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Presto News - 23rd May 2011New DVDs from Glyndebourne |
 The Glyndebourne Opera season started this weekend and I was lucky enough to be invited down last Thursday to the dress rehearsal of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. It is a revival of the Jonathan Kent production which was new at last year’s festival and features a terrific set designed by Paul Brown with a huge spinning cube as its centrepiece. During the opera this cube opens, unfolds, hides and ultimately disintegrates in a similar pattern to the ultimate fate of Don Giovanni. Last year’s production has recently been released on DVD by EMI but with a completely different cast and a different conductor this year it made an interesting comparison.  Anna Virovlansky and Gerald Finley While Lucas Meachem and Matthew Rose make an excellent Don Giovanni and Leporello pair this year, last year’s combination of Gerald Finley and Luca Pisaroni on the DVD is equally impressive, with Finley (who has sung the role to great acclaim all over the world) undoubtedly one of the great Don Giovannis of our time. It is set in the late 1950s, with a slightly surreal element, and unlike most productions the fire comes at the end of Act I rather than Act II as a lightning bolt from god sets Don Giovanni’s house alight and traps Don Giovanni in his own hell. Act II then just gets colder and colder, with snow falling bleakly during Giovanni’s serenade and no fiery inferno to pull him into at the end. This will come as a surprise to many familiar with the opera, but there are plenty of references to cold hells in mythologies, religions, art and literature, (Dante’s Inferno for example has a frozen lake of blood and guilt portraying the innermost circle of hell) and I thought it worked very well here. The other opera from Glyndebourne’s 2010 season which has just been released on DVD (and Blu-ray) is Michael Grandage’s production of Billy Budd – one of Britten’s most famous operas but surprisingly the first staging ever at Glyndebourne. The all-male opera with a libretto co-written by E M Forster and Eric Crozier is based on the battle between pure good and blind evil, and is set on a British man-o’-war ship. I was lucky enough to see it live in the theatre last year and found it both hugely powerful and deeply moving. The opera is set onboard the HMS Indomitable with the staging plunging you deep inside the hull of the vessel. It worked really well in the theatre where the auditorium also felt like part of the ship, and although you obviously can’t quite transfer that to the small screen I still found the it very effective at drawing you inside the drama. It is hard to find weaknesses amongst the large cast with Phillip Ens dark and resonant Claggart and Jacques Imbrailo’s fresh and athletic Billy particularly outstanding. John Mark Ainsley’s Captain Vere is pretty fine too and the chorus are excellent. The other thing I must just comment on about both productions is the superb quality of the orchestral playing. In the Mozart the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski provide not only great attention to detail, but also great energy, and although modest in numbers and limited by the design of their period instruments, the sheer volume that they achieve as Don Giovanni is being dragged away at the end is quite mind-blowing. Equally impressive are the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Mark Elder in the Britten where Elder’s strong conviction to the score’s momentum extracts real dramatic intensity from his players. There are short introductory videos for both productions via the links below which provide some fascinating insights behind the scenes. Glyndebourne is clearly in a real purple-patch at the moment and which will hopefully continue until at least next weekend when I’m off to see their new Meistersinger!
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 Mozart: Don Giovanni (DVD)Gerald Finley (Don Giovanni), Luca Pisaroni (Leporello), Kate Royal (Donna Elvira), Anna Samuil (Donna Anna), William Burden (Ottavio), Anna Virovlansky (Zerlina), Guido Loconsolo (Masetto), Alastair Miles (Commendatore) The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment & Glyndebourne Chorus, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor) & Jonathan Kent (director) |
 Britten: Billy Budd (DVD)John Mark Ainsley (Captain Vere), Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), Phillip Ens (Claggart), Iain Paterson (Mr Redburn), Matthew Rose (Mr Flint), Darren Jeffery (Lieutenant Ratcliffe), Alasdair Elliott (Red Whiskers), John Moore (Donald), Jeremy White (Dansker), Ben Johnson (Novice), Colin Judson (Squeak) & Richard Mosley-Evans (Bosun) The Glyndebourne Chorus & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mark Elder (conductor) & Michael Grandage (director) |
 Britten: Billy Budd (Blu-ray)John Mark Ainsley (Captain Vere), Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), Phillip Ens (Claggart), Iain Paterson (Mr Redburn), Matthew Rose (Mr Flint), Darren Jeffery (Lieutenant Ratcliffe), Alasdair Elliott (Red Whiskers), John Moore (Donald), Jeremy White (Dansker), Ben Johnson (Novice), Colin Judson (Squeak) & Richard Mosley-Evans (Bosun) The Glyndebourne Chorus & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mark Elder (conductor) & Michael Grandage (director) |
Chris O'Reilly - chris@prestoclassical.co.uk |
Watch: A short video trailerNew Releases23rd May 2011 |
This is just the pick of the recent releases. The New Releases and Future Releases pages are always available for browsing all the new and forthcoming releases. |
 Pergolesi: OlimpiadeRaffaella Milanesi (Aristea), Ann-Beth Solvang (Argene), Olga Pasichnyk (Megacle), Jennifer Rivera (Licida), Martin Oro (Alcandro), Jeffrey Francis (Clistene), Markus Brutscher (Aminta), Academia Montis Regalis, Alessandro de MarchiThe first complete and unabridged recording of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi’s operatic masterpiece, as well as the world-premiere recording on period instruments, undertaken by the critically acclaimed 2010 production from the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, known as the ‘Bayreuth of Baroque Opera’. In his all too brief career, Pergolesi, who died in 1736 aged only 26, set the course for 18th century opera. His works, especially L’Olimpiade, which was first performed in 1735, introduced a new and sentimental tone to the opera stage. Based on one of the most popular subject matters of opera seria, Pergolesi’s masterpiece L’Olimpiade offers a drama of love and intrigue coupled with highly virtuoso singing. |
 Liszt: Piano WorksKhatia Buniatishvili (piano)Recent Sony Classical signing Khatia Buniatishvili is a phenomenal and acclaimed young artist, and regarded as one of the great pianists of the future. Her debut album for Sony Classical is devoted to Franz Liszt, with a focus on the Faust theme: Liszt’s third Liebestraum is characterised by the line from Goethe’s Faust: ”O stay! Thou art so fair!” and the Mephisto Waltz was inspired by an episode in Nikolaus Lenau’s Faust poem. Moreover Khatia Buniatishvili reads Faust, Marguerite and Mephisto into the themes of the centrepiece of the recording, the Sonata in B Minor – technically one of the most demanding works ever written for piano. |
 Strauss: Don Juan, Metamorphosen & Songs for Soprano & PianoJoan Rodgers (soprano) & Jan Latham-Koenig (conductor/piano), Strasbourg Philharmonic OrchestraJan Latham-Koenig was one of Avie’s flagship artists. As Music Director of the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, he recorded the unique coupling of Franck’s Symphony in D with extracts from Psyché (AV0003), and Ibert’s rare, early opera Persée et Andromède (AV0008). These recordings of Strauss’s Don Juan and Metamorphosen were Latham-Koenig’s valedictory recordings in Strasbourg, and illuminate his brilliant ability to shape phrases and extract orchestral colour – ideal for Strauss’s vividly pictorial tone poems. An equally accomplished pianist, Latham-Koenig completes the album by accompanying one of England’s leading vocal lights, soprano Joan Rodgers, in a selection of Strauss’s early Lieder. |
 Heinrich Schütz: Italian MadrigalsDresden Kammerchor, Hans-Christoph RademannAt the age of 24, Schütz was lucky enough to go to Venice and study with Gabrieli. These Italian Madrigals are a milestone in the cultural transfer between Italy and Germany. This CD is volume 2 in the new series, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the work. |
 Per La Vergine MariaConcerto Italiano, Rinaldo AlessandriniThe renowned combination of conductor Rinaldo Alessandrini and Concerto Italiano recently released a critically acclaimed disc of motets by the Italian renaissance composer Alessandro Melani (OP30431). Their new CD of sacred choral music features the first recording of Melani’s Salve Regina, as well as settings by Monteverdi, Bencini, Alessandro Scarlatti, Soler, Carissimi, and Stravinsky. |
 Brahms: Complete works for Violin & PianoArabella Steinbacher (violin) & Robert Kulek (piano)The outstanding artist Arabella Steinbacher has chosen the Brahms Violin Sonatas for her most recent release. Her previous CD of the Bartók Concertos (PTC 5186350) received excellent reviews “a fearsomely talented violinist.” Telegraph; Gramophone Editor’s Choice; BBC Music Magazine 5* Recording. |
 Murray Perahia plays Bach Piano ConcertosMurray Perahia (piano)Exclusive Sony Classical pianist Murray Perahia releases this collection of the keyboard concertos of J S Bach. Celebrated by his fans and media alike on first release, several of the concertos have been unavailable for some time and make a welcome return to the catalogue. The set contains some of Perahia’s all-time best-selling recordings. The initial releases of these recordings of the Concertos Nos. 1-7 have sold in excess of 30,000 units in the UK alone, Murray Perahia’s recording of Bach’s Solo Keyboard Partitas 1, 5 & 6 (88697565602) won the 2010 BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Instrumental Recording. |
 Donizetti: Don Pasquale (DVD)Anna Netrebko (Norina), Matthew Polenzani (Ernesto), John Del Carlo (Don Pasquale), Mariusz Kwecien (Malatesta), The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra & Chorus, James LevineA red hot ticket at the Metropolitan Opera in 2010/2011 was Donizetti’s comic gem, Don Pasquale, with Anna Netrebko reviving Norina, the part that made her a star in New York. Opera summed up the simple truth: “...everyone adored her”. John Del Carlo’s impressive singing and acting chops as the Don are given every boost by Otto Schenk’s hilarious staging and James Levine’s witty conducting. Leading this opera for the first time at the Met, the renowned maestro demonstrates that his gifts suit Donizetti as perfectly as Wagner. Mariusz Kwiecień and Matthew Polenzani scintillate as Malatesta and Ernesto. |
Listen - sound samples available for this item BBC Radio 3 CD ReviewSaturday 21st May 2011 |
Building a Library - Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 in B flat major, D898 |
First Choice(as part of the Complete Trios)Beaux Arts Trio |
Disc of the Week |
 Bartok, Strauss & Grieg: Violin SonatasVilde Frang (violin) & Michail Lifits (piano) |
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