The leading Strauss soprano of our time, Renée Fleming stars in one of her most acclaimed stage roles, the countess in Richard Strauss's Capriccio.
This sumptuous production was specially mounted for Ms. Fleming by the Met, and Decca is proud to present it on DVD and Blu-ray in High Definition.
“Ms. Fleming's voice was plush and alluring; her phrasing noble…The role suits her ideally” (The New York Times).
Capriccio examines the age old debate of what is superior music or poetry. In the opera this manifests itself through the widowed Countess struggling to decide between two potential loves – Flamand (a composer) or Olivier (a poet). Her indecision reaches its climax in the famously beautiful final scene – one of Strauss's most passionate soliloquies for soprano, set to music of rapturous beauty – yet the opera leaves the audience on an eternal cliffhanger, as her final decision is never revealed!
John Cox's Met production transports the opera from its original eighteenth century setting to the elegance of 1920's Paris an era beautifully captured in Robert Perdziola's acclaimed designs. Under the baton of conductor Sir Andrew Davis, Renée Fleming leads a superb cast of Straussians, which includes Russell Braun and Joseph Kaiser as the poet and composer respectively. Morten Frank Larsen stars as the countess' brother alongside the ‘theatricals’ – British mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly, tenor Barry Banks. Peter Rose appears as the ‘director’ La Roche.
The Met's Live in High Definition performance includes backstage footage and interviews with the company, hosted by American Mezzo-Soprano Joyce DiDonato.