Conductor(s):
Antonio Pappano

Orchestra(s):
Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House

Artist(s):
Mariusz Kwiecień; Saimir Pirgu; Georgia Jarman; Kim Begley; Alan Ewing; Agnes Zwierko; Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House; Antonio Pappano

"...a major artistic triumph. Nothing in the score is more beautiful than the spectral nocturne that opens the final scene; nothing more exciting than the orgy than brings the second scene to its climax. Antonio Pappano’s conducting of its intensities is masterly, and the orchestra luxuriates in them.

All praise to the cast too. Mariusz Kwieicien is imposing and impassioned in the title-role, vividly conveying Roger’s anxiety about his sexual identity... Georgia Jarman makes much of Roxana’s lovely arias of yielding and imploring. Renato Balsadonna’s chorus meets the challenge of much of the opera’s most original and complex music with total assurance.

... directed with flair, clarity and intelligence by Kasper Holten. Steffen Aarfing’s setting of a tiered arena dominated by a massive sculpted head is enormously impressive..." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★★)

"... a musical treat ... What the performance confirms is the beauty of much of the music. Antonio Pappano shapes it unerringly, fusing its separate stylistic elements, the touches of orientalism, impressionism and expressionism, into a luminous whole that always seems purposeful, never indulgent. He never doubts that it is a piece of music theatre..." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"The opening of Szymanowski’s rarely performed masterpiece Król Roger is one of the most stirring in the entire repertoire. The hieratic choral chanting of the Byzantine Mass is exhilaratingly matched, in Kasper Holten’s probing production of this psychodrama, by the gradual revelation of a monumental head.

The King’s life-changing struggle with his burgeoning sensual instincts is articulated by Mariusz Kwiecien in powerfully expressive lyricism. Georgia Jarman seizes the opportunity afforded by Roxana’s erotic Oriental-tinged arabesques. Antonio Pappano’s conducting does justice to the infinite textural and emotional subtleties beneath the glittering surface." (The Evening Standard ★★★★)

"It’s that rarest of things, a real and original masterpiece whose worth has been unaccountably undervalued. This new production by Kasper Holten does nothing to obscure its beauty, making a strong case not only for the work’s sensual appeal, but also the larger philosophical architecture underpinning this maverick score.From Alan Ewing’s opening cameo as the Archbishop, setting the auditorium vibrating with the depth and force of his Russian Orthodox-style chant, to the muscular purity of Georgia Jarman’s Roxana and the unearthly purity and athleticism of Saimir Pirgu’s tenor, they collectively revel in the extremity and the vivid musical characterisation of Szymanowski’s score. Which is all the more impressive, given that the work’s vocal writing is almost secondary to the extraordinary things happening in the orchestra.

Antonio Pappano constantly reassesses and adjusts the balance between Szymanowski’s Mediterranean languor and expansive sensuality and his more Austro-Germanic instincts, steering a score that veers between Wagner, Strauss and Debussy through its course with instinctual urgency.

The result is thought as well as felt, an operatic experience that leaves you breathless in the moment, but with plenty still to ponder the next day." (Arts Desk ★★★★★)

"It's a production that honours the score to a level that lifts the spirits. And what a score it is – and how searingly Antonio Pappano and the Royal Opera forces deliver it. In one of the great opening nights at Covent Garden everyone gave a red-hot performance. Mariusz Kwiecień singing for once in his native language, was gripping and emotionally engaged through some Berglike passages of introspection until the King's – and the opera's – ravishingly clear-hued climax. In a uniformly idiomatic cast Kwiecień was matched by golden high notes from Georgia Jarman – powerful and intense as Roxana – and by the Albanian tenor Saimir Pirgu, also in excellent voice, clad as though "from the waters of the Ganges" and hypnotic in his delivery of the Shepherd's forceful, accented declamations." (WhatsOn Stage ★★★★★)

"Most impressive of all were the chorus and orchestra of the Royal Opera House. From their haunting appearance at the darkened windows of the arena in Act I to their frightening book burning frenzy in Act III, the chorus was starkly convincing as both the compliant and then liberated masses. Conductor Antonio Pappano clearly had Szymanowski’s score tightly under his belt. It would have been easy to go overboard with the lush exoticism of the music, or to interpret it in the manner of Strauss, Bartók, Scriabin or Ravel – all of whose influences are discernible. Instead, he took a middle course of firm control over its more wayward elements while highlighting Szymanowski’s subtle textures and brilliant array of orchestral colour." (Musicomh.com ★★★★)

"The opening is the opera's most extraordinary piece of music: a choral crescendo which starts from the faintest of pianissimi and swells to mind-blowing intensity; in Holten’s production, the stage starts in total darkness and light slowly grows to illuminate the features of a gigantic head – most of the height of the proscenium arch. The light is a projection: as the act progresses, it shifts and swells with the music to produce shifts in the expression of the enormous face. It’s a real theatrical tour de force from set designer Steffen Aarfing, as well as
being in full alignment with the intent of the opera.

Król Roger is an opera with amazing music, of which the Royal Opera Orchestra and Chorus give a storming account. Holten’s production does an impressive job of exploring its concepts – perhaps more psychologically than philosophically. It’s a production well worth exploring – just be prepared to expand your horizons as to what opera can be and mean." (Bachtrack ★★★★)

"Last season's highlight at Covent Garden, Krol Roger's appearance on screen is exceptionally welcome. Szymanowski's fascinating yet compact masterpiece bears repeated viewing and listening, for there is so much going on both in this performance and the work itself. The atmospheric choral opening - growing out of darkness - was effective in the theatre but is even more striking here, throughout there is a sense of detail that perhaps disappeared into the huge stage picture at Covent Garden.
Encountered close up, all the imagination of Kasper Holten's production coheres compellingly, and Antonio Pappano shapes an extremely lucid performance that somehow manages to be taut and lush at the same time. Mariusz Kwiecien's warm account of the title role shows why he has become today's ruling King Roger...
The result is one of the most worthwhile recent operatic DVDs." (BBC Music Magazine ★★★★★)

"All credit to Antonio Pappano and Kasper Holten for a brilliant production of a masterpiece.... With his considerable experience of performing the title role, Mariusz Kwiecień (singing in his native tongue) depicts Roger’s tormented soul with conviction, both dramatically and vocally. Georgia Jarman, not least in her short aria in Act Two, sings superbly, offering a touching portrayal of a woman who is distressed by the frigidity of her marriage. And Saimir Pirgu, of lyrical voice and handsome presence, makes the Shepherd’s power over the royal couple easy to comprehend...
The score moves from the dark tones of the Orthodox Church music via entrancingly sensuous writing to the blazing brightness at the opera’s close. Antonio Pappano conducts masterfully and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House responds superbly to his and the composer’s requirements. Kasper Holten’s direction and the designs of Steffen Aarfing are both wonderfully apt.
I cannot recommend Król Roger highly enough." (Classical Source)

"Szymanowski’s operatic masterpiece has been lucky on disc, no more so than this DVD of the highly praised Covent Garden production. Once one gets used to the updated staging, the realization of the work from both a musical and directorial aspect leaves little to be desired. All the singing is superb as are the orchestra and Antonio Pappano in the pit. " (Musicweb International - Critic's choices for Pick of 2016)