Live from Baden-Baden - the opera gala with Anna Netrebko, Elina Garanca, Ramón Vargas, Ludovic TezierDeutsche Grammophon, recorded 2007, released 2008
Marco Armiliato & SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg
Works by Bellini · Bizet · Chapí · Delibes · Donizetti · Lehár · Puccini · Rossini · Saint-Saëns · Verdi
Deutsche Grammophon proudly presents the new faces of the opera world in a glamorous new live concert DVD: Anna Netrebko, Elı - na Garancˇa, Ramón Vargas and the highly acclaimed young French baritone Ludovic Tézier sing a wide range of Italian and French opera favorites. This recording features highlights from concerts at Baden- Baden's Festspielhaus, where tickets to this extraordinary event sold out in record time. The DVD features the four young stars performing duets and the popular quartet "Bella figlia dell'amore" from Rigoletto. Other highlights include Delibes' famous flower duet from Lakmé performed sumptuously by Anna and Elına.
The Festival Theatre at the German spa town of Baden-Baden is a spanking modern concert hall behind the façade of a handsome 19th-century railroad station. In July 2007, it hosted an evening of wonderful singing by a quartet of leading operatic stars in a program that could have been titled "Opera's Greatest Hits." After a brief orchestral piece from Bellini's Norma the fireworks begin with the duet Mira, o Norma featuring soprano Anna Netrebko and mezzo Elina Garanca, their voices blending beautifully. From then on, it's one familiar, well-loved operatic chestnut after another, all done with spirited fervor and admirable vocalism. Tenor Ramón Vargas is a positive presence, giving us the bel canto gem Una furtive lagrima from Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore in a flawlessly idiomatic interpretation that includes stunning diminuendos and a melting mezza-voce. Ludovic Tézier's rich baritone scores with a subtle rendition of Riccardo's death scene from Verdi's Don Carlo and, in yet another highlight in an evening full of them, joins Vargas in the great duet Dio, che nell'alma infondere from that opera.
01 Bellini - Norma: Sinfonia 02 Bellini - Mira, o Norma (Netrebko, Garanca) 03 Donizetti - L'Elisir D'Amore: Una furtiva lagrima (Vargas) 04 Bellini: Puritani: Ah! per sempre io ti perdei-Bel sogno beato (Tezier) 05 Bellini - Norma: Casta Diva (Netrebko) 06 Rossini - La Cenerentola: Nacqui all'affanno e al pianto (Garanca) 07 Verdi - Don Carlo: È lui!...-Dio, che nell'alma infondere (Tezier, Vargas) 08 Saint-Sens - Samson et Dalila: Bacchanale 09 Delibes - Lakmé: Blumenduett (Netrebko, Garanca) 10 Bizet - Les Pecheurs de perles: Au fond du temple saint (Vargas, Tazier) 11 Saint-Saens: Samson et Dalila: Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix (Garanca) 12 Verdi - Luisa Miller: Quando le sere al placido (Vargas) 13 Verdi - Don Carlo: Per me giunto - lo morrò, ma lieto in core (Tezier) 14 Puccini - La Bohème: O soave fanciulla (Vargas, Netrebko) 15 Verdi - Rigoletto: Bella figlia dell'amore (Vargas, Netrebko, Garanca, Tezier) 16 Lehár - Giuditta: Meine Lippen (Netrebko) 17 Rossini: La Danza (Vargas) 18 Chapi - Las Hijas Del Zebedeo: Al pensar en el dueno (Garanca) 19 Bizet - Carmen: Torrerolied (Tezier) 20 Verdi - La Traviata: Brindisi (Vargas, Tezier, Netrebko, Garanca)
Listen to the music at Deutsche Grammophon
