DVD Videos

TV Direction Georg Mielke, Set Design Reinhart Zimmermann & Costume Design Eleonore Kleiber.

Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, German adaptation by Walter Felsenstein

Walter Felsenstein (1901–1975), founder and general director of the Komische Oper in Berlin, was one of the twentieth century’s greatest creative theatre directors, who played a hugely important role in the revival of opera as a theatrical art form. A brilliant artist who directed over 190 productions during the course of his career, he was equally committed to the works, their creators, the ensemble and the audience.

The Marriage of Figaro that received its premiere on 26 February 1975 in the Komische Oper Berlin was Walter Felsenstein’s last production and in many respects can be regarded as representing his legacy. Having just returned from directing a guest production at Vienna’s Burgtheater, Felsenstein had been working on Figaro since early February 1974. He had already directed three productions of the work – in 1934 in Cologne, in 1942 at the Salzburg Festival and in 1950 at the Komische Oper. For the latter production, he had used earlier translations as the basis for producing a new text version, but he now decided that this was inadequate, as he had reached the conclusion that from the point of view of both form and expression, rhyme was crucial at many points in the musical numbers. He also wanted to further fi ne-tune the formulation of the text – putting the emphasis on the sense rather than word-for-word equivalence (which was, in any case, impossible). For a 74-year-old, Felsenstein had a punishing work schedule. In addition to working on Figaro (translating the libretto, analysing the pieces with the conductor, working on the overall concept, holding discussions with the set and costume designers), he also had to fi nd time for his work as General Director, for congresses, for a guest production of Bluebeard and for many other duties. His principle was, “always to start from the beginning again, to try to reach an understanding of the text and the music as though they had never before been interpreted or ‘understood’. I call it ‘taking the work literally’. And it is above all the music that has to be taken literally.” Thus he tried to approach even his fourth production of the work in a spirit of ‘naivety’, while, at the same time, benefi ting from the experience gained with his previous productions. With inexorable meticulousness, Felsenstein pored over the opera, consulting its roots in the works of Beaumarchais and Paisiello (The Barber of Seville) in order to be able to understand the relationship between the characters in Mozart’s work.

Special Features on DVD: Facsimile & Texts, Interview with Walter Felsenstein on the topic of “Realistic music theatre”, Segments of other Walter Felsenstein’s productions.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

DVD Format: 2 x DVD 9, NTSC

Picture Format: 4:3

Running Time: 166 mins Opera + Special Features

FSK: 0

Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, FR, ES

The Places

The tour starts in Northern Italy, in the city of Mantua, once the domain of the Gonzaga family. We visit Cremona, the centre of violin-making, and Milan, where Mozart stayed on more than one occasion during his Italian journeys. Sicily has a remarkably varied history, held by Phoenicians and Carthaginians before becoming part of Roman territory, later to be occupied by Ostrogoths, recaptured by the Byzantines, ruled by Saracens, and held by Normans, Germans, French and Spanish. Only in the mid-nineteenth century was Sicily drawn into the unified country of Italy.

The Music

The music chosen for this tour is by Mozart and includes his final Symphony No. 41, known as the "Jupiter", written in Vienna in August 1788, and the earlier Symphony No. 25, completed in Mozart's native city of Salzburg in early October 1773. Mozart had made three extended Italian tours between 1771 and 1773, and his father Leopold had hoped that his family might be able to settle there, if a position could be found for his son. In this, however, they were unsuccessful, and the third Italian tour was Mozart's last.

Recorded at Schloss Hellbrunn, Salzburg, 1986

Directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle • Produced by Horant H. Hohlfeld

Made up of wind soloists from the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Ensemble Wien-Berlin performs two of the greatest of all chamber works in the aesthetically apt surroundings of Hellbrunn Palace, near Salzburg. The pianist is James Levine. The bonus material on this DVD features an entertaining and informative portrait of this altogether magnificent ensemble.

Bonus Film: ‘We have a lot of fun’

excerpts from LIGETI Six Bagatelles ; BERIO Opus Number Zoo; MOZART Adagio and Allegro K594 & FRANCAIX Wind Quintet No.1

TV Format NTSC 4:3

Sound PCM Stereo

Dolby Digital 5.1 • DTS 5.1

anguages: Eng, Ger,

Region Code 0 (worldwide)

Running Time 56 mins (Performance)

47 mins (Bonus)

Musical Arrangements by Alexander Krampe, Directed and Script Arrangement by Ulrich Peter & Set Design and Costumes by Luigi Perego.

English and Japanese Language Version.

Mozart’s masterpiece is presented in a version shortened to 60 minutes for the youngest (from 5 years), young and also adult audiences, thus providing children with their first insight into the fascinating world of opera.

Papageno is the presenter, who accompanies the audience through the piece in an easily understandable, cheerful manner, and experiences his adventures with the prince Tamino, who has fallen in love with Pamina, the daughter of the Queen of the Night, and yearns to liberate her from the kingdom of Sarastro, who has abducted her. However, until the happy ending of the piece, there are numerous hindrances to be overcome, such as wild beasts that bar Tamino’s path, or Monostatos, who has also fallen in love with Pamina. And even if Papageno is in no mood for heroic deeds, his yearning for a “girl or young woman” is rewarded – and her name, of course, is Papagena.

Sound Format: PCM STEREO

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Picture Format: 16:9

Running Time: 60 mins

Languages: GB, JP

FSK: 0

Anaïs & Olivier Spiro (film directors)

A wonderfully eerie and fantastical re-imagining of Mozart’s early oneact singspiel, Bastien und Bastienne, presented here on DVD in a film adaptation by acclaimed directors, Anaïs and Olivier Spiro.

Elizabeth Calleo and Martin Winkler triumph in Mozart’s timeless magical tale - filmed live at the Opéra de Rouen in March 2007, whilst acclaimed conductor Laurence Equilbey directs the Orchestre de Opéra de Rouen Haute-Normandie. ‘Bastien under Bastienne’ is a one-act comic opera composed in 1768 by the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, then twelve years old. It was one of Mozart’s first operatic works and one in which the musical and dramatic genius of Mozart is already apparent.

‘Les Amours de Bastien et Bastienne’, a show devised by Laurence Equilbey and director Claude Buchvald, includes not only the opera proper but also other pieces by Mozart drawn from serenades, divertimenti, and dance. These musical inserts, composed around the same time of the opera, serve to illustrate fragments of the imagination, moments of fantasy, accompanying the magic of the forest and the emotions of the hero and heroine. “It is an initiatory tale which speaks to us of our fears, our dreams, our condition” – Claude Buchvald (director)

The Places

The musical tour starts in Zürich and moves to the hill-top village of Regensberg. The farmland of Emmental is seen, with Lake Thun and the waterfalls of Lauterbrunnen. Still more impressive is the great Matterhorn and a tribute to mountaineers who have lost their lives there. Zermatt, a popular ski resort as well as a base for climbers, is also seen in the milder days of summer.

The Music

Music for the tour is taken from the first two of Mozart's Violin Concertos, written in Salzburg in 1773 and in 1775 respectively. Mozart composed his five Violin Concertos either for his own use or for the Italian violinist Antonio Brunetti, who was employed, with Mozart, in the musical establishment of the Prince-Archbishop in Salzburg.

The intimate surroundings of the opera house at Glyndebourne provide the perfect setting for these three operas by Mozart. Includes bonus documentary 'The House That George Built', a fascinating view of the construction of Glyndebourne’s new opera house

Set Design by Rolf Glittenberg.

Jealous men and unreliable women: Mozart’s “Opera buffa” Così fan tutte is a masterpiece of its genre. This operatic gem which is part comedy, part tragedy is a wry study in love, manipulation and trust. After having cooperated twice before (Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni) Così fan tutte was the third and last collaboration of Mozart and librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. It is a clear-sightedly view of the confusion of human relations and opens up an abyss that seems to go far beyond the framework of a “Dramma giocoso”. In the tension between love and passion, security and selfnegation, faithfulness and betrayal, the couples get lost in emotional chaos. Mozart illustrates these diverse emotions with his sublime music which is in turn poignant and stoic, heartfelt and romantic. A fine cast enriches Mozart’s stirring music. Under Franz Welser-Möst’s fabulous conducting this production of the Zurich Opera House is setting musical standards. In conjunction with the director Sven-Eric Bechtolf, he has developed into one of the leading teams in contemporary music theater. A great score, a famous production and wonderful singers: this Così fan tutte live recorded at the famous Zurich Opera House is a ‘must see’ for opera lovers.

“Franz Welser-Möst’s conducting sets the tone: relaxed but attentive, focused on the individual soloists’ voices but at the same time with an ear for the overall tonal range of the orchestra …” Neue Zürcher Zeitung

“A Mozart ensemble that currently is probably without equal in the opera world. Rapturous applause at the end.” Das Opernglas

Sound Format: PCM STEREO

DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: 2 x DVD 9, NTSC

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

Running Time: 200 mins

FSK: 0

The uniquely beautiful and radiant voice of soprano Gundula Janowitz is heard in this 1970 live concert, featuring arias from Giulio Cesare, Don Giovanni, Der Freischütz, Attila, Tosca, and Tannhäuser.

Includes optional English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish subtitles. 54 minutes, Black & white, mono, All regions.

Maestro Lorin Maazel leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and an all-star cast in this celebrated 1963 Salzburg production. The production is directed by Gustav Rudolf Sellner and designed by Michael Raffenelli. 180 minutes, black & white, mono, subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.