Great Stars of Opera

Dresden Opera Nights is an annual event taking place in the Theatre Square in front of the city's beautiful opera house and featuring crowd-pleasing numbers by a variety of artists. This program includes highlights from the 1998, 1999, and 2000 seasons: orchestral pieces (the overture to Die Fledermaus), familiar arias (“Nessun Dorma” from Turandot), Broadway hits (“Anatevka” from Fiddler on the Roof), light opera (“Es lebt' eine Vilja” from The Merry Widow), and ensemble pieces (“Liabiamo ne' lieti calici” from La Traviata), concluding with a rousing rendition of “Wien bleibt Wien” played against a spectacular fireworks display. The “Great Stars” featured here include Lucia Aliberti, Agnes Baltsa, Daniela Barcellona, Gunther Emmerlich, Jerry Hadley, Vincenzo La Scola, Eva Marton, Kurt Rydl, Deborah Sasson, Sandra Schwarzhaupt, Neil Shicoff, and Anna Tomowa-Sintow, in concert with the Prague Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, and the Penderecki Festival Orchestra. Capturing the flavor of a pleasant summer concert of admittedly light fare, the program—presented in DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo—offers a good mix of artist close-ups, background scenery, and audience reaction. Recommended for larger music collections. Aud: P. (J. Reed)