Puccini Il Tabarro opera to a libretto by Giuseppe Adami. Directed 2019 by Denis Krief at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Stars Franco Vassallo (Michele); Angelo Villari (Luigi); Antonio Garés (Il “Tinca”); Eugenio Di Lieto (Il “Talpa”); Maria José Siri (Giorgetta); Anna Maria Chiuri (La Frugola); Dave Monaco (Song Peddler); Thalida Fogarasi and Leonardo Sgroi (Two Offstage Voices); Costanza Fontana and Claudio Zazzaro (Two Lovers); Maria Cristina Bisogni, Cristina Pagliai; Sarina Rausa, Elena Bazzo, Elisabetta Ermini, and Delia Palmieri (Midinettes), and Fabrizio Casagrande (Extra). Valerio Galli conducts the Ochestra e Coro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Chorus Master Lorenzo Fratini). Set, costume, and lighting design by Denis Krief. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBeethoven Leonore opera to libretto by Joseph Sonnleithner. (This is the 1805 version of “Leonore/Fildelio.”) Performed 2020 by Opera Lafayette as directed by Oriol Tomas at the Kaye Playhouse, Hunter College, New York. Stars Nathalie Paulin (Leonore/Fidelio), Jean-Michel Richer (Florestan), Stephen Hegedus (Rocco), Pascale Beaudin (Marzelline), Matthew Scollin (Pizarro), Keven Geddes (Jaquino), and Alexandre Sylvestre (Don Fernando). Ryan Brown conducts the Opera Lafayette Orchestra and Chorus. Set and costume design by Laurence Mongeau; lighting design by Rob Siler; hair and make-up design by Georgiana Eberhard; sound engineering by Marlan Barry. Directed for TV by Jason Starr. Sung in German. Released 2021, disc has PCM stereo sound only. Grade: NA
We usually don’t cover operas that are recorded in stereo sound only. But we make an exception because this fills in a gap in our coverage of Beethoven’s Leonore/Fidelio opera adventures. There are 3 versions of what we call “Leonore/Fidelio,” and this 1805 effort was the earliest of them. It’s offered here by the highly respected and specialized Opera Lafayette, which focuses mostly on French Baroque works. One of those French operas, Léonore; ou, L'amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, was the inspiration for Beethoven to do a German language version, and this was Beethoven’s first stab at it. Today the 1805 version is mostly ignored, but some experts say it’s better than Beethoven’s later revisions in 1806 and 1814.
Read MoreBeethoven Fidelio opera (1806 version) to libretto by Joseph Ferdinand von Sonnleithner and Stephan von Breuning. Directed 2020 by Christoph Waltz at the Theater an der Wien, Austria. Stars Nicole Chevalier (Leonore), Eric Cutler (Florestan), Gábor Bretz (Don Pizarro), Christof Fischesser (Rocco), Mélissa Petit (Marzelline), Benjamin Hulett (Jaquino), Károly Szemerédy (Don Fernando), Johannes Bamberger (First Prisoner), and Dumitru Mădăraşăn (Second Prisoner). Manfred Honeck conducts the Wiener Symphoniker and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus Master Erwin Ortner). Set design by Barkow Leibinger; costume design by Judith Holste; lighting design by Henry Braham. Directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Sung in German. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Beethoven wrote 3 versions of what I call “Leonore/Fidelio”:
1805, now often if not usually called “Leonore 1”
1806, now often if not usually called “Leonore 2”
1814, now usually called “Fidelio”
It’s now December 25, 2020 (yes, this is my Christmas present to you). We already have two versions of the 1814 Fidelio in HDVD on our Alphalist (one on Opus Arte from Opernhaus Zürich and another on Sony from the 2015 Salzburg Festival).
Now subject title brings us a rendition of Leonore 2 from the Teater an der Wien. Of course, life being inherently complicated, Unitel calls it “Fidelio (1806)” instead of “Leonore 2.” (The person to blame for all this is not I but Beethoven, who was a rather complicated guy himself.)
Read MoreAdolphe Adam Le Postillon de Lonjumeau opera to a libretto by Adolphe de Leuven and Léon-Lévy Brunswick. Directed 2019 by Michel Fau at the Opéra Comique, Paris. Stars Michael Spyres (Chapelou/Saint-Phar), Florie Valiquette (Madeleine/Madame de Latour), Franck Leguérinel (Le Marquis de Corcy), Laurent Kubla (Biju/Alcindor), Michel Fau (Rose), Yannis Ezziadi (Louis XV), and Julien Clément (Bourdon). Sébastien Rouland conducts the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen Normandie, the accentus (sic) choir, and the Opéra de Rouen Normandie choir. Set design by Emmanuel Charles; costume design by Christian Lacroix; lighting design by Joël Fabing; make-up design by Pascale Fau. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Sung in French. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Così fan tutte opera to libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Directed 2014 by Felix Breisach at the Theater an der Wien. Stars Mari Eriksmoen (Fiordiligi), Katija Dragojevic (Dorabella), Andrè Schuen (Guglielmo), Mauro Peter (Ferrando), Elisabeth Kulman (Despina), and Markus Werba (Don Alfonso). Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Concentus Musicus Wien and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus Master Erwin Ortner). Costume design by Doris Maria Aigner. Directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Sung in Italian. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D
This video was made 6 years ago—a bad sign. There’s no director because this is an un-staged concert production of the opera. The package does credit Felix Breisach for “scenic arrangement.” That means, I think, that . . .
Read MoreWagner Das Rheingold. Directed 2010 by Plamen Kartaloff at the National Opera and Ballet in Sofia, Bulgaria. Stars Nikolay Petrov (Wotan), Krastan Krastanov (Donner), Miroslav Andreev (Froh), Daniel Ostretsov (Loge), Biser Georgiev (Alberich), Krasimir Dinev (Mime), Stefan Vladimirov (Fasolt), Petar Buchkov (Fafner), Rumyana Petrova (Fricka), Veselina Vasileva (Freia), Blagovesta Mekki (Erda), Irina Zhekova (Woglinde), Dorotea Doroteeva (Wellgunde), and Tsveta Sarambelieva (Flosshilde). Pavel Baleff conducts the Orchestra of the Sofia Opera and Ballet. Assistant direction by Juliya Krasteva; set and costume design by Nikolay Panayotov; light design by Andrej Hajdinjak. Directed for TV by Rumen Kovachev and Plamen Kartaloff; sound engineer was Yordan Tomov; video editing by Angel Hristov. Sung in German. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D
Read MoreWagner Die Walküre to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2011 by Plamen Kartaloff at the Sofia Opera and Ballet. Stars Martin Iliev (Siegmund), Angel Hristov (Hunding), Nikolay Petrov (Wotan), Tsvetana Bandalovska (Sieglinde), Rumyana Petrova (Fricka), Milena Gyurova (Helmwige), Mariana Tzvetkova (Brünnhilde), Irina Zhekova (Ortlinde), Lyubov Metodieva (Gerhilde), Dimitrinka Raycheva (Waltraute), Mariela Aleksandrova (Siegrune), Tsveta Sarambelieva (Rossweisse), Margarita Damyanova (Grimgerde), and Blagovesta Mekki-Tsvetkova (Schwertleite). Pavel Baleff conducts the Orchestra of the Sofia Opera and Ballet. Assistant stage direction by Yulia Krasteva and Vera Petrova; set and costume design by Nikolay Panayotov; lighting design by Andrej Hajdinjak and Emil Dinkov. Directed for TV by Rumen Kovachev and Plamen Kartaloff; sound engineering by Yordan Tomov; video editing by Angel Christov. Sung in German. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D
Read MoreStanisław Moniuszko Halka opera to libretto by Włódzimierz Wolski. Directed 2019 by Natalia Babińska at the Opera Nova in Bydogszcz, Poland. Stars Jacek Greszta (Stolnik); Jolanta Wagner (Halka); Dorota Sobczak (Zofia); Tadeusz Szlenkier (Jontek); Łukasz Goliński (Janusz); Łukasz Jakubczak (Dziemba); Szymon Rona (Piper); Paweł Krasulak, Maciej Musiał, Łukasz Seremet, and Krysztof Zimny (Guests); and Angelika Wojciechowska (Ghost of Halka). Also features thsade Ballet of the Opera Nova and children from the Ballet Studio of the Opera Nova. Piotr Wajrak conducts Orchestra and Choir of the Opera Nova (Choir Master Henryk Wierzchoń). Set design by Diana Marszałek and Julia Skrzynecka; costume design by Paulina Czernek; choreography by Iwona Pasińka; multimedia projections by Ewa Krasucka; lighting design by Maciej Igielski. Sung in Polish. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Grade: NA
Another tragic story about a village girl who believed what the young nobleman said
Read MoreErich Wolfgang Korngold Violanta opera to a libretto by Hans Müller. Directed 2020 by Pier Luigi Pizzi at the Teatro Regio Torino. Stars Annemarie Kremer (Violanta), Michael Kupfer-Radecky (Simone Trovai), Norman Reinhardt (Alfonso), Peter Sonn (Giovanni Bracca), Soula Parassidis (Bice), Anna Maria Chiuri (Barbara), Joan Folqué (Matteo), Cristiano Olivieri (First Soldier), Gabriel Alexander Wernick (Second Soldier), Eugenia Braynova (First Maid), and Claudia De Pian (Second Maid). Pinchas Steinberg conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio Torino (Chorus Master Andrea Secchi). Set and costume design by Pier Luigi Pizzi; lighting design by Andrea Anfossi. Directed for TV by Matteo Ricchetti; editing by Adriano Figari; sound recording by Rino Trasi. Sung in German. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C+
I happened by accident to see this recording streamed for free in the spring of 2020 on the website operavision.eu. I thought it
Read MoreWagner Tannhäuser opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2019 by Tobias Kratzer at the Bayreuth Festival. Stars Stephen Gould (Tannhäuser), Lise Davidsen (Elisabeth), Elena Zhidkova (Venus), Markus Eiche (Wofram von Eschenbach), Stephen Milling (Landgraf Hermann), Daniel Behle (Walther von der Vogelweide), Kay Stiefermann (Biterolf), Jorge Rodríguez-Norton (Heinrich der Schreiber), Wilhelm Schwinghammer (Reinmar von Zweter), and Katharina Konradi (Ein junger Hirt), Le Gateau Chocolat (Le Gateau Chocolat), and Manni Laudenbach (Oskar). Valery Gergiev conducts the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Eberhard Friedrich). Set and costume design by Rainer Sellmaier; lighting by Reinhard Traub; video by Manuel Braun; dramaturgy by Konrad Kuhn. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. Sung in German. Released 2020, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
As the famous Tannhäuser Overture music begins, we are immediately thrown into a mini-opera explaining how Tannhäuser got tired of living with Venus. The mini-opera was shown at Bayreuth as a video, and we in the home theater probably see it better than the live audience did
Read MoreMozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Directed 2014 by Felix Breisach at the Theater an der Wien. Stars Andrè Schuen (Don Giovanni), Mika Kares (Masetto/Il Commendatore), Christine Schäfer (Donna Anna), Mauro Peter (Don Ottavio), Maite Beaumont (Donna Elvira), Ruben Drole (Leporello), and Mari Eriksmoen (Zerlina). Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Concentus Musicus Wien and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus Master Erwin Ortner). Costume design by Doris Maria Aigner. Scenic arrangement by Felix Breisach. Directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Sung in Italian. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D
This video was made 6 years ago—a bad sign. There’s no director because this is an un-staged concert production of the opera. The package does credit Felix Breisach for “scenic arrangement.” That means, I think, that everyone asked Breisach from time to time, “Where should I stand for this number?” There is a stage and costume designer credited. This means, I think, that the singers may wear clothes that vaguely suggest something about their character without looking ridiculous, and there may be a few simple props. Is there some rather shameless puffing going on here? Well, maybe not.
Read MorePuccini Suor Angelica to libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. Directed 2019 by Denis Krief at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Stars Maria José Siri (Suor Angelica); Anna Maria Chiuri (La Zia Principessa); Marina Ogii (La Badessa); Anna Malavasi (La Suora Zelatrice); Giada Frasconi (La Maestra delle Novizie); Costanza Fontana (Suor Genovieffa); Elena Cavini (Suor Osmina); Nikoleta Kapetanidou (Suor Dolcina); Carmen Buendia (La Suora Infermiera); Eunsong Lim (Prima Sorella Cercatrice); Francesca Longari (Seconda Sorella Cercatrice); Marilena Ruta (Prima Conversa); Emma Alessi Innocenti (Seconda Conversa); Marta Pluda (Prima Novizia); Julia Costa (Seconda Novizia); and Daniela Losi, Consuelo Cellai, and Amanada Ferri (Tre suore).. Valerio Galli conducts the Orchestra, Coro, e Coro delle voci bianche del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Chorus Master Lorenzo Fratini). Set, costume, and lighting design by Denis Krief. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini; video editing by Metis; recording and editing by MASClassica Audio Recording, Claudio Speranzini, and Antonio Martino. Sung in Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Die Zauberflöte (the Magic Flute) opera to libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Directed 2019 by Barbe & Doucet at Glyndebourne. Stars David Portillo (Tamino); Sofia Fomina (Pamina); Brindley Sherratt (Sarastro); Björn Bürger (Papageno); Caroline Wettergreen (Queen of the Night); Michael Kraus (Speaker); Esther Dierkes, Marta Fontanals-Simmons, and Katharina Magiera (Three Ladies); Jörg Schneidre (Monostatos); Alison Rose (Papagena); Freddie Jemison, Aman de Silva, and Stephan Dyakonov (Three Boys); and Thomas Akins and Martin Snell (Priests and Men in Armour). Ryan Wigglesworth conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Leader Matthew Truscott) and the Glyndebourne Chorus (Chorus Director Aidan Oliver). Set design by Barbe & Doucet; lighting design by Guy Simard; puppet designs and coaching by Patrick Martel. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Sung in German. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Simon Boccanegra opera to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and later revised by Arrigo Boito. Directed 2019 by Andreas Kriegenburg at the Salzburg Festival. Stars Luca Salsi (Simon Boccanegra), Marina Rebeka (Amelia Grimaldi), René Pape (Jacopo Fiesco), Charles Castronovo (Gabriele Adorno), André Heyboer (Paolo Albiani), Antonio di Matteo (Pietro), Long Long (Captain), and Marianne Sattmann (Amelia’s Maid). Valery Gergiev conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Ernst Raffelsberger). Set design by Harald B. Thor; costume design by Tanja Hofmann; lighting design by Andreas Grüter; video design by Peter Venus; dramatic advisor was Julia Weinreich. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B-
This opera has a complicated libretto. Thanks to Unitel/C Major for an excellent synopsis in the keepcase booklet. I hope the screenshots below will help you keep track of who is who if you watch this title . . .
Read MoreAlexander von Zemlinsky Der Zwerg opera to a libretto by Georg C. Klaren. Directed 2019 by Tobias Krazer at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. Stars Elena Tsallagova (Donna Clara), Emily Magee (Ghita), David Butt Philip (Der Zwerg), Mick Morris Mehnert (Der Zwerg Actor), Philipp Jekal (Don Estoban), Flurina Stucki (Maid 1), Amber Faquelle (Maid 2), and Maiju Vaahtoluoto (Maid 3). Donald Runnicles conducts the Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin and the Chor der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines). Set and costume design by Rainer Sellmaier; lighting design by Stefan Woinke; dramaturgy by Sebastian Hanusa. Directed for TV by Matteo Ricchetti and Adriano Figari. Sung in Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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