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Special offer. Korngold: Die tote Stadt

Jonas Kaufmann (Paul), Marlis Petersen (Marietta), Andrej Filonczyk (Frank/Fritz), Jennifer Johnston (Brigitta), Mirjam Mesak (Juliette), Corinna Scheurle (Lucienne), Manuel Günther (Gaston/Victorin), Dean Power (Graf Albert), Bayerische Staatsoper, Kirill Petrenko, Simon Stone (director)

Awards:

There’s a depth and emotional intelligence to this staging that disarmed my initial resistance...on every level, a glorious achievement.

Special offer. Korngold: Die tote Stadt

Jonas Kaufmann (Paul), Marlis Petersen (Marietta), Andrej Filonczyk (Frank/Fritz), Jennifer Johnston (Brigitta), Mirjam Mesak (Juliette), Corinna Scheurle (Lucienne), Manuel Günther (Gaston/Victorin), Dean Power (Graf Albert), Bayerische Staatsoper, Kirill Petrenko, Simon Stone (director)

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Original price $37.75 Reduced price $29.44

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Awards:

There’s a depth and emotional intelligence to this staging that disarmed my initial resistance...on every level, a glorious achievement.

About

The premiere of Korngold's Die tote Stadt at the Bayerische Staatsoper in 2019 was praised both by press and audiences. Marlis Petersen (Marie/Marietta) and Jonas Kaufmann (Paul) sang the main roles, with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester under Kirill Petrenko's baton, in the intense staging by Simon Stone. After opening night, Joshua Barone wrote in the NY Times: “[The] work's comeback may have reached its peak at the Bavarian State Opera. It’s difficult to imagine a better case for Die tote Stadt than was made in Munich.” The boundary between dream and reality dissolves as Paul, mourning his dead wife Marie, meets the dancer Marietta. With her looks so similar to Marie’s, Marietta becomes the object of the projection of Paul’s erotic desires. Following a nerve-racking “vision”, Paul is finally reeled back to reality and he can leave Bruges as the place of his death cult. The original title of the piece, “Triumph des Lebens”, is symbolic of the main character’s personal development. Just a few weeks before the successful world premiere of Die tote Stadt, none other than Puccini himself described Korngold as the “greatest hope of new German music”. Because of their melodic urgency, arias such as “Glück, das mir verblieb (Marietta's Lute Song)” and “Mein Sehnen, mein Wähnen (Pierrot's Song)” have found a home among the concert repertoires of many opera singers and radiate far beyond the fame of Die tote Stadt. This production is the first AV release on our newly launched label.

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Awards and reviews

Awards Issue 2021

There’s a depth and emotional intelligence to this staging that disarmed my initial resistance...on every level, a glorious achievement.

October 2021

In Kaufmann and Petersen, Stone is lucky to have a pair of protagonists whose go-for-broke performances show total commitment to his concept, and to Korngold...Petrenko emphasizes the score’s full-blown theatricality; his fondness for it is clear from the joyous expression on his face during his conducting of the exciting Act 2 prelude.

23rd July 2021

Kaufmann and Petersen are utterly fearless in squaring up to the formidable vocal and emotional demands of the central roles…The third knock-out performance comes from the pit: Petrenko clearly adores this score, and ensures that every detail of Korngold’s precociously brilliant orchestration comes across loud and clear.

12th August 2021

It could hardly be better cast…But it’s Kirill Petrenko’s impassioned conducting that really makes the performance compelling: he clearly cares passionately about every note of the score, its overripe romanticism and all.

4th August 2021

Wow! Half of its lustre derives from the uniformly excellent cast…Clearly loving every note of the teeming score, Kirill Petrenko does a magnificent job conducting the Bayerisches Staatsorchester, balancing Korngold’s marzipan opulence with glimpses into the heart of darkness hidden within.

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