W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (complete opera) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / David Portillo, Sofia Fomina, Björn Bürger, Brindley Sherratt / Ryan Wigglesworth [ Opus Arte DVD / Blu-ray - released 15/May/2020 ] "In the first half, André Barbe's exquisitely drawn and then enlarged interiors magic the eye, and the cut-out guests that people the hotel are a delight...is there a more satisfying Sarastro around at present than the magnificent Brindley Sherratt?" |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Swan Lake (Complete ballet choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev recorded in 2005) Paris Opera Ballet / Agnes Letestu / Jose Martinez / Karl Paquette / Muriel Halle / Velo Pahn (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / Blu-ray - released 7/Feb/2007 ] '…their [Agnès Letestu & José Martinez] dancing was sensational, and Letestu in particular was magnificent. She was soft, lyrical yet aristocratic as Odette, as befits her slender, long-limbed body and her mime scene was of intense beauty. … Letestu... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI / W. A. MOZART
Operas - Aida / I Due Foscari / Die Zauberflote / Le Nozze di Figaro / Die Entfuhrung] (complete operas recorded 2015 - 2019) Teatro alla Scala / Anita Rachvelishvili, George Gagnidze, Placido Domingo, Anna Pirozzi, Martin Summer, Yasmin Ozkan, Carlos Alvarez, Diana Damaru [ C Major DVD / 8 Blu-ray Box Set - released 20/Aug/2021 ] FIVE OUTSTANDING OPERAS FROM THE LEGENDARY TEATRO ALLA SCALA: ON BLU-RAY |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore (complete opera recorded in 2012) BLU-RAY Baden-Baden Festspielhaus / Miah Persson, Rolando Villazon, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Roman Trekel / Pablo Heras-Casado (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2014 ] "Villazon's Nemorino...comes across as individual, hyperactive, zany, but also a bit petulant and unlovable...Persson exudes easy-going charm...[d'Arcangelo] sings with fine, Italianate comic energy." (Gramophone) |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Tannhäuser (complete opera recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Bayreuther Festspiele / Torsten Kerl, Camilla Nylund, Markus Eiche, Michelle Breedt / Axel Kobe (conductor) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Sep/2015 ] "Camilla Nylund's Elisabeth has a range of novel emotions to convey, including humour and sexual interest...Question marks begin with the staging" Gramophone |
Dream Theater
Breaking The Fourth Wall (Live From The Boston Opera House BLU-RAY) [ Roadrunner / Blu-ray Disc - released 26/Sep/2014 ] Progressive metal titans Dream Theater release BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL (LIVE FROM THE BOSTON OPERA HOUSE), a live DVD set of the band's one-of-a-kind performance from the Boston Opera House on March 25, 2014. BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL (LIVE FROM... |
PUCCINI
La Fanciulla del West [The Girl of the Golden West] (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Eva-Maria Westbroek / Lucio Gallo / Zoran Todorovich / Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera / Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra / Carlo Rizzi [ Opus Arte DVD / Blu-ray Disc - released 19/Dec/2010 ] "From her first entrance...Westbroek is captivating. She boasts the wonderfully meaty instrument required for Minnie (especially in the all-important middle voice), plus the right wholesome, strawberry-blonde appearance" (International Record Review) |
Joe Bonamassa
An Acoustic Evening at the Vienna Opera House [ J&R Adventures / Blu-ray Disc - released 5/Apr/2013 ] Hailed worldwide as one of the greatest guitar players of his generation, Joe Bonamassa has almost single-handedly redefined the blues-rock genre and brought it into the mainstream. He continues this role with his first-ever entirely acoustic... |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Die Frau Ohne Schatten (Complete opera recorded in 2011) Mariinsky Theatre / Avgust Amonov, Mlada Khudoley, Olga Savova, Edem Umerov / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Mariinsky DVD / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Nov/2013 ] In October 2013, the Mariinsky label releases a DVD & Blu-ray of Strauss' most Wagnerian of operas, Die Frau ohne Schatten. Filmed in the historic Mariinsky Theatre in 2011, it stars Russian tenor Avgust Amonov as The Emperor, Mlada Khudoley as The... |
VERDI
Falstaff (complete opera recorded in December 2013) BLU-RAY Metropolitan Opera / Ambrogio Maestri, Angela Meade, Franco Vassallo, Lisette Oropesa, Paolo Fanale / James Levine (cond) [ Decca Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2015 ] Verdi's brilliant final masterpiece Falstaff, in its first new Met production in 50 years -- and conducted by Met Music Director James Levine in his first new production since his return to his podium at the Met. |
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. |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Florez, Pietro Spagnoli, Ferruccio Furlanetto / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Nov/2015 ] "The Royal Opera's cheerful and colourful new production of Rossini's most popular work is a copper- bottomed hit." The Daily Telegraph |
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
Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore (complete opera recorded in 2005) BLU-RAY Vienna State Opera / Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazón, Leo Nucci, Ildebrando D´Arcangelo / Alfred Eschwé (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Nov/2015 ] Theatrical magic between Rolando Villazón and Anna Netrebko in Donizetti's delightful and ever-popular comedy L'elisir d'amore |
GEORGES BIZET
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Bizet: Carmen (complete Franco Zeffirelli production recorded in 1978) Vienna State Opera / Placido Domingo, Elena Obraztsova, Isobel Buchanan, Yuri Mazurok, Isobel Buchanan / Carlos Kleiber (cond) [ Arthaus DVD / Blu-ray Disc - released 12/Jul/2004 ] The Vienna Carmen from 1978 is a sensational filmed document from the musical legacy of Carlos Kleiber: the meticulous conductor only ever conducted a highly selected repertoire, and among his very few audio and video recordings are only seven... |
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) |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer [The Flying Dutchman] (Complete opera recorded in 2021) BLU-RAY & DVD Bayreuth Festival / John Lundgren, Georg Zeppenfeld, Asmik Grigorian, Attilio Glaser / Oksana Lyniv (conductor) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 20/Apr/2024 ] "Lyniv's conducting is superb in terms of pacing and tonal weight and balance...Grigorian and Zeppenfeld sing as fluently and fearlessly as they act." Gramophone Magazine September 2022 Blu-ray of the Month |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo (complete opera recorded in 2015) DVD + Blu-ray Theatre de Caen / Cyril Auvity, Hannah Morrison, Paul Agnew / Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew [ Harmonia Mundi DVD + Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 1/Dec/2017 ] "Cyril Auvity's tremulous and emphatic singing of the title-role has unstinting dramatic commitment: the shadowy silhouettes of the obbligato instrumentalists in 'Possente spirto' appear as if the underworld is conjured to do Orfeo's bidding)." |