[ Bel Air Classiques DVD / 2 DVD ]
Release Date: Friday 1 August 2014
This item is currently out of stock. It may take 6 or more weeks to obtain from when you place your order as this is a specialist product.
Stage direction: KRZYSZTOF WARLIKOWSKI
Set & costume designs: MALGORZATA SZCZESNIAK
Choreography: CLAUDE BARDOUIL
Dance & solos choreography: ROSALBA TORRES GUERRERO
Recording: La Monnaie, Brussels, 19 & 26/10/2012
Frank Wedekind's work provided fertile ground for Berg's second opera, 'Lulu', considered one of the major works of the 20th century, but which remained unfinished due to his untimely death in 1935. Intoxicatingly enigmatic and deadly for those close to her: from the folly of love to the humiliation of vulgarity, she incites excess. After his production of 'Médée' (DVD & Blu-ray Bel Air Classiques), Krzysztof Warlikowski once again delves the innermost depths of the human psyche and chooses to tackle Lulu as a deeply moving requiem 'to the memory of an angel'.
Paul Daniel conducts the Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie and Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan gives a tremendous, never-to-be-forgotten account of the title role.
Running time 194 min.
Booklet FR / ENG / NL - Subtitles FR / ENG / DE / NL
16/9, NTSC / PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1
"Tall, slender and chameleonic, [Hannigan] stalks the stage compellingly...The voice itself is remarkably clear and clean...used with great intelligence and accuracy...Very impressive, too, are the orchestra and Paul Daniel, who is particularly adept at finding the score's drama and beauty." (Gramophone, Dec 2014)
"rewarding viewing for all who appreciate this devastating work...this Lulu offers stupendous accuracy of pitch and rhythm...The performance is impeccably prepared musically, with the sensual qualities given full value, the maximum in rhythmic exactitude and abundant theatrical flair. The recorded sound is natural and full bodied." (International Record Review, Dec 2014)
"It's a comparatively rare occurrence to encounter a performance on the opera stage that has such a magnetic visual and physical impact as Barbara Hannigan's portrayal of Berg's tragic heroine...Her absolute vocal mastery is marvellous...Many of the supporting protagonists in this torrid drama are no less compelling." (BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2014)
"It's an explicit, yet chilly interpretation of Berg's masterpiece...Musically it's superb. Barbara Hannigan gives everything she's got and then some to the title role." (The Guardian, Dec 2014)