Monteverdi: L'Orfeo - DVD

ENGLISH

Monteverdi: L'Orfeo (OAMO6007D)<br /> <br /> John Mark Ainsley (Orfeo); Brigitte Balleys (Euridice); Michael Chance (La Speranza); David Cordier (La Musica); Tragicomedia and Concerto Palatino; Stephen Stubbs<br /> <br /> Intense and refined performances by an inspired cast, led by a profound and commanding John Mark Ainsley as the legendary tragic musician, are sustained with fluent ease and obvious affection by the ensemble under Stephen Stubbs. The beautifully styled, evocative stage production, rich with Pierre Audi’s trademark symbolism, accentuates the solemn serenity of Monteverdi’s most famous work to create a moving and timeless experience.<br /> <br /> "With his new production for Netherlands Opera of Orfeo, Pierre Audi has completed a well-received cycle of Monteverdi’s major stage works. On stage we saw the usual Audi juxtaposition of elements: some vast tree trunks, a stone wall, an immense round pond, and later, fire. The prologue was magnificently sung by the counter-tenor David Cordier as La Musica...The chorus sang with such spirit and refinement that one regretted that they did not have more to do...Stephen Stubbs, seconded by Emmanuelle Haïm playing various keyboard instruments, led his ensemble Tragicomedia with obvious affection and understanding. All the instrumentalists played with fluent ease, a long way from the scratchy ‘authentic’ bands of 20 years ago!" (Opera)<br /> <br /> "Simply the most compelling account of L'Orfeo yet produced...John Mark Ainsley is simply superb as Orfeo..." (BBC Music Magazine)<br /> <br /> "In a perceptive documentary made during rehearsals, director Pierre Audi comments that L'Orfeo is 'an opera about the crisis of an artist: whether art and life are really compatible; what the personal intimate experience of an artist in confronting love and death has to do with his own artistic expression'. Audi's production is starkly conceptual in some ways but the performance has a simplicity and fidelity to the drama." (Gramophone)<br /> <br /> "Frankly, if you want a DVD of Orfeo, this should be your first option." (Musicweb International)