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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Live Recording from The Zurich Opera House, 2002
Set Design by GILLES AILLAUD Il Ritorno d‘Ulisse in Patria is based closely on the fi nal books of Homer‘s Odyssey and is hailed as the key work marking the threshold between the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Together with producer Klaus Michael Grüber, Nikolaus Harnoncourt strikes a new balance between musical polish and distillation of the essence of dramatic action. „It is a kind of ‘théâtre pauvre’, which works with a few carefully chosen and powerful symbols“, was how the newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung reviewed the production. The main action takes place on little more than an angled revolving stage in front of a whitewashed wall which hints at the landscape of a Greek island. The sets have an apt simplicity, eschewing fussy detail and spectacular effects. The colours are cool, predominantly white, blue and black, transporting us to a modern day. Harnoncourt’s musical drive has become „a touch gentler“, wrote the Berlin daily Tagesspiegel. „Not that Harnoncourt is now leaving things to chance or to the discretion of his exquisite musicians. But the way he communicates – his entire rostrum manner – seems to have become more relaxed, calmer, rounder, and both he and the listener are amply rewarded by the sound which results.“ Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC Subtitles: IT (Original Language), DE, GB, FR, ES, JP. KOR Running Time: 155 mins FSK: 0 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Live Recording from The Felsenreitschule, Salzburg Festival, 2003
Set Design by Jens Kilian Arthaus presents a truly new way of looking at La clemenza di Tito with this famous and star-studded production from the Salzburg Festival 2003. Here Nikolaus Harnoncourt, renowned for his analytical approach to the search for the core of the music, interprets Mozart’s last opera. Martin Kušej, who is acclaimed for his theatre productions directs the production. Nikolaus Harnoncourt identifies with Mozart’s score as both an extremely knowledgeable musician and a conductor who invariably plays an active part in helping to shape the drama. Together with the Vienna Philharmonic, he savours the miracles of Mozart’s late work, bringing out its instrumental colours and effects and at the same time stimulating his singers while proving a solicitous accompanist. Martin Kušej’s production emphasizes the darker sides of the piece, exploring the opera’s basic archetypal patterns while at the same time interpreting it as a highly topical and – in the truest sense of the term – timeless political and human power game. His ability to bring this concept across by focussing on every last detail of the characterization reflects the demand to provide new insights into Mozart’s works that, in Salzburg more than anywhere else, is incumbent upon interpreters. The suggestive power of this performance however, is also due to an ensemble that was truly worthy of a festival appearance. As one critic wrote, six handpicked artists “brought to their parts both plenty of character and a flawless technique”. Sound Format: LPCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: 1 x DVD 5, 1 x DVD 9 / NTSC Subtitle Languages: DE, GB, FR, ES, IT Running Time: 160 mins FSK: 0 “The strongest point in its favour is its communication of the work's austere power: a music-drama that both sums up the past and looks far into the future...The characters, whether or not one accepts Kusej's view of them, are all delineated with extraordinary vividness; in purely vocal terms likewise this is a Tito cast of considerable all-round distinction.” BBC Music Magazine, July 2011 ** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | 2005 Zürich Opera production by Jonathan Miller
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| |  | Mozart at Salzburg Festival
Mozart: | Le nozze di Figaro, K492 Live Recording from The Salzburg Festival 1966 Ingvar Wixell (Il Conte di Almaviva), Claire Watson (La Contessa di Almaviva), Reri Grist (Susanna), Edith Mathis (Cherubino), Walter Berry (Figaro), David Thaw (Basilio), Zoltan Kelemen (Bartolo) & Margarethe Bence (Marcellina) Chor Der Wiener Staatsoper & Die Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm (conductor) & Günther Rennert (director) Die Zauberflöte, K620 Live Recording from From The Salzburger Festspiele, 1982 Edita Gruberova (Königin der Nacht), Peter Schreier (Tamino), Christian Boesch (Papageno), Ileana Cotrubas (Pamina), Edda Moser (Erste Dame), Ann Murray (Zweite Dame), Ingrid Mayr (Dritte Dame), Martti Talvela (Sarastro), Horst Hiestermann (Monostatos), Gudrun Sieber (Papagena) Wiener Staatsoper, James Levine La clemenza di Tito, K621 Live Recording from The Felsenreitschule, Salzburg Festival, 2003 Michael Schade (Tito), Vesselina Kasarova (Sesto), Dorothea Röschmann (Vitellia), Elina Garanča (Annio) & Barbara Bonney (Servilia) Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor & Wiener Philharmoniker, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor) & Martin Kušej (director) |
This Boxed Set presents outstanding opera recordings from the Salzburg Festival of 1966, 1982 and 2003 featuring star singers as Walter Berry, Reri Grist and Ingvar Wixell, in “Le Nozze di Figaro”, Edita Gruberova, Ileana Cotrubas and Peter Schreier in “Die Zauberflöte” and fi nally the outstanding production of “La clemenza di Tito” with the mezzo-soprano stars Vesselina Kasarova and Elina Garanca. Sound Formats: PCM Mono (Le Nozze di Figaro) / PCM Stereo (Die Zauberflöte) / PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1 (La Clemenza di Tito) Picture Formats: 4:3 / 16:9 DVD Formats: 4x DVD 9 + 2x DVD 5, NTSC Subtitle Languages: GB, DE FR, ES, IT Running Time: 529 mins FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Live Recording from The Zurich Opera House, 1997
Vesselina Kasarova (Helen, Queen of Sparta), Deon van der Walt (Paris, son of King Priam), Carlos Chausson (Calchas, High Priest of Jupiter), Volker Vogel (Menelaus, King of Sparta) & Oliver Widmer (Agamemnon, King of Argos) Zurich Opera House, Nikolaus Harnoncourt (conductor) & Helmut Lohner (stage director) Stage Design by PAOLO PIVA Costum Designe by JEAN-CHARLES DE CASTELBAJAC A superficial view may regard Offenbach’s lightweight masterpiece, La belle Hélène, as „merely“ an opera buffa. But closer scrutiny of this charming, imaginative firework of intrigue makes one thing clear: the story of the Greek queen who started off the Trojan war is, in this version, a humorous and satirical caricature of the vulgar, decadent Parisian upper classes of Offenbach’s own day. Who better suited to produce a modern rendering of this work than the now highly acclaimed Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who also ensured the work’s historical accuracy? Employing a small string section, shining, colourful brass and richly varied percussion, the opera still strikes one as exceptionally modern. This impression is also enhanced by the designers of the production, recorded at the Zurich Opera House: no less a figure than the fashion designer Jean–Charles de Castelbajac was responsible for the humorously expansive costumes; and the highly subtle stage–set was the work of Paolo Pivas. Sound Format: PCM Stereo Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC Subtile Languages: DE (Original Language), GB, NL, GR, JP Running Time: 124 mins FSK: 0 “Lohner's staging creates a delectable absurdist fantasy from Offenbach's opera bouffe, starring Kasarova's knowing Helen and Van der Walt's jaunty Paris. Harnoncourt is irresistable.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2012 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Live Recording from The Wiener Staatsoper, 2010
Set & Costumes by ANTHONY WARD Handel’s operas are now so thoroughly a part of modern musical life that you might think every major opera house welcomes them. But until November 2010, when it introduced an absorbing new production of Alcina, the Vienna Staatsoper resisted them, not having done a Baroque opera since Monteverdi’s Poppea in the 1960s. The present production boasted an all-star cast of Baroque specialists, a former director of the Royal Shakespeare Company – Adrian Noble, the highly-acclaimed conductor Marc Minkowski and his Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble in the pit. Adrian Noble places his Alcina into a framework which begins in the magnifi cent ballroom of the Devonshire-House in London Piccadilly. The legendary Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, stages a play in which she is acting together with her friends, a stage on the stage. Alcina is a great musical experience geared to the Baroque curiosity. Marc Minkowski revives Handel’s music in an outstanding way. BONUS: Behind the Scenes Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: 2 x DVD 9, NTSC Subtitle Languages: DE, GB, FR, ES, IT, JP, Korean Running Time: 205 mins (Opera) + 21 mins (Bonus) FSK: 0 “Adrian Noble's 2010 Vienna staging, to handsome designs by Anthony Ward, partially retains the magical ambience but as a setting within a setting...Noble extracts decent dramatic performances from all participants, even if they rarely achieve that sense of engagement such passionate material demands...The DVD features consistently high-quality music-making from Marc Minkowski and his French period-instrument band.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 *** “Conductor and orchestra are superb; so is Anja Harteros, who finds real depth in Alcina's passion for Ruggiero. After an effortful start in her opening aria, Veronia Cangemi is well on form in 'Credete al mio dolore'. Kristina Hammarström looks and sounds well as Bradamante.” Gramophone Magazine “Harteros's willowy figure and terrically responsive facial features are huge assets for Alcina. Her warm lirico-spinto instrument boasts the necessary range and flexibility...Truly phenomenal is Alois Mühlbacher (Oberto), with spot-on intonation, excellent coloratura and a surprisingly colourful timbre. He's also adorable to watch...Marc Minkowski and his Musiciens du Louvre contribute terrific dramatic flair and, of course, technique and musicianship of the highest order.” International Record Review, November 2011 “an imaginative and colourful production from the Vienna State Opera, directed by former RSC boss Adrian Noble. Wittily staged as though it was an amateur theatrical entertainment mounted by Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, and her friends, it features a fabulous performance by soprano Anja Harteros in the title role” The Telegraph, 2nd December 2011 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Chopin At The OperaA Jan Schmidt-Garre Film
with Christiane Libor (soprano), Vesselina Kasarova (mezzo-soprano), Katerina Hebelkova (contralto), Roland Pöntinen (piano), Peter Feuchtwanger (piano) & Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger “The wrist – the breath in the voice.” (Frédéric Chopin) The opera for Chopin was the highest form of art – even though he never entertained the thought of writing for the stage himself. His contemporaries Bellini, Donizetti and Rossini meant more to him than Beethoven, Liszt or Schumann. They influenced the songful lines of his piano music, and their coloraturas are reflected in its flow, its trills and cadences. At the castle of Chopin’s beloved George Sand, in Nohant in France, three singers, a pianist and an actress meet with the most knowledgeable experts on Bel Canto and Chopin of our time. For one whole week in late autumn they delve for Chopin’s opera experiences: his admiration for the great Bel Canto singer Giuditta Pasta, his friendship with Bellini and his relationship with Pauline Viardot, daughter of tenor Manuel Garcia and sister of Malibran, who, as pianist and composer, worked on Chopin’s Mazurkas for voice and piano. These Mazurkas, as well as pure piano compositions – are rehearsed and discussed in Nohant and, by means of mezzo-soprano Katerina Hebelkova and soprano Christiane Libor’s voices, unfold their songful potential. Great Bel Canto artist Vesselina Kasarova complements Chopin’s music with the sources of his inspiration by singing arias by Rossini and Bellini. Bonus: A recital with Christiane Libor (soprano), Katerina Hebelkova (contralto), Dávid Adorján (violoncello) and Roland Pöntinen (piano), performing works by Frédéric Chopin Sound Format: PCM Stereo Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC Subtitle Languages: GB, DE, FR, ES, IT Running Time: 60 mins + 40 mins (Bonus) FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Directed for Stage by Grischa Asagaroff
“Every step went exactly with the music, every gesture matching every note" Zurich Express) Recorded live at the Opernhaus Zürich, April 2001 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Subtitles: German, English, French, Japanese | | | 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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| |  | Opera in two acts based on Homer's Odyssey
Vesselina Kasarova (Penelope), Dietrich Henschel (Ulisse/Umana Fragilità), Jonas Kaufmann (Telemaco), Isabel Rey (Amore/Minerva), Martina Janková (La Fortuna/Giunone), Malin Hartelius (Melanto), Martin Zysset (Pisandro), Martin Oro (Anfinomo), Thomas Mohr (Eumete), Cornelia Kallisch (Ericlea), Boguslaw Bidzinski (Eurimaco), Reinhard Mayr (Antinoo), Pavel Daniluk (Nettuno), Anton Scharinger (Giove), Giuseppe Scorsin (il Tempo) Orchestra la Scintilla of the Opernhaus Zürich, Nikolaus Harnoncourt Recording Date: 2002 Place of recording: From the Opernhaus Zürich Running Time: 155 min Picture Format: 16:9 Sound Format: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Menu Languages PAL: D, F, GB, SP Subtitle Languages PAL: D, F, GB, I, SP Menu Languages NTSC: F, GB, JP, SP Subtitle Languages NTSC: F, GB, I, JP, SP “The renowned collaborations between Zurich Opera and Nikolaus Harnoncourt in the 1970s and early 80s were crucial milestones in projecting historically aware performance away from historicism-for-its-own-sake, towards vitally conceived productions for contemporary audiences.
Il Ritorno enjoyed great success in 1977 in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's imaginative staging: Harnoncourt's opulent instrumental palette lifted the hearts of many, though only the eyebrows of the purists. In this musical 'revival' to celebrate 25 years of the swashbuckling original, Harnoncourt allows the nobility of the score to roll unimpeded by the driven intensity of the older recorded account on Teldec from 1971.
The vocal contributions are more eloquent than ever, with outstanding contributions from Vesselina Kasarova and Dietrich Henschel. Can Monteverdi have ever heard this opera sung with such an extraordinary range of vocal beauty and immediacy of expression? This extends to all the characters.
Of the two caveats here, the durability of Harnoncourt's big-band score with its bold instrumental canvas is likely to be a source of debate. Monteverdi left only a shell of his musical genius and, as convention dictated, the performers filled in the rest. The logic of using the greatest array of coloration to suit the context of characterisation and emotional states is highly plausible for all those who value music drama – and Monteverdi, more to the point – in pastels rather than charcoal. Yet there are moments when the spirit of realisation enters the realm of transcription, especially in the richly endowed brass ensembles used for divine intervention. A later baroque soundworld occasionally prevails, and the luminosity of the moment is lost. However, the warm glow of assured fidelity in 'Hor di parlar e tempo' – where Ulysses's accompagnato recitative lends authenticity to the composer's primal communicative instincts – is ravishing and persuasive.
The DVD production is flawed only by some poor dubbing in Act 2.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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