Richard Berry

This DVD of Ariadne is a 1978 film based on Filippo Sanjust’s Vienna State Opera production. The bustling Prologue is set in the backstage area of the mogul’s palace and the 18th century costumes fit neatly. In the opera proper, the stage is transformed into a very stagey desert island with an improbable set of stairs leading to the heroine’s cave, the action spilling over into the theatre’s side boxes at times. While there’s nothing particularly imaginative about the production, it never distracts from the main event–the music. Strauss was profligate in his melodic gifts, his ability to make a reduced orchestra sound big, and his wonderful obsession with the female voice, which yields many glorious moments in the opera. Lavish casting helps.

Bernstein opera sets come few and far between, but those that do emerge are treated as isolated landmarks. Such was his recording of Richard Strauss` ''Der Rosenkavalier'' of 1971 (CBS M3K 42564, three CDs), recorded three years after he virtually swept the Viennese off their collective feet with it at the Staatsoper.

Son of the blues, boogie woogie and rhythm & blues, rock and roll was first known under the name of ‘jump blues’, a more rhythmic and sped up sub-genre of blues, with the well-marked (and very danceable) snare beat. In 1955, ‘Maybelline’ Chuck Berry’s first single is released, and with it, a new era begins. Admired by everybody from The Beatles and The Rolling Stones to Elton John, Eric Clapton and AC/DC, Chuck Berry's influence on the world of music has been massive. In The Many Faces of Chuck Berry we will explore his explosive live performances and his blues roots; we will dig deep into his catalog of hits performed by other artists and we will review some of his fellow early-rockers that changed the music landscape more than 60 years ago. With fantastic artwork, remastered sound and extensive liner notes, this an essential additional to your 20th century music collection.

The Deutsche Oper in Berlin had hardly opened on 24th September 1961 before it started preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary. How was that possible? Had it entered into some sort of time warp? That might indeed have been possible for a theatre that in the past had devoted itself to Richard Wagner’s works. But there was a simpler explanation: the Deutsche Oper Berlin had, in fact, originally opened on 7 November 1912 under the title of Deutsches Opernhaus. Thus it was Beethoven’s “Fidelio” that featured at the opening of the Deutsches Opernhaus in 1912 – and it was also chosen for the anniversary concert on 7th November 1962 that is documented in this DVD. The conductor of the Deutsche Oper orchestra was a man who had been personally involved in much of the former history of the opera house – Artur Rother. He had joined it in 1934 and in the 28 years leading up to the anniversary, Rother conducted no fewer than 66 premieres.