Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen (Adlershof)

Walter Felsenstein's staging of Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann at the Komische Opera Berlin.

A film adaptation of Ludwig van Beethoven's opera of the same name. Florestan has been held in a Spanish state prison for many years. When an inspection of the prison becomes inevitable, Florestan must be eliminated. But Fidelio's young assistant can prevent this. It turns out that Fidelio is actually Florestan's wife. She is determined to do everything she can to free her husband.

Ritter Blaubart is a DEFA studio recording, commissioned by East German television, of Walter Felsenstein's production of Jacques Offenbach's operetta Bluebeard in three acts at the Komische Oper Berlin. The operetta was recorded in color at the DEFA Studios for Feature Films in Potsdam-Babelsberg. The film was first shown in theaters on April 27, 1973, in a gala preview at the Kino International in Berlin.

The Marriage of Figaro that received its premiere on 26 February 1975 in the Komische Oper Berlin was Walter Felsenstein’s last production and in many respects can be regarded as representing his legacy. Having just returned from directing a guest production at Vienna’s Burgtheater, Felsenstein had been working on Figaro since early February 1974. He had already directed three productions of the work – in 1934 in Cologne, in 1942 at the Salzburg Festival and in 1950 at the Komische Oper.

Directed by Walter Felsenstein in 1969, this production of Giuseppe Verdi's classic opera chronicles the tragic tale of Othello, a Moorish general whose inability to control his feelings of mistrust and jealousy lead to his dramatic downfall. The Berlin Komische Oper Chorus and Orchestra provide musical accompaniment throughout the live performance, which stars Hanns Nocker, Christa Noack and Vladimir Bauer.

This is released as part of Art Haus' Walter Felsenstein edition. Felsenstein, a contemporary of Bertold Brecht, ran the East German Komische Oper from just after World War II to his death. Felstenstein was famous for his ensemble productions and for the enormous amount of rehearsal time that went into his productions.