Following on from the news in May 2007 that the Royal Opera House had purchased the record label Opus Arte, the company has announced that the first opera DVD filmed at the House to be released on the label will be David McVicar's highly-acclaimed production of Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro on 1 March 2008.
It follows on from the recent DVD of the ballet Sylvia on DVD, which captured ballerina Darcey Bussell in one of her final performances.
The release of the Figaro DVD will coincide with a reissue of the 1994 DVD of Kenneth Macmillan's tragic narrative ballet Mayerling, though this has long been available on DVD and video.
One of the company's greatest hits in recent years, McVicar's Figaro is updated slightly to around 1830 and is set in a stunning palladian villa. The cast includes Erwin Schrott as Figaro, Miah Persson as Susanna, Gerald Finley as Count Almaviva and Dorothea Röschmann as Countess Almaviva. Former Royal Opera Young Artist Ana James' memorable performance as Barbarina is captured on the film, as is Rinat Shaham's Cherubino.
The DVD was recorded live at the Royal Opera House on 10, 13 and 17 Feburary 2006 during the production's original run, when it was timed to coincide with the Mozart at 250 celebrations. Antonio Pappano conducted the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and also played the continuo part, allowing for an unusually fluid move from the recitatives to the full numbers.
The 2-DVD set features interviews with Pappano, McVicar and the principal members of the cast, as well as a 'cast gallery' and synopsis. It has a running time of 184 minutes and has both DTS surround sound and LPCM stereo.
The release of Mayerling rings one or two alarm bells with me: does this mean that the ROH releases on Opus Arte are going to rely heavily on recordings that were previously available on video? However, it's good news that the Figaro is finally to be available, especially with Finley's extraordinary performance as the Count, and one can only hope that it's the start of more things to come.
For more information on the takeover of Opus Arte by the Royal Opera House, click here.