Special offer. Britten: Death in Venice

John Graham-Hall (Gustav von Aschenbach), Andrew Shore (Traveller/Elderly Fop/Gondolier/Barber/ Hotel Manager Player/Dionysus), Tim Mead (Apollo), Sam Zaldivar (Tadzio), Laura Caldow (The Polish Mother), Mia Angelina Mather/Xhuliana Shehu (Her Two Daughters), Joyce Henderson (The Governess), Marcio...

It's not often one can say a production is improved by viewing on a small screen but, for me, this one was...Graham-Hall is a real stage-animal, convincing us utterly of his descent into obsession...Above... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2014, 4 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 3rd Mar 2014
Catalogue No: OABD7141D
Label: Opus Arte

Presto Recordings of the Year

Finalist 2014
Gramophone Awards

2015

Finalist - Opera

Britten: Death in Venice

Recorded live at The London Coliseum, June 2013
John Graham-Hall (Gustav von Aschenbach), Andrew Shore (Traveller/Elderly Fop/Gondolier/Barber/ Hotel Manager Player/Dionysus), Tim Mead (Apollo), Sam Zaldivar (Tadzio), Laura Caldow (The Polish Mother), Mia Angelina Mather/Xhuliana Shehu (Her Two Daughters), Joyce Henderson (The Governess), Marcio Teixeira (Jaschiu, Tadzio’s friend)
English National Opera
Edward Gardner (conductor) & Deborah Warner (director)

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Deborah Warner’s beautiful and evocative production of Britten’s final operatic masterpiece has been acclaimed as an ‘exquisitely achieved marriage of music, drama and design’ (The Independent). In Britten’s luminous and compelling interpretation of Thomas Mann’s classic novella, the ageing writer Gustav von Aschenbach’s infatuation with the Polish boy Tadzio and his subsequent decline are portrayed in a ‘remarkable and harrowingly believable’ performance (The Guardian) by John Graham-Hall, who had already won golden opinions for singing the role of Aschenbach at La Scala. The superb ENO chorus and orchestra are conducted by Edward Gardner, a long-standing champion of Britten’s music.

Running time: 153 minutes

Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/KO

Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

Artists

Orchestra and Chorus of the English National Opera, Edward Gardner (conductor) & Deborah Warner (director)

Reviews

August 2014

It's not often one can say a production is improved by viewing on a small screen but, for me, this one was...Graham-Hall is a real stage-animal, convincing us utterly of his descent into obsession...Above all, every colour, timbre and texture of this richly imaginative score comes blazing through under Gardner's baton.

3rd June 2014

Warner’s production is worthy of this magnificent work, and she has secured disciplined and stylish performances from her cast. Visually it is both stunning and haunting...So much depends on the role of Aschenbach, and here John Graham-Hall does a fine job...Andrew Shore is superb; he manages to give each one an individuality...So is this the best ‘Death in Venice’ on DVD? I suspect it is, for it is very fine.

August 2014

Edward Gardner’s vital conducting keeps the long score alive, finding a fluidity and organic momentum to tempos that mirrors the delicate visual transformations of Warner’s stage action. He is aided by some superb singing.

March 2014

Deborah Warner directs this visually stunning but emotionally harrowing ENO production. John Graham-Hall is totally convincing as the ageing writer Aschenbach, struggling with his obsession with the young Tadzio, and Edward Gardner conducts a haunting rendition of the score

Opera Now

Warner’s production for ENO manages to solve pretty much every problem she faces...the lighting by Jean Kalman is exquisite...[Graham-Hall's] singing is clear, his diction crisp and he outlines every nuance of the role – it’s a subtle tour de force...Gardner's conducting underpins everything with refinement.

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Special offer. Britten: Death in Venice

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Special offer. Britten: Death in Venice

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