“This fast-paced narrative with its realistic dialogue between characters and its emotional arch almost gives one the impression that Giordano would have liked to make a feature film, yet did not yet have the necessary technology at his disposal. In fact, at the same time as this opera was being written and premiered, film was also being born.” With these words, director Philipp Stölzl also described an essential aspect of his production of Giordano’s Andrea Chenier at the Bavarian State Opera: the stage is presented as a “split screen” that simultaneously shows the “upper and lower” social classes during the French Revolution. This December 2017 revival of the production, conducted by Marco Armiliato, was recorded and recently released on DVD and Blu-ray on the Bavarian State Opera’s record label. “Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros and George Petean shine in an imaginative yet faithful production by Philipp Stölzl. The then 78-year-old Brian Large proves once again that he is the best of all classical music videomakers.” (Merker online)
“Homage a Puccini” on December 29 on ARTE Concert
Due to a strike, the concert in honor of Giacomo Puccini, which took place on November 29, 2024, on the 100th anniversary of the composer's death at La Scala in Milan, had to be performed without an orchestra. Instead of the original program Anna Netrebko, Jonas Kaufmann and Mariangela Sicilia, accompanied by James Vaughan at the piano, presented highlights from “Manon Lescaut”, “La Bohème”, “Tosca” and “Turandot”, among others. The concert will be shown on ARTE concert on December 29 at 5:10pm and will be available on the media library for some time afterwards.
