Scott Hendricks (König Roger), Olga Pasychnik (Roxane), John Graham-Hall (Edrisi), Hartmann (Der Hirte)
Wiener Symphoniker, The Katowice City Singers’ Ensemble– Camerata Silesia, Polish Radio Choir Krakow & Childrens Chorus Musikhauptschule Bregenz, Sir Mark Elder (conductor) & David Pountnay (stage director)
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The first King Roger on DVD and Blu-ray!
Rediscovery of Szymanovski´s masterpiece from 1926. The opera resonates Late- Romanticism and Expressionism, Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner.
Recorded at the Bregenz Festival, 2009
“I cannot imagine a better performance than Bregenz's new version.” The Telegraph
“Pountney ditches the original Palermo setting in favour of severe abstraction, but fills the stage with unusually detailed and gripping action...Boasting a rich baritone, Scott Hendricks is a magnificent Roger, played as if on the verge of a nervous breakdown...Under Mark Elder, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra's playing is taut yet richly-charged.”
November 2010
“as vividly evocative as any traditional production might be...The sturdy baritone of Scott Hendricks suits the title-tole well, and Will Hartmann sings strongly as the Shepherd...In Szymanowski's mystical and exotic score Mark Elder gets good playing from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.”
November 2010
“Unleashing Mark Elder on Szymanowski's score, which takes opulence to the brink of hyperventilation, is taking the horse to water...[The choirs] deliver their considerable role with authentic vernacular and sustained power. Their idiomatic prowess extends to the Wiener Symphoniker...[Elder] guides them intuitively to the lush high points but doesn't oversaturate textures elsewhere.”
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