Heinz Zednik

The delightful light operatic farce by Johann Strauss is presented at the Morbisch Lake Festival (Seefestspiele Mörbisch) starring Herbert Lippert, Richard Samek, Heinz Zednik and Dagmar Schellenberger.

“The whole world is a jest, man was born a great jester…” So goes the brilliant conclusion to Verdi’s Falstaff, an opera inspired by Shakespeare’s beloved comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor. The virtuosic score requires a particularly talented cast, not to mention a truly exceptional conductor. Herbert von Karajan perfectly fits the bill, and this performance featuring the Wiener Philharmoniker and an all-star group of singers is clearly worthy of Verdi’s powerful work, a masterpiece whose comic facade thinly veils the complex and sometimes even tragic characters’ struggles. Recorded in 1982. Re-released 2015.

Vera Nemirova’s challenging production of Berg’s operatic masterpiece Lulu won critical acclaim when first seen at the Salzburg Festival in 2010. It was successfully repeated in 2011, when the production was filmed for DVD. Supporting Nemirova’s powerful vision of corruption, decadence and death are the highly praised set designs by the young artist Daniel Richter. Musically, the production is led with style and assurance by the brilliant German conductor Marc Albrecht, currently director of the Netherlands Opera. Singing Lulu with allure and passion is the lauded French soprano Patricia Petibon, whose charms grip an outstanding cast of top European singers. Berg’s score is performed in the completed version by the Austrian composer Friedrich Cerha.

Opera in one act with prologue. Based on the production of the Vienna State Opera by Filippo Sanjust. Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Set in a Siberian prison camp, Janacek's final opera centers on the experiences of recent arrival Alexandre Petrovitch Goriantchikov (Olaf Bar), a nobleman who finds relief from the harsh conditions in the friendship of the illiterate Alyeya (Eric Stoklossa). Recorded at the Grand Theatre de Provence, this stage production is directed by the well-respected Patrice Chereau and features famed conductor Pierre Boulez. Filmed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival on 20 July 2007.

This Seefestspiele Moerbisch production of Johann Strauss Jr Gypsy Baron - Bibl, Edelmann movie. 's "Der Zigeunerbaron" (The Gypsy Baron), which, since its premiere in 1885, has only been superseded in popularity by Die Fledermaus, features a cast including Martina Serafin, Harrie Van Der Plas, Peter Edelmann and Heinz Zednik. Rudolf Bibl leads the Festival Orchestra. Gypsy Baron - Bibl, Edelmann movie was released Sep 25, 2007 by the Videoland Opera studio.

Mozart’s allegorical fairy tale has charmed audiences and inspired artists, for more than 200 years. A few weeks before this telecast, the Met unveiled a new production of the opera featuring the colorful designs of acclaimed artist David Hockney. His bold colors and vivid images enchanted audiences and seemed to inspire the striking cast, led by James Levine’s affectionate conducting. Francisco Araiza is the young prince Tamino, who finds himself in a strange land, forced to undergo mysterious tests so he can rescue, then marry, the woman he loves, Pamina, played by Kathleen Battle. Kurt Moll is the compassionate Sarastro and Luciana Serra is the Queen of the Night.

Felicity Lott, Anne-Sofie Von Otter, and Kurt Moll star in this production of Richard Strauss' opera, staged in Vienna in 1994. A romantic comedy of errors. Princess von Werdenberg must hide her affair with Octavian from her family; when he disguises himself as a chambermaid to avoid scandalizing the Princess, he is pressed into presenting a gift to Baron Ochs von Lerchenau, who has arrived to propose marriage to Sophie von Faninal. However, Ochs soon finds himself infatuated with the chambermaid, much to Octavian's chagrin, which proves to be only the first of a long series of romantic misunderstandings. This production of Der Rosenkavalier is performed by the Vienna State Orchestra and Chorus, under the direction of Carlos Kleiber.

From the gorgeous scene deep in the river Rhine that opens the opera, up to the magic Rainbow Bridge that appears at the end, leading to a glistening Valhalla, Otto Schenk’s production captures the scenic world of Wagner’s Ring as brilliantly as James Levine and the Met orchestra capture the musical world. The cast is incomporable: an astounding James Morris as the young god Wotan, the great Christa Ludwig as his wife Fricka, incandescent Siegfried Jerusalem as Loge, the wily god of fire, and Ekkehard Wlaschiha as a complex Alberich.

Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner.