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The tragedy in composer George Bizet's famous opera Carmen parallels the tragedy in his own life; severely depressed, the brilliant musician died at a mere 36 years of age. His beloved Carmen, based on a novella by Prosper Merimee, is a melodramatic story peppered with love, desire, tragedy, and death. One of the most frequently performed operas in the world, it is performed here in the open air at 1998's Festival St. Margarethen. Giorgio Croci conducts a nearly flawless cast and the accompanying Orchestra Stagione d'Opera Italiana.DVD Features:Region 0Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Dolby Digital 2.0

One of Italy's greatest musical minds, Guiseppe Verdi, was considered to write operas that reflected the national spirit and soul of the Italian people. His 1842 epic, NABUCCO, tells the story of Hebrew slaves and their oppression by the tyrannical Babylonians. An inspiring tale of liberation, NABUCCO is staged here at Europe's annual Open-Air Festival. A lavish and wildly expensive production, this staging of classic Verdi was a critical and popular success.DVD Features:Region 0Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Single SideSingle LayerAudio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Dolby Digital 5.1Additional Release Material: Production Interviews Making-ofText/Photo Galleries: Additional Text - Synopses in six languages

Haydn's joyous second opera Lo Speziale,
first performed to popular and critical acclaim in 1768, is an opera buffa in three acts. A love triangle between the poor apprentice Mengone, the rich and assured dandy Volpino, and the local apothecary's daughter, Grilletta, Lo Speciale is a sidesplitting comedy of great warmth and ebullience. Italian soprano Anotella Manotti is a thrilling object of attraction, while tenors Luigi Alva and William Matteuzzi masterfully inhabit their roles. The performance was filmed in Lugano, Switzerland in 1987.DVD Features:Region 0Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 Dolby Digital 2.0

Sir John Barbirolli and the Boston Symphony Orchestra unite on this release to produce some evocative works, helping enhance their distinction as major players within the pantheon of classical music greats.DVD Features:Region 0Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Audio: Mono - Natural sound/Music

This experimental musical revue combines the songwriting talents of the renowned Belgian-born Jacques Brel with the distinct stylistic sense of 1970s film. Brel's songs deal, movingly so, with topics as vast as love, death, and war. Bringing them to life seems a challenge, but one met by director Denis Heroux. Using tools as unexpected as puppets and extensive location shooting, Heroux places Brel's songs in a unique context -- one that frees them from theatrical constraints. Mort Shuman (who wrote songs for The Drifters and Elvis Presley) converts the songs into beautiful English-language versions, but does not lose the essence intended by Brel. In an age where the classic troubadour seems to have vanished, JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS reminds one of the need for singers to translate universal emotion into song.DVD Features:Region [unknown]Keep CaseAnamorphic Letterboxed Widescreen - 1.85Additional Release Material: Interview - 1. Edie Landau - Executive in Charge, The American Film Theatre Featurette - 1.Ely Landau: In Front of the Camera -- AFT Promotional Reel - 1974 Theatrical TrailerText/Photo Galleries: Essay - 1.Jacques Brel and JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS by Michael Feingold, Chief Theater Critic, THE VILLAGE VOICE AFT Cinebill for JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS Trailer Gallery - Complete List of AFT Films AFT Scrapbook

In this sweet, romantic comedy of errors set in Paris, Maurice Chevalier plays a poor tailor, Maurice Courtelin, who moves in with nobility when he tries to collect a debt from Vicomte Gilbert de Vareze (Charles Ruggles) who cannot pay. To buy time, de Vareze invites Courtelin to stay with his family, and introduces him as a baron. Courtelin's overwhelming charm soon wins over the entire household, including the alluring Princess Jeanette (Jeanette MacDonald). Though at first skeptical of his pedigree, Princess Jeanette warms to Courtelin - does romance follow? In addition to the superb lead performances, Charles Ruggles and Myna Loy supply steady laughs with their loony caricatures, and Rouben Mamoulian's direction takes full advantage of the talented cast and music provided by Rodgers and Hart. This rollicking musical possesses even more significance given its pre-code status - a film made prior to the institution of the self-censorship of sex, violence and other controversial content that began formally in 1934 and lasted until the late 1960s.DVD Features:Region [unknown]Keep CaseFull Frame - 1.33Additional Release Material: Songs - 1.Louise - Maurice Chevalier






2.Love Me Tonight - Jeanette MacDonald (from the Paramount Newsreel - HOLLYWOOD ON PARADE) Commentary - 1. Miles Kreuger - Founder and President, Institute of the American

Musical, Inc. Original Theatrical TrailerText/Photo Galleries: Screenplay Excerpts of Deleted Scenes Production Documents and Censorship Records Photo Gallery and Promotional MaterialAdditional Products: Booklet Essay - 1. Miles Kreuger, Founder and President, Institute of the American
Musical, Inc.

Collated from appearances on the BELL TELEPHONE HOUR, this release offers some work from Spanish pianist Josi Iturbi. Broadcast on various programs between 1959 and 1962, Itubi`s performances include pieces by Chopin, Rameau, Liszt, and Grieg.

Although French pianist Aldo Ciccolini is best known for his interpretations of the works of Erik Satie, here he turns his hand to another acclaimed composer--Claude Debussy. This concert was shot in 1987, with Ciccolini taking to the stage at La Scala in Milan, and delivering an electrifying performance as he works his way through a number of classic Debussy pieces.