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Purcell - King Arthur | Glossa GVD921619

Purcell - King Arthur

Label: Glossa

Cat No: GVD921619

Barcode: 8424562216198

Format: DVD - NTSC

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 30th November 2009

This product has now been deleted. Information is for reference only.

Contents

Artists

Ana Maria Labin (soprano)
Chantal Santon-Jeffery (soprano)
Melodie Ruvio (mezzo-soprano)
Mathias Vidal (countertenor)
Marc Mauillon (tenor)
Joao Fernandes (bass)
Shirley and Dino
Le Concert Spirituel

Conductor

Herve Niquet

Works

Purcell, Henry

King Arthur (The British Worthy), Z628

Artists

Ana Maria Labin (soprano)
Chantal Santon-Jeffery (soprano)
Melodie Ruvio (mezzo-soprano)
Mathias Vidal (countertenor)
Marc Mauillon (tenor)
Joao Fernandes (bass)
Shirley and Dino
Le Concert Spirituel

Conductor

Herve Niquet

About

And now for something completely different ... For its first DVD release, Glossa has chosen a veritable spectacular, combining the strong creative ideas represented by one of its established artistic teams in Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel, the hugely successful French comedy duo of Shirley and Dino (Corinne and Gilles Benizio in real life), a film director in Olivier Simonnet with proven experience in the music of the Baroque and a masterpiece of a dramatic operatic score in Henry Purcell's King Arthur.

The production got firmly into gear after Hervé Niquet had parked himself in front of the motorbike of Gilles Benizio, just as the comedian was about to speed off at the end of a 'Shirley et Dino' show, and had requested that the Benizios become the stage directors for King Arthur in Montpellier. Apparently, the music and stage directors soon found that they held shared tastes in humour, even with the nonsensical and surrealist elements of Monty Python and its Flying Circus.

The new plot has everyone on stage - King Arthur (João Fernandes) as well as the comic sketches starring Shirley & Dino and other members of the cast - even the musical director gets his turn on the stage, rather than in the pit.

The production was staged and recorded in 2008 at the Opéra de Montpellier in France where Le Concert Spirituel has been in residence since 2006.

Adaptation, conception & stage direction: Corinne & Gilles Benizio (alias Shirley & Dino)

Early music conductor Hervé Niquet and his musically ultra chic Concert Spirituel were drawn into the fray, hapless, helpless and superfluous as orchestras so often are in operatic organization, with conductor Niquet taking full advantage of the rare opportunity to take himself center stage, making himself the star of the show as best he could - holding forth with vaudeville songs and schtick. The venerable maestro was upstaged only by Dino's mute rendition of the famed French chanson "Mexico," and Shirley and Dino's skiing across the stage uttering nonsensical German sounding sounds.” - Musicweb on the Montpellier production

Format: NTSC colour, 16:9
Sound: PCM stereo, DTS 5.0
Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish
Recorded: 2009
Runtime: 1:52

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