La Cieca (pictured, obviously), hereby declares that, from historical documents to the dernier cri of regie, October’s new DVD releases are a potpourri of objets d’art.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-krZ_Ljw8M
Arabella
features Emily Magee (Arabella), Genia Kühmeier (Zdenka), Tomasz Konieczny (Mandryka), Michael Schade (Matteo, Jägeroffizier). Franz Welser-Möst (direction). Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. Sven-Eric Bechtolf (stage direction). Recorded at the Wiener Staatsoper 9 May 2012.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXYsK3TUT68
“Stefan Herheim, one of the worlds’ most sought after operatic directors, superimposes the modern over the traditional in this dramatic and thought provoking new version of Puccini’s La Boheme
. Freedom, love, and even death all demand a price that must be paid and the opera opens with Mimì (Marita Sølberg) dying of cancer in a modern intensive care unit; the overture begins just after the ECG machine displays its unmistakable flat green line.”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpasyoDED04
I Due Foscari
is the latest in C Major’s “Tutto Verdi” series, a complete edition of straightforward productions on video.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xX92a0NZ2k
If you’ve always wondered what La Traviata
would look and sound like performed in Sydney Harbor, now’s your chance to find out.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Xyn5znHlA
For a more serious take on the Verdi
, there’s also a Konwitschny production from Graz.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BS6FhpDl22w
A blast from the past is Die Tote Stadt
in a classic 1983 performance of Götz Friedrich’s celebrated production, recorded live at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin. Heinrich Hollreiser conducts the orchestra and chorus, with performances by James King, Karan Armstrong, William Murray, Margit Neubauer and Donald Grobe.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeWxuTrLx1Q
And a blast from the present is Wozzeck
directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RA5VvmjQgQ
A more familiar name this side of the pond, David McVicar, directs Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg
from the Glyndebourne Festival.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr__GZMFpqk
McVicar’s favorite soprano (oh, everyone’s, really!) Angela Gheorghiu stars in Tosca
at the Royal Opera.
And finally, a video so tantalizing it doesn’t even have a trailer yet! In Mission
, “Cecilia Bartoli returns with another spellbinding adventure exploring the music and mystery of the maverick priest Agostino Steffani…. This spectacular was filmed at the Chateau de Versailles and features many of its most exquisite rooms and design – including the famous Hall of Mirrors – as a backdrop to Cecilia’s fabulous performances, and stunning dresses.”
