GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Donizetti: Don Pasquale (complete opera recorded in 2019)) Royal Opera / Bryn Terfel, Ioan Hotea, Markus Werba, Olga Peretyatko / Evelino Pidò (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 29/Sep/2023 ] "Terfel sounds wonderful, singing with handsomely focused tone and brings considerable panache to his duet with Werba, which is denied its traditional encore here. In the pit, Evelino Pidò conducts with admirable precision and grace." (Guardian). |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele New Zealand Opera Chorus, Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir, New Zealand Opera Baroque Orchestra, Peter Walls [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 21/Jul/2023 ] "Amitai Pati is the pick of the bunch. The Samoan tenor is an outstanding Jupiter, bright-toned and fullvoiced, lyrical lines anchored by enough weight to make this reluctant smiter believable as both lover and thug." Gramophone |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Rigoletto (complete opera) Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Marcelo Alvarez, Lisette Oropesa, Blaise Malaba, Liparit Avetisyan / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 18/Nov/2022 ] Director Oliver Mears makes his Royal Opera debut with his 'thrilling new production' (The Times ★★★★), which frames Verdi's masterpiece as a modern morality play, pitting power against innocence in a decadent world of corruption and social decay. |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (complete opera) Furio Zanasi, Lucile Richardot, Krystian Adam, Hana Blažiková, Gianluca Burrato / Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardiner [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 22/Apr/2022 ] Claudio Monteverdi was a pioneer in the origins and development of opera, taking vocal music beyond Renaissance polyphony and entering a modern era in which genuine feelings and emotions are expressed through a wide variety of characters. Part of a... |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: L'incoronazione di Poppea (complete opera) Hana Blažiková, Kangmin Justin Kim, Carlo Vistoli, Gianluca Buratto, Lucile Richardot / Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, John Eliot Gardine [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 22/Apr/2022 ] "A crowning glory, you might say, to Gardiner's half century association with Monteverdi" (TheTimes Five Stars) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) (complete opera recorded in 2021) Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Mauro Peter, Siobhan Stagg, Roderick Williams, Sabine Devieilhe, Mika Kares / Julia Jones (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 26/Nov/2021 ] "This spirited performance, with good video direction by Jonathan Haswell, will give a great deal of pleasure." Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 2010) The Royal Opera / Pavol Breslik, Stephane Degout, Thomas Allen, Rebecca Evans / Thomas Hengelbrock (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Sep/2021 ] "It's a wry take on the opera, Miller emphasising that the plot is not so much about testing the fiancées' faithfulness, but an adventure in self-discovery" Gramophone |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (complete opera) Glyndebourne Opera / David Portillo, Sofia Fomina, Björn Bürger, Brindley Sherratt / Ryan Wigglesworth [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 15/May/2020 ] Celebrated Canadian directing duo Barbe & Doucet make both their British and Glyndebourne debuts here with their new Die Zauberflöte, a veritable "theatrical feast of eccentricity." (The Guardian). |
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?" |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Idomeneo (complete opera) Teatro Real Madrid / Eric Cutler, David Portillo, Annett Fritsch, Eleonora Buratto / Ivor Bolton (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/May/2020 ] "Mozart's third venture into the "opera seria" genre, demolished its traditional boundaries to open the way to lyric drama. Blending youthful earnestness with mature mastery, Mozart uses - while profoundly changing - the elements of a genre based on... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (recorded live Covent Garden in 2019) Royal Opera / Ermonela Jaho, Charles Castronovo, Placido Domingo / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Antonello Manacorda [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 10/Sep/2019 ] Verdi based La traviata on Alexandre Dumas fils's novel and play La Dame aux camélias, inspired by the life and death of the real Parisian courtesan Marie Duplessis. One of the most popular of all operas, the 2018/2019 season featured 151 productions... |
BRETT DEAN
Dean: Hamlet (Complete opera recorded in 2018) Glyndebourne Opera / Allan Clayton, Sarah Connolly, Barbara Hannigan, Rod Gilfry / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Jun/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 WINNER - Contemporary |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: The Da Ponte Operas [The Marriage of Figaro / Don Giovanni / Cosi fan Tutte] (complete operas recorded in 2006 - 2016) The Royal Opera / Erwin Schrott, Miah Persson, Gerald Finley, Dorothea Roschmann, Jonathan Veira, Philip Langridge, Mariusz Kwiecien, etc [ OPUS ARTE DVD / 4 DVD Box Set - released 1/Sep/2018 ] "…so accomplished a cast, in which Gerald Finley's Count, Miah Persson's Susanna and Rinat Shaham's Cherubino stand out as ideal." (BBC Music on The Marriage Of Figaro) |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (recorded live Covent Garden in 2018) Royal Opera / Michael Fabiano (Rodolfo), Nicole Car, Mariusz Kwiecien, Nadine Sierra, Florian Sempey / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Sep/2018 ] A penniless poet, a young seamstress, and a lost key: Puccini's passionate opera tells the story of a captivating romance set against the background of 19th-century Paris. The luscious score, with its soaring melodies and rich orchestration, brings... |
TCHAIKOVSKY / ADAM / DELIBES / VERDI / MOZART / PUCCINI / etc
An Evening with the Royal Ballet & Royal Opera The Royal Opera & Ballet / Carlos Acosta, Alina Cojocaru, Marianela Nunez, Darcey Bussell, Miah Persson, Jonas Kaufmann, Sarah Connolly, Diana Damrau [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD Box Set - released 13/Mar/2018 ] Take a seat in the stalls at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, for an unforgettable evening of ballet and opera highlights performed by world-renowned stars of The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet past and present. This special two-DVD set... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Glyndebourne Box - Mozart: Così fan tutte / Die Entführung aus dem Serail / Le nozze di Figaro Glyndebourne Opera / Sally Matthews, Edgaras Montvidas, Tobias Kehrer, Mari Eriksmoen, Miah Persson, Anke Vondung, Ainhoa Garmendia [ Opus Arte DVD / 5 DVD Box Set - released 23/Feb/2018 ] These three facets in the prism of Mozart's operatic genius shine in Glyndebourne's typically thought-provoking productions, featuring skilled singer-actors buoyed by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment's luminous period sound. |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (Complete opera recorded in 2016) Glyndebourne Opera / Alessandro Corbelli, Danielle de Niese, Björn Bürger, Taylor Stayton / Enrique Mazzola (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Oct/2017 ] "High-flying American tenor Taylor Stayton proves vocally agile and dramatically vital as Count Almaviva, with Danielle de Niese an entrancing Rosina" BBC Music |
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Berlioz: Béatrice et Bénédict (complete opera recorded in 2016) Glyndebourne Opera / Stéphanie d'Oustrac, Paul Appleby, Philippe Sly, Sophie Karthäuser, Lionel Lhote / Antonello Manacorda (cond) [ Opus Arte / BBC DVD / DVD - released 15/Aug/2017 ] "This is Pellyland, a deeply satisfying comic world with its own style conjured up for Glyndebourne by one of the most assured opera directors at work today" Five Stars BBC Music Opera Choice Sept 2017 |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia (recorded live Covent Garden in 1980) Royal Opera House / Joan Sutherland, Alfredo Kraus, Anne Howells, Stafford Dean / Richard Bonynge (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 15/Jul/2017 ] "Fleet, if not polished...Sutherland tackles the title role with her usual attributes of a voice of considerable size, extention and pinpoint agility, no acting skills but a grand presence" Opera Now |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Un ballo in maschera (recorded live Covent Garden in 1975) Royal Opera House / Placido Domingo, Piero Cappuccilli, Katia Ricciarelli, Elizabeth Bainbridge / Claudio Abbado (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 15/Jul/2017 ] [Domingo] is enjoying himself as a devil-may-care ruler with a twinkle in both eye and voice...[Cappuccilli] offers a masterclass in what we really mean by 'Verdi baritone'." Gramophone Magazine |