Georg Zeppenfeld

This is a performance of Wagner's three-act opera Der fliegende Holländer ("The flying Dutchman"), performed by Bayreuther Festpiele, directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov. The staging was notable for two other milestones, as Oksana Lyniv became the first woman to conduct at Richard Wagner’s legendary Festspielhaus since its opening in 1876, and the sensational Lithuanian soprano Asmik Grigorian made her house debut with a standout performance as the opera’s heroine, Senta. The exceptional cast also included John Lundgren (The Dutchman), Georg Zeppenfeld (Daland), Eric Cutler (Erik) and Marina Prudenskaya (Mary).

Beethoven’s only opera is a masterpiece, an uplifting story of risk and triumph. In this new production, conducted by Antonio Pappano, David Butt Philip plays the political prisoner Florestan, and Lise Davidsen his wife Leonore (disguised as ‘Fidelio’) who daringly sets out to rescue him. Set in strong counterpoint are the ingredients of domestic intrigue, determined love and the cruelty of an oppressive regime.

Los caballeros del Grial están en horas bajas: cada vez hay más deserciones hacia el reino del malvado Klingsor. Convertido en un enemigo implacable, el brujo manipuló a Amfortas para arrebatarle la lanza sagrada y provocarle la herida fatal que lo ha sumido en la agonía. Solamente un inocente, "un tonto sin remedio", puede sanar al guardián del cáliz y revertir lo ocurrido. El encarcelamiento seguido del arresto domiciliario del director ruso Kirill Serebrennikov se convirtió en 2017 en un asunto político internacional. Serebrennikov, también a cargo del decorado y vestuario de esta nueva producción de la obra wagneriana, cuenta la historia desde la perspectiva de un Parsifal más maduro. A través de una secuencia retrospectiva, el espectador recorre los dos primeros actos hasta llegar a un tercero en el que se sitúa el presente de la narración.

Jonas Kaufmann y Lise Davidsen protagonizan la gran y única ópera de Beethoven. En el 250 aniversario del nacimiento de Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonio Pappano dirige la gran obra maestra del compositor, una estremecedora historia de peligro y triunfos. En esta nueva producción Jonas Kaufmann interpreta el papel del prisionero político Florestan, mientras que Lise Davidsen encarna a su mujer Leonora (disfrazada de Fidelio) que intrépidamente trata de rescatarlo. Como contrapunto encontramos una historia de intriga marcada por el amor y la crueldad de un régimen opresivo. La música es determinante en la obra e incluye el famoso cuarteto en el primer acto y el coro de prisioneros en el segundo acto, que transmiten un sentimiento de oscuridad, de falta de esperanza. La nueva puesta en escena de Tobías Kratzer nos introduce en la cruda realidad de la Revolución Francesa y a través de Fidelio, en base a la máxima de la Ilustración, nos traslada su mensaje universal.

After Tristan und Isolde (2016), Parsifal (2017) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2018) this is the fourth installment of the exclusive, multiyear partnership between Deutsche Grammophon and the Bayreuth Festival, in which the Yellow Label is the exclusive audiovisual partner of the mythical Wagner festival, releasing each edition's new production on Blu-ray. This year, we are proud to release on Blu-ray the celebrated production of Lohengrin which was premiered on 25 July 2018, featuring an illustrious cast including Piotr Beczala and Anja Harteros in their house debuts, as well as the acclaimed return of Waltraud Meier to the Bayreuth Festival. The New York Times praised Piotr Beczala’s Lohengrin as “outstanding”, Anja Harteros [making] her impressive Bayreuth debut” as Elsa, and Ortrud “played with dominant presence by the incomparable Waltraud Meier”.

En abril de 2017, un gran ojo brilló sobre el escenario del Festival de Pascua de Salzburgo. Formaba parte de la reconstrucción de la ópera de Wagner "Die Walküre", que Herbert von Karajan había desarrollado él mismo para Salzburgo 50 años antes. Con motivo del aniversario de esta actuación legendaria, la élite de Wagner de nuestro tiempo se reunió para recrear la visión del teatro musical de Karajan de 1967 bajo la dirección de Christian Thielemann. Contigo. a. Georg Zeppenfeld, Anja Harteros, Peter Seiffert, Anja Kampe y Vitalij Kowaljow no dejaron nada que desear en términos de voz, y Christian Thielemann es el director que generalmente se dice que se acerca más al antiguo concepto de sonido de Karajan en la actualidad.

Frank Castorf’s staging of the Ring, premiered in 2013 and filmed in 2016, provoked controversy right from the beginning. For Castorf, the Rheingold of our days is oil; thus he places the first part of the tetralogy at a gas station on Route 66. Die Walküre is situated in Baku, Azerbaijan, which was seized by the Bolsheviks in 1920 for its oil, whereas Siegfried takes place in a socialist equivalent of Mount Rushmore and at Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. Götterdämmerung is set somewhere in the GDR, ending up at New York’s stock exchange. Whilst Castorf’s staging polarized, Marek Janowski’s musical reading was unanimously praised, as was the excellent cast including in this opera Iain Paterson (Wotan), Nadine Weissmann (Erda), Albert Dohmen (Alberich) and Roberto Saccà (Loge)

RICHARD WAGNER - Tristan und Isolde - Bayreuther Festspiele Stephen Gould, Evelyn Herlitzius, Georg Zeppenfeld, Iain Paterson, Christa Mayer Bayreuth Festival Orchestra, Christian Thielemann Staged by Katharina Wagner

A dream came true at Dresden's Semperoper in May 2016 when opera superstars Piotr Beczala and Anna Netrebko made their Wagner debuts as Lohengrin and Elsa, inspired to take on their new roles by Christian Thielmann, the Dresden Staatskapelle's principal conductor and one of the leading Wagner conductors of our day. Die Welt described the performance captured here as "musically one of the finest Lohengrins of all time". Contributing to the triumph are Evelyn Herlitzius's Ortrud. Tomasz Konieczny's Telramund, Georg Zeppenfeld's King Henry and the Dresden State Opera Chorus.

Axel Köhler’s production of Der Freischütz at the Dresden State Opera was described by Die Presse as “a minor miracle in Dresden”. In the words of the Salzburger Nachrichten, Köhler “scored a bulleye” with his sombre and satanic interpretation of Weber’s Romantic opera about love, temptation, souls sold to the Devil, obsession andfaith. According to the Financial Times, Christian Thielemann and the Dresden Staatskapelle conjured up a sense of “mortal terror from the orchestra pit. […] Thielemann is in command of every detail. That makes for utterly gripping listening.”

Christian Thielemann dirige la Orquesta del Festival Bayreuth en esta producción de la ópera de Wagner grabada en 2015. Protagonizada por Stephen Gould como Tristán y Evelyn Herlitzius como Isolda, el elenco también incluye a Georg Zeppenfeld, Iain Paterson, Raimund Nolte y Christa Mayer.

Fierrabras of 1823 is the last of Franz Schubert’s stage works. Rarely performed to this day, this heroic-romantic opera has now been staged for the first time ever at the Salzburg Festival by famous director Peter Stein. Based on an old French 12th-century epic, the plot depicts the military conflict between Christians and Moors at the time of Charlemagne – as a backdrop to stories of love and friendship that prove to be stronger than war and hatred of otherness. The strong cast includes the “marvellously expressive miracle Dorothea Röschmann” (Die Zeit) and “Michael Schade, who exudes his exceptional tenor in Fierrabras’s heroic arias” (Der neue Merker). Under the energetic baton of lngo Metzmacher, the Vienna Philharmonic unfold “the melos, the poetry, the sweetness and the dramatic force of Schubert’s highly refined and atmospheric sound worlds” (Kleine Zeitung) in highly romantic fashion.

Live performance from the Salzburg Festival, 6 August 2012.

This performance of the Richard Wagner opera Logengrin was filmed in high definition for the Bayreuth Festival in 2011, and features vocalists like Georg Zeppenfeld, Klaus Florian Vogt, and Anette Dasch in the leading roles.

Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra performing Beethoven Symphonies 1-9

Both Florez and Diana Damrau brought their bel canto expertise and superb vocalism to the service of Verdi's music. The Rigoletto, Zeljko Lucic, ran the gamut from tenderness with his Gilda to thundering fury with everyone else. I also liked the production. At first, when Rigoletto was putting on his grease paint during the overture, I was afraid that it might be a typical "Euro-trash" production, with a bit of warmed over I Pagliacci. But the sets and dramatic action really served the music and libretto. I would have to say that I came to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the story and characters as a result of seeing this performance.

Opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.