Lorin Maazel - Vida Breve - DVD

Presented here for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, Manuel de Falla's InchLa vida breveInch is arguably the greatest opera in the entire Spanish repertoire, a tragic Zarzuela, a mix of Verismo, local Andalusian color and French Impressionism. Staged by the brilliant Giancarlo del Monaco (Metropolitan Opera, La Scala) with legendary music director Lorin Maazel and a cast of Zarzuela specialists of the highest order, this performance from Valencia was hailed triumphant. InchSimply a stroke of genius,Inch wrote Spain's Opera Viva about del Monaco's austere, minimalist staging at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia. Maestro Maazel, whom El Pais hailed as the InchtriunfadorInch of the evening, led an exquisite array of soloists headed by Chilean soprano Cristina Gallardo-Domas, Jorge de Leon and Maria Luisa Corbacho.

Claudio Abbado conducts the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela live at the Concert Hall of KKL Luzern, March 18 & 19, 2010 with soloist Anna Prohaska in works by Prokofiev, Berg, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky.

All are equal before the work, before the mysteries of a score; this was Claudio Abbado's heart-felt conviction. For him, the willingness to be open to one another and to the independent life of musical processes was the only prerequisite for making music. In the live performances documented here for the first time, Abbado could be sure of the devotion of these world-class artists the LUCERNE FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA, the sopranos Christine Schäfer and Juliane Banse, as well as the actor Bruno Ganz. They shared his credo of Inchlistening togethernessInch (Die ZEIT) that made possible those precious moments of musical truth toward which this great conductor strove throughout his life.