Carlos Kleiber was perhaps the most highly regarded conductor of the late 20th century, but his relatively few excursions into the studio have left the musical world with a frustratingly small number of recordings. Thus we are particularly fortunate that, from among the relatively few appearances in his career, several concerts, one operetta and two operas were filmed. This concert with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester from Munich's Herkulessaal in October 1996 was on of his last.

In contrast to Eugene Onegin, Tchaikovsky s other operas have led something of a shadowy existence in the repertoire. Only his penultimate music drama The Queen of Spades (also after Alexander Pushkin) can claim to look back on a continuous performing tradition in recent decades. In 1984 the Bavarian State Opera gave a production that was musically exemplary in many ways, starting with the role of Lisa, sung by Julia Varady.

S.​Mikorey in FonoForum 9/84:"Das Resul- tat begeistert.​Und das selbstverständlich nicht nur hinsichtlich der überraschend gu- ten Aufnahmetechnik,dem klar aufgeschlüs- selten und doch voluminösen Klangbild,son- dern vor allem in bezug auf den interpreta- torischen Rang.​ .​.​Eine sehr persöhnliche, hochdramatisch zugespitzte Auslegung.​"

Die Festspielpremiere von ALCINA im Prinzregententheater am 17. Juli 2005 wurde wie so viele andere Premieren von Barock-Opern zu einem Höhepunkt der Münchner Opernsaison. Wer erinnert sich nicht gerne an die "Poppea", den "Rinaldo" oder natürlich "Giulio Cesare". Mit Anja Harteros und Vesselina Kasarova hatten sich zwei Topstars der internationalen Opernszene in dieser Inszenierung eingefunden. Unter der bewährten Leitung von Ivor Bolton wurde das ganze Ensemble vom Publikum bei jeder Vorstellung mit Ovationen gefeiert, der Nachhall in der Presse war nicht minder euphorisch!

Giulio Cesare, Händels aufwändigste Oper aus dem Jahre 1724, markierte im März 1994 den Beginn der Münchner Händelrenaissance. Mit einer spektakulären Premiere sorgte Intendant Sir Peter Jonas international für Furore. Weit über 100 Aufführungen von 1994 bis 2006 spielten vor ausverkauftem Haus.

Für Opernproduktionen mit einer grandiosen szenischen Umsetzung ist das der Härtetest: Funktionieren sie auch ohne Optik? Teilt sich ihre Magie auch ohne die bilderwelt, den Erfindungsreichtum des Regisseurs und die Präsenz der Sänger mit?
Kein Problem im Falle des Münchner 'Ariodante'. Der CD-Mitschnitt, quasi der "Soundtrack" aus der Aufführungsserie im Januar 2000, ist ein Glücksfall fürs Händel-Repertoire. Zumal auch die Tontechniker die Live-Atmosphäre eingefangen und eine nahezu perfekte Balance zwischen Bühne und Graben hergestellt haben. …

Carlos Kleiber's 1977 La Traviata is a rare gestalt among studio opera recordings, and it is one of the conductor's finer achievements. Kleiber knits the score together with unwavering rhythmic and dramatic intensity, never allowing any single moment to eclipse the larger scene or musical structure. The singers are kept on a tight leash – given enough room to shape phrases and cadences, but not to indulge in sheer vocal display. The orchestra is similarly focused on realizing every detail of rhythm, melody, and articulation with vivid intensity. As a result, favorite arias, duets, and ensembles melt into the surrounding scenes in a way that invites curiosity about the drama at large while propelling it relentlessly forward. The general pace may strike some as a bit fast, but it's never boring, and frequently brilliant.

Martin Kušej’s thrilling contemporary interpretation of Verdi’s late period opera proved the perfect vehicle for the Bavarian State Opera’s dream team of Jonas Kaufmann and Anja Harteros. The imposing sets’ references to terrorism and the implosion of modern civilization bring the opera’s inherent drama to a breathtaking pinnacle. Specialist promo & marketing activity.

Arthaus presents a rare document of an early nineties operatic highlight: the Japanese premiere of Wolfgang Sawallisch’s last production at the Bavarian State Opera. The Company’s tour of Nagoya and Tokyo in autumn 1992 under director and principal conductor Wolfgang Sawallisch was a particularly important event. Sawallisch was celebrating both the twenty-fifth anniversary of his first appearance as visiting guest conductor of the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo and his departure, after twenty-one years, from his two principal posts with the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Sawallisch - an acclaimed interpreter of the music of Richard Strauss - chose Die Frau ohne Schatten to commemorate these anniversaries.

If one sought a musical manifestation of all the painful expe-riences and tragic failures of European history in the early 20th century, it would be impossible to overlook the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. Here, there is no harmony where discord is more fitting. Here, life cries out, with all the conflict and joy it proffers humanity. In their performances, Kirill Petrenko and the Bayerisches Staatsorchester have enabled these experiences to resonate in remarkable fashion. What better way to launch the Bayerische Staatsoper’s new label than with this outstanding live concert recording. - Nikolaus Bachler (General Manager, Bayerische Staatsoper)

Albert Lortzings Opern werden leider heute nur noch selten gespielt. Das ist schade, denn zum einen lassen sie sich mit relativ geringem Aufwand sehr effektvoll auf die Bühne bringen - Lortzing war selber Schauspieler und Spieltenor, wusste also, was er sich und seinen Kollegen zumuten durfte.

Child murder, scheming monks and a Tsar lapsing into madness Modest Mussorgsky spread the thematic arc wide in his choral opera, which he began to work on from 1868, and with which he attempted to awaken an awareness of his own time through the indirect route of a historic story. As an artist of the 19th century, he was driven by the psychology of the masses. Thus, in 'Boris Godunov', alongside the hero of the title, the main role is actually taken primarily by the Russian people, rejoicing, starving, demanding and questioning. In conjuction with conductor Kent Nagano, Spanish stage director Calixto Bieito proposes an original reading of this brilliant work.

Filmed in 1979, this delightful staging by Otto Schenk features outstanding singer-actresses Gwyneth Jones, Brigitte Fassbaender and Lucia Popp. Der Rosenkavalier is Richard Strauss’s most popular opera and the greatest comic opera since Mozart. Premiered just three years before the start of the First World War, the opera traces the artistic heritage of the Austrian-Hungarian empire in the days of Mozart, where the story is set, to the morbid distraction of the Viennese Art Nouveau.