Komponisten 05

Donizetti - Lucia di Lammermoor [DVD]

Donizetti's great tragedy is his undisputed masterpiece of melancholic romanticism, with the doomed love between Lucia and Edgardo retold from Sir Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor. The 1992 production heightens the story's powerful libretto with its dramatic visual design and first class musical performances.

Press Reviews

" Pier' Alli, the producer-designer explores a poetically Romanticised view of decaying, mist-ringed Scottish castles which in its consciously old-fashioned way chimes well with the gently singer-supportive conducting of Stefano Ranzani. The principals are all Italian and while on paper this may not be a dream cast, in practice the blend and stylistic know-how of the voices turn out extremely well. " ( B B C Music Magazine ? ? ? ? )

Cast
Renato Bruson ( Enrico Ashton)
Mariella Devia ( Lucia)
Vincenzo La Scola ( Sir Edgardo)
Marco Berti ( Lord Arturo Bucklaw)

Orchestra & Chorus of La Scala; Stefano Ranzani

Catalogue Number: O A L S3003 D
Date of Performance: 1992
Running Time: 140 minutes
Sound: Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Subtitles: E N
Label: Opus Arte

Donizetti, Gaetano - Don Pasquale

Donizetti, Gaetano - La Fille Du Regiment

Franco Zeffirelli, Donato Renzetti

L'Italienne à Algeri

Donizetti - Lucie de Lammermoor (TDK)

Rossini, Gioacchino - Tancredi

Donizetti - La Fille Du Regiment [DVD]

Marie, found abandoned as a baby on the battlefield, was adopted and raised by soldiers. She is the darling of the regiment. When the Marquise of Berkenfield tells the Sergeant that Marie is actually her niece and she must leave the regiment, the troops are heartbroken. The Marquise plans to educate and marry Marie in a manner befitting a lady of quality, but Marie wants only to return to her regiment and the man she loves.

Press Reviews

" Sutherland once again produced that glittering unmistakable brilliance of sound. " ( The Canberra Times)

". . . a lively and picturesque production of a romantic comedy. " ( The Sydney Morning Herald)

Cast
Joan Sutherland ( Marie)
Anson Austin ( Tonio)
Heather Begg ( The Marquise of Berkenfield)
Gregory Yurisich ( Sulpice)
Gordon Wilcock ( Hortensius)
Stephen Bennett ( A Peasant)

Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra; Richard Bonynge

Stage Director: Sandro Sequi

Catalogue Number: O A F4025 D
Running Time: 119 minutes
Sound: Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Subtitles: E N
Label: Opus Arte

Rossini, Gioacchino - La donna del lago [NTSC]

Director Werner Herzog and conductor Riccardo Muti combine with the finest of casts to lavish Rossini's rarely-performed Neapolitan masterpiece, set in feudal sixteenth century Scotland, with the genius it deserves. June Anderson is an outstanding Elena (the Lady of the Lake) in the 1992 production of the melodrama based on Sir Walter Scott's poem.

Press Reviews

" With lavish sets by Maurizio Balo, evocative and realistic, it establishes the period atmosphere well; but it is Muti's evident enthusiasm for the piece in his taut and exciting conducting that above all brings out the drama of conflict in 16th-century Scotland, with the melancholy Elena, the heroine, caught between rival forces. " ( The Penguin Guide)

" This D V D gives a rare opportunity to experience a work of musical individuality and interest in a well-sung and conducted performance. It is mature Rossini at his best and most demanding of participants. I welcome its availability and recommend it to other enthusiasts of Rossini's opera seria that are, through their musical quality and dramatic potential, slowly gaining a foothold in the repertoire. " ( Musicweb International)

Cast
Rockwell Blake ( Giacomo V, Re di Scozia)
Giorgio Surjan ( Douglas d' Angus)
Chris Merritt ( Rodrigo di Dhu)
June Anderson ( Elena)

Orchestra & Chorus of La Scala; Riccardo Muti

Catalogue Number: O A L S3009 D
Date of Performance: 1992
Running Time: 167 minutes
Sound: Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Subtitles: E N
Label: Opus Arte

Rossini - La Gazzetta [Blu-ray]

The Nobel Prize-winning writer Dario Fo applies his inventive genius to Rossini's comic opera in its premiere D V D release. Recorded in 2005 under the musical direction of Maurizio Barbacini, Fo's production brings fresh vitality and colour to the story of Lisetta, and of her father's attempts to find a husband for her through an advertisement in the newspaper La Gazzetta. Filmed using high definition cameras with multitrack sound.

Press Reviews

". . . a tour de force of acrobatic silliness and barbed social satire. Of the cast, which included the inimitable Bruno Praticò and the lovely Cinzia Forte. . . it can only be said that it is difficult to imagine the piece sung or acted better. " ( The Financial Times)

" Lively and hilarious. . . Pulsating pace, Charleston looks and silent movie aesthetics in a series of gags. . . Fo takes the opportunity to satirise the world of advertising and the hypocrisy of the powerful. " ( El Pais)

" La Gazzetta by Rossini has been reborn in this production that has the distinctive stamp of Fo, who has been able to handle with strength the Rossinian chaos without neglecting - and here his major virtue - the music. " ( El Periodico de Catalunya)

" La Gazzetta was a visionary work, and it is still revolutionary in the actual 'age of disinformation'. " ( Dario Fo)

Cast
Cinzia Forte ( Lisetta)
Bruno Praticò ( Don Pomponio)
Charles Workman ( Alberto)
Pietro Spagnoli ( Filippo)

Intermezzo Choir; Orchestra Academy of the Gran Teatre del Liceu; Maurizio Barbacini

Stage Director: Dario Fo

Catalogue Number: O A B D7034 D
Date of Performance: 2005
Running Time: 161 minutes
Sound: 2. 0 P C M & 5. 1 D T S
Aspect Ratio: 1080i High Definition / 16:9
Subtitles: E N, F R, D E, E S, I T, C A
Label: Opus Arte