Zubin

Munich’s new Ballo in maschera has received much critical acclaim: ‘This production shows what a utopia opera can be’ (Abendzeitung). Ten years after stepping down as music director of the Bavarian State Opera, Zubin Mehta returned to Munich in March 2016 to celebrate his 80th birthday conducting Verdi’s masterpiece for the first time in a staged production. His cast features some of today’s finest Verdi singers: soprano Anja Harteros, singing Amelia for the first time and ‘filling every note with Verdian intensity’, tenor Piotr Beczala as a ‘visually and vocally dashing Riccardo’ and George Petean as an ‘exemplary’ Renato (Neue Musikzeitung).

Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) is an opera „Singspiel“ in three acts with spoken rather than sung dialogue. This DVD shows the impeccable performance of the majestic Teatro della Pergola Florence. The tenors Rainer Trost (Belmonte) and Mehrzad Montazeri (Pedrillo) sing with convincing excellence. The most demanding parts are sung with effortless passion by Eva Mei (Constanze). Her aria ‘Martern aller Arten’ is overwhelming; with the singer’s voice fusing beautifully with the solo instruments. This Italian production is admirable with all its colourful decorations and costumes in an oriental style.

The charming story of Chinese princess Turandot who will only marry a suitor who can solve her riddles is presented in this adaptation of the opera by Giacomo Puccini.; Critically acclaimed filmmaker Chen Kaige directs this performance. The authenticity of this production is incredible, with its superb costumes and sets, all of which were designed in China.; Zubin Mehta conducts the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, and Maria Guleghina is a remarkable Turandot. The performance offers “genuine fireworks of sound.” (Wiener Zeitung)

The most devoted fans of the Three Tenors (José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti) may already have the music included in this album of greatest hits taken from their concerts in Rome (1990), Los Angeles (1994), and Paris (1998), but for listeners new to the singers, this disc makes a good introduction. The repertoire is weighted toward the Latinate, featuring primarily popular song and opera excerpts from Italy, Spain, and Latin America, but also included are songs from The Merry Widow, Carousel, Singin' in the Rain, and West Side Story. Most of the music has a strongly Romantic, emotionally charged, lyrical feeling that's enhanced by the lush orchestral arrangements.

The double title of the opera ''Tannhäuser oder der Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg'', which had its grand premiere on 19 October 1845 under Wagner''s direction in the Hoftheater in Dresden, is already an indication of how Wagner''s work unites two circles of material whose tradition stems from separate sources. The figure of the minnesinger is an historical fact and his episodes are documented with the ''Tannhäuserlied'' as far back as 1520. In a musical sense, the contrast between diatonicism and chromaticism is symbolic of two different worlds.

With this 7th symphony concert conducted by Zubin Mehta featuring the baritone Thomas Quasthoff, the Staatskapelle Dresden initiated its Mahler celebrations due to the composer’s 150th birthday in 2010. Mehta has been one of the outstanding personalities of the international music scene for years. Already at the age of 25 he conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic as well as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1994 he has been closely associated with the Staatskapelle Dresden. Thomas Quasthoff is one of the most important and versatile singer of our time. Three of his CD recordings have been awarded with the Grammy.

With this 7th symphony concert conducted by Zubin Mehta featuring the baritone Thomas Quasthoff, the Staatskapelle Dresden initiated its Mahler celebrations due to the composer’s 150th birthday in 2010. Mehta has been one of the outstanding personalities of the international music scene for years. Already at the age of 25 he conducted the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic as well as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Since 1994 he has been closely associated with the Staatskapelle Dresden. Thomas Quasthoff is one of the most important and versatile singer of our time. Three of his CD recordings have been awarded with the Grammy.

In the wake of its first performance under his own direction in March 1904, Strauss struck a self-satisfied note: “Domestica has turned out a success, it sounds great, but it’s very difficult.” The extreme technical demands and the large resources required – the intimate details of the composer’s private life are translated into a monumental tone poem in his Sinfonia domestica. The Munich Philharmonic performs this opulent late-Romantic score in the Isarphilharmonie in Munich under its conductor emeritus, Zubin Mehta.

“La forza del destino” (The Force of Fate), premiered in St. Petersburg 1862, is one of Verdi’s most important opera compositions. Its plot is complicated and combines a sequence of interlaced unfortunate strokes of fate. Donna Leonora is the centre of events, together with her brother Don Carlo di Vargas and her lover Don Alvaro. The story was originally set in 18th century Spain, however the French director Nicolas Joël established the action in a slightly later period, in the time of the Empire, the early 19th century.