DVD Videos

Donizetti's great tragedy is his undisputed masterpiece of melancholic romanticism, with the doomed love between Lucia and Edgardo retold from Sir Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor. The 1992 production heightens the story’s powerful libretto with its dramatic visual design and first class musical performances.

Dame Joan Sutherland, Australian Icon and declared National Treasure, has been described as the foremost soprano of our age and one of the greatest operatic artists of all time. This DVD contains highlights of her stage performances with Opera Australia, including many of her most internationally famous and highly acclaimed roles.

Director: Francesco Bellotto

Filmed at the Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo, Italy, 30 November & 2 December 2007

Based on Victor Hugo’s most sensational play, Lucrèce Borgia, a scandalous tale of murder, torture, incest, homosexuality, drunkenness and orgies, Donizetti’s opera is one of the great masterpieces of Italian bel canto repertoire.

While omitting some of its more excessive elements, the libretto by Felice Romani inspired Donizetti to compose superb arias, duets, ensembles and choruses, bringing each act to a stirring conclusion.

Beautifully costumed and designed, brimming with high drama and pathos, this production stars in the infamous title rôle Greek diva Dimitra Theodossiou, praised for her stupendous acting and singing in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux (Naxos DVD 2110232).

"The raison d'etre of this new production of Lucrezia Borgia at the Bayerische Staatsoper is undoubtedly the great Edita Gruberova. Sopranos come and go, but there is always Edita, who has been in front of the public for almost forty years and still going strong, thank you very much. At the age of 62, many of her contemporaries would likely have retired to a teaching post somewhere, or at least moved on to the old ladies, the maids, the witches, and other assorted "character roles" in opera, or disappeared from public view altogether. Not Edita Gruberova, who remains the undisputed Queen of Bel Canto. …Her coloratura - and the seemingly infinite variations in dynamics - is as amazing as ever. …Lucrezia is not exactly a charming character, poisoning everyone in sight, but Gruberova managed to make her sympathetic.The final scene was a vocal and dramatic tour de force that one rarely encounters these days. She was well partnered by a fellow Slovak, tenor Pavel Breslik, who was an exceptionally fine Gennaro. Celebrated in Mozart, I wasn't prepared for his idiomatic Italian, his plangent timbre and stylish yet heart-onsleeve singing/acting was an unalloyed pleasure. Looking handsome and youthful, he complemented the soprano perfectly…he is a natural candidate for any director wanting to show some flesh onstage, witness his Idamante last season. Christof Loy had him scraping a knee, taking off his shirt ostensibly to wipe off the blood.Another example - the libretto calls for Gennaro to destroy Lucrezia's coat of arms. In this contemporary production, it was replaced by her name in large illuminated letters attached to the gray background. Gennario rips the B off her name and throws it on the stage floor - rather amusing as "ORGIA" remains on the wall, the implications of which rather unmistakable. The production is extremely pared-down, with really no set to speak of, a bare stage save for a few office chairs.Yet there is something to be said about this approach, as it allows one to focus on the emotional and dramatic core of the work. ...Ultimately this is a vehicle for the prima donna so nothing else really matters, especially when the diva delivered in spades like last evening…The third vocal standout was British mezzo Alice Coote as Maffio Orsini.The Gennaro-Maffio duet was a highlight of the evening…her Act Two extended scena was terrific.

BONUS: The Art of Bel Canto - Edita Gruberova A Portrait an empathic portrait of the Queen of coloratura, Edita Gruberova, prima donna assoluta.

NTSC 16:9, PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region Code: 0

Original language: Italian

Subtitles: English, German, French, Italian

Booklet Notes: English, German, French

Running Time: 129 mins + 54 mins Documentary

German FSK: 6

Lucrezia Borgia, infamous noblewoman of the Renaissance, has outlived three husbands and is now married to Don Alfonso, Duke of Ferrara. After the Borgia’s palace is defaced by vandals, Lucrezia demands the desecrator’s death to avenge the insult. When the noble young soldier Gennaro is arrested for the crime, Lucrezia’s thirst for vengeance and murder sets in motion a tragic chain of events that eventually destroys her enemies and herself.