Bel Canto - The Tenors of the 78 Era [Blu-ray]

The introduction of sound to cinema in the 1930s turned great tenors such as Beniamino Gigli, Richard Tauber and Lauritz Melchior into movie stars. Countless singer movies were made, but great vocal performances were also captured in numerous documentaries and privatelymade movies. Using a wealth of rare and restored material the award-winning Belcanto presents the great tenors from Enrico Caruso to Jussi Björling, and includes interviews with their contemporaries and descendants. Updated and freshly remastered to 16/9 HD format, this acclaimed collection offers comprehensive insights into the art of bel canto that were regarded as 'black-and-white jewels from the golden era of singing fascinating!' by El Pais.

BLU-RAY 1 – PART I
Enrico Caruso (1873–1921), John McCormack (1884–1945), Leo Slezak (1873–1946), Tito Schipa (1889–1965), Richard Tauber (1891–1948), Dialogue with Eternity

BLU-RAY 2 – PART II
Lauritz Melchior (1890–1973), Beniamino Gigli (1890–1957), Georges Thill (1897–1984), Helge Rosvænge (1897–1972), Ivan Kozlovsky (1900–1993), Joseph Schmidt (1904–1942), Jussi Björling (1911–1960)

DVD Video
Six films featuring archival material with Tito Schipa, Richard Tauber and Ivan Kozlovsky singing arias and songs, movie trailers with Joseph Schmidt, and interviews with John Steane and Stefan Zucker.

CDs 1–2
The soundtrack to the series contains many previously unreleased recordings highlighting the history of tenor singing in the first half of the 20th century as well as recordings of the last castrato from the Sistine Chapel, Alessandro Moreschi, and the most significant bel canto singer of the 19th century, Fernando de Lucia.

BOOK I and II
Two comprehensive books with essays about the history, technique and aesthetic of singing by Georg-Albrecht Eckle, Marietta Amstad, Herman Klein, Stefan Zucker, Christoph Schlüren, Peter Feuchtwanger, Jürgen Kesting and Wolf Rosenberg.