Weill, K: Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny)

Stage direction Alex Ollé, Carlus Padrissa – La Fura dels Baus

Scenography Alfons Flores, Costumes Lluc Castells, Lighting Urs Schönebaum

High Definition recording : Teatro Real - Madrid: 09/2010

Bel Air present the hard-hitting new production of Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Catalan collective, La Fura dels Baus, from the Teatro Real de Madrid. Composed in the 1930s by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, this is a mordant satire on capitalism in a society in which the ultimate crime is not having money. In 20 scenes the authors tell the story of a city lost in the middle of a desert and run by three thugs; in Mahagonny food, sex, gambling and violence rule supreme.

The production, by Alex Ollé and Carlus Padrissa of La Fura dels Baus, combines enormous inventiveness, joy and energy with awe-inspiring ferocity.

Perfect casting brings together a group of singers – Measha Brueggergosman, Michael König, Jane Henschel and Willard White – who are also marvellous actors. The Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus are directed by young Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, who received the “El Ojo Crítico” prize in 2010, awarded annually to Spain’s most outstanding artists.

La Fura was founded in 1979 as a Catalan street theatre group. Key features of the ‘Furan’ language were already apparent: interaction with the audience, the use of unusual spaces and the adaptation of the show to the characteristics of each space. Their work for the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Mediterráneo, mar olímpico brought La Fura dels Baus to an audience of billions throughout the world. Their first foray into opera was with La Atlántida, with frequent collaborator Jaume Plensa, and has developed as far as Wagner’s Ring Cycle and Boris Godunov, a daring reflection on the problem of terrorism, its limits and the manipulation it generates.

Stunning images and more information on www.lafura.com

16/9, NTSC, PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1

Total timing : 138 minutes

Subtitles : Fr, Eng, Ger, Spa

Stage Design by RICHARD PEDUZZI

Since Peter Zadek arrived from theatre world to produce his first opera, Mozart’s „Le nozze di Figaro“ („The marriage of Figaro“) in Stuttgart in 1983, he has been in demand as an opera director too – with good reason, as this DVD video makes clear.

Zadek’s production of the opera, which combines Brecht’s text with Kurt Weill’s music, was recorded at the 1998 Salzburg festival. The opera was one of the greatest successes of its day when it originally opened in 1931, and ran for over fifty performances. Its songs, most of all „O moon of Alabama“, are still great hits today. In the 1998 Salzburg production they were interpreted by a top–notch ensemble of singers under the direction of Dennis Russell Davies: the title roles were sung by such renowned artists as Catherine Malfitano, Gwyneth Jones and Jerry Hadley.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Picture Format: 16:9

DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC

Subtitle Languages: GB, FR, NL

Running Time: 160 mins

FSK: 0

Stage direction Alex Ollé, Carlus Padrissa – La Fura dels Baus

Scenography Alfons Flores, Costumes Lluc Castells, Lighting Urs Schönebaum

High Definition recording : Teatro Real - Madrid: 09/2010

Bel Air present the hard-hitting new production of Kurt Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Catalan collective, La Fura dels Baus, from the Teatro Real de Madrid. Composed in the 1930s by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht, this is a mordant satire on capitalism in a society in which the ultimate crime is not having money. In 20 scenes the authors tell the story of a city lost in the middle of a desert and run by three thugs; in Mahagonny food, sex, gambling and violence rule supreme.

The production, by Alex Ollé and Carlus Padrissa of La Fura dels Baus, combines enormous inventiveness, joy and energy with awe-inspiring ferocity.

Perfect casting brings together a group of singers – Measha Brueggergosman, Michael König, Jane Henschel and Willard White – who are also marvellous actors. The Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus are directed by young Spanish conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, who received the “El Ojo Crítico” prize in 2010, awarded annually to Spain’s most outstanding artists.

La Fura was founded in 1979 as a Catalan street theatre group. Key features of the ‘Furan’ language were already apparent: interaction with the audience, the use of unusual spaces and the adaptation of the show to the characteristics of each space. Their work for the opening ceremonies of the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Mediterráneo, mar olímpico brought La Fura dels Baus to an audience of billions throughout the world. Their first foray into opera was with La Atlántida, with frequent collaborator Jaume Plensa, and has developed as far as Wagner’s Ring Cycle and Boris Godunov, a daring reflection on the problem of terrorism, its limits and the manipulation it generates.

Stunning images and more information on www.lafura.com

1080i HD, 16:9, PCM Stereo, 5.1

DTS HD Master Audio

Total timing : 138 minutes

Subtitles : Fr, Eng, Ger, Spa