DVD Videos

Arthaus presents a Hommage to one of the most outstanding and charismatic operatic artists in the last 50 years: Plácido Domingo.

Box Set Plácido Domingo including legendary documents available now.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo (Carmen, Lohengrin) / PCM Stereo, DD 5.1 (Il trovatore)

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: 1 x DVD 5, 3 x DVD 9 / PAL

(Carmen, Lohengrin) / NTSC (Il trovatore)

Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, FR, IT, ES / GB, DE, FR, IT (Lohengrin)

Running Time: about 500 mins

FSK: 12

NVC Arts/Warner Classics is delighted to announce the release of the second volume of DVD boxed sets that showcase some of the greatest recordings of Plácido Domingo’s career on stage. This volume features full length performances of operas by Verdi, including Ernani from La Scala, Domingo’s famous performance as Otello from The Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and Il trovatore from Vienna State Opera.

Bonus: This volume is complemented by a 1-hour bonus DVD in which Plácido Domingo speaks at length, with passion and fervour, about each of the roles he sings in these three operas.

Colour

Region Code: 2-5

OTELLO: Picture format: NTSC 4:3 FF

Audio: Dolby 2.0

Duration: 145 mins

Subtitles: Eng / Fr / Ger / It / Sp

ERNANI: Picture format: NTSC 4:3 F

Audio: L-PCM Stereo

Duration: 137 mins

Subtitles: Eng / Fr / Ger / Sp / Jp

IL TROVATORE: Picture format: NTSC 4:3 FF

Audio: Dolby 2.0 & Dolby 5.1 Surround

Duration: 150 mins

Subtitles: Eng / Fr / Ger / It / Sp

Bonus interviews: Picture format: NTSC 16:9

Audio: Dolby 2.0

Duration: 66 mins

Subtitles: None

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

Directed by Gernot Friedel

English commentary with English, French and German subtitles

Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989), one of the twentieth century’s most fascinating and complex geniuses, dominated the post-war classical music world like a colossus. He won unprecedented musical power and public acclaim; received far more adulation, sold far more records and made far more money than any other classical musician of his era. He also had many detractors -those alienated by his superstar status; those who found the purity and beauty of his music-making cold and superficial; those repelled by his headstrong ambition and endlessly demanding pursuit of his artistic ideals; and those for whom he was forever tainted by the shadow of the Third Reich.

Yet his musical playboy image was at odds with the private man who was, in reality, a shy, often solitary figure, possessed of great directness, simplicity and wit, who craved inner quiet and concentration, and was deeply loyal to his closest associates. He loved the peace and quiet of lakes and mountains as much as he did his private aeroplane and his fast cars. Charismatic and enigmatic, Karajan was also the construct that was ‘Karajan’. This film reveals the phenomenon of the man and his music. And it is Karajan himself, in archive interviews, who talks of events in his life and relates them to his work as a conductor.

Herbert von Karajan’s life, both on and off the podium, is charted. From the influential experiences of his childhood and student days; through his emergence as a young conductor with a reputation for being brilliant but difficult; to his years at the forefkont of classical music; and his last decade when, despite failing health, and beset by acrimonious musical politics, he continued to push himself to the limits of his creative and physical powers.

The documentary also touches on the controversial issue of Karajan’s membership of the Nazi Party; his rivalry with FurtwSingler; his fitful association with Walter Legge of EM1 and with the Philharmonia orchestra, founded by Legge in 1945; his fascination with science, technology, art and architecture in relation to music and his conducting style and rapport with his musicians. All are brought into focus and illustrated with a wealth of archive material.

And throughout the film there is Karajan’s music, drawn from the many sound and audiovisual recordings he made during the course of his extraordinary career. Extracts fiom works by Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, J.S. Bach, Puccini, Johann Strauss II, Mahler, Verdi, Richard Strauss and Schoenberg testify to the vast range of the classical repertoire he mastered and summon up the sublime beauty of his music- making.

Recording Place & Date: Philharmonie Berlin, 31.12.1978

For the 1978 New Year's Eve concert with the Berlin Philharmonic, Karajan put together a program of exclusively popular classical works

Following Verdi's Overture to "La forza del destino" are the two major works of the program, Bizet's Arlésienne Suite No. 2 and Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

The Hungarian March, or "Rákóczy March," from Berlioz's "La damnation de Faust" never fails to rouse listeners with its dazzling instrumentation. The program closes with the Intermezzo from Mascagni's "L'amico Fritz" and the ever-popular Overture to "Leichte Kavallerie" by Franz von Suppé. The present recording superbly illustrates that the orchestra was also able to "let go" and enjoy a rollicking time with Suppé or a Lisztian Hungarian Rhapsody

Additional footage: 60 min. portrait “Impressions about Herbert von Karajan”, featuring Karajan the man and conductor, produced for his 70th birthday. This film by Vojtech Jasny from 1978 shows maestro Karajan not only as a conductor and artist but also as teacher, father, pilot, sailor during his holidays in St.Tropez and gives many professional insights and private impressions. In 5.1 DTS Surround Sound. Total Playing Time: 53 min. + 60 min. (Portrait)

Recorded in 1980

Recorded in 1986

Live recording, 1987