Strauss Richard: Ariadne Auf Naxos

Catalogue # 6418679

Strauss, R: Ariadne auf Naxos Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

Deborah Voigt (Ariadne/Prima Donna), Natalie Dessay (Zerbinetta), Susanne Mentzer (The Composer), Richard Margison (Bacchus/The Tenor), Wolfgang Brendel (The Music Master), Waldemar Kmentt (The Major-Domo), James Courtney (A Lackey), Mark Schowalter (An Officer), John Fiorito (A Wigmaker), Tony Stevenson (The Dancing Master), Nathan Gunn (Harlekin), John Nuzzo (Brighella), Eric Cutler (Scaramuccio), John Del Carlo (Truffaldin), Joyce Guyer (Najade), Jossie Pérez (Dryade) & Alexandra Deshorties (Echo)

The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, James Levine (conductor) & Laurie Feldman (stage director)

DVD

Production Elijah Moshinsky

Set and Costume Designer Michael Yeargan

Lighting Designer Gil Wechsler

Recorded in 2003 at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, this sumptuous production of Ariadne auf Naxos presents divas Deborah Voigt and Natalie Dessay in the contrasting roles which embody the opera’s themes.

Two of today’s reigning sopranos – Deborah Voigt and Natalie Dessay – embody the contrasting philosophies at the heart of Ariadne auf Naxos: the deserted princess Ariadne, a ‘one-man woman’ who believes in loyalty unto death, and the flirtatious comedienne Zerbinetta, who takes a more pragmatic attitude to love and to life.

This recording from the Metropolitan Opera dates from 2003. The noble, soaring lines of Ariadne gave Voigt a major breakthrough in 1991, when she sang the role in Boston, and it subsequently became her signature role. Zerbinetta exemplifies the dizzy coloratura characters which first made Dessay’s reputation.