DVD Videos

This 2009 production from Venice’s Teatro la Fenice is the most modern production available on DVD.

Erich Korngold’s Die Tote Stadt from 1920 was a huge success before he went to America and became famous for his great Hollywood film scores, but until recently it has been mostly neglected.

The opera is based on Georges Rochenberg’s novel Bruges-la Morte. It tells the story of a man who, having lost his wife, takes refuge in the city of Brugue. Whilst overcome with grief he becomes obsessed with a woman who bears the same likeness as his wife.

The book is notable for its poetic evocation of the decaying city and the director Pier Luigi Pizzi uses this as his inspiration for the set. Similar to his staging of Britten’s Death in Venice, Pizzi uses mist and fog on stage to evoke a sense of ghostly silence and desolation.

Sound format: 16:9

Picture format: LPCM 2.0

Running Time: 148 minutes

Booklet notes: Italian, English, French, German

Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish, Italian

AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE

Sung in German

Filmed at the Bregenzer Festspiele, 2008. Karl V (Charles V) is a work for stage with music in two parts and Last Dance around St. Stephens is a Viennese Folk Play in Two Parts. The text and music for both works is by Krenek.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9

Sound format: PCM Stereo 2.0 / Dolby Digital 5.1 (Karl V only)

Region code: 0 (worldwide)

Menu languages: German, English, French

Subtitles: German, English, French

Running time: 140 mins (Karl V) / 148 mins (St. Stephan)

No. of DVDs: 2

World Premiere on Stage at Théâtre De La Ville, Paris, 1988 Adapted For TV in 1989.

Choreography by Carolyn Carlson, Original Music by Joachim Kühn, Digital Mixing by Walter Quintus, Set Design by Frederic Pierre Robert, John Virke & Costume Design by Maritza Gligo.

Symbolic, spiritual and rich in contrast: Dark by Carolyn Carlson

Her body is long and slender – emaciated, almost. But certainly not lacking strength. Those distinctive lines – once in motion – are reminiscent of the rapid strokes of a calligrapher’s brush moving across a sheet of paper. Yet for all the spontaneity, every detail is considered. Nothing is left to chance. And the observer is given complete freedom to interpret the message the choreographer communicates in partnership with her performers, the composer and the designers of set, costume and lighting. Carolyn Carlson is a magician of ambiguity who transports her audience into a netherworld where life meets death. Her characters (or choreographic structures) are subject to constant metamorphosis. For the inspiration she offers, modern and contemporary dance owes a debt of gratitude to this purist of simplicity. The piece is set to an original score by Joachim Kühn, played on a piano, modified via a digital console. A company of eight dancers, including Carlson herself, perform Dark for this specially-shot studio recording.

BONUS: Making of Dark. Introduction by Carolyn Carlson

Sound Format: PCM STEREO

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Picture Format: 4:3

Running Time: 64 mins (Performance) + 17 mins (Introduction)

FSK: 6

Languages: GB, DE, FR, ES, IT (Introduction)

This DVD Video features the one-act family opera Koirien Kalevala ("The Canine Kalevala") by Finnish composer-conductor Jaakko Kuusisto. The libretto by Sami Parkkinen is based on the same named book by Mauri Kunnas (official website) who in 1992 wrote an adaptation for children of the Finnish national epic Kalevala. Mauri Kunnas's children's books have been translated into 23 languages with over 5,5 million copies sold.

Jaakko Kuusisto: "Koirien Kalevala is probably one of the most popular Finnish children's books of all time, and with good reason. The wonderful insight of Mauri Kunnas in linking the Finnish national epic to his lovable dog characters appeals not only to children but to their parents too. And this is not the Kalevala, um, gone to the dogs - instead, the story is exactly like in the original, put across in an easily understandable way. Sami Parkkinen fashioned an opera libretto out of the version by Kunnas, keeping all the essential elements. The sets and costumes of the production featured on this disc also draw heavily on the visual world of Kunnas, and as such look very familiar to anyone who has ever read the book."

This DVD recording was made from live performances in July 2007 at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, where The Canine Kalevala had been premièred three years earlier to critical acclaim. Jaakko Kuusisto conducts a cast of known Finnish actors and singers. The production is staged by Minna Vainikainen and designed by Tarja Väätänen (sets), Riitta Röpelinen (costumes) and Max Wikström (lighting).

This DVD release was made in co-production with the Savonlinna Opera Festival. It includes full English subtitles and booklet notes in English and Finnish.

Violin and viola players whisper over their instruments. A guitarist waits with the closest attention for the moment to make a gesture we might easily have missed. The tuba player rises to go over to the open piano, there to send sounds echoing into its interior. Two cellists, bowing with heavy pressure down near the tailpiece, produce an urgent rasping. From the timpanist comes the sudden fortissimo that seems to shock the music to a standstill… Renowned German composer Helmut Lachenmann’s music is expressive in extraordinary ways, requiring the performers to play their instruments via unusual techniques, making for both compelling listening and viewing.

Lachenmann performs in and supervises these recordings with Ensemble Signal, one of America’s leading New Music ensembles. In addition to performing as narrator in „…Zwei Gefühle …“. Lachemann also is the soloist for three of his piano works.

These studio recordings followed an intensive four-concert tour of this programme. Lachenmann taught each musician of Ensemble Signal individually on his language of techniques for this project. Liner notes by Paul Griffiths.

First in a series of Lachenmann on Mode Records.

The DVD version features all of the music with full video in 5.1 Surround Sound (Dolby and 24-bit DTS) as well as a dedicated stereo mix.

DVD BONUS: 20 minute documentary of Lachenmann in conversation with Seth Brodsky (Assistant Professor of Music at The University of Chicago), filmed at New York’s Miller Theatre.

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING of this three-act opera which originally premiered in 1888, less than four years before the death of its composer. It is sung in French.

The opera is a variation of the ancient Breton legend of the city of Ys, a mythical city built off the coast of Brittany which was subsequently swallowed by the ocean. In Lalo’s version the love-struck Margared, in a jealous rage, takes revenge on her sister Rozenn, and Mylio (whom Ma loves, but to whom R is engaged) by handing the keys to the sluice gates evil Karnac who inevitably opens them, threatening to destroy the city. Margared’s eventual suicide calms the sea and saves the city.

The choice of subject based in legend, as well as (albeit prudently used) leitmotifs associated with each of the principal characters strongly link the opera to Wagnerism, although it remains a decidedly French opera, with elements of popular music inspired by Breton folklore.

The first version of the score was completed in 1881 but in 1886 Lalo decided to rewrite it completely. It is impossible to know the changes he made as the first version was destroyed.

The vitality of Spain comes alive in Viva Espana!--a journey to the country's most beautiful sites. Explore the stunning regions of Toledo and Cordoba, set to Edouard Lalo's famed "Syphonie Espagnole" and evocative music by Sarasate and Saint-Saens. From magnificent castles at La Mancha to the winding waters of the River Tagus; from the lush gardens of Alcazar to the astonishing wonder of the Mosque of Cordoba. Visit the El Greco museum for an intimate view of the painter's masterworks or revel in the splendor of the Viana Palace. "Viva Espana!" is an unforgettable trip to a land whose splendor inspired some of the world's greatest composers.

The libretto, written by Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi (the future Pope Clement IX), tells the story of saintly sacrifice: on his wedding night Alessio departs alone for the Holy Land in search of sanctity. Years later he returns unrecognised as a beggar to his family home, where his father, mother and wife still mourn him. A demon tempts Alessio to reveal his true identity and so end his family’s grief, but an angel keeps him on the sacred path. The dying Alessio leaves a letter explaining the truth and an angelic chorus bids his family to rejoice rather than mourn, since he has been received into heaven. This strange, solemn and elevated story is leavened with comic scenes in the commedia dell’arte vein, adding to the rich musico-dramatic variety of the entire opera.