[ Arthaus Musik Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc ]
Release Date: Monday 1 October 2012
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Suitable for General Audiences"Conductor and orchestra are superb; so is Anja Harteros, who finds real depth in Alcina's passion for Ruggiero." (Gramophone)
"Conductor and orchestra are superb; so is Anja Harteros, who finds real depth in Alcina's passion for Ruggiero. After an effortful start in her opening aria, Veronia Cangemi is well on form in 'Credete al mio dolore'. Kristina Hammarström looks and sounds well as Bradamante" (Gramophone)
"Harteros's willowy figure and terrically responsive facial features are huge assets for Alcina. Her warm lirico-spinto instrument boasts the necessary range and flexibility...Truly phenomenal is Alois Mühlbacher (Oberto), with spot-on intonation, excellent coloratura and a surprisingly colourful timbre. He's also adorable to watch...Marc Minkowski and his Musiciens du Louvre contribute terrific dramatic flair and, of course, technique and musicianship of the highest order"
(International Record Review)
Set & Costumes by ANTHONY WARD
Handel's operas are now so thoroughly a part of modern musical life that you might think every major opera house welcomes them. But until November 2010, when it introduced an absorbing new production of Alcina, the Vienna Staatsoper resisted them, not having done a Baroque opera since Monteverdi's Poppea in the 1960s.
The present production boasted an all-star cast of Baroque specialists, a former director of the Royal Shakespeare Company - Adrian Noble, the highly-acclaimed conductor Marc Minkowski and his Les Musiciens du Louvre-Grenoble in the pit.
Adrian Noble places his Alcina into a framework which begins in the magnifi cent ballroom of the Devonshire-House in London Piccadilly. The legendary Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, stages a play in which she is acting together with her friends, a stage on the stage.
Alcina is a great musical experience geared to the Baroque curiosity. Marc Minkowski revives Handel's music in an outstanding way.
BONUS: Behind the Scenes
Sound Format: PCM Stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1
Picture Format: 16:9
Resolution: 1080i FULL HD
Subtitle Languages: DE, IT, GB, FR, ES, JP, Korean
Running Time: 205 mins (Opera) + 21 mins (Bonus)