Darcey Bussell and Roberto Bolle star in Frederick Ashton’s 1952 timeless ballet Sylvia, restored to the splendor of its elegant and opulent three-act form for the 75th anniversary celebration of The Royal Ballet. Based on a Greek myth, the ballet tells the story of Sylvia, loved by Aminta, abducted by Orion, and eventually rescued by Eros.

The music of Léo Delibes inspired Ashton to create memorable choreography such as the famous Act 3 pas de deux, as well as the mischievous role of Eros, one of the delightful, darkly comic characterizations for which he became known and loved. Sylvia is a showcase for virtuosity, invention and classical beauty— the epitome of Ashton style in stage settings of great detail and painterly perfection.

DELIBES: SYLVIA (ROH)
The Royal Ballet; The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Choreographer: Frederick Ashton ; Musical Director: Graham Bond
Darcey Bussell; Roberto Bolle; Thiago Soares; Martin Harvey; Mara Galeazzi

OA0986D (UPC: 809478009863)

OPUS ARTE— the very first record label in the industry to release a classical music DVD in High Definition format onto the world market—releases their newest HD-DVD title, Johann Strauss’ timeless champagne operetta Die Fledermaus (OA HD5004 D). Glyndebourne’s effervescent production of the Waltz King’s beloved comic opera includes outstanding performances by a cast led by Pamela Armstrong, Thomas Allen, Ragnar Ulfung, and Håkan Hagegård with The Glyndebourne Chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

High Definition provides a phenomenal audio/visual experience: not only is the video resolution much higher than standard DVD, but also, the audio capacity is increased up to a maximum of 7.1 surround-sound channels. The HD-DVD format opens the door to many new levels of interactivity, together with picture-in-picture menus.

JOHANN STRAUSS: DIE FLEDERMAUS
The Glyndebourne Chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra; Vladimir Jurowski.
Pär Lindskog; Lyubov Petrova; Pamela Armstrong; Thomas Allen; Ragnar Ulfung; Håkan Hagegård; Artur Korn; Malena Ernman; Udo Samel; Renée Schüttengruber

OAHD5004D (UPC:809478009863)

THOMAS HAMPSON IN FERRUCCIO BUSONI’S

DOKTOR FAUST

Live Recording from the Zurich Opera House 2006

On January 29, Naxos of America, distributor of ARTHAUS MUSIC, releases a live recording from the Zurich Opera House of Ferruccio Busoni’s final opera Doktor Faust (Arthaus 101283). This 2 DVD-set features renowned American baritone Thomas Hampson in the title role and also stars Gregory Kunde and Sandra Trattnigg. Special features include a backstage conversation with Mr. Hampson in the foyer of the Zurich Opera House, including backstage cuttings, and an interview with conductor Philippe Jordan.

Doktor Faust remained a fragment at the time of the Busoni’s death. He died in 1924, unable to complete what he himself described as his “state masterpiece”—an opera to which he had a deep personal attachment. The missing scenes from the score—the appearance of Helen and Faust’s closing monologue— were completed by his pupil, Philipp Jarnach, with whom Busoni had become acquainted during his exile in Zürich. In this form the opera was given its first performance in Dresden in 1925. Then, in the 1980s, conductor Anthony Beaumont came across previously undiscovered sketches by Busoni and produced a new version of Doktor Faust, which was premiered in Bologna in 1985. The current recording uses the Jarnach score.

Ferruccio BUSONI: DOKTOR FAUST
Thomas Hampson, Günther Groissböck, Gregory Kunde, Reinaldo Macias,
Sandra Trattnigg, Martin Zysset;
Chorus and Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House, Philippe Jordan, conductor

2 DVDS
ARTHAUS MUSIK
101283 (UPC: 807280128390)

On January 29, Naxos of America, distributor of PROFIL Edition Günter Hänssler, releases a two-CD set featuring beloved German tenor Fritz Wunderlich. Fritz Wunderlich: The Legend—Arias, Opera & Operetta Scenes and Songs (PH08016) includes his earliest commercial recordings, most dating from the 1950s, when he was still in his early twenties. In addition to arias from such well-known operas as Cavalleria Rusticana, Madame Butterfly, La bohème, and Zaïde, the recordings feature a treasure-trove of rarely-performed operetta excerpts, including arias from Karl Millöcker’s Der Bettelstudent, Fred Raymond’s Maske in Blau, and Emmerich Kálmán’s Die Zirkusprinzessin. Also featured are selections from Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus and Franz Lehar’s Friederike, Der Zarewitsch, and Guiditta.

Fritz Wunderlich was born in Kusel, Rheinland-Pfalz, on September 26, 1930. During his short career (he died tragically at the age of 36 in 1966 as the result of an accidental fall), Wunderlich was Germany’s leading lyric tenor. Wunderlich studied at the Freiburg Musikhochschule, where he sang the role of Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in a 1954 student production. In 1955, he made his début at the Stuttgart Opera in the same role. By 1958, Wunderlich already was famous throughout Europe as the “ideal Mozart singer.” In 1960 he joined the Staatsoper in Munich, and from 1962 he also spent part of the year with the Vienna Staatsoper.

Wunderlich was known for his unaffected style and for the sweetness and clarity of his voice. His recordings are still prized, and his Tamino and Belmonte appear on recordings featuring conductors Karl Böhm (Die Zauberflöte/DG) and Eugen Jochum (Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail/DG). In Munich, Wunderich undertook such roles as Alfredo and Lensky, and in Vienna he performed the title role in Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina; a live 1964 recording from the Vienna State Opera is available on the MYTO label. Additionally, he created the roles of Tiresias in Orff’s Oedipus der Tyrann and Christoph in Egk’s Die Verlobung in San Domingo. Wunderlich’s last appearance was as Tamino during the Stuttgart Opera’s visit to the Edinburgh Festival. Sadly, he died before his Metropolitan début as Don Ottavio, which was planned for October 1966. Wunderlich was also a superb Bach singer, excelling as the Evangelist in both the Passions. He came to lieder late in his short career, but he was in much demand as a recitalist at the Salzburg Festival and elsewhere. His recordings of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin and Schumann’s Dichterliebe are among the finest renderings of these great song cycles.

“Music must live and today’s discerning lovers of classical music want originality and independence.”
—Günter Hänssler

With new recording of Symphony Nos. 2 & 3 on Pentatone featuring conductor Marek Janowski.

On January 29th, Naxos of America, the #1 independent distributor of classical music in the United States, releases a new SACD from Dutch-based surround-sound specialists PentaTone Classics (www.pentatonemusic.com) of Brahms’s Symphony No. 2 & 3 by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and Marek Janowski, who holds their Endowed Guest Conductor Chair.This new album is the second in a complete 3-disc cycle of Brahms’ symphonies, which will also include eight Hungarian Dances as orchestrated by Brahms and Dvořák, culled from live performances on March 2nd-4th and 9th-11th, and November 2nd-4th and 9th-11th, 2007. In August, Naxos released the first disc in the cycle, which featured Brahms’ Symphony No. 1. This disc was first by the Pittsburgh Orchestra since 2001 and their inaugural recording with Maestro Janowski.

This recording will be available in SACD format at NaxosDirect.com

BRAHMS: Symphony Nos. 2 & 3
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski

PentaTone Classics PTC5186308 (827949030864)

BRAHMS: Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, Opus 68; Variations on a Theme of Haydn, Opus 56a
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Marek Janowski

PentaTone Classics PTC5186307 (827949030765)

It’s been a great 2007 for NaxosDirect and we wanted to wish everyone a happy new year filled with great music of course.

Here’s a great photo we wanted to share with all of you:

houston symphony orchestra
by parkerjones