New Releases

The Requiem of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart opens a new series of DVDs released by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute presenting outstanding artistic events.

The first disc in the series is a recording of a solemn mass celebrated on 17 October 2010 at the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Warsaw, where traditionally on the anniversary of Fryderyk Chopin’s death, in front of his heart, a recreated funeral service is combined with Mozart’s Requiem, which in accordance with the composer’s wishes was performed at his funeral in Paris. During Chopin Year, this event gained a special dimension: the Requiem was treated to a masterful rendition by the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, the Collegium Vocale Gent and Accademia Chigiana Siena choirs, and the soloists Christina Landshamer, Ingeborg Danz, Robert Getchell and Matthew Brook, under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe, recorded for the first time ever in its liturgical version, and in its original period sound.

Produced in HD film technology, preserving the highest possible sound quality, it conveys in a sophisticated way the unique atmosphere of both the ceremony and the venue.

This release also inaugurates the cycle ‘Romantic Requiem’, comprising recordings of funeral masses by nineteenth century composers to be performed in front of Chopin’s heart at Warsaw’s Holy Cross Basilica. The Institute will shortly be issuing Johannes Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem, also under the baton of Philippe Herreweghe.

Region codes: 2, 3, 4 and 5

Colour

Don Quixote: NTSC 4:3

La Bayadere: PAL 4:3

Romeo & Juliet: PAL 4:3

All choreography by Nureyev

Beatrice di Tenda is a relatively unknown and rarely recorded opera composed by Vincenzo Bellini.

Available on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Format 16:9

Region Code 0

Subtitles: Fre, Eng, Ger, Spa, Ita, Kr

Notes: Ita, Eng

One Roman emperor is not enough for conductor Emmanuelle Haïm. After Julius Caesar in Handel’s opera –recorded for Virgin Classics DVD at Paris’ Palais Garnier with Lawrence Zazzo as Giulio Cesare and Natalie Dessay as Cleopatra – she now brings a ruler of less illustrious reputation: Nero (Nerone) in Monteverdi’s sensuous and cruel story of love, ambition and politics, L’incoronazione di Poppea.

This production, recorded in 2012 at the exquisite opera house in Lille, is by the French director Jean-François Sivadier; he was also responsible for La traviata in 2011 at Aix-en-Provence, a staging which starred Natalie Dessay and can be seen on a Virgin Classics DVD.

In Poppea, Sivadier takes a relatively minimalist approach, with the characters in an eclectic mixture of modern and Ancient Roman dress. Nerone, here an almost punk-like figure, with peroxide blond spiky hair, is portrayed by star countertenor Max Emanuel Cencic, who has recently enjoyed major successes with his Virgin Classics recordings of Vinci’s rare opera Artaserse and a recital programme Venezia. Cencic has already appeared on a Virgin Classics DVD of Poppea, conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm’s mentor William Christie, recorded in Madrid and released in 2012, but there he played Poppea’s discarded lover, Ottone, a role taken in Lille by British countertenor Tim Mead. Poppea herself is sung here by the glamorous Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva, who won Plácido Domingo’s Operalia competition in 2010 and is a former member of William Christie’s academy for young singers, Le Jardin des Voix.

Speaking of his approach to the opera, Jean-François Sivadier has said: “Nero’s court is cut off from the world, a place ruled by terror and paranoia, a family in which each member is full of ambiguities. I wanted the audience to be constantly aware of the interdependence of all the characters: each event takes the course of history in a new direction; it is like a chain of chemical reactions between bodies that are sensitive to the slightest change.”

As the French newspaper Les Échos wrote: “The excitement, the passions, the impulses and the hatred to be found in this Shakespearean story are all the more intense [for the sobriety of Sivadier’s approach]. Sonya Yoncheva has no trouble seducing both Nerone and the audience, thanks to her voluptuous roundness of voice and physique. A feline lover, she knows how to flash her claws when she wishes to depose her rival Ottavia, the unhappy woman who, in Ann Hallenberg, finds an interpreter as superb for the nobility of her singing as for her expressions of sorrow ... Max Emanuel Cencic portrays a Nerone who is in thrall to his senses while remaining the pitiless master of his court. Emmanuel Haïm takes the colours and dramatic nuances proffered by her ensemble, Le Concert d’Astrée, and distributes them to fine effect. She takes an active role in Monteverdi’s triumph.” Classica magazine, meanwhile, wrote that: “Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert d’Astrée, in fine form, breathe amorously hot and cold over Jean-François Sivadier’s intelligent production, which, typically, favours living beings over decor.”

Beethoven wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3 around 1800, at a time in which the ambitious composer had created his fi rst important works in Vienna, such as the “Pathétique” Sonata and the “Moonlight” Sonata – personal works full of power and passion, with which he distanced himself from his mentor and model, Haydn. This performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the direction of its principal conductor Mariss Jansons stars the distinguished pianist Mitsuko Uchida, who is known the world over for her outstanding interpretations of the piano works of Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven, as well as of 20th-century masters such as Schoenberg, Berg, Webern and Boulez.

Richard Strauss wrote his tone poem for large orchestra Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) in 1898, shortly before he left Munich for the Berlin Court Opera, where he was appointed house conductor. In the imaginary hero whose eventful life is described in the work, the young Strauss apparently envisioned the freelance artist of his time, who was exposed to considerable hostility during the Wilhelminian era, just as Strauss himself in his early Munich period.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.0, dts-HD Master Audio 5.0

Format: DVD 9 / NTSC

Running Time: 90 mins

FSK: 0

Worldwide available

Pergolesi’s comic opera Lo frate ’nnamorato (The Brother in Love) from 1732 was his ticket to the Royal Chapel in Naples. Its huge success was due to the beautiful score, showing Pergolesi’s talent for opera compositions, and the exquisite Libretto by Gennarantonio Federico. Lo frate ‘nnamorato especially owes its wit and exuberance to the comic resources of improvisational theatre, which is refl ected in the narrative structure and relationships between the dramatis personae. Love triangles, marriage plans that come to nothing, intrigues and more lead the opera along to the unsuspected outcome.

The 2011 Jesi production, set in the 1950s, features an outstanding cast of singers that further present first-class acting skills that drive a line between quintessence and parody, inventive genius and a sense of tradition, caricature and insight into the roles and characters. Nicola Alaimo, Elena Belfiore, Patrizia Biccirè and Jurgita Adamonytė – to name but a few – carry this wonderful production, realized by the young Argentine director Willy Landin.

Fabio Biondi began his career as a Wunderkind Violinist at the age of twelve. In 1990 he founded his fabulous ensemble Europa Galante, which quickly became the most internationally renowned and awarded Italian ensemble of baroque music.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio 5.1

Picture Format: 16:9, 1080i FULL HD

Subtitle Languages: IT (Original Language), GB, DE, FR, ES, JP, Korean

Running Time: 160 mins

Blu-ray Disc: 50 GB (Dual Layer)

FSK: 0

Region Code: Worldwide

Worldwide available

Beethoven wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3 around 1800, at a time in which the ambitious composer had created his fi rst important works in Vienna, such as the “Pathétique” Sonata and the “Moonlight” Sonata – personal works full of power and passion, with which he distanced himself from his mentor and model, Haydn. This performance of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under the direction of its principal conductor Mariss Jansons stars the distinguished pianist Mitsuko Uchida, who is known the world over for her outstanding interpretations of the piano works of Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven, as well as of 20th-century masters such as Schoenberg, Berg, Webern and Boulez.

Richard Strauss wrote his tone poem for large orchestra Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life) in 1898, shortly before he left Munich for the Berlin Court Opera, where he was appointed house conductor. In the imaginary hero whose eventful life is described in the work, the young Strauss apparently envisioned the freelance artist of his time, who was exposed to considerable hostility during the Wilhelminian era, just as Strauss himself in his early Munich period.

Picture Format: 16:9, 1080i FULL HD

Running Time: 90 mins

Blu-ray Disc: 25 GB (Single Layer)

FSK: 0

Region Code: Worldwide

Worldwide available

Scenography: Paul Zoller

Costumes: Gideon Davey

Lighting: Franck Evin

The rare biblical opera 'David and Jonathas' is like 'Médée', one of the major works of the French Baroque composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier. The opera has been in the repertoire of Les Arts Florissants since 1988 and was first presented in a stage production by William Christie at the Aix-en-Provence Festival 2012. This DVD release is a special event for all Baroque music lovers.

Written a year after the death of Lully, this lyric tragedy allows Charpentier to develop beyond the religious dimension, a story of male friendship and forbidden love between David and Jonathas. An excellent cast gathered around William Christie and Les Arts Florissants brings young singers to the title roles: Pascal Charbonneau, a tenor and a former student of the European Academy of Music, sings David. The role of Jonathas is given to a woman: soprano Ana Quintans.

The staging by Andreas Homoki (Director of the Zurich Opera since summer 2012) focuses on the psychological aspect of this forbidden love story, giving a moving reading of the drama.

C Major is proud to present a stunning performance of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.

The highly acclaimed soloists are Marlis Petersen, Elisabeth Kulman, Werner Güra and Gerald Finlay.

PICTURE: 16:9, HD

BD: DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM 2.0

RUNNING TIME: 99 MINUTES

SUBTITLES: LATIN (ORIGINAL LANGUAGE), GERMAN, ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH, CHINESE, KOREAN, JAPANESE

AVAILABILITY: WORLDWIDE