Renée Fleming in Concert (2-DVD)

Composers: Richard Strauss, Hugo Wolf, Anton Bruckner
Artists: Renée Fleming, Wiener Philharmoniker, Staatskapelle Dresden
Conductor: Christian Thielemann
Directors: Michael Beyer, Henning Kasten
Format: NTSC
Language: German
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Region: All Regions
Number of Discs: 2
Studio: Opus Arte
DVD Release Date: January 26, 2018
Run Time: 84 minutes (Salzburg), 104 minutes (Dresden)

Two unforgettable evenings showcase the artistry of Renée Fleming alongside Christian Thielemann’s mastery of the Austro-German Romantic idiom, as the Salzburg Festival honors one of its founding fathers, Richard Strauss, and the Staatskapelle Dresden draws on the deep well of its living Bruckner tradition.

The mixed vocal and symphonic programs feature five lieder by the prolific Austrian songsmith Hugo Wolf in addition to four of Strauss’s finest and an opera scene featuring Fleming in one of her career-defining roles, Arabella. At Dresden’s Semperoper, the Staatskapelle’s then newly-appointed music director leads them in Bruckner’s lyric Seventh, in which the composer mourns the death of Wagner; whereas in Salzburg, Thielemann helms the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra for the spectacular mountain journey of Strauss’s titanic Alpine Symphony.

“Thielemann, whose reading is satisfyingly spacious, reveals the work’s structural mastery in intermingling and transforming its many themes. The excellent video director Michael Beyer expertly lays out the orchestra in front of us, following the music sensibly so that we can relish Strauss’s detailed scoring.... [Fleming] sings gloriously and the result is ravishing.” (Gramophone)

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