DVD Videos

Commissioned by PLÁCIDO DOMINGO

WORLD PREMIERE RECORDING ON DVD

Stage & Costumes by STEFFEN AARFING

Gian Carlo Menotti, who would have celebrated his hundredth birthday in the summer of 2011, was far from being a musical revolutionary – and yet he had a crucial influence on the history of 20th century opera. He wrote his first opera at the age of eleven and remained committed to this great art form for the rest of his life. His Amelia al Ballo, first performed in 1937, was an early example of the elements that were to bring him fame and lasting popularity: grand melodies, dense orchestration and an unerring sense of the dramatic. “What is important for me is to see living, singing people on the stage,” he once said – and it was with this in mind that he wrote all the libretti for his own works. One can imagine the conversation about music – in particular modern music – that took place when Menotti invited Domingo to dinner in 1977. It wasn’t long before the crucial question was raised: “Gian Carlo, why don’t you write an opera for me?” As they thought about an appropriate topic, Domingo mentioned the life of the great Spanish artist Francisco Goya, whose work he admired above all others. “Domingo suggested Goya and I agreed immediately”, said Menotti later. “I think it was the only time I accepted someone else’s idea.”

“Gian Carlo Menotti, who celebrated his 93rd birthday a few days ago, received thundering applause at [GOYA‘s] Viennese première…Menotti himself once characterised the music as “impertinently melodic”. It is indeed...very effectively written - so effectively that at the première, applause broke out continually during the performance.” Neue Zürcher Zeitung, 2004

“Goya is strong, passionate, quite theatrical and overwhelmingly romantic....This opera is constructed on unabashed passion and most of all excitement…it’s intensive theater – comic, probing, visually spectacular.” Washington Post, 1986

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Subtitle Languages: GB (Original Language), DE, FR, ES, IT, JP, Korean

Running Time: 101 mins

FSK: 0

Set Design by Robert Posik

Gian Carlo Menotti was one of the most important 20th-century composers of opera working in the United States. For his opera The Consul he won the Pulitzer Prize for Music and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. This unique studio recording from the early years of television is performed by an extraordinary cast featuring Melitta Muszely, Eberhard Waechter, Res Fischer and Hilde Konetzni. The plot of the politically charged drama takes place in Europe of the 1950s. The Orchestra of the Wiener Volksoper is conducted by Franz Bauer-Theussl. An important document of operatic and film history, this restored recording is available on DVD for the first time.

BONUS: Interview with Gian Carlo Menotti

Sound Format: PCM Mono

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

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

Running Time: 99 mins (Opera), 4 mins (Bonus)

FSK: 0

Directed by Otto Schenk & Set Design by Gerhard Hruby

Gian Carlo Menotti was one of the most important 20th-century composers of opera working in the United States. The Old Maid and the Thief and The Medium are brilliant studio recordings from the early years of television. The two operas depict everyday stories about personal relationships and crime in America during the first half of 20th century.

The performances are given by a first-rate cast, including Elisabeth Höngen, Eberhard Waechter and Olive Moorefield. The Orchestra of the Wiener Volksoper is conducted by Wolfgang Rennert (The Old Man and the Thief) and Armando Alberti (The Medium). An important document of operatic and film history, this restored recording is available on DVD for the first time.

BONUS: Interview with Otto Schenk

Sound Format: PCM Mono

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Running Time: 117 mins (Opera), 10 mins (Bonus)

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

FSK: 0

Booklet Notes:Tracklisting in English, French, German.

Among the rediscovered treasures of the BBC archives are two recitals by soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, filmed in 1961 and 1970.At the time, she was at the peak of her powers and was accompanied by the world's greatest accompanist: Gerald Moore. Footage of a public concert, filmed exclusively by French television further illustrates Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's musical excellence. Here, the soprano's voice melds wonderfully with the orchestra's instrumental sonorities in works by Mozart Verdi and Strauss. Her anthology of German Lieder takes us on a journey through the imaginative world of Mozart, Schubert and Wolf. These two recitals allow us to re-encounter Schwarzkopf in her favourite repertoire.

"The pristine beauty of her lyric soprano and the charm of her person, combined with hard work and innate intelligence, lent her performances a compelling authority" The Guardian

"…one of the most dazzling artists of her time" The New York Times

The yearly live telecasts of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitorswere a cherished Christmas tradition throughout the 1950s. In addition, since its premiere in 1951, Amahl has been performed regularly by community groups and small opera companies throughout the US, making it the single most popular American opera. This production, staged by the composer himself and originally telecast on Christmas Day, 1955, is a testament to the work’s enduring power to move the heart and stir the soul.

Also on the DVD, from the same broadcast, is The Columbus Boychoir performing Christmas carols. The DVD also includes an exclusive 2007 interview with Rosemary Kuhlmann, who played the Mother in the premiere and all the subsequent telecasts.

55 minutes (plus 30 min. bonus), black & white, mono, all regions

This 1950s adaptation of the opera includes more than thirty minutes of additional scenes and music which Menotti wrote specifically for the film. Produced by Walter Lowendahl. Based on the Broadway production presented by Chandler Cowles and Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.

A major discovery! A dramatically powerful 1960 television production of Menotti’s most provocative work. Patricia Neway, the famed creator of the role of Magda Sorel in the Broadway run of this opera, brings the character to life here with astonishing realism. The superlative supporting cast includes baritone Chester Ludgin. 125 min., B&W.

The Consul is sung in English with optional subtitles in English, French, German and Italian.

Maureen Forrester stars in this powerful production which originated at the Comus Music Theatre of Canada. Sung in English with optional English, French, German and Italian subtitles.