Lott, Felicity

Richard Strauss - Intermezzo / Felicity Lott, Glyndebourne Festival Opera

Richard Strauss' Intermezzo is an autobiographical piece; a domestic comedy of marital strife. Set in the 1920s, John Cox's stylish production stars Felicity Lott as the volatile Christine Storch (alias Pauline Strauss), who has an innocent fling with a penniless young baron (Ian Caley) and then comes to suspect her husband Robert (John Pringle) of carrying on an illicit affair...with ensuing complications. Andrew Porter's brilliant English translation brings out the sharp wit of this piece and gives Felicity Lott's virtuoso talent full rein both musically and theatrically. Martin Battersby's marvellous art nouveau settings evoke perfectly the luxurious lifestyle of Strauss' Vienna. The London Philharmonic, in sparkling form, is conducted by Gustav Kuhn.

'Felicity Lott's performance is a triumph.' THE TIMES

Director: JOHN COX
Choreographer: MONIQUE WAGEMAKERS
Designer: MARTIN BATTERSBY
Theatre Lighting: ROBERT BRYAN
Directed for video by DAVID BUCKTON

Christine: FELICITY LOTT
Robert Storch: JOHN PRINGLE
Baron Lummer: IAN CALEY
Anna: ELIZABETH GALE

London Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: GUSTAV KUHN

Richard Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier / Carlos Kleiber, Otto Schenk - Lott, von Otter, Bonney - Wiener Staatsoper

After the tonality-stretching dissonance of Salome and especially Elektra, Richard Strauss moved onto a different musical path with his next opera. The epic grandeur of Der Rosenkavalier stems not just from its immense length (over three hours) but from the all-too-human complexity of its characters--each of whom is smitten with someone else--and the endless stream of graceful melodies the composer conjures. The music's sheer gorgeousness has given this most heartbreaking of 20th century operas its pride of place in the repertory.

For this 1994 performance at the Vienna Opera House, conductor Carlos Kleiber leads a committed reading of the buoyant score that savors every note. The three leads are superb singer-actresses who get full marks for embodying Strauss's most richly romantic creations: Felicity Lott (the Marschallin), Anne Sophie von Otter (Octavian), and Barbara Bonney (Sophie) also offer a truly entrancing final trio, one of the great scenes in all opera. The stereo sound mix is solid, as is the video transfer. --Kevin Filipski

Cast list:

Felicity Lott: Marschallin
Kurt Moll: Der Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau
Anne Sofie von Otter: Octavian
Gottfried Hornik: Herr von Faninal
Barbara Bonney: Sophie
Olivera Miljakovic: Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin
Heinz Zednik: Valzacchi
Anna Gonda: Annina
Keith Ikaia-Purdy: Ein Sänger
Lotte Leitner: Eine Modistin

Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra, Carlos Kleiber, conductor. Based on a stage production by Otto Schenk

Mozart Opera Glyndebourne Collection: Cosi fan Tutte, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Entfuhhrung aus dem Serail, Idomeneo, Die Zauberflote (6 DVDs)

Stravinsky - The Rake's Progress / Lott, Goeke, Ramey, Elias, van Allan, Haitink, Glyndebourne Opera

Britten - A Midsummer Night's Dream / Bowman, Cotrubas, Lott, Buchanan, Davies, Duesing, Haitink, Glyndebourne Opera

Glyndebourne's production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream is pure magic. Brilliantly adapted from Shakespeare's play, the opera follows the adventures of four lovers and a group of naïve rustics who, in a wood on a moonstruck midsummer night, fall foul of Oberon and Tytania, the quarrelling king and queen of the fairies. In Hall's remarkable staging the very wood comes alive as logs and trees move and rustle, creating ambiguous silhouettes in the dark mysterious woodland, lit only by designer John Bury's wonderful rising sun and moon. Stars Felicity Lott, Ileana Cotrubas, and James Bowman.

Offenbach - La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein / Lott, Piau, Beuron, Le Roux, Les Musiciens du Louvre, Minkowski (Theatre du Chatelet)

Dame Felicity Lott stars in a rollicking performance of Offenbach's operetta "La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein." Features the same cast as the studio recording released on CD in October 2005. The stage production was filmed in December 2004 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. The result is a kaleidoscope of artistry and comedy that should not be missed! This production goes back to the original version which had been adjusted and censored after it's premiere at the Theatre des Varietes in 1867.

Offenbach - La Belle Helene / Minkowski, Lott, Beuron, Senechal, Naouri, Le Roux, Torodovitch, Chatelet Opera

Staged and costumed by Laurent Pelly, this production Offenbach's parody of the origins of the Trojan War is a supreme manifestation of his comic genius. It combines a musically superb performance with a stream of visual humour that flows from Pelly's core idea that the action all takes place in the imagination of a sleeping, sex-starved, suburban housewife. Dame Felicity Lott is magnificent as the woman who dreams of being the most beautiful woman in the world. The production explodes with gaiety and invention throughout and "is as innocently filthy as only the French can manage" (The Times). Lott adds an undeniable elegance and sings with "Mozartian refinement" (Herald Tribune).

Leaving Home: Orchestral Music in the 20th Century, Vol. 1

Mozart - Die Zauberflote / Lott, Luxon, Goeke, Sandoz, Conquet, Fryatt, Haitink, Glyndebourne Opera

Glyndebourne's 1978 production of Zauberflöte received as much critical acclaim for its imaginative sets by David Hockney as for the operatic performance itself. Like the set, John Cox's production of this opera emphasized its magical and mystical qualities. This program was directed for television by Dave Heather, whose skill at bringing out the best of both mediums has been acknowledged by television and music critics alike.

Playing With Fire by Kirdy Stevens ~Ron Jeremy, Brooke West, Randy West, Cara Lott, Eric Edwards, Karen Summer, Linda Shaw