André Tchaikowsky: The Merchant of Venice

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Composer Andre Tchaikowsky first made his mark in Great Britain as a concert pianist. Despite his immense success, Tchaikowsky's real passion was for composition. 'The Merchant of Venice', after William Shakespeare's play of that name, was to remain his only opera.

The score is intricate and dark, with moments of both brutality and lyricism, not to mention flashes of acerbic wit. It defies attribution to any one definite style of 20th-century compostion, intelligently drawing on Benjamin Britten, Igor Stravinsky and Claude Debussy.

The tried and trusted team behind Keith Warner and an elite cast make the posthumous premiere at this year's Bregenz Festival 'a restitution to remember' (London Telegraph).

Picture Format: 1080i Full HD 16:9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo DTS HD Master Audio 5.0
Region Code: 0
Duration: 205 minutes
Recorded: live from the Bregenz Festival 2013
Subtitles: Polish English German French
Booklet notes: English German

REVIEW
The Merchant of Venice was the only opera by the Polish pianist-composer André Tchaikowsky, who died from cancer aged 46, in 1982. Intended for English National Opera, who rejected it, it only received its premiere at the 2013 Bregenz festival, where this DVD was made. Bergian in idiom, it's a fine if uneven piece. Tchaikowsky, who was gay and Jewish, is particularly good when it comes to depicting Shylock cracking under racist pressure, and Antonio's hopeless love for Bassanio. But he found the poetry and magic of Belmont elusive, and his elision of the three casket scenes into one leads to a dramatic wobble from which the opera takes time to recover. Keith Warner's production updates it to the turn of the 20th century, and places telling emphasis on Shylock (Adrian Eröd) and Antonio (Christopher Ainslie) as outsiders in a prejudiced society who are nevertheless catastrophically unable to understand one other. The singing is variable. Magdalena Anna Hofmann is a superb Portia; Jason Bridges exudes charm as Lorenzo; Eröd and Ainslie are heartbreaking and unforgettable. --Guardian, 11/12/14

Actors: Erik Nielsen, Richard Angas, Charles Workman, Christopher Ainslie, Adrian Eröd, Keith Warner, Felix Breisach, André Tchaikowsky, Richard Angas, Erik Nielsen, Wiener Symphoniker

Audio Languages: English

Duration: 160 minutes

Number of Discs: 1

Subtitle Languages: English, French, German, Polish

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