Richard Strauss Movies

The Semperoper Dresden mounted this 2007 production of Richard Strauss's 1911 opera Der Rosenkavalier (The Knight of the Rose) at the NHK Hall in Tokyo, Japan. As directed for the stage by Uwe Eric Laufenberg, it stars Anne Schwanewilms as Feldmarschallin Fürstin Werdenberg, Kurt Rydl as Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau, and Anke Vondung as Octavian. The Staatsopernchor Dresden (under the direction of chorus masters Ulrich Paetzholdt and Matthias Brauer) and the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden (under the baton of Fabio Luisi) lend added musical support. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

In this concert performance, the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra performs works by Mozart, Strauss, Schubert, Chopin, Lehar, and Ziehrer. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide

One of the best-respected artists of his generation, David Hockney is well known for his paintings, prints, and portraits, but he's also developed a reputation as a set designer for some of the world's leading opera companies. A passionate enthusiast of classical vocal music, Hockney's interest in opera has helped to transform the visual aspect of how the pieces are presented, from his bright use of color to his insistence on making lighting cues an integral part of his design. However, there's also an irony to Hockney's success in opera -- at the age of 67, Hockney began losing a significant amount of his hearing, which would not only impact his ability to create for a medium that has earned him so much acclaim, but rob him of his ability to appreciate the music that means so much to him. David Hockney: The Colors of Music is a documentary which examines the artist's unique approach to set design, how the music informs his life, and his feelings as he becomes aware each design project could well be his last. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Germany's unique and beloved Waldbuhne ampitheater, with its natural setting and seating capacity of 22,000, serves as the milieu for this classical concert from 1999. In it, the eminent James Levine conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in interpretations of pieces by Strauss and Wagner. Selections include: Strauss's Don Juan, Op. 20 and Der Rosenkavalier - Di Rigori Armato and Wagner's Tristan und Isolde - Prelude and Liebestod and Lohengrin - Prelude to Act 3. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

The German classical composer Richard Strauss (1864-1949) penned his final opera, the 1942 Capriccio, as a one-act "conversation piece," set to music - a reference to the work's heavy reliance on long monologues. The narrative, which unfolds in a salon on the outskirts of the City of Lights, follows The Countess as she weighs the value of words (represented by her suitor Oliver, the poet) against the value of melody (represented by her suitor Flamand, the composer). As Oliver and Flamand prepare for The Countess's birthday celebrations, their discussion concerns literature versus music on the surface, but on a deeper level represents their attempts to vie with one another for The Countess's heart. The home video release Capriccio constitutes a filmed performance of the work, as mounted and performed by The San Francisco Opera in 1993. The cast includes Kiri Te Kanawa, Hakan Hagegard, Tatiana Troyanos, and Victor Braun. Eleanor Fazan choreographs, Stephen Lawless directs, and The San Francisco Opera Orchestra provides musical accompaniment. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Under the direction of conductor Claudio Abbado, the Vienna Philharmonic performs this 1989 production of Richard Strauss' harrowing opera Elektra, based on the Sophocles play. Eva Morton plays Elektra, who mourns after the death of her father Agamemnon, who was murdered by her mother, Klytaemnestra (Brigitte Fassbaender). Elektra tries to convince her sister, Chrysothemis (Cheryl Studer), to avenge his death by having their brother Orestes (Franz Grundheber) kill their mother and her lover Aegisthus (James King). Performed in the original German language. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

A police officer investigating the death of a transvestite masks feelings of love for his widowed sister (Charlotte Rampling) while raging against her lover (Derek DeLint) in this Belgian film directed by Patrick Conrad. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide

Richard Strauss' Arabella, set in Vienna during the 1860s, opens with Countess von Waldner asking a fortuneteller to help save her family from their enormous debts. The mystic assures the Countess that her daughter, Arabella will marry into extreme wealth. Soon after, a young officer named Matteo pleads with Zdenka, the Waldners' son (in fact, a girl brought up as a boy), to help him win Arabella; unbeknownst to Matteo, Zdenka secretly carries a torch for him herself. Zdenka pleads Matteo's case with her sister, but Arabella dismisses him, as she does all who have sought her hand. Meanwhile, the Count has sent a photograph of Arabella to the rich Mandryka, hoping to arrange a marriage. The rich man's nephew, who is also named Mandryka, has intercepted the letter and makes his interest in Arabella known to the Count. At a grand ball, Arabella meets her new suitor and is instantly taken with him, accepting his proposal. However, Mandryka overhears Zdenka hatching a plot to get Matteo into Arabella's bedroom and thinks the worst. In fact, Zdenka has tricked Matteo; in the darkness of the room, he believes he is seducing Arabella rather than Zdenka. Mandryka challenges Matteo to a duel, but Zdenka reveals the truth of her deception. Learning the truth, Matteo takes Zdenka as his own and Arabella and Mandryka pledge their troth. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide

When Goetz Friedrich was preparing to stage and film "Electra" in Vienna with that city's famous orchestra, the late Karl Boehm conducting, this companion documentary was created to introduce the filmed performance (titled Elektra 82). The camera follows Boehm, thin and wan, as he leaves his apartment to rehearse with the Vienna Philharmonic before the staging of the opera -- and with his baton in hand, the maestro seems to transcend his frailty. From the orchestral rehearsals, the scene shifts to the singing rehearsals in the building where the performance will be held, not in Vienna's grand Staatsoper opera house but in an abandoned locomotive factory. After some views of the opera company being put through their paces, the scene shifts again to a bridge just outside the factory. In that humble setting, Mechthild Grossmann as Elektra and Siemen Ruehaack as Orestes, her brother, read from Sophocles' play, Electra. The combination of orchestra, opera company, stage actors, and the working film crew brings forth the realization that multiple artistic and technical talents can give one ancient drama new and different, and ultimately unlimited incarnations. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this compilation of newsreels and archival footage, director Edgardo Cozarinsky has put together images from occupied France during World War II with readings from a journal by a German officer, Ernst Juenger. The story is rounded out with scenes from concentration camps and views of the devastation wrought by Allied bombings. One segment of the documentary mentions that Maurice Chevalier) was among the French accused of collaboration with the Germans, and although Cozarinsky must feel this is an accurate portrayal, Chevalier was exonerated of any wrong-doing after the war -- perhaps it would have been better to present both sides in this instance, in keeping with the theme of the indiscriminate casualties of war. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide