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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (complete opera recorded in 2010) Netherlands Opera / Juha Uusitalo, Robert Lloyd, Catherine Naglestad, Marco Jentzsch / Harmut Haenchen (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 30/Jun/2011 ] "It never feels rushed but it does feel inexorable, with the orchestra playing with amazing transparency: one can hear Wagner's genius creating and growing....Haenchen manages Wagner's awkward mood/tempo changes as if they were organic." I.R.R. |
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TOSHIO HOSOKAWA
Toshio Hosokawa: Stilles Meer (Silent Sea) [Complete opera recorded in 2016] Hamburg State Opera / Susanne Elmar, Mihoko Fujimura, Bejun Mehta, Viktor Rud, Marek Gasztecki / Kent Nagano (cond) [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 1/Oct/2017 ] Statement by Toshio Hosokawa: My fourth opera, Stilles Meer, was commissioned by the Hamburg State Opera. The text on which the work is based was written by Oriza Hirata, and the resulting libretto by Hannah Dübgen - who was also the librettist for... |
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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 |
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JAROMIR WEINBERGER
Weinberger: Frühlingsstürme [complete operetta recorded in 2020] Komische Oper Berlin / Stefan Kurt, Alma Sade, Vera-Lotte Boecker / Jordan de Souza (cond) [ Naxos DVD / 2 DVD - released 6/Nov/2020 ] Czech-born composer Jaromír Weinberger, best known for his opera Schwanda the Bagpiper, was forced to flee to America in order to escape Nazi terror. Frühlingsstürme was first staged in 1933. |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Il Trovatore (complete opera recorded in 2012) La Monnaie de Munt / Misha Didyk, Marina Poplavskaya, Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo, Scott Hendricks / Marc Minkowski (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / DVD - released 20/Dec/2014 ] Stage Direction, Set Design, Costumes: Dmitri Tcherniakov After the success of 'Rigoletto', Verdi called on librettist Salvadore Cammarano in 1851 for his new opera 'Il Trovatore', based on the eponymous play by Spanish playwright Antonio García... |
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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. |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Forza Del Destino (The Force of Destiny) - the complete opera. Metropolitan Opera / Leontyne Price, Giuseppe Giacomini, Leo Nucci, Bonaldo Giaiotti, Isola Jones, Enrico Fissore / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 13/Oct/2005 ] "Who could begin to challenge the quality of (Leontyne Price's) singing even at this late stage of her career? For the occasion, and the tribute to one of the greatest Verdi singers of our time, this performance is recommended." (MusicWeb Jan 2006) |
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GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (DVD + Blu-ray) l'Opera de Rouen Normandie / Deepa Johnny, Stanislas de Barbeyrac, Nicolas Courjal, Iulia Maria Dan / Ben Glassberg [ Bru Zane DVD & Blu-ray / 2 Multi-Format Box Set - released 8/Apr/2025 ] Carmen, the most famous heroine of Romantic opera, has never been so moving and rebellious as in the historical staging of 1875, whose flamboyant Spanishry is brought back to life here with the help of unpublished archive material. -... |
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KURT WEILL
Weill: Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (complete opera recorded in 2007) Los Angeles Opera / Audra Mc Donald / Patti Lupone / Anthony Dean / James Colon (cond) [ Euroarts DVD / DVD - released 8/Feb/2008 ] G - Recorded live at Los Angeles Opera, 1 and 4 March 2007 |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele (complete opera recorded in 2019) Louise Alder, Hugo Hymas, Lucile Richardot / Monteverdi Choir, English Baroque Soloists, Sir John Eliot Gardiner [ EuroArts DVD / DVD - released 29/Jan/2021 ] In Spring 2019, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, led by John Eliot Gardiner, presented a critically-acclaimed European tour of Handel's opera 'Semele', including Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, where this live recording took... |
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FRANCESCO CAVALLI
Cavalli: Ercole Amante (complete opera recorded in 2009) Netherlands Opera / Luca Pisaroni / Veronica Cangemi / Concerto Koln / Ivor Bolton [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Sep/2010 ] "This is a ravishing production in every department - scenery, stage effects, costumes, dancing, acting and music." (BBC Music) |
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JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein (complete operetta recorded in 2005) Les Musiciens du Louvre / Felicity Lott, Sandrine Piau, Yann Beuron, Franck Leguérinel, Eric Huchet / Marc Minkowski (cond) [ Erato DVD / 2 DVD - released 6/Dec/2005 ] Best Opera Recording went to Offenbach's 'La Grande Duchesse De Gerolstein' in 2005's Diapason d'Or Awards held in Paris. |
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RODION SHCHEDRIN
Shchedrin: The Left-Hander (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY & DVD Mariinsky Theatre / Andrei Popov, Edward Tsanga, Vladimir Moroz, Kristina Alieva / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Mariinsky Blu-Ray + DVD / 2 Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 15/Jul/2016 ] ANNA MATISON: FILM DIRECTOR ALEXANDER ORLOV: SET DESIGNER IRINA CHEREDNIKOVA: COSTUME DESIGNER ALEXANDER SIVAEV: LIGHTING DESIGNER Specially written for Gergiev on the occasion of his 60th birthday, Rodion Shchedrin's 'The Left-Hander' is... |
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SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Semyon Kotko, Op. 81 (Complete opera filmed at Mariinsky II, St Petersburg 2013) BLU-RAY/DVD Mariinsky Theatre / Gennadi Bezzubenkov, Viktor Lutsyuk, Tatiana Pavlovskaya, Varvara Solovyova / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Mariinsky DVD + Blu-Ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 20/Sep/2016 ] "Valery Gergiev is a born Prokofiev interpreter" The Guardian |
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GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: La Cenerentola [Cinderella] (complete opera recorded in 2009) Metropolitan Opera / Elina Garanca, Lawrence Brownlee, Simone Alberghini / Maurizio Benini (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / 2 DVD - released 12/Dec/2014 ] "Garanca is something special. The voice, pure, warm, ample in power and range, she has achieved a mastery in Rossini's florid style, using no quick fixes...Benini's conducting is sure in its feeling for wit and elegance, and the orchestra respond" |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera (complete opera recorded in 1991) Metropolitan Opera / Luciano Pavarotti, Leo Nucci, April Millo, Florence Quivar / James Levine (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 30/May/2008 ] "The best justification for buying this issue is to see and hear Pavarotti nearer to his vocal peak in a role which his strong lyric voice and clear diction is ideally suited" (MusicWeb) |
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PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (complete opera recorded in 2007) Metropolitan Opera / Renee Fleming, Elena Zaremba, Ramon Vargas, Dmitri Hvorostovsky / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Decca DVD / 2 DVD - released 28/Feb/2008 ] 'Miss Fleming's sympathetic, exquisitely sung Tatiana was a major achievement.' The New York Times |
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PHILIP GLASS
Glass: Satyagraha (complete opera recorded in 2011) Metropolitan Opera / Richard Croft, Rachelle Durkin, Kim Josephson, Alfred Walker / Dante Anzolini (cond) [ Orange Mountain Music DVD / DVD - released 10/Dec/2021 ] "The cast is on the mark both vocally and physically…this release is especially recommended as a starting point to Glass's world of music theatre." Gramophone |
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RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 1999) Netherlands Opera / John Keyes, Nadine Secunde, John Brocheler, Jeannine Altmeyer, Kurt Rydi, Reinhild Runkel / Harmut Haenchen (cond) [ Opus Arte Essential Opera Collection DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/Oct/2013 ] "The visual impact of this Spartan production is such that it will not be easily forgotten. It is recorded in surround sound...All in all this a quality product." (MusicWeb May 2006) |
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PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin (Complete opera recorded in 2011) Netherlands Opera / Olga Savova, Krassimira Stoyanova, Elena Maximova, Bo Skovhus / Mariss Jansons (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Apr/2012 ] 'Jansons sets us on a simmer and gradually turns the heat to boiling. It is magisterially paced, stunningly played and, seemingly effortlessly, Jansons captures every aching nuance..Herheim's innovations are often throbbingly acute (and sometimes... |