The Passenger : Pountney, Currentzis / Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Breedt, Sacca, Kelessidi, Rucinski, etc (2010 Stereo)

A BLU-RAY PLAYER IS REQUIRED TO VIEW THIS DISC - IT WILL NOT FUNCTION ON A STANDARD DVD PLAYER.

Mieczyslaw Weinberg (1919-1996)
The Passenger
Opera in two acts, eight scenes and an epilogue, Opus 97 (1967-1968)
Libretto by Alexander Medvedev
after the eponymous novel by Zofia Posmysz

Lisa - mezzo-soprano: Michelle Breedt
Walter - tenor: Roberto Sacca
Martha - soprano: Elena Kelessidi
Tadeusz - baritone: Artur Rucinski
Katja - soprano: Svetlana Doneva
Krzystina - mezzo-soprano: Angelica Voje
Vlasta - mezzo-soprano: Elsbieta Wroblewska
Hannah - alto: Agnieszka Rehlis
Ivette - soprano: Talia Or
Old Woman - soprano: Helen Field
Prague Philharmonic Choir
Wiener Symphoniker / Teodor Currentzis, conductor

Stage Director: David Pountney
Set Design: Johan Engels
Costume Design: Marie-Jeanne Lecca

Scenic first performance - Bregenzer Festspiele 2010

Subtitles Multilingual, German, English, French, Polish, Russian
Sound Format 5.0 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 Stereo (Extras)
Picture Format 16:9 1080i High Definition
Running Time approx. 190 min.

Extras: Documentary "In der Fremde" (German, with English Subtitles, approx. 30 min.)

NEOS is releasing the sensational production of the opera "The Passenger" by Mieczyslaw Weinberg, directed by David Pountney at the Bregenzer Festspiele 2010. This was the opera's scenic first performance ever! "The Passenger" is based on the eponymous novel of the Polish writer and survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, Zofia Posmysz. The libretto was written by Alexander Medvedev who died five days after the premiere at Bregenz.

On an ocean liner bound to Brazil, Lisa, the wife of a German diplomat sees a fellow passenger whom she recognises as Marta, a Polish prisoner from the Auschwitz concentration camp. Lisa is shocked because she thought that Marta was dead. Because of this encounter, Lisa reveals her husband Walter that she was an SS overseer during the war. In flashbacks we are told about what happened in Auschwitz and about the "relation" between Lisa and Marta. The Wiener Symphoniker under the direction of Teodor Currentzis play the opera’s music. Michelle Breedt, Elena Kelessidi and Roberto Sacca are singing the leading parts accompanied by the Prague Philharmonic Choir.

This Blu-ray edition comes in a box with a 164 page booklet, including the libretto translated into German, English, French and Polish The opera is sung in German, English, French, Russian and Yiddish. In the subtitles you can choose between this original version of the opera or the German, English, French, Polish and Russian translations. In addition to the opera you will find the documentary "In der Fremde" made by ORF about Weinberg’s life, the creation of the novel by Zofia Posmysz, her memories of Auschwitz and the working on the opera’s production in Bregenz. Interviews with David Pountney, Zofia Posmycz, Michelle Breedt (Lisa) and others. This documentary’s language is German with English subtitles.