Catalani: La Wally (DVD) – Izabela Matula

Composer: Alfredo Catalani
Artists: Izabela Matula, Leonardo Capalbo, Jacques Imbrailo, Ilona Revolskaya, Alastair Miles, Wiener Symphoniker, Arnold Schoenberg Choir
Conductor: Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Director: Barbora Horáková Joly
Video Format: NTSC / 16:9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Language: Italian
Subtitles: Italian, German, English, Korean, Japanese
Region: All Regions
Number of Discs: 1
Studio: Unitel Edition
Release Date: June 24, 2022
Run Time: 135 minutes

Catalani’s masterpiece, featuring nuanced harmonies and colorful instrumentation, was first performed in 1892 at La Scala in Milan and is best known for the aria “Ebben? Ne andrò lontana”. 

Catalani chose highly unusual material for his opera: the successful novel Die Geier-Wally by Wilhelmine von Hillern tells the story of a young woman who does not fit any of the gender clichés of her time. Unlike many earlier operatic heroines commanded to marry against their will, Wally does not look for a solution in society, but instead runs away to the mountains. Her husband must be her equal, someone unafraid to face both a bear and her father. 

“Izabela Matula - A Wagnerian hell of a woman with a great soprano.” (Kronenzeitung)

“Catalani’s highly dramatic music finds an intense advocate in Andrés Orozco-Estrada on the podium of the excellently disposed Wiener Symphoniker.” (Wiener Zeitung)

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