It's three hours long, and some might find the time doesn't fly by, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. The first disc has the play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, with a wonderful performance by Cornelius Obonya as M. Jourdain. The last chapter introduces us to the singers who will take over for the opera.
Disc two gives us the 1912 version of Ariadne, with the superb American soprano Emily Magee singing the title role. I'd only heard her as Tosca on video; she's wonderful here, as good as Deborah Voigt at the Met, 2003. Elena Mosuc sings Zerbinetta; her 'Grossmachtige Prinzessin' is even better than Natalie Dessay's. The real star turn is Jonas Kaufmann's Bacchus: he's sleek and sexy as a leopard on stage, and makes love most effectively to Magee. For those with an adventurous spirit--and that's what we should have when we approach opera--I can recommend this production from Salzburg, 2012.
