“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)
Wagner Weekend: Tannhäuser and Walküre
The radio recording of the Salzburg production of Tannhäuser, in which Jonas Kaufmann has sung the title role for the first time, will be broadcast on Saturday, April 15 at 7:30pm. The other leading roles will be performed by Marlis Petersen (Elisabeth), Emma Bell (Venus), Christian Gerhaher (Wolfram) and Georg Zeppenfeld (Landgraf Hermann); Andris Nelsons conducts the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. On Sunday, April 16, Kaufmann will perform Siegmund in Die Walküre at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, with Okka von der Damerau (Brünnhilde), Vida Miknevičiūtė (Sieglinde), Christopher Maltman (Wotan), Varduhi Abrahamyan (Fricka) and John Relyea (Hunding); the conductor is Dan Ettinger. Additional performances are on April 20, 23, 26 and 29.
