What's Available Now from Arthaus Musik?

Arthaus Musik in Germany has put out the following:

Giuseppe Verdi La Traviata opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed by Liliana Cavani in 2007 at the Teatro alla Scala di Milano. Stars Angela Gheorghiu, Ramón Vargas, Roberto Frontali, Natascha Petrinsky, Tiziana Tramonti, Enrico Cossutta, Alessandro Paliaga, Piero Terranova, Luigi Roni, Giuseppe Nicodemo, and Ernesto Panariello. Solo dance by Gianni Ghisleni. Lorin Maazel conducts the Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet of the Teatro alla Scala di Milano. Set design by Dante Ferretti; costumes by Gabriella Pescucci; choreography by Micha Van Hoecke. Released in 2008, this disc features 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

Arthaus Musik is now offering a wonderful deal with their La Traviata. A new version of the disc is available at a greatly discounted price (around $9.00, £8.09, €9,99 or CDN$ 9.49) with a bonus feature of 26 clips of other fine-arts Blu-rays they offer. It is available now in the UK and is available for pre-order in the USA, Germany, Canada, and France.

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Giuseppe Verdi Rigoletto opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed by Gilbert Deflo in 2006 at the Zurich Opera House. Stars Leo Nucci, Piotr Beczala, Elena Moşuc, László Polgár, Katharina Peetz, Kismara Pessatti, Rolf Haunstein, Valeriy Murga, Bogusław Bidziński, Morgan Moody, Angela Kerrison, Manuel Betancourt, and Martina Welschenbach. Nello Santi conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House. Set design by William Orlandi; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann; choreography by Megan Laehn. Released in 2008, this disc features 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Ferruccio Busoni Doktor Faust opera to libretto by the composer. Directed by Klaus Michael Grüber in 2006 at the Zurich Opera House. Stars Thomas Hampson, Günther Groissböck, Gregory Kunde, Reinaldo Macias, Sandra Trattnigg, Martin Zysset, Andreas Winkler, Thilo Dahlmann, Matthew Leigh, Giuseppe Scorsin, Tomasz Slawinski, Gabriel Bermúdez, Randall Ball, and Miroslav Christoff. Philippe Jordan conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House. Set design by Eduardo Arroyo; costumes by Eva Dessecker; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann. Released in 2009, this disc features 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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George Frideric Handel Admeto opera to libretto by Aurelia Aureli and Ortensio Mauro. Directed by Axel Köhler in 2006 as part of the Halle Handel Festival (Händel-Festspiele). Stars Matthias Rexroth, Romelia Lichtenstein, Mechthild Bach, Tim Mead, Raimund Nolte, Melanie Hirsch, Gerd Vogel, Howard Arman, and Alex Köhler. Howard Arman conducted the Handel Festival Orchestra (playing historical instruments) at Opernhaus Halle. Stage design by Rolard Aeschlimann; costumes by Marie-Thérèse Jossen; lighting by Matthias Hönig. Released in 2009, this disc features 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

[This is from the Halle Handel Festival that takes place each summer. There usually is one Handel opera staged each year. The glory of this is that over time, the festival has staged most if not all of Handle's many operas. The downside is that when a organization does only one opera a year, don't expect miracles. The only singer in this production who gets better with repeated viewing is Raimund Nolte, baritone, in the role of Hercules. Nolte has it all: a steady pleasant singing voice, great diction which allows you to hear clearly the words he sings, good looks, trim figure, and acting ability. Matthias Rexroth is an excellent counter-tenor, I think, but I still fatigue of men singing in that register. Tim Mead is striking as Thrasymedes, but also wearisome. The directing and design is mildly interesting, and the comic touch helps break the monotony of the slow-paced libretto. The Handel Festival Orchestra sounds great throughout the disc, and the recording is fine. Students of early opera and Handel lovers will probably find things here to like. For the rest of us who might be interested just in trying Handel, a better bet would be the Giulio Cesare or Orlando HDVDs. Henry C McFadyen July 2010.]
George Frideric Handel Orlando to libretto by an anonymous poet. Directed by Jens-Daniel Herzog at the Zurich Opera House in 2007. Stars Marijana Mijanović, Martina Janková, Katharina Peetz, Christina Clark, Konstantin Wolff, Carmela Beetz, Simon Berger, Kristina Knauerhase, Wanda Hlubina, Martin Hallauer, Zacharias Katsas, Barbara Looser, Wolfram Schneider-Lastin, and Rico F. Valär. Continuo: Brian Feehan (theorbo); Paul Carlioz (cello); Benoît Hartoin (cembalo); Dieter Lange (contrabass); Karen Opgenorth and Nada Anderwert (viola d'amore). William Christie conducts the Orchestra "La Scintilla" of the Zurich Opera. Set and costumes by Mathis Neidhardt; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann. This disc, released in 2009, has dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

[Handel wrote 42 operas. Many of them can seem overlong with sometimes endless repetitions. It can therefore be a challenge to stage them successfully for contemporary audiences, and many attempts have been made to transpose them into more modern times.
Orlando (premiered in 1733) is perhaps one of Handel's best operas. Orlando is a great soldier in Charlemagne's army who falls in love with the pagan princess Angelica, who in turn loves another man, Medoro. Orlando's jealousy drives him to madness, and only the skill of magician Zoroastro is able to bring him back to sanity. This 2007 production from the Zurich Opera House does indeed set the story in times closer to our own --- perhaps the 20's or 30's. But what is particularly novel about the setting is that it takes place in a lunatic asylum! This approach in fact works well, apart from one or two occasions when the singers refer to their surroundings as "forests," "groves," or "grottoes." At one point it even starts snowing --- indoors. When madness is in the air, we can suppose that anything goes.
There is indeed some very fine singing from the five principals, although talent is unequally distributed. The most remarkable voice is clearly that of mezzo Marijana Mijanovic singing the title role, originally written for a castrato. Her performance is a tour de force, and there are some wonderful moments when she and Angelica (Martina Jankova) sing together, particularly in the amazing trio "Consolati o bella" at the end of act one. The other outstanding voice is Konstantin Wolff --- the "magician" Zoroastro--- who in this context becomes the mental institution's psychiatric doctor. His rich, deep bass gives him an air of mesmerizing authority, an impression emphasized by the "lectures" he gives to his staff of nurses and attendants, illustrated with diagrams and formulas drawn on a chalkboard.
The set, made up of modular, sliding walls inset with doors, a fold-down bed, the "classroom," and a fireman's cubbyhole, has an endless variety of constantly changing volume and space --- peopled by the ever-busy troupe of nurses and muscular attendants. This means that there is always something going on to offset extended passages of virtuoso baroque ornamentation during which time (and the cast) would otherwise be standing still.
The production is punctuated by impressive and surprising visual "twists." For example, a door bursts open and we see Orlando grasping an axe (stolen from the fireman) silhouetted against a blinding light and crying out his fury, anguish, and turmoil in a masterfully sung mezzo/countertenor outburst of insanity. William Christie conducts with his usual flair, giving the music a constant impetus that makes it fresh and delicately intricate, bringing out to perfection the orchestration and sweet tones of the authentic instruments.
Picture quality and sound are both superb with images from the 7 high-definition cameras expertly edited to deliver close-up intimacy as well as plenty of long shots to reveal the stage as seen by the audience. As an introduction to Handel's operas, this would certainly be an excellent choice. It's also a fine example of how successful "updating" an opera sometimes can be. Gordon Smith, of Opera Dou]
Richard Wagner Das Rheingold ‎ to libretto by the composer. Directed by Michael Schulz in 2008 at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. Stars Mario Hoff, Alexander Günther, Jean-Noël Briend, Erin Caves, Tomas Möwes, Frieder Aurich, Renatus Mészár, Hidekazu Tsumaya, Christine Hansmann, Marietta Zumbült, Nadine Weissmann, Silona Michel, Susann Günther-Dissmeier, and Christiane Bassek. Carl St. Clair conducts the Staatskapelle Weimar. Set design by Dirk Becker; costumes by Renée Listerdal. This disc, released in 2009, has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Richard Wagner Die Walküre‎ to libretto by the composer. Directed by Michael Schulz in 2008 at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. Stars Erin Caves, Hidekazu Tsumaya, Renatus Mészár, Kirsten Blanck, Catherine Foster, and Christine Hansmann. Carl St. Clair conducts the Staatskapelle Weimar. Set design by Dirk Becker; costumes by Renée Listerdal. This disc, released in 2009, has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Caravaggio ballet. Modern ballet with choreography by Mauro Bigonzetti to music by Bruno Moretti based on Claudio Monteverdi. Performed in 2008 at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin. Stars Vladimer Malakhov, Polina Semionova, Beatrice Knop, Mikhail Kaniskin, Dmitry Semionov, Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, Shoko Nakamura, Michael Banzhaf, and Leonard Jakovina. Paul Connelly conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin. Released in 2009, this disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Richard Wagner Siegfried to libretto by the composer. Directed by Michael Schulz in 2008 at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. Stars Johnny Van Hall, Frieder Aurich, Tomas Möwes, Mario Hoff, Hidekazu Tsumaya, Catherine Foster, Heike Porstein, and Nadine Weissmann. Carl St. Clair conducts the Staatskapelle Weimar. Set design by Dirk Becker; costumes by Renée Listerdal. This disc, released in 2009, has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Giacomo Puccini La rondine opera to libretto by Giuseppe Adami. Directed by Graham Vick at the Teatro La Fenice, Venice in 2008. Stars Fiorenza Cedolins, Fernando Portari, Sandra Pastrana, Emanuele Giannino, Stefano Antonucci, George Mosley, Iorio Zennaro, Giuseppe Nicodemo, Andrea Zaupa, Sabrina Vianello, Giacinta Nicotra, and Annika Kaschenz. Carlo Rizzi conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice. Set design by Peter J. Davison; costumes by Sue Willmington; lighting by Peter Kaczorowski; choral direction by Emanuela Di Pietro; choreography by Ron Howell with the Acrobatic Swing Dance, Venezia. Released in 2009, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

[Puccini is revered as Godfather of the maudlin tear-jerked. With La rondine he entered, per Conrad Wilson in his succinct biography Giaocomo Puccini, "operatic territory [he] had hitherto avoided---that of gentle tragi-comedy." This is a scaled-down, short work with limited objectives. It has to be produced with a light touch and enjoyed accordingly. It hasn't often been staged, because tearjerker light is not what people expect from Puccini.
But we CVs are lucky now to have this excellent Arthaus recording of a skillfull revival of La rondine as the opening title for the 2008 season of La Fenice in Venice. (By the way, on January 10, 2009, the Met broadcast La rondine with Angela Gheorghiu in HD to movie houses around the U.S. Maybe we will eventually have this on HDVD as well.)
While Puccini and Adami were working on La rondine, all of Europe was suffering the convulsions of WWI. This was perhaps not a time for ground-breaking originality---in fact, what we have is yet another variation on the story of Marie Duplessis, the original fallen girl (traviata) who was a courtesan in Paris in 1846 and died at the at age 22. This whole opera reminds one of motion pictures that become cult favorites because they are packed with references to earlier famous movies. So here from La Traviata we have the beautiful but unhappy courtesan with a wealthy sponsor, the fling with the innocent young man, the idyll in the country, the bankruptcy, and the breakup of the impossible romance. From La Bohème we have a second act at a raucous Paris night club, an older man trying to mentor an aspiring singer, a stranger who gets stuck paying a big bill, and the famous off-stage voice effect (that ends Act I in La Bohème and is used for the last note in La Rondine). From Die Fledermaus we see the mistress and saucy servant girl show up at the same party with the servant decked out in her lady's best clothes.
All this makes for a lot of laughs in the first two acts, so we know that the outcome in Act III can't be too grim. Well, our heroine realizes that she can't escape her past and must return to her rich sponsor. The young man is heart-broken but learns a valuable lesson: if you want to get the girl you love, you first have to be able to afford her. He will probably do a lot better on this next try, which, if my memory about that time in life is right, will probably come along before three moons have a chance to smile on Paris.
Everything about this show and the Arthaus dics is fine by the standards of opera productions today. Fiorenza Cedolins does as well as she possibly could (as Madga) considering her age, matronly figure, and sagging arms. Fernando Portari (as Ruggero) is another bloated tenor who would do himself a big favor by working for a year or two as a lumberjack or on a fishing boat. All the other singers were excellent for their roles. The video and sound recording was excellent, and I think the director and conductor did a good job of applying the light touch needed for this "gentle" work.
This is one opera that is significantly hurt by the practice of casting middle age sopranos to play the roles of girls and young women. Magda dresses as a "grisette" to go to night club where she hopes to find Ruggero. The best translation of "grisette" would be "working girl." (In 1957, the setting in this version, a good translation would have been the "telephone switchboard operator girl.") The point is: in this opera the heroine is about 24, not much older than Marie Duplessis when she died. There is no way that any middle-aged cougar could sneak up on Ruggero pretending she was a working girl. Magda has to be young for this opera to be believable. Then you run into the problem that the 24 year-old sopranos are just out of school and not ready to sing in the big opera houses. But they can sing to mikes in a studio or motion picture location. So find a really beautiful 22 to 24 year-old soprano and pair her up with a 55 year-old Rambaldo. Now this starts to look like vice. Then send her into to the club. The result could be a great opera movie. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
Richard Wagner Götterdämmerung to libretto by the composer. Directed by Michael Schulz in 2008 at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. Stars Norbert Schmittberg, Tomas Möwes, Mario Hoff, Renatus Meszar, Catherine Foster, Marietta Zumbult, and Nadine Weissmann. Carl St. Clair conducts the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Opera Chorus of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, and Gentlemen of the Philharmonic Chorus Weimar. Set design by Dirk Becker; costumes by Renée Listerdal. This disc, released in 2009, has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Jules Massenet Thaïs to libretto by Louis Gallet. Directed by Stefano Poda at the Teatro Regio Di Torino in 2008. Stars Barbara Frittoli, Lado Ataneli, Alessandro Liberatore, Maurizio Lo Piccolo, and Madežda Serdyuk. Gianandrea Noseda conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of The Teatro Regio Di Torino. Set and costumes by Stefano Poda. This disc, released in 2009, has dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Giacomo Puccini Edgar to libretto by Ferdinando Fontana. Directed by Lorenzo Mariani at the Teatro Regio Di Torino in 2008. Stars José Cura, Amarilli Nizza, Julia Gertseva, Marco Vratogna, and Carlo Cigni. Yoram David conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of The Teatro Regio Di Torino, the Boys' Choir of the Teatro Regio Torino, and the Conservatorio "Giuseppe Verdi" di Torino. Set and costumes by Maurizio Balò; lighting by Christian Pinaud; chorus masters were Claudio Marino Moretti and Claudio Fenoglio. This disc, released in 2009, has 5.1 Dolby Digital surround sound. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Richard Wagner Ring des Nibelungen boxed set with Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung, all of which were released earlier by Arthaus as individual titles. Directed by Michael Schulz in 2008 at the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar. Carl St. Clair conducts the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Opera Chorus of the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar, and Gentlemen of the Philharmonic Chorus Weimar. (See the individual titles for the stars and details of each separate production.) This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

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Dmitri Shostakovich Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk opera to libretto by Alexander Preis and the composer. Directed by Lev Dodin at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 2008. Stars Vladimir Vaneev, Vsevolod Grivnov, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet, Sergej Kunaev, Nanà Miriani, Leonid Bornstein, Andrea Cortese, Nikolaj Bikov, Marco de Carolis, Fabio Bertella, Andrea Cortese, Saverio Bambi, Julian Rodescu, Vladimir Matorin, Andrea Snarsky, Cristiano Olivieri, Piergiorgio Chiavazza, Armando Caforio, Alessandro Calamai, Natascha Petrinsky, and Elena Borin. James Conlon directs the Chorus and Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Set and costumes by David Borovsky; restage by Alexander Borovsky; lighting by Jean Kalman, realisation by Gianni Paolo Mirenda; acrobatic movements and choreography by Jury Khamoutiansky; chorus master is Piero Monti. Released in 2009, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

[Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk is an acquired taste. I was new to this work, but having watched it 6 times recently (December 2009), I'm starting to catch on. Shostakovich wrote many motion picture soundtracks and works for variety stage theaters and even circuses. To me the orchestra score for Lady Macbeth resembles his popular music more than his other serious compositions. Mixed in with the manic aspects of the score are many expressive lyrical passages. The libretto adds a layer of social satire. Apparently the Soviet Russian audiences viewed the opera as an exciting crime thriller (three murders and a suicide) dressed up with social criticism of the abuses of the Tsarist era. When Stalin and his circle went to a performance, Shostakovich thought his career would get a boost. In hindsight though, it's easy to see why Stalin was alarmed and left during the show. (If he had stayed to see the portrayal of the police and the march of the convicts to Siberia, Stalin maybe would have had the entire cast shot at curtain call.) Suddenly Shostakovich found himself in mortal danger as the Great Terror unfolded across Russia. (For more on this, watch the documentary provided in the HDVD version of Keeping Score---Shostakovitch 5th Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas.)
All this was 76 years ago, but Lady Macbeth still sounds radical and modern. So how should it be staged now? Well, we happen to have two HDVDs of Lady Macbeth with competing answers. From the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino we have subject disc, a traditional staging directed by Lev Dodin. From de Nederlandse Opera we have an avant garde reading directed by shock jock Martin Kušej.
Dodin gives us a show that is tasteful in every respect. The mise-en-scene sets the action in Tsarist rural Russia sometime about 1875 with wooden building and simple costumes and props. Everybody keeps his clothes on and there are no props or actions that are inconsistent with the story. When Katerina and Sergey first make love, all you see is a jiggling light fixture and the rawcus suggestive music is what gets your attention. The singing and acting is fine. The video and sound recordings are excellent. In short, with subject disc you get a mildly updated version of what Shostakovich wanted you to see and hear, and this allows you to focus on what Shostakovich had to say. Because the musical style and the content is a bit abrasive and challenging, this opera is not for everyone. But if you are willing to invest the effort you will probably enjoy repeated viewings of this title. So I give it a solid grade "B." Henry McFadyen Jr.]
Richard Wagner Tannhäuser opera to libretto by the composer. Directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden in 2008. Stars Robert Gambill, Camilla Nylund, Waltraud Meier, Stephen Milling, Roman Trekel, Marcel Reijans, Tom Fox, Andreas Hörl, Florian Hoffmann, Katherina Müller, Claudia Chmelar, Anna-Katina Tilch, Manuela Leonhartsberger, Martina König, and Reinier van der Eng. Dancers are Fabienne Boekel, Jasper Dzuki Jelen, Namiko Gahier, Carolina D'Haese, Esther Jager, Leena Keizer, Andrea Mitschke, Maroussia van der Moezel, Anna Pons Carrera, Sophy Ribrault, Lilou Robert, Satya Roosens, Shahla Tarrant, Susana Garcia Valverde, James-John van der Velden, and Pim Veulings. Philippe Jordan conducts the Philharmonia Chor Wien (Chorus Master Walter Zeh) and the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. Set by Raimund Bauer; costumes by Andrea Schmidt-Futterer; lighting by Duane Schuler; ballet choreography by Amir Hosseinpour and Jonathan Lunn; choir choreography by Denni Sayers; dramaturgy by Klaus Bertisch and Wolfgang Willaschek. TV direction and editing by Patrick Buttman. Released in 2009, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

[This title has good singing by Robert Gambill, Camilla Nylund, Stephen Milling, and the chorus. Conductor Philippe Jordan provides a decent reading, and the sets and lighting are interesting. The show is dragged down by odd-ball costumes and choreography, resulting in the grade of "B-." Although I have only moderate enthusiasm for this production, I must admit that the Tannhäuser music has completely taken over my brain---the only way to stop it will be to listen to some other opera twice. We still need a thumbnail on this title from a Wagner expert. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
Silk Road documentary motion picture by Curt Faudon about the history and music of the Vienna Boys' Choir. On top of this vast subject, Faudon tries to tell a story of a virtual or imaginary tour by the boys on the ancient Silk Road. Soundtracks in 8 languages and subtitles in 9! Released in 2009, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio. It is available now in England, and you can order it by clicking on Silk Road. Amazon.com in the U.S. (December 15, 2009) says this has been discontinued and is not stocked by them, but can be ordered through a third party setller. This disc is either available now or available through a third party seller on Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

[The core documentary about the history the Vienna Boys' Choir and their lives today is mildly interesting. The boys talented enough to be selected get an unusual and rich experience. Hearing snatches of their singing has wheted my appetite. Unfortunately, Curt Faudon seems to suffer from something called, I think, adult director attention deficit abnormality. This infirmity holds that the more special effects, gizmos, odd-ball shots, and extraneous material you can cram into the time alloted, the more valuable the documentary will be. The best example of this is the whole "silk road" conceit. Although I should have known better, I somehow got the idea that the boys actually followed the silk road as a kind of geography lesson. But no, it's a disjointed and confusing virtual trip, although they do get to China (by plane). I would have prefered a shorter, traditional, linear documentary plus 30 minutes of actual music by each of the 4 choirs (which would total, say, 2 hours and 45 minutes). That would be a fine testimonial to the institution and worth the money to me. With the capacity we now have on the HDVD, it's no longer adequate to just do a documentary of an hour or so about a music subject. You have to do the documentary and present a full program of music such as we are getting with the "Keeping Score" titles from the San Francisco Symphony. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
Engelbert Humperdinck Hänsel und Gretel opera with revised libretto (which is quite different from the traditional book by Adelheid Wette, the composer's sister). Directed by Johannes Felsenstein at the Anhalt Theatre Dessau in 2007. Stars Ludmil Kuntschew, Alexandra Petersamer, Sabine Noack, Cornelia Marschall, and Viktorija Kaminskaite. Markus L. Frank conducts the Dessau Anhalt Philharmonic and the Anhalt Theatre Children's Choir. Set and costumes by Steghen Rieckhoff; children chorus master---Dorislava Kuntscheva; dramaturgy---Susanne Schulz. Released in 2009, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. This disc is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.

[It took some guts for Arthaus to bring this out after the Royal Opera House released their glittering version of Hansel and Gretel (Opus Arte). But director Johannes Felsenstein in Dessau had a secret weapon to make make up for his relatively unknown musicians and tight budget for sets and costumes: a point of view. Few Germans alive today have any personal responsibility for what happened in Germany between 1900 and 1945. Now they can without guilt be thankful for the astonishing success the German nation has enjoyed since the end of World War II. So this Hänsel und Gretel becomes a parable for giving thanks to God for their good fortune; and, by extension, a prayer for security and welfare of all the peoples of the earth. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
Robert Schumann Genoveva opera with libretto by Robert Reinick and the composer. Directed by Martin Kušej at the Zuruch Opera House in 2008. Stars Juliane Banse, Shawn Mathey, Martin Gantner, Cornelia Kallisch, Alfred Muff, Ruben Drole, Tomasz Slawinski, and Matthew Leigh. Nikolaus Harnoncourt directs the Orchestra and Chorus of the Zurich Opera House. Set by Rolf Glittenburg; costumes by Heidi Hackl; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann; chorus master is Ernst Raffelsberger. Released in 2009, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. This is available now in England, and you can order it now by clicking on Genoveva. This will be released in the U.S. on January 26, 2009. This disc is either available now in the USA, UK, Germany, Canada, and France.

[This is Schumann's only opera, an obscure work that few people have seen. The orchestra music is interesting. But there are no great melodies for the singers, and the libretto is too stuffy and simple to support a night out. So why not take a chance and see if you can spike the bowl with design and directing. Now pipe on board enfant terrible Martin Kušej, whom we have previously met (January 2010) in HDVDs of Electra (also at Zürich) and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (at the iconoclastic Nederlandse Oper). Kušej likes to build a box within the stage; and within the box he creates his own abstract universe of symbolic and surreal images and actions---with emphasis on dislocation, inexplicable moves, garish violence, nudity, smearing, splatter, and the like (you know you're in trouble if the box says you have to be 12 years old to see the show). To the expert and the initiated, this can be bracing and profound; to the traditional, it's Eurotrash. Too bad we can't fetch Robert Schumann in a time machine and watch the expression of his face during a performance. My inclination would be to dial out the Kušej Genoveva --- except for one thing. The videography on this disc is preternaturally superb. I kept finding myself wanting to defend Genoveva from her assailants and to save Juliane Banse from having to suffer this production in front of those people in the theater in Zurich. I couldn't take my eyes off her at curtail call. She also seemed to be temporarily insane, which suggests that she finds Kušej's vision valid and important. Or maybe that's the way any woman looks who has survived Folterverhör (interogation by torture). If this thumbnail piques your interest, you might like this HDVD a lot: so I give it a grade of "C+." Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
Gioachino Rossini Il turco in Italia opera to libretto by Felice Romani. Directed by Egisto Marcucci at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, in 2009. Stars Simone Alaimo, Myrtò Papatanasiu, Bruno de Simone, Antonio Siragusa, Vicenzo Taormina, Antonella Napa, and Federico Lepre. Set design by Emanuele Luzzati; restaged by Elisabetta Courir. Choreography by Giovanni Di Cicco; lighting by Luciano Novelli. Jonathan Webb conducts with Chorus Master Ciro Visco. Released in 2010, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, and France.

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"Cav and Pag" opera double feature directed by Grischa Asagaroff at the Zurich Opera House in 2009.
- First plays the Pietro Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana to libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzeti and Guido Menasci. Stars José Cura, Paoletta Marrocu, Liliana Nikiteanu, Irène Friedli, and Cheyne Davidson.
- Then follows the Ruggero Leoncavallo Pagliacci to libretto by the composer. Stars José Cura, Fiorenza Cedolins, Carlo Guelfi, Gabriel Bermúdez, and Boiko Zvetanov.
Stefano Ranzani conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Zurich Opera. Set design by Luigi Perego; lighting by Hans-Rudolf Kunz; chorus master is Jürg Hämmerli. Directed for TV and video by Nele Münchmeyer. This is a single disc, released in 2010, with 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries: This disc is available now in the USA, UK, Germany, Canada, and France.

[The Zurich Opera Cav and Pag was released in the spring of 2010. It's a decent production, but I think it remains in the shadow of the Teatro Real Madrid Cav and Pag from 2009. Director Grischa Asagaroff uses the same set and conventional (but updated) mise-en-scène for both operas. He plays Cav first, followed by the Prologue and the two acts of Pag. (This is the normal order, of course; but since Cav and Pag are now Siamese twins, I prefer opening the whole evening with the Pag Prologue as done by del Monaco in the Teatro Real version.)
In Cav, Marrocu as Santussa has a terrific confrontation scene with her Turiddu; but otherwise Marrocu tends to overact and her voice is only barely strong enough for this tough role. Cura has great physical presence, but his voice in this production sounds thin and strained to me. The design will appeal to traditionalists, but I think the folks in the chorus look too sophisticated and prosperous to be settling scores with six-inch knives. On the other hand, the dts-HD Master Audio sound on this disc is exceptionally good.
Cura sings lead tenor in Pag also. He is a natural comic, and he is able to play a convincing drunk. The problem, alas, is that there is nothing funny or bumbling about Canio's lethal behavior. So I think Cura was misdirected in this production and that the misdirection is also evident in the confusing and unconvincing portrayal of the play within the play at the end of the opera.
To sum up, I give this title a "B" grade, and I recommend it to unyielding traditionalists and those whose seek the best sound available. Others will probably be happier with the Tearto Real version. Henry McFadyen Jr. May 2010.]

Mozart Così fan tutte opera to libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Directed by Sven-Eric Bechtolf at the Zurich Opera House in 2009. Stars Malin Hartelius, Anna Bonitatibus, Martina Janková, Javier Camarena, Ruben Drole, and Oliver Widmer. Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Zurich Opera House Orchestra and Chorus (chorus master: Ernst Raffelsberger). Set designs by Rolf Glittenberg; costume designs by Marianne Glittenberg; lighting by Jürgen Hoffman; TV direction by Felix Breisach. Released in 2010, this disc has dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround sound. This title is available now in the USA, UK, Germany, Canada, and France.

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Francis Poulenc Dialogues des Carmélites opera to libretto by the composer. Directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff at The Staatsoper Hamburg in 2008. Stars Wolfgang Schöne, Alexia Voulgaridou, Nikolai Schukoff, Kathryn Harries, Anne Schwanewilms, Gabriele Schnaut, Jana Büchner, Olive Fredricks, Susanne Bohl, Benjamin Hulett, Mortiz Gogg, Frieder Stricker, Wilhelm Schwinghammer, Jan Buchwald, Peter Veit, and Rainer Böddeker. Simone Young conducts the Philharmoniker Hamburg and the Chor der Staatsoper Hamburg with chorus master Florian Csizmadia. Sets by Raimund Bauer; costumes by Andrea Schmidt-Futterer; associate direction by Heiko Hentschel; dramaturgy by Annedore Cordes; lighting by Olaf Freese; TV direction by Andreas Morell. Released in 2010, this title has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. This title is available now in the USA, UK, Germany, Canada, and France.

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Gaetano Donizetti Don Pasquale opera to libretto by Giovanni Ruffini. Directed by Andrea de Rosa and recorded live at The Ravenna Festival in 2006. Stars Claudio Desderi, Laura Giordano, Mario Cassi, Francisco Gatell, and Gabriele Spina. Riccardo Muti conducts the Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini and the Chorus of the Teatro Municipale di Piacenza (chorus master Corrado Cassati). Set design by Italo Grassi, costumes by Gabriela Pescucci, lighting by Pasquale Mari, music advice from Nicola Colombini and Dino Doni; directed for TV by Gabriele Gazzola. Released in 2010, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. This title is available now in the USA, UK, Germany, France, and Canada.

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Sergei Prokofiev Peter & der Wolf orchestra suite. This childrens' favorite work does not have the traditional Prokofiev narration; instead, the music is coupled with a short stop-motion animated film. Suzie Templeton wrote and directed the film that was released in 2006. The feature film lasts 34 minutes and there is about an hour of bonus material. This is the only fine-art HDVD of a production that has won an Oscar. Mark Stephenson conducts a new recording by the Philharmonia Orchestra. Released in 2010, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. The auflösung or resolution is described on the jewelbox as "1080/24P Full HD." Please note this title is restricted to Blu-ray players that are set for Region B. The disc is unplayable on most Blu-ray players available in Region A, which includes the United States and Japan, and Region C. For this reason, the disc is only offered for sale now (July 2010) in Europe. This is available now in Germany and France.

[The stop-motion animation in this film, which required the work of scores of people over 5 years, is an impressive and delightful. The storytelling is first rate too. There is no narration, so the "acting" of the puppets portrays a lot more than just the plot. This Peter & der Wolf is a joy to watch as both a nice short film and as an example of stop-motion animation at its peak. The disc also has interesting bonus materials about the music and the making of the film.
However, there are downsides. As noted, the disc works only on Region B players. The disc is also geared toward a central European market with subtitles in English, German, Polish, and Dutch for the bonus material. The booklet is all in German only. This work is short because the musical score was written for the attention span of young children. Finally, we are not sure how many adults would consider stop-motion animation to be a fine-arts form. For these reasons, we give this Peter & der Wolf the grade of X. But the grade is A+ if there are kids in your life, if you are interested in animation, or if you love Prokofiev. Henry McFadyen III July 2010]

[When I was 5, my mom played Peter and the Wolf for me from an album of 3 78-rpm discs recorded by RCA Victor in 1939 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Prokofiev narration by Richard Hale. I don't think I heard Peter and the Wolf for the next 65 years or so. But before I put this HDVD on our Region B Blu-ray player, I could still sing the "Peter" leitmotive and I still remembered which instruments represent the bird, the duck, the cat, the grandfather, and the hunters. I guess I was expecting Suzie Tempelton's animated film to be like my mom's 78-rpm album. Well, the leap from 78-rpm to HDVD is pretty broad, and so is the difference between the Prokofiew narration and the Tempelton's animation.
By using the music only (and dropping the narration), Tempelton was able to move grandfather and his shack from old Russia to a spot right on the border between the vast Siberian wilderness and the squalor of a contemporary Russian village. But a bigger change was her transformation of the story from a cute nursery tale into a mini Bildungsroman ("apprentice novel") in which Peter grows from a victim into a victor. The more you watch this film, the more you see how cleverly it is put together. And there's just as much here to please the adults as the kids.
Why was this film made? It seems it was originally designed to be shown on ad hoc screens to spice up performances by symphony orchestras of Peter and the Wolf at pops concerts! What a waste of talent and treasure! The film has been a hit at festivals. But maybe now the film will have new legs with the emergence of HDVD. The video of the film looks more brilliant and clear on my 52" LCD screen than it likely will ever look in a movie theater or concert hall. The music is rendered with great delicacy and verve in Master Audio surround sound. This HDVD merits repeated viewing. So if it interests you, buy it!
It's a shame that this can only be played easily in Europe. There is no verbal component to the film, and it should have a world-wide audience. The fact that it's restricted to Region B has to be the fault of lawyers. Let's hope someone can do a version for Regions A and C as well. Henry C McFadyen Jr July 2010.]

Francesco Cilea Adriana Lecouvreur opera to libretto by Arturo Colautti. Directed by Lorenzo Mariani at the Teatro Regio di Torino in 2009. Stars Micaela Carosi, Marcelo Álvarez, Marianne Cornetti, Alfonso Antoniozzi, Simone Del Savio, Luca Casalin, Antonella De Chiara, Patrizia Porzio, Carlo Bosi, Diego Matamoros, Giuseppe Milano, and Carola Iannuzzi. Renato Palumbo conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio di Torino with Claudio Fenoglio as chorus master. Sets by Nicola Rubertelli; costumes by Luisa Spinatelli; choreography by Michele Merola; lighting by Claudio Schmid; TV direction by Matteo Ricchetti. Released in 2010, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. This is available now in the USA, UK, Germany, France, and Canada.

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