Translate
German, Italian and French operatic traditions of different ages comprise our audiovisual release list this month. Richard Strauss’ rarely-performed and -recorded two-act opera Intermezzo can be savoured in a visually stunning and musically refined Deutsche Oper Berlin production. Alessandro Scarlatti’s comic opera Il trionfo dell’onore receives its world premiere audiovisual recording whilst also marking the 300th anniversary of the composer’s death. And there’s the Royal Opera’s production of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann, featuring Juan Diego Flórez in the title role, ‘ideal as the perpetually earnest writer.’ (The Guardian ★★★★) and providing ‘a feast for eyes and ears.’ (Bachtrack ★★★★★)
![STRAUSS, R.: Intermezzo [Opera] (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2024) (NTSC)](https://cdn.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/2.110780.jpg "STRAUSS, R.: Intermezzo [Opera] (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2024) (NTSC)")
Richard STRAUSS (1864–1949)
Intermezzo
A bourgeois comedy
with symphonic interludes in two acts,
Op. 72, TrV 246 (1924)
Libretto by the composer
Part II of Tobias Kratzer’s Strauss triptych
at the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin
Sir Donald Runnicles • Tobias Kratzer
Richard Strauss described his two-act opera Intermezzo as a ‘bourgeois comedy with symphonic interludes’. The soprano role of Christine with her shimmering cantilenas represents Strauss’s wife Pauline, while the successful Court Conductor Robert Storch is Richard Strauss’s alter ego in a reality drama that was avant-garde for its time. This acclaimed production from director Tobias Kratzer brings Intermezzo into the present day, highlighting Strauss’s own clever switches between reality and fiction with stunning visual effects and a superbly characterful cast.
Also available on Blu-ray Video (NBD0188V)
![SCARLATTI, A.: Trionfo dell'onore (Il) [Opera] (La Fenice, 2025) (NTSC)](https://cdn.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/DYN-38077.jpg "SCARLATTI, A.: Trionfo dell'onore (Il) [Opera] (La Fenice, 2025) (NTSC)")
Alessandro SCARLATTI (1660–1725)
Il trionfo dell’onore
Commedia posta in musica in three acts
Libretto by Francesco Antonio Tullio –
Edition: Fondazione Teatro La Fenice
Dave Monaco • Luca Cervoni • Giuseppina Bridelli • Tommaso Barea
Enrico Onofri • Stefano Vizioli
Alessandro Scarlatti’s Il trionfo dell’onore (The Triumph of Honour) – his only comic opera – was first performed in Naples in 1718. With its distinctive recitatives and expressive arias, and a cast including four pairs of lovers, it can be considered one of the forerunners of opera buffa. The central character is the unrepentant seducer Riccardo Albenori, a Don Giovanni-like figure though without the villainous aura. In this opera, Scarlatti ensures not only perceptive psychology but a rich variety of arias, duets and quartets that generate the work’s pathos as well as its humour and eroticism.
Also available on Blu-ray Video (DYN-58077)
![OFFENBACH, J.: Contes d'Hoffmann (Les) [Opera] (Royal Opera House, 2024) (NTSC)](https://cdn.naxos.com/sharedfiles/images/cds/hires/OA1395D.jpg "OFFENBACH, J.: Contes d'Hoffmann (Les) [Opera] (Royal Opera House, 2024) (NTSC)")
Jacques OFFENBACH (1819–1880)
The Tales of Hoffmann
Marina Costa-Jackson • Ermonela Jaho • Alex Esposito
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House • Royal Opera Chorus
Antonello Manacorda • Damiano Michieletto
Through the haze of the years, a poet remembers the women he loved. But when it comes to matters of the heart, nothing is as it seems. Particularly when the devil himself is involved...
Journeying back to his school days, Hoffmann (Juan Diego Flórez) relives his childhood romance with Olympia, a model student in every sense. Doomed love follows him into adulthood, where the dancer, Antonia, is taken from him too soon. Meanwhile, the sensual courtesan Giulietta has her own secret agenda. As memory and fantasy become increasingly blurred, will Hoffmann find the enigmatic Stella before it is too late?
Olivier award-winning director Damiano Michieletto returns to The Royal Opera for a new production of Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann alongside conductor Antonello Manacorda.
Also available on Blu-ray Video (OABD7330D)