Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Phil’s 2010 gala concert coming to DVD in December

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As part of its ongoing efforts to make Gustavo Dudamel available to fans on a number of digital platforms, the Los Angeles Philharmonic said that a DVD of its October gala concert will be released on Dec. 14 in the U.S. (and Nov. 26 outside the U.S.) by Deutsche Grammophon. The audio of the concert, which was recorded at Walt Disney Concert Hall, is available for download from iTunes starting Monday.

The Oct. 7 concert -- titled ‘Celebración: 2010 Opening Night Concert’ -- featured Dudamel conducting the L.A. Philharmonic, with tenor Juan Diego Flórez. The program included overtures and arias by Rossini in addition to songs by notable Latin American artists. Flórez performed two encores: Donizetti’s ‘Ah! Mes amis’ and Verdi’s ‘La donne e mobile.’

This marks the second time that the L.A. Philharmonic is releasing a Dudamel-conducted season-opening gala on DVD. The orchestra released its 2009 season opener, featuring John Adam’s ‘City Noir’ and Mahler’s First Symphony, on DVD in late 2009.

The 2010 concert is scheduled to air on PBS on Dec. 29 as part of the series ‘Great Performances.’ Actress Eva Mendes, who attended the gala evening, will host the broadcast.

In his review of the concert, Times music critic Mark Swed wrote that Dudamel rode ‘Rossini’s crescendos like a surfer on an epic wave’ during the overture to ‘Semiramide’ and that the ‘orchestra sparkled.’ Flórez, in his interpretations of Rossini, ‘effortlessly negotiated fluid ornamentation, blending ardor and elegance.’ Dudamel will be coming to movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada in 2011 as part of a new initative by the L.A. Phil. The orchestra will transmit live performances of three of its concerts to more than 450 high-definition-equipped movie theaters beginning in January.

-- David Ng

órez, performing at the gala concert at Disney Hall in October. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

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