31. January 2006

Unitel produces "Norma" with Edita Gruberova for Bayerischer Rundfunk and Classica

 

Munich, 31st January 2006. Unitel, Bayerischer Rundfunk, and the classical music TV-channel Classica on Premiere resume their successful cooperation with Bayerische Staatsoper and the world-renowned singer Edita Gruberova. On several evenings the opera Norma by Vincenzo Bellini will be recorded for both TV and DVD productions. Besides Edita Gruberova, the leading coloratura-soprano of our times, Zoran Todorovich and Roberto Scandiuzzi can be heard under musical direction of Friedrich Haider and in the stage design of Jürgen Rose. Camera direction will be taken over by Brian Large, the multiple Emmy award-winner. Norma will be produced in High Definition (HD) and Dolby Surround System 5.1. The DVD will be released at Deutsche Grammophon.
Edita Gruberova, of Slovak origin, is celebrated world-wide as the queen of belcanto. The long lasting and close collaboration of Unitel and Classica with the singer has already brought eight opera productions, including Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Die Zauberflöte, as well as Verdi’s Rigoletto. Roberto Devereux by Gaetano Donizetti, premièred with Edita Gruberova in May 2005 in Bayerische Staatsoper and recorded by Unitel and Classica, was the latest member in the collection now enriched by Norma.
Under the motto “music to watch? Unitel has been producing operas, concerts, and ballets in the highest artistic and technical quality since 1960s. From the very beginning the classic label has been cooperating with the greatest artists, including Herbert von Karajan, Carlos Kleiber, and Leonard Bernstein. During the recent months besides Norma and Roberto Devereux concerts and operas with Anne-Sophie Mutter, Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Albrecht Mayer, and Kent Nagano have been recorded. The repertoire of up to 1,000 Unitel produced titles can be heard and watched on Classica, the classical music TV-channel on Premiere.