What's Available Now from Deutsche Grammophon?

Deutsche Grammophon released the follow titles, many staring Anna Nebrebko:

  1. Jules Massenet Manon opera to libretto by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille. Directed by Vincent Paterson at the Staatsoper unter den Linden (Berlin State Opera) in 2007. Stars Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Christof Fischesser, Alfredo Daza, Rômy Corazza, Arttu Kataja, Hanan Alattar, Gal James, Silvia de la Muela, and Matthias Vieweg. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Staatsopernchor. Stage design by Johannes; costumes by Susan Hilferty; lighting by Duane Schuler; choreography by Vincent Paterson. This disc was released in 2008; has 5.1 dts-HD and 5.1 PCM sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.
     
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  2. Vincenzo Bellini I Puritani opera to libretto by Carlo Pepoli. Directed by Sharon Thomas at the New York Metropolitan Opera in 2007. Stars Anna Netrebko, Eric Cutler, Franco Vassallo, John Relyea, Valerian Ruminski, Eduardo Valdes, and Maria Zifchak. Patrick Summers conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Set design by Ming Cho Lee; costumes by Peter J. Hall. This disc was released in 2008; it has 5.1 PCM and 5.1 dts-HD sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, or Canada.
     
    [If you could take only 2 or 3 opera HDVDs with you into solitary confinement, you would include this one in your kit. This serene work requires and deserves great singers, and the Met provides. Netrebko is enchanting (yes, this is the one where she signs upside-down), and the men are admirable also. We were lucky enough to see this in a movie theater (in let's pretend high-definition), on Public Television (in real high-definition), and in DVD before Deutsche Grammophon published their HDVD version. For a detailed discussion of all this, check out our review at I Puritani. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
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  3. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Le nozze di Figaro to libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Directed by Claus Guth for the 2006 Salzburg Festival at the Haus für Mozart (formerly Das Kleine Festspielhaus). Stars Anna Netrebko, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Bo Skovhus, Dorothea Röschmann, Christine Schäfer, Marie McLaughlin, Franz-Josef Selig, Patrick Henckens, Oliver Ringelhahn, Florian Boesch, Eva Liebau, and Uli Kirsch (mute role). Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor. Stage and costume design by Christian Schmidt; choreography by Ramses Sigl; lighting by Olaf Winter. Released in 2008, disc has 5.1 PCM and 5.1 dts-HD sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.
     
    [This opera hardly needs to swallow a pep pill. But Guth added one with the mute role of Cherub---a cute guy who wanders about being charming. We liked stupid cupid OK, but among seasoned opera lovers there was controversy over our poor power to add or detract. We need a Mozart expert to write a more helpful thumbnail than this one. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
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  4. The Berlin Concert---Live from the "Waltbühne". Stars Plácido Domingo, Anna Netrebko, and Rolando Villazón singing opera favorites at the Berlin Waltbühne, (or Forest Theater) on July 7, 2006. Marco Armiliato conducts the Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin. Released in 2008, disc has 5.1 PCM and 5.1 dts-HDsound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.
     
    [What to make of this one? The Waldbühne, part of the Olympic Stadium complex in Berlin, seats 20,000 in Greek-style outdoor amphitheater discomfort. There's a utilitarian stage topped by a high-tech circus tent canopy---Berlin is famous for these edgy/ugly architectural experiments. The one-shot performance must be miked and amped with wires everwhere supporting giant digital screens with crude images of the action. The weather is rarely perfect---this time it was hot and humid with Armiliato about to wash away in his own sweat. The singers have to mug and ham it up in an effort to connect to the vast sea of ants all over the mountain side before them. All this doesn't mesh too well with the new high-definition cameras showing what everything looks like from 10 feet away. Well, nobody could complain about the 3 stars doing stuff like "O mio babbino caro." But we still got the impression that our heros seemed a bit harassed, unrehearsed, and jet-lagged. And why not? This audience is interested in celebrities, not arias. We note also that the producers included more than a few shots taken with standard definition cameras, and this is anathema to CVs. If you want to add a singing concert to your collection, we suggest you start at Baden-Baden with the Deutsche Grammophon The Opera Gala rather at the Forest Theater.
     
    If you want to defend     The Berlin Concert---Live from the "Waltbühne" we would be delighted to publish a thumbnail with your views. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
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  5. The Opera Gala recital concert. Anna Netrebko (soprano), Elīna Garanča (mezzo-soprano), Ramón Vargas (tenor), and Lodovic Tézier (baritone) sing opera favorites for the 2007 Gala Concert at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. Marco Armiliato conducts the SWR (Südwestrundfunk) Sinfonieorchester of Baden-Baden und Freiburg. Released 2008, disc has 5.1 PCM and 5.1 dts-HDsound. It is available now in the U.S. on www.amazon.com, and you can order it by clicking now on Opera Gala. It is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.
     
    [ As of May 12, 2009, this is the best opera recital program that has been published in HDVD. Beautiful young singers. It's great to hear the 4 different voices instead of 3 tenors. Intelligent program ignores most of the usual suspects and gives us instead 19 numbers from 10 composers in 8 voice combinations. Everything sounds and looks so pretty in the elegant Baden-Baden palace! It's the perfect show for anyone who wants an introduction to the art of beautiful singing. And Netrebko wakes up the old guys with her "hot lips" encore. Henry McFadyen, Jr.]
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  6. Charles Gounod Roméo et Juliette opera to libretto by Jules Barbier & Michel Carré. Directed by Brian Large in 2008 for the Salzburg Festival at the Felsenreitschule. Stars Nino Machaidze, Rolando Villazón, Mikhail Petrenko, Russell Braun, Cora Burggraaf, Falk Struckmann, Juan Francisco Gatell, Susanne Resmark, Christian Van Horn, Mathias Hausmann, Jean-Luc Ballestra, and Robert Murray. Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor. Staged by Bartlett Sher; set design by Michael Yeargan; costumes by Catherine Zuber; lighting by Jennifer Tipton; choreography by Chase Brock; fight scene by B. H. Barry. Released in 2009, this disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, Canada, or France.
     
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  7. Giuseppe Verdi La Traviata opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed by Brian Large in 2005 at the Salzburg Festival. Stars Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Thomas Hampson, Helene Schneiderman, Diane Pilcher, Salvatore Cordella, Paul Gay, Herman Wallén, Luigi Roni, Dritan Luca, Wolfram Igor Derntl, and Friedrich Springer. Carlo Rizzi conducts the Wiener Philarmoniker und Wiener Staatsopernchor. Staged by Willy Decker; set design by Wolfgang Gussman; costumes by Wolfgang Gussman and Susana Mendoza; lighting by Hans Toelstede. Released in 2009, this disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. It is available now from Amazon in these countries: USA, UK, Germany, or Canada.
     
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