Richard Strauss Capriccio opera to a libretto by Clemens Krauss and Richard Strauss. Directed 2013 by Marco Arturo Marelli at the Vienna State Opera. Stars Renée Flemming (Countess), Bo Skovhus (Count, Brother of Countess), Michael Shade (Flamand, a Musician), Markus Eiche (Olivier, a Poet), Angelika Kirchschlager (Clairon, an Actress), Kurt Rydl (La Roche, a Theater Director), Michael Roider (Monsieur Taupe, a Prompter), Íride Martínez (an Italian Singer), Benjamin Bruns (an Italian Tenor), Josefine Tyler (Young Dancer), Samuel Colombet (Young Dancer), and Clemens Unterreiner (the Major-Domo). Christoph Eshenbach conducts the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. Sets and lighting by Marco Arturo Marelli; costumes by Dagmar Niefind; choreography by Lukas Gaudernak. Directed for TV by Brian Lange. Released 2014, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
According to Hugo Shirley, this is the 3rd modern video of Capriccio with Renée Flemming singing the role of Countess. He says bluntly that this show is the worst of the lot. You can see from the artwork above the elaborate "period" mise en scène, which Shirley finds "tacky." He praises the orchestral playing lavishly, but suggests the singers couldn't get their hearts in the right places amidst all the kitsch.
It’s now September 2020, and we have two Blu-ray versions of Capriccio with Fleming. It would appear that the 3rd “modern version” mentioned above by Hugo Shirley would be a DVD that is still available in a box set of Strauss operas. The one distinct advantage to this 2013 version from the Vienna State Opera is that Strauss and Krauss set the opera in the 1770s. There are a number of comments in the text, like the reference to the operas of Gluck, that would have made good sense in the 1770s. So if you want to experience Capricco exactly as Strauss intended, this would be the disc to buy. The other modern version available is, of course, the 2014 Met version. That Met production is set in the 1920s, which works fine so long as you don’t let the references to Gluck and the like confuse you.