Description

Donizetti: Don Pasquale - Vienna State Opera Live Performance DVD

Product Information

UPC: 747313565955
Product Type: Opera DVD
Genre: Classical Opera/Dramma Buffo
Languages: Sung in German
Subtitles: German, English, French, Japanese, Korean
Format: DVD NTSC
Running Time: 120 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 4:3
Audio: PCM Stereo
Region Code: Worldwide (All Regions)
Distributor: Naxos
Recording Date: March 30, 1977
Release Year: 2020

Overview

This historic DVD presents Gaetano Donizetti's comic masterpiece "Don Pasquale," performed by the Vienna State Opera during their 1977 tour through Austria. Filmed in color at the Volkshaus in Mürzzuschlag, this production showcases an exceptional ensemble of world-class singers at the height of their powers. The performance features the renowned bass Oskar Czerwenka in the title role, the celebrated lyric tenor Luigi Alva as Ernesto, and a young Edita Gruberova as Norina, just on the cusp of her international stardom as the future "queen of bel canto." This German-language adaptation of Donizetti's sparkling comedy, conducted by Héctor Urbón and directed for the stage by Helge Thoma, perfectly captures the entertaining, witty, and playful characters from the commedia dell'arte tradition that define the high point of Italian opera buffa.

Product Features

Format: DVD NTSC with worldwide region coding
Video: Color, 4:3 aspect ratio
Audio: PCM Stereo
Language: Sung in German (adapted by Joachim Popelka)
Subtitles: German, English, French, Japanese, Korean
Running Time: 120 minutes
Original filming date: March 30, 1977
Special historical significance: Part of the Vienna State Opera's first tour through Austria organized by AK Wien
Production support: Czerwenka Private Foundation

Interesting Facts

Rare Historical Document

This production represents a valuable historical document of the Vienna State Opera's first tour through Austria, organized by the Chamber of Labor Vienna (Arbeiterkammer Wien). The performance was specifically designed to bring high-quality opera to regional Austrian cities and towns, making this a unique cultural outreach effort captured on film.

Star-Studded Cast at a Pivotal Moment

The recording features Edita Gruberova just before her meteoric rise to international fame. While already an established singer at the Vienna State Opera, this 1977 performance predates her breakout role as the Queen of the Night in Ingmar Bergman's film version of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" (1975) and her legendary Zerbinetta in Strauss's "Ariadne auf Naxos" at the Metropolitan Opera (1979), which would cement her reputation as one of the greatest coloratura sopranos of her generation.

German Performance Tradition

While Donizetti's operas are typically performed in their original Italian, this production follows the once-common European tradition of performing operas in the local language. The German adaptation by Joachim Popelka represents an important aspect of opera history when translation was a standard practice to make performances more accessible to local audiences.