New Releases

Filmed live in Baden-Baden by the veteran director Brian Large, Renée Fleming makes her debut in the role of Ariadne together with fellow key Strauss interpreters Sophie Koch and Christian Thielemann, following on from their Rosenkavalier triumph.

Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden, the orchestra to whom Strauss dedicated his Alpine Symphony and which premiered Feuersnot, Salome, Elektra, Der Rosenkavalier and Daphne.

Fleming's voice might have been made for Ariadne and she achieved a great personal triumph in this production:

“The chief glory of the evening was hearing Renée Fleming, the Straussian soprano par excellence, making her role debut as Ariadne… As the possessor of what is, possibly, the most beautiful soprano voice in the world, she put her vocal treasures in the service of an empathic, nuanced interpretation of the role. From the creamy top, through a rich, warm middle, to the bewitching, darker colours of her lower register, Fleming poured her magnificent sound into Strauss’s enchanting melodic arcs, animating the sadness, vulnerability, and desire of the bereft princess...” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

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

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

Staged by Giorgio Gallione

The next instalment in C Major’s Tutto Verdi project is the Teatro Regio di Parma production of Simon Boccanegra.

The cast features top soloists, led by Leo Nucci in the title role.

The performance is conducted by Daniele Callegari, who has conducted at some of the biggest opera houses around the world.

PICTURE: 16:9, HD

BD: DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM 2.0

RUNNING TIME: TOTAL: 147 MINUTES (OPERA: 137 MINUTES, BONUS: 10 MINUTES)

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

AVAILABILITY: WORLDWIDE

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

Available on Blu-Ray and DVD.

World Premiere On Blu-Ray.