FULL GROSSE OPER VERDI Documentary Germany 2013 Calleja Petibon Vasallo

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: GROSSE OPER VERDI   
• Composer: Verdi Giuseppe  
• Libretto: N/A  
• Venue & Opera Company: Munich, Germany  
• Recorded: 2013
• Type: Other
• Singers: Franco Vasallo, Joseph Calleja, Patricia Petibon
• Conductor: Marco Armiliato  
• Orchestra: Bayerisches Staatsorchester  
• Chorus: Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper  
• Stage Director: Árpád Schilling   
• Stage Designer: Márton Ágh  
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: AVE Gesellschaft für Fernsehproduktion mbH, Bayerischer Rundfunk,WENDEVARGA  
• TV Director: Michael Wende, Andreea Varga  
• Date Published: 2013  
• Format: Broadcast
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: nosubs  

• ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

  “Große Oper. Verdi” (Grand Opera: Verdi) by Michael Wende and Andreea Varga uses a narrative documentary format to offer viewers a fascinating look at the creation of an opera production—and, above all, the music of Verdi’s *Rigoletto*. The composer himself even comments on the proceedings—as an animated character drawn by the film’s protagonist.

  Giuseppe Verdi’s *Rigoletto* is being staged at the Bavarian State Opera. This documentary by Michael Wende and Andreea Varga—the creators of the award-winning film *Der Taktstock* (The Baton)—immerses itself in the production process right from the first rehearsal.

  A narrative storyline runs through the film: a newspaper graphic designer unexpectedly finds himself tasked late one evening with writing a report on Árpád Schilling’s production of *Rigoletto*. He has no prior knowledge of the subject, yet the article is due to go to press the very next morning.

  Viewers watch as the man familiarizes himself with the opera and, specifically, with Schilling’s production. With growing passion, he navigates the world behind the scenes of the opera house. Precisely because he views everything through the eyes of a curious non-expert, he discovers a unique approach to the material, introducing the world of opera to the audience with plenty of humor and wit. Verdi himself also plays a role—appearing as an animated character sketched by the graphic designer.

  Andreea Varga and Michael Wende follow the singers, the director, the set and costume designers, and the conductor right up to the premiere performance on December 15, 2012. Throughout the process, the writer—working through the night at the newspaper office—grapples with new questions: Why go to such lengths? What would Verdi think if he saw his work today? And what is it that fascinates so many people about opera?

  Quoted from Deutsche Grammophon

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