For opera fans who like Philip Glass' operas, there is slim pickins available on DVD. So I greet the announcement of the release of KEPLER on DVD with great enthusiasm. The Criterion DVD of La Belle et la Bete is a glorious presentation and widely available. The Stuttgart Satyagraha from the early 1980s was available for a while but now fetches a high price on ebay as it's totally out of print.
On February 22 Orange Mountain Music releases KEPLER: An Opera by Philip Glass. Kepler was filmed by Austrian Television in HD for broadcast in Austria and Germany in 2010. The commission of Kepler in 2009 by the Landestheater Linz with the Bruckner Orchester Linz conducted by Dennis Russell Davies was made possible by virtue of Linz being the Cultural Capital of Europe that year.
This DVD shows off Peter Missotten's production and subtitles in German/Latin and English (the opera is sung in German and Latin) as well as 2.0 Stereo and 5.0 Surround. I'm personally very excited about this release because with 20 plus operas, most fans of Philip Glass have only had the chance to see a couple. This DVD is for all those who didn't manage to make it to Linz Austria during the 2009-10 season. Most work like this deserves to be captured.
5 thoughts on “Kepler on DVD, Feb. 22nd!”
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Awesome! Looking forward to it. I used to own the Satyagraha DVD, but got rid of it. Honestly, I found it kind of boring to watch. I LOVE the music, but I don’t think the visuals translated very well to the TV screen. I’ll definitely give Kepler it’s due diligence. Thanks for the update.
I’ve ordered my copy. But, speaking of Satyagraha, what about a descent recording of the opera? I seem to remember that when Glass signed a contract with Nonesuch there were talks about releasing a new recording. Except for act I, scene I, the CBS recording is almost unlistenable. The musical part on the old DVD is not much better, for different reasons.
Wasn’t that released by Sony with the NY City Opera? I believe that’s a recent recording.
No, it isn’t. It’s juste a reissue of the original recording (minus the informative booklet)and I agree with Alon, the opera really derserves a new one.
hmmm… that’s strange. I’ve always liked the recording of Satyagraha. IMHO, I would say Akhnaten is the one that’s due for an upgrade.