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Anna Tomowa-Sintow

Anna Tomowa-Sintow

Acting

Known For

Andrea Chénier
7.3

Live from ROH 1985. Giordano's Andrea Chenier is one of the greatest of verismo operas, full of heart-stopping big tunes and powerful emotional situations. If it is not as well-known as it should be, it is because in summary it sounds a little too like Puccini's Tosca: there is a tussle between political opponents over a woman, an attempt to save a condemned man, a tenor aria about writing poetry on the eve of execution. The difference is that Gerard (Giorgio Zancanaro) is not a villain like Scarpia, he is an idealist whom the French Revolution has betrayed as much as it has his rival the poet Chenier (Placido Domingo). His temptation to abuse his power to seduce the virtuous Maddalena (Anna Tomowa-Sintow) is a momentary one, though its consequences are terrible. There is a streak of post-Wagnerian decadence in much of this--Maddalena is at least as much in love with death as she is with Chenier, and the final love duet has a deeply sinister aspect. -- From Amazon.co.uk

Andrea Chénier

1985Movie
Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tsar's Bride

The argument is based on an historical case. In the suburbs of Moscow, reigned around 1571 Tsar Ivan IV, 'the Terrible'. Widowed, he is looking for a new wife for the third time. He chooses the young Marfa; she loves another man but bends to the will of the Tsar and renounces her love. From this starting plot, the Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov retains only the frame. A live competition is organised for a virtual monarch like in a reality show called «Joe Millionaire » where competitors attempt to marry a rich man. Here, the characters become the various players of the audiovisual industry bringing an acerbic criticism of contemporary TV. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin, with Olga Peretyatko, Anita Rachvelishvili and Johannes Martin Kränzle. Recorded at Staatsoper, Im Schiller Theater Berlin, in October 2013.

Rimsky-Korsakov: The Tsar's Bride

2015Movie