{"id":3148,"date":"2016-08-29T11:51:51","date_gmt":"2016-08-29T10:51:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.larkreviews.co.uk\/?p=3148"},"modified":"2016-08-29T11:51:51","modified_gmt":"2016-08-29T10:51:51","slug":"august-dvds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/?p=3148","title":{"rendered":"August DVDs"},"content":{"rendered":"
Donizetti: Poliuto<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Glyndebourne Festival Opera<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
OPUS ARTE OA 1211 D<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

We saw this production last year at Glyndebourne and it made a deep impression, particularly the power of the score. As such it is surprising that it is so rarely staged. Marianne Clement\u2019s approach is dark and often forbidding, but within this world the singing of Michael Fabiano in the lead roll and Ana Maria Martinez as Paolina are splendid. Let us hope it returns to the live stage again soon.<\/p>\n

Giovanni Simone Mayr: Medea in Corinto<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Festival della Valle d\u2019Itria, Fabio Luisi<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
DYNAMIC 37735<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

I doubt if many readers will have come across this work before.\u00a0 First performed in 1813 at the San Carlo opera house in Naples, Mayr is writing for a theatre used to works by Cherubini and Spontini, though his own works lean towards a more French style. It seems that, despite an attempt to revive it almost a decade later, Mayr\u2019s music appealed to the spirit and the mind at a time when audiences wanted to be moved and roused in their hearts. A fascinating discovery and performed here with enthusiasm and commitment.<\/p>\n

Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Sofia Opera<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
DYNAMIC 37718<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

Some operas can benefit from an outdoor performance and Boris <\/i>is certainly one of them. Set against the Aleksandr Nevskij Cathedral in Sofia, the visual impact cannot fail. Though there are many more intimate, reflective scenes here, it is the large-scale ones which come off best with Martin Tsonev a fine protagonist.<\/p>\n

Shakespeare: Measure for Measure<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
Shakespeare\u2019s Globe<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
OPUS ARTE OA 1218 D<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

The most recent in the series of complete performances from the Globe, this traditional approach to Measure for Measure<\/i> brings us a superb Isabella from Mariah Gale around whom the cast react with a feisty intensity which is both crowd pleasing and convincing intellectually. While the Globe lends itself to close audience involvement, this production deliberately invites a response to its depraved society as it holds a mirror up to the very people who find the situations amusing, yet morally questionable. That it works well is a tribute to Dominic Dromgoole\u2019s fast moving production.<\/p>\n

Famous German Arias and Scenes<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n
ARTHAUS 109244<\/strong><\/span><\/h6>\n

This release is part of a series of DVDs bringing together a range of musical items from a broad spectrum of works. As such it is difficult to see who it is actually aimed at. While the individual items are interesting \u2013 Kiri Te Kanawa in Capriccio; <\/i>\u00a0Bryn Terfel in Salome; <\/i>Rene Kollo in Tannhauser \u2013 <\/i>most listeners who are enthusiastic about individual composers are likely to have the complete works in the first place, and those who have not will gain little from the excerpts presented here.<\/p>\n

The only exception to this is the three extended excerpts from Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail<\/i> which not only gives a very good indication of the strength of the production but is very well sung throughout.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donizetti: Poliuto Glyndebourne Festival Opera OPUS ARTE OA 1211 D We saw this production last year at Glyndebourne and it made a deep impression, particularly the power of the score. As such it is surprising that it is so rarely … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3148"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3149,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3148\/revisions\/3149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.larkreviews.wickedlemon.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}