DVD Videos

The New Year’s Concert of La Fenice is fast becoming not only an event of Italian society life but an important alternative to the famous one that has been held for years in Vienna. The quality of the performance, this year, is guaranteed by the illustrious presence, on the podium, of Georges Prêtre, who celebrated his 80th birthday. Under his baton, the orchestra and choir of the reborn Teatro La Fenice perform some of the finest masterpieces of Italian music. The presentation is enhanced by Micha Van Hoecke’s ballets, filmed in some of the more picturesque corners of the lagoon-city.

Special Features:

Donald Voorhees in conversation with Birgit Nilsson, Leontyne Price, and Renata Tebaldi (from the program “First Ladies of Opera”, originally telecast 01/01/67

Shirley Verrett, Krjstian Johannson and Ettore Nova lead the cast in a 1990 live performance from the Teatro Comunale dei Rinnovati, Siena. The performance is in honor of the 100th anniversary of the opera’s world premiere. Produced and directed by Peter Goldfarb.

Renata Tebaldi’s numerous appearances on television made her unique among her contemporaries. Four complete operatic performances as well as televised concerts and guest appearances on major variety programs in the U.S. and abroad have made their way to home video. The soprano’s glowing physical presence made her a natural for the TV cameras while the sumptuousness of her voice asserted itself through even the flimsiest of television speakers.

Tebaldi made three appearances on the Bell Telephone Hour between 1959 and 1967. As collected here, the six arias demonstrate the soprano at the height of her powers in five of her greatest roles. (Though Tebaldi never performed Cavalleria Rusticana on stage, she did make a stunning studio recording of the opera.) The two Butterfly arias from 1959, radiantly sung, are amongst Tebaldi’s first TV appearances, taken from a program that also holds the distinction of being one of the earliest extant color telecasts. By 1967, Tebaldi was clearly comfortable in the spinto-dramatic repertoire with an awesome use of the chest register in the Cavalleria and Gioconda arias. This collection will delight the myriad fans of one of this century’s most beloved divas.

Embedded Japanese subtitles remain on screen throughout, with additional options to view subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. 158 minutes, Color, mono, All regions.

This 4-DVD set includes top opera stars performing great works live in concert in Lugano with the Orchestra della Radio Televisione della Svizzera Italiana. DVD #1 Carlo Bergonzi performs in 1985 with conductor Bruno Amaducci in works by Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, & Mascagni. DVD #2: Raina Kabaivanska performs in 1987 with conductor Nino Bonavolonta in works by Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, and Cilia. DVD #3: Mirella Freni & Cesare Siepi perform in 1985 with conductor Bruno Amaducci in works by Nicolai, Gounod, Boito, Verdi, Puccini, and Mozart. DVD #4: Teresa Berganza performs in 1990 with conductor Nino Bonavonta in works by Rossini, Bizet, and De Falla.