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Michael Schanze (as The Entertainer), Winfried Hübner, Christoph Gehr & Michael Schlenger Ensemble of the World Theatre Choirs Andechs & Young Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Mark Mast (conductor) & Hellmuth Matiasek (stage director) Stage and costumes: Thomas Pekny Lights: Georg Boeshenz Performed in the Florian Barn of the Andechs Monastery A rascal’s tale, both fascinating and amusing, and presented in Orff’s “rootsy” and powerful Bavarian style. “Astutuli” are the cheeky super-bright people who get taken all too easily by a clever con-man. Nobody wants to be the dumb one; thus, the audience first lose a healthy sense of truth, then they lose their clothes and their purses and eventually all their dignity. “Everything is make-believe!” shouts the entertainer before disappearing with his accomplice and the loot. It’s a rascal’s tale, a story of deception, which is both fascinating and amusing. But behind all that – and unnoticeable until the very end – we find deceit, spoonfeeding and theft. DVD-Video with English subtitles Dolby Digital 5.1, DVD-9 / 105 min. regional code: 0 (PAL, colour), frame size: 16 : 9 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | The Bernauer Woman
Christoph Gehr (Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria), Julia Urban ( Agnes Bernauer, Kaspar's daughter), Peter Rappenglück (Kaspar, barber), Fred Maire (Monk), Winfried Hübner & Reinhold Lampe (Burghers of the city of Munich) & Heinz Schmidtpeter (Chancellor of Duke Ernst) Small World Theatre Choir Andechs & Young Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Mark Mast (conductor) & Hellmuth Matiasek (stage director) Stage and costumes: Thomas Pekny Lights: Georg Boeshenz Performed in the Florian Barn of the Andechs Monastery Orff’s Bavarian piece is about the love affair and eventual marriage — which is not befitting their social positions — of Duke Albrecht III and Agnes Bernauer, the beautiful daughter of a barber-surgeon from the city of Augsburg. Albrecht’s father, Duke Ernst, feels that this marriage jeopardises rightful succession and has Agnes declared a witch and drowned in the Danube River. Duke Albrecht III founded the Andechs Monastery in 1455 and is buried in the conventual church where Carl Orff is laid to rest. DVD-Video with English subtitles Dolby Digital 5.1, DVD-9 / 105 min. regional code: 0 (PAL, colour), frame size: 16 : 9 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded live from the Teatro Regio, Turin 7, 10 & 13 October 2010
Orlin Anastassov (Boris), Alessandra Marianelli (Xenia), Pavel Zubov (Fyodor), Ian Storey (Grigory), Vladimir Vaneev (Pimen), Peter Bronder (Prince Shuisky), Vasily Ladjuk (Andrey Shchelkalov), Vladimir Matorin (Varlaam), Luca Casalin (Missail), Nadezhda Serdjuk (Innkeeper), Evgeny Akimov (Holy Fool), Elena Sommer (Nurse), John Paul Huckle (Nikitich), Oliviero Giorgiutti (Mityukha), Matthias Stier (Boyar-in-attendance) & Andrei Konchalovsky (Khrushchyov) Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Regio, Torino, Gianandrea Noseda (conductor) & Andrei Konchalovsky (director) Boris Godunov is the story not only of a troubled leader but of an entire nation, and its history is as eventful as that of Mother Russia herself. In this new production, the legendary director Andrei Konchalovsky presents a personal vision of the opera that takes Mussorgsky’s bare and monumental first version as its basis, while adding the final scene from the composer’s revision, in which not only the Tsar but the people themselves reveal their fatal flaws. Orlin Anastassov stars in the title role, conducted by Gianandrea Noseda. ‘’Orchestrally and vocally outstanding’’ The Opera Critic Extra features: Cast gallery Interviews with Andrei Konchalovsky & Gianandrea Noseda Running time 164 mins Region Code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS Menu languages EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES “Konchalovsky sticks to the 1869 original...Orlin Anastassov makes a rich-voiced but wildly over-the-top Godunov...It's good to have the superlative treble Pavel Zubov as Boris's son Fyodor...Best is Gianandrea Noseda's fluent and urgent conducting” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 *** “[Noseda] paces and balances Boris most naturally, eschewing brassy climaxes or over-melodramatic spookiness...Konchalovsky's detailed work with his responsive soloists has some of the over-the-top manic energy of Orson Welles in his Shakespeare films: the glinting, desperate, trapped eyes of Orlin Anastassov's Tsar and the fussy sweat-wiping mannerisms of Peter Bronder's Shuisky create an apt other-worldly presence. Both too are in fine voice.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2012 “Noseda is well-schooled in this repertoire through Valery Gergiev’s mentorship and offers a viscerally exciting performance of the score. His tempi are keen and there is plenty of thrust to his orchestra’s attack...Orlin Anastassov is a much younger Boris than we’re used to seeing, but then the real Boris Godunov became regent at the age of 34. Opulently costumed, he cuts a noble figure from the start and has the vocal resources to match.” Opera Britannia, 30th October 2011 ****/***** “Anastassov is vocally and physically imposing as the Tsar. It is not, I think, being fanciful to say that from early on his staring eyes reflect the first signs of Boris's mental derangement. His voice emerges with deep resonance, focused, flowing, dark of timbre...The cast has no weaknesses...I rate the performance highly.” International Record Review, October 2011 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Live Recording from The Salzburger Festspiele, 1990
Set Design by WILLIAM DUDLEY Arthaus releases on DVD another gem from the archives of Austrian Television. The outstanding production of Verdi’s Masked Ball at the Salzburg Festivals 1989 and 1990 was Herbert von Karajan’s legacy to the Festival. Supported by a cast of superlative actor-singers in opulent scenery, Sir George Solti agreed to conduct the opera at short notice after Karajan’s unexpected death in 1989. The production had been expected to be a highlight in Karajan’s series of Verdi operas at Salzburg. Karajan’s celebrated ability to unite a cultivated sound with dramatic effects was known to create extraordinary and highly acclaimed opera events. For Un ballo in maschera Karajan planned something unusual: He would not set the opera in colonial Massachusetts, as the censors had forced Verdi to do when he was composing the work, but in Stockholm in the 1790s at the court of King Gustav III of Sweden, as Verdi had originally conceived his work. Together with the film director John Schlesinger and his stage team, Karajan developed a concept that promised theatrical splendour equal to the musical excellence that the conductor and the handpicked cast of singers would surely provide in collaboration with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. But this was not to be: stage rehearsals had already begun for the opening performance of the 1989 festival when Karajan died on 16 July. Therefore it was extraordinarily lucky that a conductor of Sir Georg Solti’s standing, was prepared to undertake the task just a week before the premiere, and with the whole world watching. He and the staging by Hollywood film director John Schlesinger was acclaimed by audience and press alike. Sound Format: PCM Stereo Picture Format: 4:3 DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, FR, ES, IT, CN Running Time: 145 mins FSK: 0 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Stéphanie D’Oustrac (Armide), Paul Agnew (Renaud), Claire Debono (La Gloire, Phénice, Lucinde), Isabelle Druet (La Sagesse, Sidonie, Mélisse), Nathan Berg (Hidraot ), Marc Mauillon (Ubalde Aronte), Marc Callaghan (Artémidore), Andrew Tortise (Le Chevalier Danois), Laurent Naouri (La Haine) & Anders J. Dahlin (Un Amant fortuné) Les Arts Florissants, William Christie Book: Philippe Quinault; direction: Robert Carsen; designer: Gideon Davey; Production: Théâtre des Champs-Elysées October 2008 For any enthusiast of Baroque music, the production of Lully's Armide at the Theatre des Champs Elysées, directed by William Christie and staged by Robert Carsen, was an exceptional event. The last and most successful collaboration between Lully and his librettist Quinault, Armide is the ideal of the genre as desired by Louis XIV: a tragic opera that achieves the perfect fusion of music, song and dance. William Christie leads the orchestra and chorus of Les Arts Florissants and a dazzling cast. Stephanie D’Oustrac is the imperious sorceress Armida, overcome by the violence of a forbidden passion. The bewitching choreography is by Jean-Claude Gallotta. NTSC 16.9, Dolby 5.1, All zones Language: Fr, Subtitles: Eng, Spa, Ger, Ita, Fr 3h 18min 18s “Christie and his ensemble...surpass themselves in revivifying this 325-year-old score with imaginative articulation and expressive flair. Gideon Davey's designs are as impressive as Jean-Claude Gallotta's choreography. The cast, too, is remarkable...Not only is the result a comprehensive package supplying an exemplary performance of an unfamiliar Baroque masterpiece, but it vindicates Lully as a great dramatic composer.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2011 ***** “Something of a problem for present-day directors, it's brilliantly solved here by Robert Carsen...d'Oustrac makes a magnificent Armide, passionate and despairing. Agnew, so experienced in this repertoire, is equally memorable...There's excellent support from Nathan Berg and the other singers...Christie conducts with his customary exuberance: roll on Atys, revived last May at the Opera Comique!” Gramophone Magazine, October 2011 “Carsen's elegant, stylised approach fits Lully like a glove...The opera itself is a beautifully sustained disquisition on the nature of desire, to which Carsen brings exquisite eroticism and a fine understanding of how to blend song, dance, psychological detail and ceremonial spectacle into a convincing whole. Les Arts Florissants plays it ravishingly for William Christie...It's classy, sexy entertainment. Treat yourself.” The Guardian, 8th December 2011  BBC Music Magazine
DVD & Blu-ray Choice - September 2011 |
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| |  | Baroque Academie : Le Jardin des Voix
Francesca Boncompagni (soprano) Italy, Claire Meghnagi (soprano) Italy / Israel, Laura Hynes Smith (soprano) USA, Sonya Yoncheva (soprano) Bulgaria, Amaya Dominguez (mezzo-soprano) France, Michal Czerniawski (countertenor) Poland, Juan Sancho (tenor) Spain, Pascal Charbonneau (tenor) Canada, Nicholas Watts (tenor) UK & Jonathan Sells (bass) UK William Christie Directed by Priscilla Pizzato & Martin Blanchard Le Jardin des Voix is the bi-annual academy for promising young singers, founded by William Christie in 2002. We share moments of grace, uncertainty and disappointment as the film follows the jury through the auditioning process, with Paul Agnew (coach and singing teacher). Then, a year later, we find the ten winners at the Théâtre de Caen, where Les Arts Florissant are resident, for three weeks of intensive rehearsal prior to an international tour that will take them to London, Brussels, Lisbon, Paris , New York… Includes footage from London’s Barbican Centre. Language : FR Subtitles: ENG, DE Colour, 4/3, NTSC, stereo, region code 0 93 min. | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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| |  | tragedy by Sophocles translated by Friedrich Hölderlin
Katrin Gerstenberger (Antigonae), Anja Vincken (Ismene), Oleksandr Prytolyuk (Choragus), Andreas Daum (Kreon), Markus Durst, Jeffrey Treganza (Guards), Sven Ehrke (Hämon), Mark Adler (Tiresias), Thomas Mehnert (A messenger) & Susanne Serfling (Eurydice) Darmstadt State Theatre Orchestra and Male Chorus, Stefan Blunier (conductor) & John Dew (stage director) Creon, new ruler of Thebes, issues a burial ban for Polyneices, Oedipus’ son. Antigonae disobeys Creon’s orders and buries her brother, so as to abide by the laws of the Gods. Despite the warnings of the citizens and the seer Tiresias, Creon sentences Antigonae to death by walling her in. However, by annihilating Antigonae, Creon also destroys his very own existence: in quick succession, his son, who is engaged to Antigonae, and his spouse commit suicide. German /English Dolby Stereo , 16:9, DVD 9 , (0) PAL 139+10 min | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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| |  | tragedy by Sophocles translated by Friedrich Hölderlin
Norbert Schmittberg (Oedipus), Dimitry Ivashchenko (A priest), Andreas Daum (Kreon), Oleksandr Prytolyuk (Choragus), Markus Durst (Choragus), Mark Adler (Tiresias), Yamina Maamar (Iokasta), Stefan Umhey (messenger from Corinth) & Hans-Joachim Porcher (shepherd of Laius) Darmstadt State Theatre Orchestra & Male Chorus, Stefan Blunier (conductor) & John Dew (stage director) According to the Delphic Oracle, Oedipus, ruler of Thebes, can only save his city from doom if he solves the murder of his predecessor Laius. In the course of the investigation, Oedipus himself is accused of regicide and realises that several years earlier, he unwittingly killed Laius, his own father, and married Jocasta, his mother. Thereupon, Oedipus blinds himself. German /English Dolby Stereo , 16:9, DVD 9 , (0) PAL 126+10 min | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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| |  | Sung in Italian
Recorded at Teatro Comunale, Ferrara, January 2008 Motezuma is Vivaldi’s only opera set in the New World. The manuscripts for this rarely performed and rarely heard opera were only rediscovered in 2002 and currently only one CD version exists recorded by Alan Curtis and Il Complesso Barocco. Of the CD recording, BBC Music Magazine wrote: “The instrumentalists of Il Complesso Barocco are on excellent form as indeed is Vivaldi himself in a rewarding score”. Alan Curtis, one of the leading experts of Baroque music, returns again with the same orchestra, renowned Baroque specialist Vito Priante and another expert cast for the World Premiere Recording on DVD. Region Code: 0 Sound format: 16:9 Picture format: LPCM 2.0 Running Time: 153 min. + extras Booklet notes: Ita / Eng / Fre / Ger Subtitles: Fre, Eng, Ger, Spa, Ita AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE | | | This item is currently out of stock at the UK distributor. You may order it now but please be aware that it may be six weeks or more before it can be despatched. |
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This highly acclaimed production from the Bayerische Staatsoper was a veritable sensation and the performance of up-and-coming Latvian soprano, Kristīne Opolais was rightly hailed by the press as “one of the most vivid and striking accomplishments seen on an opera stage in a long time” (Vienna’s leading daily “Der Standard”). With her supple and velvety soprano voice, her captivating physical beauty and her hauntingly moving stage presence, Kristine Opolais perfectly embodies the role of water nymph who becomes a human being in order to find love. Directed by renowned director Martin Kušej. Recorded at the Bayerische Staatsoper, 2010. Total: 193 minutes (Opera: 156 min. + Bonus 36 min.) DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo Opera: English, German, French, Spanish, Korean, Chinese Bonus: English “Whatever reservations one might have about the production, the performance as a whole is remarkable. The cast has clearly bought into the producer's concept and they deliver a devastating ensemble performance. Kristine Opolais as Rusalka is vocally superb and acts magnificently..Tomáš Hanus draws some wonderful playing from the Bavarian State Orchestra and paces the musical-dramatic flow flawlessly.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 **** “In Martin Kusej’s brilliantly executed, up-to-the-minute interpretation of Dvorák’s fairy tale, first seen in Munich a year ago, Rusalka is the victim of a psychopathic abductor (the water goblin), irretrievably damaged in body and mind...Opolais gives a harrowing performance, at the head of a strong cast” Financial Times, 17th September 2011 ***** “The grim modern tale is acted out with undeniable intensity. Kristine Opolais's Rusalka may not have the vocal beauty of some but she gives her all in a moving portrayal...Vogt is almost perfectly cast, capturing equally the poetic naivety and Wagnerian grandeur of Dvorak's music. There could be no more frightening Fritzl/Water Goblin than Günther Groissböck...The conductor, Tomáš Hanus, paces the score with energy” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011 “[Kusej imposes] on Dvorak's work a harrowingly contemporary sexual violence. This is in its way a riveting conception, although it eliminates every trace of romance from the opera...Opolais's Rusalka exudes all-out commitment. The young Latvian soprano moves, acts and sings beautifully...Singing with velvety tone of imposing breadth, Gunther Groissbock proves terrifyingly convincing in putting across Kusej's dissolute, sexually brutal view of the Water Goblin.” International Record Review, September 2011 “Some scenes are almost unwatchable…But it's superbly done and is notable for a brave, perhaps career-best performance from Kristine Opolais in the title role. Klaus Florian Vogt is her emotionally insensitive Prince; Gunther Groissböck her truly horrifying father. It's forcefully conducted by Tomáš Hanus, too.” The Guardian, 8th December 2011 *** “Not for the faint-hearted, Martin Kusej’s 2010 Munich production...transposes Dvorák’s water nymphs and goblins to the living-nightmare contemporary world of Josef Fritzl...there’s no denying the power of the staging. The soprano Kristine Opolais is a revelation in the title role and the music outstanding under Tomas Hanus’s baton.” The Times, 13th August 2011 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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