GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Barber of Seville, The [Il barbiere di Siviglia] complete studio recording of the opera recorded in 1972 Teresa Berganza, Luigi Alva, Hermann Prey, Enzo Dara / Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala, Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 21/Jun/2005 ] In the 1970s, the era from which this production emanates, the director Jean Pierre Ponnelle was reaching the height of his powers. In his 1972 production at Milan's La Scala, Ponnelle designed a realistic set that still feels fresh. |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Prokofiev: Betrothal in a Monastery (complete opera) Kirov Opera & Ballet / Anna Netrebko, Larissa Diadkova, Nikolai Gassiev, Aleksander Gergalov / Valery Gergiev (conductor) [ Philips DVD / DVD - released 5/Jan/2006 ] 'The lively Kirov production.is a delight. What is most remarkable is the overall quality and consistency of the cast. Anna Netrebko was splendid as Louisa, singing with limpid, agile tone.' New York Times |
WAGNER / BERNSTEIN / MOZART / VERDI / TRADITIONAL / etc
Bryn Terfel - Live in Concert - Songs and Arias Bryn Terfel (baritone) / Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland, Edo de Waart [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 1/Jun/2002 ] "An undemanding popular concert with something for everybody - splendidly performed and brilliantly recorded. Recommended." MusicWeb |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 2002 at the Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin) Dorothea Roschmann, Katharina Kammerloher, Hanno Muller-Brachmann, Werner Gura / Daniel Barenboim (cond) [ TDK/Euroarts DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Nov/2008 ] "It is very well performed. All the singers are on good form, and work well together in this most ensemble-based of Mozart operas. The picture quality and sound quality are both excellent, and there are loads of index points." (MusicWeb) |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 2006) Glyndebourne Opera / Topi Lehtipuu, Luca Pisaroni, Miah Persson, Anke Vondung / Ivan Fischer (conductor) [ Opus Arte / Rai Trade DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/May/2007 ] 'I had to search long and hard down memory lane to recall a Così that so vividly revealed both the pleasure and the overwhelming pain of this evermore disturbing masterpiece, and I failed.' Opera |
RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (R.): Der Rosenkavalier (the complete opera recorded in 1994) Felicity Lott, Anne Sofie Von Otter, Barbara Bonney, Kurt Moll / Carlos Kleiber (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 16/Aug/2004 ] "Lightly Handled, well-played Strauss. Strongly recommended." -Gramophone June 2001 |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Don Giovanni... The definitive film edition of Mozart's classic opera! (filmed in 1979 and now remastered & restored) Kiri te Kanawa, Edda Moser, Teresa Berganza, Jose van Dam, Ruggero Raimondi, Lorin Maazel (conductor) [ Second Sight /Gammont DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2011 ] Filmed on location in picturesque Vincenza, Italy, the operatic masterpiece Don Giovanni is beautifully translated to film by director Joseph Losey. Now restored and remastered. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Ernani (complete opera recorded in 1983) Metropolitan Opera / Luciano Pavarotti, Leona Mitchell, Sherrill Milnes / James Levine (cond) [ Decca DVD / DVD - released 18/Jan/2008 ] " Mr. Pavarotti gave a splendid full-throated performance... He was also a sensitive partner in the many ensemble numbers... Miss Mitchell filled the house gloriously... " New York Times |
TCHAIKOVSKY / ADAM / MINKUS / SAINT-SAENS / DVORAK / STRAVINSKY
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Essential Ballet - Kirov at Coven Garden & Gala Performance in Red Square Kirov Ballet & Orchestra, conducted by Viktor Fedotv & Valery Gergiev [ Philips DVD / DVD - released 20/Sep/2003 ] Features the Kirov Orchestra and the Moscow radio Symphony Orchestra |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: The Essential Mozart [5 DVD set] Gil Shaham / Sharon Kam / Sandrine Piau / Dorothea Roschmann / Daniel Barenboim / and more [ EuroArts DVD / 5 DVD Box Set - released 10/Oct/2011 ] MediciArts offers a DVD box full of the most sparkling of Mozart's compositions. Performed by instrumentalists, orchestras, conductors and singers, among the best interpreters of his works, this representative selection... |
CHARLES GOUNOD
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Gounod: Faust (complete opera directed by Ken Russell in 1985) Vienna State Opera / Gabriela Benackova, Francisco Araiza, Ruggero Raimondi / Erich Binder (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 23/Jun/2006 ] Gounod's crowning achievement Faust, first staged in 1859 at the Lyric Theatre in Paris, is a conflict of good and evil, love and hate. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: Guillaume Tell [William Tell] (complete opera recorded in 2013) Teatro Comunale di Bologna / Nicola Alaima, Marina Rebeka, Juan Diego Flórez, Amanda Forsythe / Michele Mariotti (cond) [ Decca Music Group DVD / 2 DVD - released 15/Apr/2015 ] At last the undisputed Rossini tenor par excellence, Juan Diego Florez makes his debut in the hugely demanding role of Arnold in 'Guillaume Tell' and "masters his part with seemingly effortless perfection" (Die Presse). |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: I vespri Siciliani (complete opera recorded in 1990) La Scala Opera / Giorgio Zancanaro, Enzo Capuano, Chris Merritt, Cheryl Studer / Riccardo Muti (cond) [ Opus Arte / Rai Trade / La Scala Collection DVD / DVD - released 25/Dec/2015 ] Verdi's 1855 Paris opera which followed Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La Traviata is treated to a performance of blazing energy and intimate refinement with a superb cast which includes Cheryl Studer and Chris Merritt. |
ITZHAK PERLMAN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Itzhak Perlman - Virtuoso Violinist Itzhak Perlman (violin) with Pinchas Zukerman and many more [ Allegro Films DVD / DVD - released 12/Jul/2008 ] G : - "Doing what television does best, BBC2's superb Perlman triptych - two concerts sandwiching an intimate you-are-there documentary - took us as close as it is decent and proper to go into the unexplained world of genius." - Daily Mail |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Rossini: La Cenerentola (complete opera.recorded in 1981) Teatro alla Scala / Frederica von Stade, Margherita Guglielmi, Laura Zannini, Francisco Araiza, Claudio Desderi, Paolo Montarsolo / Claudio Abbado [ Deutsche Grammophon / Unitel DVD / DVD - released 8/Nov/2005 ] Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's staging of this classic fairy tale, originally created for the San Francisco Opera in 1969, has been one of the most successful opera stagings of the 20th century |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust (The Damnation of Faust) - From the Royal Albert Hall 1989 Anne Sofie Von Otter, Keith Lewis, Jose Van Dam, Peter Rose / The Chicago Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti [ AWD DVD / DVD - released 20/Jan/2006 ] Sir Georg Solti conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a magnificent performance of Berlioz's concert cantata. |
VINCENZO BELLINI
Bellini: La Sonnambula (the complete opera, recorded in 2009) Metropolitan Opera / Juan Diego Florez, Natalie Dessay, Michele Pertusi / Evelino Pido (conductor) [ Decca Music Group DVD / DVD - released 11/Mar/2010 ] G:- "[The rehearsal conceit] may sound like a straight thumbs-down. But it works....almost without knowing it, one is drawn into the work itself, rejoicing in the power of song...Juan Diego Flórez has an abundance of all that is required and enjoys a... |
LUDWIG van BEETHOVEN
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Beethoven: The Last Three Piano Sonatas: Opus 109, 110 and 111 Michael Houstoun (piano) [ Trust Records DVD / DVD - released 1/Dec/2009 ] 'Whatever Houstoun plays is superb, but to hear him in Beethoven is to hear him at his best.' Christchurch Star |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (complete opera directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Recorded in 1976) Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau / Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Mirella Freni, Hermann Prey, Maria Ewing / Vienna Philharmonic / Karl Bohm [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 2/Jun/2005 ] "a visual treat, but having some solos delivered as interior monologues is distracting" Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Mozart: Le Nozze Di Figaro [The Marriage Of Figaro] (Complete Opera recorded in 1994) Glyndebourne Opera / Gerald Finley, Alison Hagley, Renee Fleming / Bernard Haitink (conductor) [ Warner Music Vision DVD / DVD - released 10/Sep/2009 ] "Pure magic….Bernard Haitink conducted the LPO in an eloquent performance, beautifully played…….One listened, as Haitink, Hagley, and Finley lifted a loving, carefully prepared performance to greatness" Opera Magazine |