Will Hartmann Movies

By all accounts, Polish composer Karol Szymanowski's 1926 opera King Roger lingered in obscurity for a century, then emerged as a sleeper hit almost eighty years after its 1926 debut, thanks to the championing of heavyweights such as maestro Sir Simon Rattle. Rattle and others claimed that King Roger deserved credit as one of the finest operas of the 20th Century. The Bregenz Festival mounted this 2009 interpretation of Roger via the efforts of producer David Pountney; it stars Scott Hendricks in the title role, Olga Pasichnyk as Roxana, John Graham-Hall as Edrisi and Will Hartmann as Shepherd. The Wiener Symphoniker (conducted by Mark Elder), The Polish Radio Choir Kraków, and The Children's Chorus of Musikhauptschule Bregenz lend accompaniment. Raimund Bauer designed the sets, Marie-Jeanne Lecca created the costumes and Beate Vollack choreographs. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Orginally inspired by Frank Wedekind's plays Pandora's Box (1904) and Earth Spirit (1895), the Alban Berg opera Lulu courted much controversy for its unusually lurid depictions of sex and violence. It tells of the wanton and promiscuous character of the title, a young woman whose self-destructive tendencies and casualness with her own body lead her to a brutal death at the hands of Jack the Ripper. This particular version was mounted for the stage by the Royal Opera House, with minimalist staging by director Christof Loy and a cast that includes Agneta Eichenholz as Lulu, Michael Volle as Jack the Ripper, Klaus Florian Vogt as Alwa and Jennifer Larmore as Countess Geschwitz. The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House lends symphonic accompaniment under the direction of concert master Peter Manning and the baton of maestro Antonio Pappano; Herbert Murauer did the set design; and Eva Mareike Uhlig created the costumes. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi