Carmen
Martin Kušej's brilliant 2006 Carmen represents a landmark interpretation of a truly timeless opera. Led by Rolando Villazón as Don José and Marina Domashenko in the title role, the virtuoso cast joins forces with the celebrated Staatskapelle Berlin under the direction of the legendary maestro Daniel Barenboim.
Casts & Crew
Marina Domashenko
Rolando Villazón
Norah Amsellem
Alexander Vinogradov
Christof Fischesser
Martin Hug
Kay Stiefermann
Gustavo Peña
Jan Zinkler
Susanne Kreutsch
Julia Rempe
Also Directed by Martin Kušej
A legend of mermaids, mere mortals, and sylvan glades. Be transported to a mystical world of water sprites, witches, and wood nymphs. In exchange for love, Rusalka will relinquish not only her mermaid magic, but also her voice.
This performance of 2014 can be considered as a reference on account of the quality of the vocal material involved and because the daring staging of Austrian Martin Kušej is rich in meaning within the context of the global challenges of today. He proposes a reflection on war, on vengeance and also on the mark of guilt which ends with the joie de vivre and the expansion of passions. In the intimacy of Calatrava, his is a post-Bauhaus picture of a Fascist neatness which then contrasts with the chaos of battles, the abyss of misery and the sexual stampede after triumph or failure. In this context, religion, instead of being a consolation is both an escape and the tomb of humanity; the chapel wherein Leonora hides is made out of huge crosses and in one of them, just for a moment, Don Álvaro seems crucified by his fate.
Juliane Banse, Cornelia Kallisch, Shawn Mathey, Martin Gantner, Ruben Drole and Alfred Muff star in this acclaimed adaptation of German composer Robert Schumann's opera "Genoveva," produced by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Inspired by the works of Johann Ludwig Tieck and Christian Friedrich Hebbel, Schumann's tale centers on an ill-fated countess who finds her life turned upside down when she's falsely accused of adultery.
Don Giovanni's list of romantic conquests reaches into the hundreds. But his reputation as a lothario puts him in danger as the women he's betrayed -- and their suitors -- begin to seek revenge. A modern-day setting proves the timeless nature of Mozart's popular opera, performed with the Vienna Philharmonic as part of an epic presentation of all 22 of the composer's stage works at the 2006 Salzburg Festival, in honor of his 250th birthday.
Arthaus presents a truly new way of looking at La clemenza di Tito with this famous and star-studded production from the Salzburg Festival 2003. Here Nikolaus Harnoncourt, renowned for his analytical approach to the search for the core of the music, interprets Mozart’s last opera. Martin Kušej, who is acclaimed for his theatre productions directs the production. Nikolaus Harnoncourt identifies with Mozart’s score as both an extremely knowledgeable musician and a conductor who invariably plays an active part in helping to shape the drama. Together with the Vienna Philharmonic, he savours the miracles of Mozart’s late work, bringing out its instrumental colours and effects and at the same time stimulating his singers while proving a solicitous accompanist.
Also Directed by Don Kent
Live performance from Oper Leipzig, 26 November 2005.
Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in Stepháne Braunschweig's production of Richard Wagner's Die Walküre. A Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2007 production, in coproduction with Osterfestspiele Salzburg. Directed for HDTV and video by Don Kent.
In 1968, young people from Berkeley to Paris and from Prague to Tokyo rose up against the world they were being offered. In this sprawling but riveting two-part documentary, veteran filmmaker Don Kent tracks the development, decline and legacy of this global movement against the fiery backdrop of the Vietnam War, civil rights struggles, dueling ideologies, and international coup d’états. A time capsule full of evocative sights and sounds, narrated by leading historians and political activists, Les années 68 effortlessly connects apparently discrete events to form a blazingly timely analysis of a decade that shaped the way we live now.
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico (tragic opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti.
With their faces of sweet lunatics or lighted beaufs, citizens of the ordinary or pochards between two wines, they interpret, in twos or threes, conversations seized on the zincs of the bistros or in the corners of our kitchens. A few minutes of delirium or absurdity. The Deschiens are the actors of Jérôme Deschamps's troupe, who, as usual, with his accomplice Macha Makeieff, track down the little nonsense of everyday life, between humor and ferocity.
Philip Glass's first opera in a 2012-2013 production at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.