GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (complete opera recorded live August 2002) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Anne Sofie von Otter, Laurent Naouri, Marcus Haddock, Lisa Milne / Philippe Jordan (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Dec/2008 ] Blu-Ray - - "(Von Otter's) Carmen has loads of overt sexuality - she languidly glides through the Habanera while sucking on a piece of fruit and then a cigar - and she shows plenty of temperament and fatalism tinged with fear later." (Los Angeles Times) |
GIOACCHINIO ROSSINI
Rossini: La Cenerentola [Cinderella] (complete opera directed by Peter Hall in 2005) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Raquela Sheeran / Lucia Cirillo / Ruxandra Donose / Nathan Berg / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2008 ] DVD Blu-Ray - "The BD disc offers an excellent reproduction of the "live" experience that will surely warm the hearts of those who cannot make it to the opera house often enough." (Blu-Ray.com) |
DUKAS
Dukas: Ariane et Barbe-Bleue (Recorded live at Gran Teatre del Liceu, June & July 2011) BLU-RAY Gran Teatre del Liceu / José van Dam, Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet / Stéphane Denève (conductor) & Claus Guth (director) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2013 ] Stéphane Denève is universally acclaimed for his interpretation of French repertoire. |
GUSTAV MAHLER
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 / Ruckert-Lieder [recorded in August 2009] BLU-RAY Magdalena Kozena (mezzo-soprano) / Lucerne Festival Orchestra / Claudio Abbado [ Euroarts BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Nov/2010 ] Abbado combines the orchestral work (which features a solo soprano in the finale) with Mahler's "Rückert-Lieder". Soloist in both works is the Czech soprano Magdalena Kozena. |
JONATHAN DOVE
Dove: The Adventures of Pinocchio (Complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Opera North / Victoria Simmonds, Jonathan Summers, Mary Plazas, Rebecca Bottone / David Parry, conductor [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Apr/2009 ] "Plaudits should also go to the chorus, whose scenes are always visually and sonically spectacular, while the stunning surround sound of the DVD capturing every detail of Opera North's bold undertaking." (BBC Music Five Stars) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in 2001) BLU-RAY Teatro alla Scala / Plácido Domingo, Barbara Frittoli, Leo Nucci /Riccardo Muti (conductor) [ Arthaus Legendary Performances BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jul/2015 ] The cylindrical uniform stage set by Ezio Frigerio emphasised the hopeless consequence of the tragedy, as did the Orchestra della Scala, which, under the baton of Riccardo Muti, never sacrificed the dark, disturbing elements of the score. |
TCHAIKOVSKY
The Nutcracker, Op. 71 (complete ballet recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY San Francisco Ballet / Damian Smith / Elizabeth Powell / David Karapetyan / Martin West (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] 'The opulent new version of the seasonal classic, launched spectacularly by the San Francisco Ballet, is every parent's dream of a holiday treat. It looks scrumptious, tastes delicious, offers substantial nourishment and won't cause cavities.' San... |
MUSSORGSKY / PROKOFIEV / STRAVINSKY
Salzburg Festival 2012 Opening Concert BLU-RAY Sergei Semishkur (tenor) / Wiener Philharmoniker [Vienna Philharmonic], Valery Gergiev [ EuroArts / Unitel Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Feb/2014 ] "the Philharmonic - and particularly the Vienna State Opera Chorus - render Stravinsky's Psalms with biting urgency, with rhythm and transparency of sound effectively replacing their usual lushness." (Gramophone) |
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI
Pergolesi: Adriano in Siria (Complete opera recorded live in 2011) BLU-RAY Teatro Comunale Pergolesi / Marina Comparato, Lucia Cirillo, Annamaria Dell'Oste / Ottavio Dantone (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Apr/2012 ] "Top marks go to conductor and director for giving the music space to breathe. The vocal cast is almost uniformly brilliant. Dell'Oste is in a class of her own: she turns coloratura into eloquent, heart-rending declarations" (BBC Music) |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
La Favorite (Complete opera recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse / Kate Aldrich, Yijie Shi, Ludovic Tézier / Antonello Allemandi (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/May/2015 ] One of the composer's most beguiling scores, La Favorite is Donizetti's La favorita in its original French form - a tale of love and war that represents a glorious mix of Italian bel canto and 19th century grand opera. Today's scholarly interest... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Simon Boccanegra (complete recorded in 2002) BLU-RAY Vienna State Opera / Thomas Hampson, Cristina Gallardo-Domas, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Miroslav Dvorský / Daniele Gatti (cond) [ Arthaus Legendary Performances Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Oct/2015 ] Arthaus presents a "visually alert, musically sensitive and disturbingly coherent" (The Standard) production of Simon Boccanegra on Blu-ray, one of Verdi's lesser known works yet regarded by many opera lovers as one of his finest. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Le Comte Ory (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Zurich Opera / Cecilia Bartoli, Javier Camarena, Rebecca Olvera, Carlos Chausson / Muhai Tang (cond) [ Decca Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 7/Mar/2014 ] "Musical standards are high, with Tang and the orchestra bouncing the score merrily along. Bartoli sends herself up...vocally, she is in more consistent voice than on some recent recordings" (BBC Music) |
RAVEL / DUTILLEUX / DELAGE
Ravel, Dutilleux, Delage BLU-RAY / DVD Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra, Leonidas Kavakos, Julia Bullock [ LSO Blu-ray + DVD / Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 27/Oct/2017 ] "Rich sound and crystalline picture quality make this an enjoyable viewing experience." Gramophone |
PIERRE RODE
Rode: Violin Concertos Nos. 3, 4 & 6 Friedemann Eichhorn (violin) / Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, Nicolás Pasquet [ Naxos / CD - released 1/Nov/2011 ] "These three concertos, all first recordings, are minor masterpieces of their time and place. Though highly taxing for the soloist - even if Friedemann Eichhorn does not let it show - they are hugely entertaining and satisfying for the listener."... |
W. A. MOZART arranged HUMMEL
Mozart/Hummel: Piano Concertos (No 10 KV365 & No 24 KV491) (Arr Hummel) Fumiko Shiraga (piano) Henrik Wiese (flute) Peter Clemente (violin) Tibor Banyi (cello) [ BIS / CD - released 1/Nov/2004 ] In a series BIS loosely calls 'Concertos in Disguise' Fumiko Shiraga continues to offer strikingly novel and interesting versions of well-known piano concertos in chamber arrangements. |
JACEK SZYMANOWSKI
Szymanowski: Litany to the Virgin Mary / Stabat Mater / Symphony No. 3 'Song of the Night' Aleksandra Kurzak (soprano) Agnieszka Rehlis (mezzo) Dmitry Korchak (tenor) Artur RuciĆski (bar) / Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Jacek Kaspsz [ Warner Classics / CD - released 25/Sep/2017 ] "This huge ensemble is captured in brilliant sound - essential for appreciating the composer's luxuriantly detailed soundworld...[in the Stabat Mater] Kaspszyk ensures that everything is balanced between introversion and dramatic impact" BBC Music |
MODEST MUSSORGSKY / PYOTR TCHAIKOVSKY
Galina Vishnevskaya sings Russian Songs Galina Vishnevskaya (soprano) & Mstislav Rostropovich (piano) [ Decca SBS Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/Nov/2019 ] "Intensity is the keynote of these performances. Mme. Vishnevskaya has a rich dramatic voice of characteristically Slavonic timbre, highly charged emotionally..she is invaluably aided by accompaniments of infinite sensibility by her husband" Gramopho |
SCHUBERT
Winterreise D911 Gerald Finley (baritone) & Julius Drake (piano) [ Hyperion / CD - released 25/Feb/2014 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD NOMINATION 2014 |
J. S. BACH
Bach: St John Passion Gerd Turk, Yoshikazu Mera, Ingrid Schmithusen, Makoto Sakurada, Chiyuki Urano, Peter Kooij / Bach Collegium Japan, Masaaki Suzuki [ BIS / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/1999 ] "What more can I say, other than that I found myself drawn into the drama from the start, at the same time finding much that struck me as fresh in matters of interpretation, and tonality of great beauty. …this is a major recording event, and an emine |
J. S. BACH
Bach: Cantatas For Bass Matthias Goerne (baritone), Freiburger Barockorchester, Gottfried von der Goltz [ Harmonia Mundi / CD - released 25/Aug/2017 ] "Freiburg Baroque are at the top of their game: lithe, shapely, tuneful...And the singing? Matthias Goerne is all breath and vowels and gravel and intensity." The Guardian, 17th August 2017 *** |