DVD Videos

Set by ANDREAS REINHARDT

BANNED – FORGOTTEN

Of all the successful composers of opera in the 1920s, it is perhaps Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897–1957) whose career took the most surprising turn following the banning of his works as “degenerate” in Germany. In 1934 he was invited by Max Reinhardt to Hollywood, where Korngold turned the new genre of fi m music on its head. No composer before or since ever achieved such a prominent position within film production. Instead of the director or producer deciding on a scene’s musical accompaniment, it was Korngold’s score that determined the timings and dramatic sequences of the camera positions.

Even today Korngold is best known as a composer of film scores. Despite the many successful performances of works such as his violin concerto and his chamber music, today only Die tote Stadt has survived as a rarity on the programmes of the world’s major and medium-sized opera houses. Götz Friedrich’s production played no small part in this survival, for not only was it shown in Berlin and Vienna, it was also shipped to Los Angeles and more recently, in 1995, loaned to Ghent, to the theatre which in 1967 was bold enough to stage only the second production of the work after the Second World War.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Subtitles: DE (Original Language), GB, IT, FR, ES

Running Time: 130 mins

FSK: 0

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

A star-studded benefit concert to celebrate Ioan Holender’s farewell after 19 years as the director of one of the world’s leading and most famous opera houses. The highly acclaimed cast was headed by brilliant singers such as Diana Damrau, Natalie Dessay, Angelika Kirchschlager, Waltraud Meier, Anna Netrebko, Pjotr Beczala, Plácido Domingo, Thomas Hampson, Leo Nucci, Thomas Quasthoff, Ramon Vargas and many others. No fewer than twelve conductors including Marco Armiliato, Bertrand de Billy, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Antonio Pappano and Franz Welser-Möst led the way through a program lasting over four hours at the fully-packed Wiener Staastoper.

Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese

The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres on the European continent, is the home of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s summer concerts. With over 20,000 attendances, these are some of the most popular classical music concerts in the world.

This year the Berliner Philharmoniker play under the baton of Ion Marin, one of the most exciting conductors on today’s musical scene. They welcome "America's Beautiful Voice", Grammy Award winning soprano Renée Fleming, who has a devoted international following wherever she appears. Her career has been built on success across a wide range of musical styles, but she is best-known for her excellence in opera worldwide.

The device of the evening was “Night of Love”- the most beautiful Opera Arias in combination with atmospheric instrumental pieces.

Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: 0

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Subtitles: English, German, French

Running time: 130 mins

FSK: 0

Recording Date: 2001

Place of recording: Opéra National du Rhin

Running Time: 145 min

Picture Format: 16:9

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1

Menu Languages PAL: D, F, GB, SP

Subtitle Languages PAL: D, F, GB, SP

Menu Languages NTSC: F, GB, JP, SP

Subtitle Languages NTSC: D, F, GB, JP, SP

Recording Date: 2001

Place of recording: Opéra National du Rhin

Running Time: 145 min

Picture Format: 16:9

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1

Menu Languages PAL: D, F, GB, SP

Subtitle Languages PAL: D, F, GB, SP

Menu Languages NTSC: F, GB, JP, SP

Subtitle Languages NTSC: D, F, GB, JP, SP

For its 100th anniversary the Deutsche Oper Berlin is featured in a special edition of live recordings that were produced since the beginnings of television broadcasts from the opera house. Following the fi rst DVD collection with recordings from the 1960s, this special edition box contains operas from the 1970s and 1980s – treasures in colour featuring great opera singers, stage directors and contemporary composers.

Sound Format: PCM Mono (Preußisches Märchen, Montezuma)

PCM Stereo (Die tote Stadt, Die Gespenstersonate, Oedipus)

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: 5 x DVD 9 / NTSC

Original Language: DE

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

Running Time: 558 mins + 8 mins (Bonus)

FSK: 6