DVD Videos

Format: digipack + slipcase

Booklet: 32 pages in 5 languages

Timing : 66'14''

+ interview with William Christie & Deborah Warner (23')

Libretto by Nahum Tate based on a story by Virgile

Sets and Costumes Chloé Obolensky

Lighting Jean Kalman

Coproduction with Netherlands Opera,Amsterdam, Production adapted for Vienna Festival May 2006

A genius with the ability to combine French and Italian influences in an art that transported the English language, Purcell may be William Christie's favourite composer.This production of Dido and Aeneas, directed by Deborah Warner and interpreted by Les Arts Florissants, was overwhelmingly acclaimed when created at the Vienna Festival in 2006 and again when repeated at the Opéra Comique in 2008.This short opera, one of the earliest, is particularly dear to William Christie who has recorded and directed it on several occasions.

Brilliant stage direction by Deborah Warner combines various time spaces in the 17th century with the present day, enhanced by the subtle lighting schemes of Jean Kalman.The elegant, production for television by François Roussillon entirely sustains the stage direction and music bringing to life the performance recorded in December 2008 at the Opéra Comique.

Setting faithfully recreates early 19th century Italian theatre, giving the audience an authentic experience of Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Broadcast in selected Curzon and Odeon cinemas in February 2009 as part of the Italy’s Grand Opera in Cinemas project.

Picture Format: 16:9

Sound Format: DD 5.1 / LPCM 2.0

NTSC

Region Code: 0

Available Worldwide

Shot in full HD. dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround sound on Blu-ray! DD 5.1 sound on DVD

La Fura del Baus, famous for their opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Barcelona and opera stagings in Salzburg, Ruhrtriennale, etc., use in their groundbreaking Ring 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the "Cirque du soleil".

From Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, 2009.

Incl. world-class Wagner singers such as Matti Salminen and promising young talents like Jennifer Wilson (Brünnhilde).

In this production "the visual codes of the digital era become elemental and dazzlingly employed means of narration" (Opernwelt).

Sunday Times: "quite a spectacle“, "brilliantly sung“.

Picture Format: NTSC 16:9 DVD9 HD

Sound Format: Dolby Digital 5.1 PCM 2.0

Region Code: 0

Duration: 280 minutes + 27 minutes bonus

Recorded: live from Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia 2009 - staged by La Fura del Baus

Subtitles: English German French Spanish

Karajan’s final Trovatore on DVD

Set Design by Teo Otto

Il Trovatore was always one of Herbert von Karajan‘s favourite operas. He conducted it at the very beginning of his career and his fi rst studio recording in 1956 was made in Milan with Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano, but „his“ Trovatore really made its mark in the legendary performances given at the Salzburg Festival in 1962, which formed the basis for this successful revival in Vienna. He once declared in an interview that what he loved about this opera was its archetypal human passions, its compression of highly dramatic situations into the smallest conceivable space and Verdi‘s genius for translating such situations into music. This 1978 performance is steeped in scandal. Franco Bonisolli was originally cast in the lead role but abandoned the cast during a rehearsal where the public had been admitted entry, and, after throwing his sword at the conductor, left the stage in fury, to be later replaced by Plácido Domingo. Karajan not only conducted the opera, but he was also responsible for the stage direction. The recording was very rarely broadcast and this DVD draws on the original tapes held by Austrian Television (ORF), extensively restored using state of the art technology. Thus this gem from the archives can now be enjoyed on DVD with enhanced sound and picture quality.

Sound Format: PCM STEREO

DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Picture Format: 4:3

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

FSK: 0

Running Time: 151 mins

Passion, loyalty and political conspiracy are the three pillars of Un ballo in maschera (1859), the ‘most operatic of all operas’. Set in XIX century Boston, Mario Martone’s athmospheric production for the Teatro Real in Madrid brings out all the innate theatricality and drama of Verdi’s work. World famous Argentinean tenor Marcelo Álvarez in the role of Riccardo leads a fabulous cast including Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as his love Amelia and Elena Zaremba playing the witch Ulrica. Jesús López Cobos conducts the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance that shows the lyricism and grandeur of this beautiful work, which marries grand opera and opera comique features with Verdi's classical Italian opera tradition.

Extra features:

Illustrated synopsis.

Cast gallery.

Running time 144 mins

Region code All regions

Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic

Sound format 5.1 Half DTS Surround / PCM Stereo

Menu language EN

Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT

This hilarious contemporary version of Francesco Cavalli’s baroque opera Hercules in Love was commissioned on occasion of the marriage of Louis XIV, the Sun King, to Maria Theresa of Spain. The original production took two years to complete and was at the time the greatest show ever performed in Europe. Directed by David Alden, this surreal production is a triumph of commedia buffa resplendent with decorative and symbolic elements, and complemented by Constance Hoffman’s exceptional costumes. Led by Ivor Bolton, a master of baroque music, the chorus of De Nederlandse Opera and Concerto Köln give a sublime performance. With Luca Pisaroni’s (Ercole) singing being heroic and melodious in turn, and Veronica Cangemi as a splendid Iole, this is an outstanding production by the DNO. Filmed in High Definition and surround sound.

Extra features:

Illustrated synopsis.

Cast gallery.

Behind the scenes with Johanette Zomer.

Behind the scenes with Luca Pisaroni.

The making of Ercole Amante.

Region code All regions

Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic

Sound format 2.0 & 5.0 PCM

Menu language EN

Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/NL

Shot in full HD, dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround sound on Blu-ray! 5.1 sound on DVD

La Fura del Baus, famous for their opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Barcelona and opera stagings in Salzburg, Ruhrtriennale, etc., use in their groundbreaking Ring 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the "Cirque du soleil".

From Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, 2008.

Incl. world-class Wagner singers and promising young talents like Jennifer Wilson (Brünnhilde) and Juha Uusitalo (Wotan), whom the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung hailed as a new "Number One among the opera gods."

Bonus Material - Making of Siegfried.

In this production "the visual codes of the digital era become elemental and dazzlingly employed means of narration" (Opernwelt).

Sunday times: “quite a spectacle”, “brilliantly sung”

Picture Format: NTSC 16:9 DVD9 HD

Sound Format: Dolby Digital 5.1 PCM 2.0

Region Code: 0

Duration: 256 minutes + 27 minutes bonus

Recorded: live from Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia 2008 - staged by La Fura del Baus

Subtitles: English German French Spanish

Directed and Set Design by Franco Zeffirelli

Arthaus presents a recording of a marvelous opera production from Milan on DVD. Franco Zefffirelli staged Puccini’s masterpiece La Bohème with international opera stars in a set true to the touching story of Mimì and Rodolfo. These are wonderfully portrayed by Cristina Gallardo-Domâs, recognized as one of the top lyric sopranos with an expressive voice and vivid stage presence, and Marcelo Álvarez, hailed by critics as „one of the hottest tenors on the international scene“. Puccini’s opera about art and artists also touches the singers’ profession. Álvarez said of opera: “The audience wants authenticity. It wants a heavenly voice to make mistakes sometimes. It wants honest singers. But at the same time one must be able to step down off the stage and become an ordinary person again.” Role-playing and life, art and reality, are at the heart of La Bohème - what remains of the artists’ life and love at the end of the opera is the memory of them. “I love little things”, the composer Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) once said, “and I only can and want to make the music of little things, if they are true, passionate and human, and go to the heart.” The director Franco Zeffirelli is known for putting the real world on to the operatic stage in lavish sets and costumes. Yet by accumulating little things, by his virtuoso play with details, he built the cosmos of Puccini’s artists in La Bohème as a feast of little things, creating a world poised between poverty and beauty. This DVD shows how opera – the music, the acting, the singing and the staging - finds beauty and grace even in sorrow.

Sound Format: PCM STEREO

DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Picture Format: 16.9

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

FSK: 0

Running Time: 134 mins

The heroine of La Veuve joyeuse is called Missia Palmieri, but she had started off in 1905 as Hanna Glawari in Vienna, where this operetta is known as Die lustige Witwe; its French premiere followed in 1909. The story of the merry widow and her rekindled romance with dissipated diplomat Count Danilo takes place in Paris – notably chez Maxim’s in the final act – and in fact has its roots in a French play, L'attaché d'ambassade by Henri Meilhac. With Ludovic Halévy, Meilhac was the librettist of Carmen, a number of Offenbach’s operettas and a play called Le Réveillon, which forms the basis of that other supreme Viennese operetta Die Fledermaus. Johann Strauss’ waltzes and polkas were clearly an influence on Lehár, but his sumptuous and often touching score also frequently furnishes reminders that he was a contemporary both Richard Strauss and Giacomo Puccini.

This production, mounted in December 2007 at the Opéra de Lyon (the source of Virgin Classics’ DVD of Offenbach’s La Vie parisienne in a riotous contemporary updating by Laurent Pelly) is by the French director Macha MakeIeff. She treats the work as the masterpiece it is: ”Macha Makeleff’s reading … turns its back on the conventions of operetta frippery, of musical champagne bubbles to keep the crowds happy … In defining the personalities of the two lovers – two wounded birds who have put up barriers to protect themselves from love – she brings depth and gravity to the work, giving it new stature.” (Le Progrès)

In the title role is the leading French lyric soprano, the graceful Véronique Gens, whose two Tragédienne recitals are on Virgin Classics; her Danilo is the dashing British baritone Ivan Ludlow, while the roles of the secondary pair of errant lovers are played by the Canadian tenor Gordon Gietz and the delightful Magali Léger, with the latter’s long-suffering husband portrayed by François Le Roux, a proverbially elegant and witty singer. Conducting is Gerard Korsten, born in South Africa but with long experience as both a student and performer in Austria, notably Salzburg.

Subtitles in French and English NB No subtitles for dialogue

Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte.

German Adaptation by Walter Felsenstein and Horst Seeger. Recorded (Black-And-White) at The Komische Oper, 1966.

Stage Direction Walter Felsenstein, TV Direction Georg Mielke & Set Design Reinhart Zimmermann.

Walter Felsenstein (1901–1975), founder and general director of the Komische Oper in Berlin, was one of the twentieth century’s greatest creative theatre directors, who played a hugely important role in the revival of opera as a theatrical art form. A brilliant artist who directed over 190 productions during the course of his career, he was equally committed to the works, their creators, the ensemble and the audience.

With his adaption of “Don Giovanni” (1966) Felsenstein paid homage to Mozart and his ingenious work which he always admired. He decided to celebrate the reopening of the Komische Oper (1966) with the premiere of this “opera of all operas”, which blends comedy, melodrama and supernatural elements. As Don Giovanni, Felsenstein assigned the Hungarian baritone György Melis. This outstanding singer, who had already interpreted the role of the amorous conquerer at the Festivals of Glyndebourne in 1961, appeared in Felsenstein’s adaption also as an outstanding actor. With impressive Klara Barlow as Donna Anna and a distinguished cast at his side this production is an extraordinary listening pleasure.

Besides that it sets benchmarks in filming operas. “Don Giovanni” by Felsenstein is a filmed opera, rather than a feature film based on the opera, and reflects a particular staging of this masterpiece in opera history. Through the lens, Felsenstein made this work come alive to reveal the various personal relationships at the core of the quintessential tragicomedy by Mozart. The founder of the Komische Oper Berlin brought his own genius to the result in a film that is as strong dramatically as it is musically. Through his efforts in filming this opera, Felsenstein does not minimize music in this film but rather intensifies it.

Special Features on DVD: Facsimile & Texts, Film: “Walter Felsenstein in rehearsal”, Television footage.

PCM STEREO

DVD Format: 2 x DVD 9, NTSC

Picture Format: 4:3

Running Time: 165 mins Opera + Special Features

FSK: 0

Languages: GB, DE, FR, ES