Cast
Program notes
Pull up a chair for a riveting series of 1992 master classes at Berlin's Hochschule der Künste by the one and only Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, one of the most celebrated baritones of all time, in a documentary series by Bruno Monsaingeon, man of letters and music and maker of legendary films. A peerless interpreter of German Romantic melody, Fischer-Dieskau left behind multiple benchmark recordings of works by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Wagner. In addition to his remarkable performing career, he took great pleasure in teaching, taking the time to guide younger artists through difficult repertoire with perspicacity and finesse.
This magnificent cycle of master classes comes to a close with the marvelous aria "Hai già vinta la cosa," sung by the Count in Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. Composing at the peak of his powers, Mozart worked for the first time with librettist Da Ponte to create this score "that plumbs the depths of our hearts and souls, and cast an ineffable nostalgia on these games of love and chance" (Opera Online): the same subtly haunting emotions that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau never stopped exploring his whole life long.