December

DVDs

Lully: Cadmus & Hermione, the very first French opera, composed in 1673 by Lully on a libretto by Quinault. With reconstructed sets and costumes, this entirely candle-lit production will become a landmark in the rediscovery of baroque opera, providing a unique opportunity to discover a musical masterpiece that has fallen into oblivion over the last three centuries. Recorded at the Opera Comique, Paris January 2008. Alpha 701DVD

"The production is a spectacularly successful realisation of the principles of early French opera. Apart from the ravishingly painted sliding sets and flying deities, the use of Baroque gesture, which can often seem artificial and stilted, is fully integrated into the acting and entirely convincing. Vincent Dumestre directs a magnificent ensemble performance... the leads are magnificent, in particular the central pair of lovers. The camera work... magically captures every nuance of the acting while losing nothing of the production's essential grandeur." BBC Music Magazine, January 2009

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde La Scala opened its 2007/08 season with a new production staged by Patrice Chéreau. In this collaboration Daniel Barenboim and Patrice Chéreau (of whom Daniel Barenboim said: "In Chereau, I found my ideal partner") fulfil a Wagnerian dream they had been cherishing since 1980. The opera hadn't been staged at La Scala for over 30 years and was a triumph with over 20 minutes of applause. Virgin 193159DVD

"The gaudiest event of the opera season in Europe, La Scala's opener on Dec. 7 was a sublime new version of Tristan und Isolde directed by Patrice Chéreau under the baton of the house's new principal guest conductor, Daniel Barenboim. ..... Mr. Barenboim, who knows this opera as well as anyone, drew rich, densely textured, multilayered sounds from his players.'' New York Times

Aaron Copland - The City A 1939 documentary made for the New York World's Fair, The City's score by Aaron Copland has been called "an astonishing missing link not only in the genesis of Copland's Americana style but in American music and cinema". As the film contains no dialogue, it is possible to create a fresh soundtrack and discover musical riches inaudible on the original monaural recording. Naxos 2110231

"The film, made by Ralph Steiner and Willard Van Dyke and scripted by urban planner Lewis Mumford, examines the most unattractive aspects of modern metropolitan life and promotes an environmentally friendly, government-spearheaded alternative.

This Great Depression-era product has now re-emerged on DVD by Naxos, with Post-Classical's freshly recorded soundtrack, just as the country is in the grip of the Great Recession and the air is full of talk about government projects, large-scale and green. Seems like great timing to me." Tim Smith - Baltimore Sun

Max Lorenz: Wagner's Mastersinger - Hitler's Siegfried

Documentary has original footage of Max Lorenz, Haus Wahnfried and Hitler's visits to Bayreuth (including the first color images of Hitler). Includes a CD with previously unreleased material of Max Lorenz' Siegfried interpretation. Medici 2056928 (on website under CDs)

A Celebration of Leonard Bernstein

Opening Night at Carnegie Hall 2008

San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas

SF Symphony 60020DVD

The San Francisco Symphony's all-Bernstein Carnegie Hall performance, broadcast on PBS's Great Performances, is now available on DVD. This DVD features music from West Side Story, Fancy Free, A Quiet Place, Mass and On the Town, with soloists Dawn Upshaw, Thomas Hampson, Yo-Yo Ma, Christine Ebersole, and vocal and drama students from The Juilliard School.

James Brown Live at the Boston Garden, April 5, 1968

Live Concert, Shout Factory 310881DVD

Night James Brown Saved Boston

Documentary, Shout Factory 10880DVD

On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis. On April 5, 1968, James Brown sang and the city of Boston didn't burn down. The documentary tells the story of the pivotal role that James Brown and this concert played in the political, socail and cultural hisotry of the country. The mayor of Boston considered cancelling the performance, but instead a deal was brokered for Brown's show to be recorded by Boston public television station WGBH and broadcast live to the whole city - the concert DVD is this recording.

Order both titles to get the full concert and the documentary.