{"product_id":"4909346029132","title":"Theater an Der Wien - Catalani: La Wally - Import DVD","description":"\u003cp\u003eCredits:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheater an Der Wien\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescription:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCatalani’s Last Opera, *La Wally*\nA November 2021 production at the Theater an der Wien, featuring romantic music performed by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Orosco-Estrada and a powerful performance in the title role by Polish soprano Izabela Matula\n\n*La Wally* is the masterpiece and final opera by the 19th-century Italian composer Alfredo Catalani (1854–1893). Although it is rarely staged, the aria from Act I, “Farewell, My Native Home (Ebben’ Neandrolontana),” is often performed on its own and is widely known. The renowned conductor Toscanini held Catalani in such high esteem that he named his daughter Wally after the heroine.\nIt premiered on January 20, 1892, at La Scala in Milan. Although it is often classified as a verismo opera, it is actually more influenced by Wagner, German Romanticism, and the operas of his contemporary Massenet; the orchestra features a richly colored instrumentation and nuanced harmonies. Catalani wrote the title role specifically for the Romanian soprano Haricla D'Alcure, who was known at the time as the “Nightingale of the Carpathians.” She had also sung the title role in the premiere of Puccini’s *Tosca*. In this production, Polish soprano Izabela Matula delivers a powerful performance, while the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, led by Andrés Orosco-Estrada, masterfully interprets the dramatic music.\nThe original novel, *Wally, the Vulture* (1873) by Wilhelmine von Hirlen, tells the story of a young woman who defies the gender norms of her time. Her only friend is a tamed vulture. Raised by her father like a boy amid the harsh Tyrolean wilderness, Wally refused to compromise; she possessed the strong will to defy her father’s attempts to force her into marriage with a man she did not love and to flee to the mountains. With the exception of the “Edelweiss” song at the beginning, Catalani does not depict the scenery or customs of the Swiss Tyrol region where the story is set, but instead meticulously portrays the characters’ emotional journeys.\nThe production is directed by Barbora Horáková-Joly, originally from the Czech Republic. The production visually captures the brutal cold and harshness of the Alps, depicting the mountains as steel scaffolding. In the scene in Act IV where Walri is immersed in a world of fantasy, it portrays a cold and cruel landscape where the boundary between reality and fiction becomes blurred.\n(1\/2)\nKing International\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"C Major","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53374647566625,"sku":"4909346029132","price":4158.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0568\/8482\/2076\/files\/4909346029132.jpg?v=1787632181","url":"https:\/\/cdsvinyljapan.com\/products\/4909346029132","provider":"CDs Vinyl Japan Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}