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Monteverdi: L’incoronazione di Poppea; L’Orfeo; Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
Monteverdi: L’incoronazione di Poppea; L’Orfeo; Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria
2017 marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of Claudio Monteverdi – one of the founders of opera and hailed in his day as ‘the creator of modern music’. Monteverdi transformed vocal music beyond Renaissance polyphony into an entirely new genre that expressed powerful feelings and emotions within a gripping narrative. This set brings together Monteverdi’s three surviving operas: the splendorous L’Orfeo and, from later in his life, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea with their visceral passions and dramatic dilemmas, all elements that have animated the history of opera for centuries. John Eliot Gardiner’s acclaimed Monteverdi 450 series of semi-staged performances produced in Venice’s historical Teatro La Fenice is a living confirmation that Monteverdi ‘will be sighed for in later ages, for his compositions will surely outlive the ravages of time.’
DVD
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 01/03/2023
Sound Formats:
Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
Subtitles:
Catalogue Number: OA1349BD
BLU-RAY
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 01/03/2023
Sound Formats:
Ratio: 16:9
Subtitles:
Catalogue Number: OABD7300BD
Conductor(s):
John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra(s):
English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir
Artist(s):
English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir; John Eliot Gardiner
English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir; John Eliot Gardiner
"... the staging devised by Gardiner and Elsa Rooke does just what is necessary to unfold the story with total clarity, with the costumes by Patricia Hofstede an easy mix of modern casuals. Like the score, it wastes nothing, and the audible gasp that went round the auditorium when Orfeo takes his fatal look back at Euridice was a measure of how involving it became.
Those who have been fortunate enough to hear all of these performances will have seen how Gardiner’s hand-picked lineup of soloists has been knitted into a real company, with many of the singers taking roles in all three operas.
Binding it together was Gardiner, knowing exactly when to allow the drama to unfold naturally, when to give it an extra push and how to give the ceremonial moments, with cornetti and sackbuts to the fore, regal and magical power. Played straight through, without an interval, it was all magically coherent, every phrase totally memorable.
John Eliot Gardiner’s ad-hoc company of impressive singers and musicians shine in a beautifully realised semi-staging that sounded totally assured... Every element in this show, you sense, has been carefully thought out and beautifully realised." (The Guardian ★★★★★)
"Gardiner’s Monteverdi Odyssey begins, aptly and superbly, with his Odysseus masterpiece
Gardiner’s Ritorno showed that, on the contrary, his style of recitative, constantly in motion between a sort of dry chatter and informal lyrical song, with every shade in between, is probably the most sophisticated form of word-setting known to man.
The playing by the English Baroque Soloists seemed to me nearly flawless, and I liked very much Rooke’s discreet but poised use of the quite limited Colston Hall platform." (The Arts Desk ★★★★★)
"John Eliot Gardiner made a triumphant start to a year-long celebration of Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary
It already looks as if it will be the unmissable event of this Monteverdi year
In gorgeous aubergine silk, with a voice to match, Lucile Richardot made a wonderfully imploring and dignified Penelope. Furio Zanasi was her vivid Ulisse; he makes everything he sings sound as natural as speech.
Elsewhere, Anna Dennis was a stand-out Melanto, radiant, flirtatious and totally in control, and Krystian Adam gave a well-judged portrait of Telemaco. The choir added a touch of heavenly polish" (The Times ★★★★★)
Those who have been fortunate enough to hear all of these performances will have seen how Gardiner’s hand-picked lineup of soloists has been knitted into a real company, with many of the singers taking roles in all three operas.
Binding it together was Gardiner, knowing exactly when to allow the drama to unfold naturally, when to give it an extra push and how to give the ceremonial moments, with cornetti and sackbuts to the fore, regal and magical power. Played straight through, without an interval, it was all magically coherent, every phrase totally memorable.
John Eliot Gardiner’s ad-hoc company of impressive singers and musicians shine in a beautifully realised semi-staging that sounded totally assured... Every element in this show, you sense, has been carefully thought out and beautifully realised." (The Guardian ★★★★★)
"Gardiner’s Monteverdi Odyssey begins, aptly and superbly, with his Odysseus masterpiece
Gardiner’s Ritorno showed that, on the contrary, his style of recitative, constantly in motion between a sort of dry chatter and informal lyrical song, with every shade in between, is probably the most sophisticated form of word-setting known to man.
The playing by the English Baroque Soloists seemed to me nearly flawless, and I liked very much Rooke’s discreet but poised use of the quite limited Colston Hall platform." (The Arts Desk ★★★★★)
"John Eliot Gardiner made a triumphant start to a year-long celebration of Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary
It already looks as if it will be the unmissable event of this Monteverdi year
In gorgeous aubergine silk, with a voice to match, Lucile Richardot made a wonderfully imploring and dignified Penelope. Furio Zanasi was her vivid Ulisse; he makes everything he sings sound as natural as speech.
Elsewhere, Anna Dennis was a stand-out Melanto, radiant, flirtatious and totally in control, and Krystian Adam gave a well-judged portrait of Telemaco. The choir added a touch of heavenly polish" (The Times ★★★★★)
2017 marked the 450th anniversary of the birth of Claudio Monteverdi – one of the founders of opera and hailed in his day as ‘the creator of modern music’. Monteverdi transformed vocal music beyond Renaissance polyphony into an entirely new genre that expressed powerful feelings and emotions within a gripping narrative. This set brings together Monteverdi’s three surviving operas: the splendorous L’Orfeo and, from later in his life, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppea with their visceral passions and dramatic dilemmas, all elements that have animated the history of opera for centuries. John Eliot Gardiner’s acclaimed Monteverdi 450 series of semi-staged performances produced in Venice’s historical Teatro La Fenice is a living confirmation that Monteverdi ‘will be sighed for in later ages, for his compositions will surely outlive the ravages of time.’
DVD
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 01/03/2023
Sound Formats:
Ratio: 16:9 Anamorphic
Subtitles:
Catalogue Number: OA1349BD
BLU-RAY
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 01/03/2023
Sound Formats:
Ratio: 16:9
Subtitles:
Catalogue Number: OABD7300BD
Conductor(s):
John Eliot Gardiner
John Eliot Gardiner
Orchestra(s):
English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir
Artist(s):
English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir; John Eliot Gardiner
English Baroque Soloists; Monteverdi Choir; John Eliot Gardiner
"... the staging devised by Gardiner and Elsa Rooke does just what is necessary to unfold the story with total clarity, with the costumes by Patricia Hofstede an easy mix of modern casuals. Like the score, it wastes nothing, and the audible gasp that went round the auditorium when Orfeo takes his fatal look back at Euridice was a measure of how involving it became.
Those who have been fortunate enough to hear all of these performances will have seen how Gardiner’s hand-picked lineup of soloists has been knitted into a real company, with many of the singers taking roles in all three operas.
Binding it together was Gardiner, knowing exactly when to allow the drama to unfold naturally, when to give it an extra push and how to give the ceremonial moments, with cornetti and sackbuts to the fore, regal and magical power. Played straight through, without an interval, it was all magically coherent, every phrase totally memorable.
John Eliot Gardiner’s ad-hoc company of impressive singers and musicians shine in a beautifully realised semi-staging that sounded totally assured... Every element in this show, you sense, has been carefully thought out and beautifully realised." (The Guardian ★★★★★)
"Gardiner’s Monteverdi Odyssey begins, aptly and superbly, with his Odysseus masterpiece
Gardiner’s Ritorno showed that, on the contrary, his style of recitative, constantly in motion between a sort of dry chatter and informal lyrical song, with every shade in between, is probably the most sophisticated form of word-setting known to man.
The playing by the English Baroque Soloists seemed to me nearly flawless, and I liked very much Rooke’s discreet but poised use of the quite limited Colston Hall platform." (The Arts Desk ★★★★★)
"John Eliot Gardiner made a triumphant start to a year-long celebration of Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary
It already looks as if it will be the unmissable event of this Monteverdi year
In gorgeous aubergine silk, with a voice to match, Lucile Richardot made a wonderfully imploring and dignified Penelope. Furio Zanasi was her vivid Ulisse; he makes everything he sings sound as natural as speech.
Elsewhere, Anna Dennis was a stand-out Melanto, radiant, flirtatious and totally in control, and Krystian Adam gave a well-judged portrait of Telemaco. The choir added a touch of heavenly polish" (The Times ★★★★★)
Those who have been fortunate enough to hear all of these performances will have seen how Gardiner’s hand-picked lineup of soloists has been knitted into a real company, with many of the singers taking roles in all three operas.
Binding it together was Gardiner, knowing exactly when to allow the drama to unfold naturally, when to give it an extra push and how to give the ceremonial moments, with cornetti and sackbuts to the fore, regal and magical power. Played straight through, without an interval, it was all magically coherent, every phrase totally memorable.
John Eliot Gardiner’s ad-hoc company of impressive singers and musicians shine in a beautifully realised semi-staging that sounded totally assured... Every element in this show, you sense, has been carefully thought out and beautifully realised." (The Guardian ★★★★★)
"Gardiner’s Monteverdi Odyssey begins, aptly and superbly, with his Odysseus masterpiece
Gardiner’s Ritorno showed that, on the contrary, his style of recitative, constantly in motion between a sort of dry chatter and informal lyrical song, with every shade in between, is probably the most sophisticated form of word-setting known to man.
The playing by the English Baroque Soloists seemed to me nearly flawless, and I liked very much Rooke’s discreet but poised use of the quite limited Colston Hall platform." (The Arts Desk ★★★★★)
"John Eliot Gardiner made a triumphant start to a year-long celebration of Monteverdi’s 450th anniversary
It already looks as if it will be the unmissable event of this Monteverdi year
In gorgeous aubergine silk, with a voice to match, Lucile Richardot made a wonderfully imploring and dignified Penelope. Furio Zanasi was her vivid Ulisse; he makes everything he sings sound as natural as speech.
Elsewhere, Anna Dennis was a stand-out Melanto, radiant, flirtatious and totally in control, and Krystian Adam gave a well-judged portrait of Telemaco. The choir added a touch of heavenly polish" (The Times ★★★★★)
