DECCA: Richard Strauss — Capriccio — Renée Fleming, The Metropolitan Opera, Andrew Davis (2 DVDs)

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Product Details:

• Product Type: DVD (2-disc set)
• Brand / Label: DECCA (Universal Music)
• Composer: Richard Strauss
• Work: Capriccio (Opera in one act, Op. 85)
• Soloist: Renée Fleming (The Countess)
• Orchestra: The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra
• Conductor: Andrew Davis
• Production: John Cox
• Release Year: 2011
• UPC: 044007434543
• Catalogue Number: 074 3454
• Genre: Classical / Opera

Product Features

• Format: 2 DVDs
• Running time: approx. 149 minutes
• Sung in: German
• Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese
• Picture format: 16:9, Colour
• Sound: LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1 Surround
• Region: 0 (worldwide) — NTSC
• Booklet enclosed
• Made in the EU
• Condition: Brand New, Factory Sealed

Overview

Capriccio was the last opera Richard Strauss ever wrote, and it asks a question the form has wrestled with for centuries: in opera, which matters more — the words or the music? Strauss frames it as a love triangle. The Countess Madeleine is courted by a poet and a composer, and her choice between the two men stands in for the larger argument. This Decca release captures Renée Fleming in the role that critics have long called a perfect fit for her, live in high definition from the Metropolitan Opera.

Fleming's Countess is the centre of gravity here. The New York Times praised the plush, alluring quality of her voice and the noble phrasing she brings to the part. The closing scene — the Countess alone, weighing her decision by candlelight — is one of the most quietly devastating final stretches in all of Strauss, and it lands with full weight in this performance.

The staging is John Cox's elegant production, first seen at the Met in 1998 and revived in 2010 specifically for Fleming. Andrew Davis conducts a cast that reads like a roll call of fine Strauss singers: Joseph Kaiser, Russell Braun, Peter Rose, Morten Frank Larsen, and Sarah Connolly among them. Filmed in HD across two discs, with the conversation-driven score given room to breathe.

A release for opera collectors, Strauss devotees, and anyone drawn to Fleming at the height of her Met years.

Interesting Facts

• Capriccio premiered in Munich in 1942 and was Strauss's fifteenth and final opera; he was 78 when it was first staged.
• The opera's central debate — "prima la musica, poi le parole" (first the music, then the words) — dates back to a 1786 Salieri opera that Strauss directly references.
• Renée Fleming has called the Countess one of her signature roles; this 2010 Met revival was mounted largely as a vehicle for her.
• This John Cox production originally entered the Met repertoire in 1998 before its 2010 revival for the Live in HD broadcast.
• The performance was filmed as part of the Met's groundbreaking "Live in HD" cinema series, which brought opera to theatres worldwide.
• Conductor Andrew Davis was one of the most respected Strauss interpreters of his generation, with decades of opera-house experience behind this account.

Track Listing

I've left the chapter/scene breakdown and timings off because they aren't legible in the photos provided. Send a clear image of the booklet's track or scene list and I'll add it.

Publishers

Released by Decca Music Group Limited (London, England), a Universal Music company, in 2011. A Metropolitan Opera High-Definition production; film © 2011 The Metropolitan Group Limited. Hungarian distribution: Universal Music Kft.

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