year, acclaimed Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov stars in the title role, in this the premiere of Arturo Gama’s production. He is ably supported by soprano, Anna Markarova in the role Odabella; baritone, Vladislav Sulimsky in the role of Ezio and tenor, Sergei Skorokhodov. The bluray release, filmed in the Mariinsky Opera House will feature a stunning picture gallery of scenes from the performance in addition to the three-act opera.

As is the case with many of Verdi’s operas, his ninth opera, 'Attila' is imbued with the spirit of Risorgimento, the national liberation movement of the Italian people against foreign rule and for the unification of trampled Italy. The plot, which tells of the struggle of Aquileia, one of the last remaining strongholds of once eternal Rome, against the barbarian hordes of Attila, King of the Huns, received an enthusiastic reception from the audience present at the premiere at the Teatro la Fenice in Venice, and yet is rarely performed in today’s opera houses. Since the premiere in 2010, the Mariinsky has revived Arturo Gama’s production each season, most recently in January 2013.

A two-time Grammy Award winner for his Verdi readings, Ildar Abdrazakov has quickly established himself as one of opera’s most sought-after basses. Since making his La Scala debut in 2001 at only 25, the Russian singer has become a mainstay at leading houses worldwide. His powerful, yet refined voice coupled with his compelling stage presence have prompted critics to describe him as a “sensational bass … who has just about everything – imposing sound, beautiful legato, oodles of finesse”, The Independent.

Arturo Gama has been the Stage Director of the opera company at the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin in Germany since 2005. He has staged a large number of productions, including 'Bluebeard’s Castle', 'Tosca', 'Die Zauberflöte' and 'Roméo et Juliette'; his most recent work was Richard Wagner’s 'Tannhaüser'. He originates from Mexico City and at the end of his dance career with the National Dance Company of Mexico, the Komische Oper Berlin offered him the position of Assistant Director, working with well-known directors including Harry Kupfer, Andreas Homoki, Peter Konwitschny, David Alden, Hans Neuenfels and Willy Decker.

Staged by Joseph Franconi Lee

C Major’s Tutto Verdi project comes to one of Verdi’s most popular operas: Don Carlo.

This production from Teatro Comunale Luciano Pavarotti Modena is conducted by Fabrizio Ventura. He has performed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as well as the Arena di Verona and the Sydney Opera House.

The cast is led Giacomo Presita who has performed wuth some of the world’s greatest conductors including Abbado, Mehta, Muti, Gatti and Barenboim. He is supported by Mario Malagnini and Cellia Costea.

PICTURE: 16:9, HD

BD: DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM 2.0

RUNNING TIME: TOTAL: 184 MINUTES (OPERA: 173 MINUTES, BONUS: 11 MINUTES)

SUBTITLES: ITALIAN (ORIGINAL LANGUAGE), ENGLISH, GERMAN, FRENCH, SPANISH, CHINESE, KOREAN, JAPANESE BONUS: ENGLISH, ITALIAN

AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE

Ernani was Verdi’s fifth opera and is based on Victor Hugo’s Hernani. It takes as its starting point the theme of vengeance in all its manifold aspects and received its first performance at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in March 1844, its success proving Verdi’s definite breakthrough as a composer. The fact that the work has been staged with increasing frequency in major opera houses in recent years is due to the renaissance of bel canto singing.

Bonus: 10 minute introduction to the opera

Sound Format: Blu-ray: DTS-HD MA 5.01 PCM 2.0

Running Time: 139 mins (opera 129 mins)

Booklet: English, German, French

Subtitles: Italian (original language), English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese

AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE

Staged by Sven-Eric Bechtolf

Daniele Gatti, currently Music Director of the Orchestre National de France and Zurich Opera will conduct Verdi’s Falstaff at the Royal Opera House in May with Ambrogio Maestri in the leading rôle.

Features a great cast: Ambrogio Maestri is one of the finest Falstaffs of our time. The Italian baritone brings a powerful, versatile voice to his role, but also brings his character a hilarious buffo quality. Daniele Gatti, one of the most acclaimed opera conductors working today, leads a stunning cast of singers including Barbara Fritolli as Alice Ford.

Genuinely warm italianita in all of the music-making, combined with a boisterous production by stage director Sven-Eric Bechtolf, turns Verdi’s commedia lirica into a fireworks display of high spirits as well as what the Neue Zürcher Zeitung called “musically and dramaturgically a feast of life and of love of life.”

Only one more Falstaff Blu-ray available on the market.

Running Time Total: 126 minutes

BD: DTS-HD MA 5.0, PCM Stereo

Subtitles Italian (original language), English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean