This DVD is in fact the "break a leg" version which sees Joyce DiDonato perform her role in a wheelchair - a story which has occupied international headlines last year - and definitely a DVD which will stand out. The DVD will include bonus features like an interview with Joyce on her stage accident and subsequent wheelchair performances… (Opera News)
Mozart was always an important and regular feature of Solti's career as conductor in the opera house and concert hall as well as in the recording studio and also as a pianist, and at the start of his career he participated in performances of Die Zauberflöte at Salzburg under Toscanini in 1937. Solti conducted Die Zauberflöte himself at Salzburg in 1956 to mark the 200th anniversary of Mozart's birth and again in 1991 when he made his second recording of the opera. Solti's first recording of Die Zauberflöte was made in Vienna in 1969 and was his first complete Mozart opera recording.
Rapson began on piano at age five before switching to trombone. He studied at Westmont College, graduating in 1976, then took his MA in composition at California State University. Rapson taught at Westmont from 1980 to 1990, concurrently playing in Los Angeles with Vinny Golia (1979-90). He also worked with Tim Berne (1980, 1986), Walter Thompson (1980), Bobby Bradford (1986-90), and John Carter (1988-90). He has worked extensively as a leader with noted West Coast jazz players.