VERDI
Oberto (complete opera recorded in 2007) Opera de Bilbao / Ildar Abdrazakov, Evelyn Herlitzius, Carlo Ventre / Yves Abel (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 25/Mar/2008 ] G - "This new DVD of the opera from Opus Arte captures a performance that brings out the best from the opera and suggests conviction in its quality." (MusicalCriticism.com) |
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) |
WAGNER
Lohengrin (recorded live at the Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden in 2006) Opera National de Lyon / Klaus Florian Vogt, Solveig Kringelborn, Hans-Peter Konig, Waltraud Meier / Tom Fox / Roman Trekel / Kent Nagano (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD - released 6/Dec/2006 ] G :- "Very highly recommended for those not allergic to updated Wagner" (MusicWeb May 2007) |
JOHANN STRAUSS 11
Die Fledermaus (complete operetta recorded in 2003) Glyndebourne Opera / Pamela Armstrong, Thomas Allen, Ragnar Ulfung, Hakan Hagegard / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ BBC / Opus Arte / Kultur DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Dec/2010 ] "Malena Ernman is a stunning Orlofsky (at the end, Lawless reveals that the prince was really a princess after all), and Håkan Hagegård and Pamela Armstrong are very satisfying as Dr. Falke and Rosalinde, respectively." ClassicalNet |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito (complete opera recorded in 2005) Paris National Opera / Susan Graham / Hannah Esther Minutillo / Catherine Naglestad / Ekaterina Siurina / Christoph Pregardien / Sylvain Cambreling [ Kultur / Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 2/Feb/2009 ] G :- "Mortier has done everything in his power to present the opera in this long-lasting form. However, the only justification for adding this to you collection is the outstanding singing of Susan Graham" (MusicWeb March 2006) |
TCHAIKOVSKY / PROKOFIEV / CHOPIN / etc
Opera National de Paris: Ballet - Swan Lake / Cinderella / Jewels / La Dame aux Camelias Paris Opera Ballet / Agnes Letestu, Jose Martinez, Aurélie Dupont, Marie-Agnès Gillot, Laëtitia Pujol, etc [ Opus Arte DVD / 6 DVD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2012 ] Bringing together four seminal works, this attractive collection offers a perfect introduction to the world's oldest national ballet company. |
CHOPIN
La Dame aux Camelias (Complete ballet choreographed by John Neumeier recorded in 2008) Paris Opera Ballet / Agnes Letestu / Jose Martinez / Dorothee Gilbert / Michael Schmidtsdorff (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Oct/2009 ] G : - 'John Neumeier has created a ballet in which emotions go crescendo … Agnes Letestu, the great dramatic heroine, triumphs in this ballet danced to music by Chopin.' Figaro |
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 / DVD - 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. …... |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Cinderella (Complete ballet choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev recorded in 2008) Paris Opera Ballet / Agnes Letestu / Jose Martinez / Laetitia Pujol / Koen Kessels (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Dec/2008 ] "The production here was created in 1986 by Rudolf Nureyev. The setting is Hollywood in the 1930s. The basic story is intact and Nureyev was scrupulous in his use of Prokofiev's music. In all a sumptuous package." (MusicWeb Nov 2008) |
MAURO LANZA / TEDD ZAHMAL
Le Songe de Medee / MC 14/22 (ballets recorded in 2004) Paris Opera Ballet / Marie-Agnes Gillot / Wilfried Romoli / Eleonora Abbagnato [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 27/Sep/2007 ] Recorded live at the Paris Opera on November 2004. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (the complete opera, recorded in 2006) Paris Opera / Peter Mattei, Lorenzo Regazzo, Christiane Oelze, Christine Schäfer / Sylvain Cambreling (conductor) [ Opus Arte Essential Opera Collection DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/Oct/2013 ] "Update is the imperfect noun we use. Christoph Marthaler's production has transposed 18th-century upstairs-downstairs to bridal retail in 2001." (New York Times) De Telegraaf |
TCHAIKOVSKY
Opera & Ballet favourites (winter gala concert from the Royal Opera House 1993) Placido Domingo / Kiri te Kanawa / Dmitri Hvorostovsky / Darcey Bussell / various conductors [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House DVD / DVD - released 1/Jan/2012 ] '…a dazzling evening in the company of a galaxy of stars from The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera. …an unsurpassable celebration of opera and ballet.' Daily Telegraph |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (recorded live Covent Garden in 2009) Royal Opera / Renee Fleming, Joseph Calleja, Thomas Hampson / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 30/Jun/2011 ] "this is a sensible, believable, attractive presentation that is more in line with Verdi than with the idiocies of Regietheater...Vocally, [Fleming] is on good form at almost every turn." (International Record Review) |
ROSSINI
Rossini: Mosè in Egitto (complete opera recorded in August 2011) Riccardo Zanellato, Alex Esposito, Dmitry Korchak, Sonia Ganassi / Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Roberto Abbado & Graham Vick [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 2/Feb/2013 ] This thought-provoking, modern-day interpretation of Rossini's "Mosè in Egitto" sets the scene for superior music-making at the prestigious Rossini Festival in Pesaro. For conductor Roberto Abbado, the transposition of the action to the present day... |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Ciro in Babilonia (complete opera recorded live August 2012) Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro / Ewa Podles, Jessica Pratt, Michael Spyres, Mirco Palazzi / Will Crutchfield (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 20/Feb/2013 ] "Podles makes for a feisty Ciro, her black treacle contralto imperious, even if her coloratura is now a little effortful...Pratt's Amira is excellent...The audience's matinee idol here, though, is Michael Spyres...a bari-tenor if ever there was one!" |
TCHAIKOVSKY / MENDELSSOHN / PROKOFIEV / DELIBES / HEROLD
My First Ballet Collection (26 highlights from your favourite ballets) The Royal Ballet, Covent Garden / The San Francisco Ballet / Pacific Northwest Ballet / Paris Opera Ballet [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 10/Jan/2010 ] G - Featuring some of the world's most exciting and talented dancers, this sparkling collection brings together the best scenes from your favourite ballets - from the graceful elegance and passion of Swan Lake, to the wit of La Fille mal Gardée. |
DELIBES / ADAM / HEROLD
Ballet Spectacular: Coppelia, Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardee (Complete ballets recorded 2000-2006) The Royal Ballet / Leanne Benjamin, Carlos Acosta, Alina Cojocaru, Johan Kobborg, Marianela Nunez / Opera House Orchestra [ BBC / Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 20/Dec/2014 ] "La fille mal gardée is sheer perfection, Nuñez and Acosta are unsurpassable respectively in the feminine grace and masculine confidence of Ashton's Lise and Colas, and their mimetic skills are delicious" BBC Music |
LEO DELIBES
Coppelia (Complete ballet recorded in 2000) The Royal Ballet / Leanne Benjamin, Carlos Acosta / Opera House Orchestra, Nicolae Moldoveanu [ BBC / Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 11/Apr/2002 ] G:- "Highest-quality image and resolution." (Four Stars AudAud.com) |
TCHAIKOVSKY
The Nutcracker, Op. 71 (recorded at Bregenz Festival, 2009) Royal Ballet / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Peter Wright (choreographer) / Miyako Yoshida / Ricardo Cervera / Steven McRae [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 10/Jun/2012 ] This all-time ballet favourite, in which young Clara is swept into a fantasy adventure when one of her Christmas presents comes to life, is at its most enchanting in Peter Wright's glorious production - as fresh as ever in its 25th year.... |
BERG
Lulu (complete opera recorded in 2009) Royal Opera / Agneta Eichenholz / Michael Volle / Klaus Florian Vogt / Jennifer Larmore / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Aug/2010 ] 2010 Grammy Award nomination - Best Opera recording |