Thomas/Hamlet (Dvd)

With Shakespearean operas all the rage in Paris during the 19th century, Ambroise Thomas and his librettists Michel Carré and Jules Barbier adapted Hamlet to create a romantic spectacle in which the character of Ophélie shines with a haunting radiance. With its virtuosic arias, stunning ensembles and vivid orchestration – with the colourful addition of the newly invented saxophone – Thomas composed one of the most successful operas in the French repertoire. This is further enhanced by director Cyril Teste’s multi-layered production, reinstating its powerful original ending, and including cinematic techniques to create ‘a very palpable hit’ (bachtrack.com).

Cast:

• Hamlet: Stéphane Degout (baritone)
• Ophélie: Sabine Devieilhe (soprano)
• Claudius: Laurent Alvaro (bass-baritone)
• Gertrude: Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo (mezzo-soprano)
• Laërte: Julien Behr (tenor)
• The Ghost: Jérôme Varnier (bass)
• Marcellus, Second Gravedigger: Kevin Amiel (tenor)
• Horatio, First Gravedigger: Yoann Dubruque (baritone)
• Polonius: Nicolas Legoux (bass)

Stage Director: Cyril Teste

Set Designer: Ramy Fischler

Costume Designer: Osabelle Deffin

Lighting Designer: Julien Boizard

Total playing time: 171 minutes

Picture format: NTSC 16:9

Sound format: AC3 2.0 and DTS 5.1

Language: French

Subtitles: French, English, German,

Japanese, Korean, Chinese

Region code: 0 (worldwide)

No. of discs: 1 (DVD 9)