DVD Videos

Wolf-Ferrari’s comic opera La vedova scaltra (The Cunning Widow), is among the works he based on plays by Goldoni. It matches closely the conventions of 18th-century opera buffa in its witty if sceptical look at the mechanisms governing the interplay of human relations. Four hopeful suitors vie for the hand of Rosaura, the cunning widow of the title, who disguises herself to meet each wooer, eventually choosing the only one who can demonstrate his sincerity. This production, filmed live at the Teatro La Fenice in February 2007 in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the birth of Goldoni in Venice in 1707, is the first to appear on DVD. Director Massimo Gasparon’s strikingly colourful sets and costumes capture the Venetian flavour of this spirited work.

Recorded in 1980

Recorded in 1986

Live recording, 1987

The libretto, written by Cardinal Giulio Rospigliosi (the future Pope Clement IX), tells the story of saintly sacrifice: on his wedding night Alessio departs alone for the Holy Land in search of sanctity. Years later he returns unrecognised as a beggar to his family home, where his father, mother and wife still mourn him. A demon tempts Alessio to reveal his true identity and so end his family’s grief, but an angel keeps him on the sacred path. The dying Alessio leaves a letter explaining the truth and an angelic chorus bids his family to rejoice rather than mourn, since he has been received into heaven. This strange, solemn and elevated story is leavened with comic scenes in the commedia dell’arte vein, adding to the rich musico-dramatic variety of the entire opera.

This beloved operetta, which takes place during Carnival celebrations in 18th-century in Venice, shows Strauss’s descriptive writing at its best, helped by his love of Italy. Eine Nacht in Venedig inspired Strauss to compose some of his most successful operetta-music. The Italian atmosphere, the sun, the sea and the Venetian way of life appealed to his creative imagination

The stellar cast includes such eminent singer as Anton de Ridder, Sylvia Geszty, Julia Migenes and Trudeliese Schmiedt; Kurt Eichhorn conducts the Münchner Rundfunkorchester

This film-production from 1973 was made by the well known Czech conductor and stage director Vaclav Kaslik

Among other songs in this operetta, two in particular immediately come to the music-lover´s mind: the infatuating yearning “Komm in die Gondel mein Liebchen” and the captivating waltz “Ach wie so herrlich zu schauen sind all die reizenden Frauen”