SAVERIO MERCADANTE
Mercadante: Francesca da Rimini (complete opera recorded in 2016) BLU-RAY Festival della Valle d'Itria, Martina Franca / Leonor Bonilla, Aya Wakizono, Merto Süngü, Antonio Di Matteo / Fabio Luisi (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-Ray / Blu-ray - released 1/Feb/2020 ] Written almost two centuries ago by Saverio Mercadante, coveted by many theatres of the day, Francesca da Rimini was, in fact, never staged. Every time it was scheduled for performance, something happened and it got canceled. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (complete opera recorded live in 2008) BLU-RAY Bayreuth Festival / Michael Volle, Klaus Florian Vogt, Johannes Martin Kränzle, Anne Schwanewilms / Philippe Jordan (cond) [ Deutsche Blu-ray / 2 Blu-ray - released 5/Dec/2019 ] "The performances of the cast are of a high standard dramatically and mostly musically. Volle now paces himself well and Lehmkuhl is a magical and unclichéd Magdalene." Gramophone |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: L'Italiana In Algeri (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Salzburg Festival / Cecilia Bartoli, Ildar Abdrazakov, Edgardo Rocha, Alessandro Corbelli, José Coca Loza / Jean-Christophe Spinosi (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray - released 9/Aug/2019 ] "The role of Isabella is sung to perfection by Cecilia Bartoli - a clever, independent woman with an adventurous streak" (New York Times). Bartoli's superb performance in Gioachino Rossini's L'Italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers) at... |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Pietro Il Grande, Kzar delle Russie (complete opera recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Festival Donizetti Opera / Roberto De Candia, Loriana Castellano, Paola Gradina, Nina Solodovnikova / Rinaldo Alessandrini (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 22/Jan/2021 ] "Conducting, playing and choral singing are all terrific, sweeping you through the opera with their infectious precision and energy." Gramphone DVD/Blu-ray of the Month April 2021 |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni (Blu-ray) Salzburg Festival / Alessio Arduini, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Anett Fritsch, Tomasz Konieczny, Valentina Naforniţa / Vienna Philharmonic, Christoph Esc [ EuroArts Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 24/Jun/2022 ] Director Sven-Eric Bechtolf pulls off a brilliant coup with the high aesthetics of his intrigue, a masterful parody of the "everything is possible" of our time - flanked by an ensemble of exquisite vocal talents: Ildebrando D'Arcangelo,... |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Orphée aux Enfers [Orpheus in the Underworld] (complete operetta recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Salzburg Festival / Kathryn Lewek, Joel Prieto, Anne Sofie von Otter, Martin Winkler / Enrique Mazzola (cond) [ C Major Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 17/Jul/2020 ] Operetta enthusiast Barrie Kosky has landed a gigantic success with Offenbach's subversive and hilarious reversion of the Orpheus myth at the Salzburg Festival. Kosky created a magically precise and witty staging with numerous extravagant costumes in... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (Blu-ray 4K) Salzburg Festival / Luca Pisaroni, Anett Fritsch, Martina Janková, Adam Plachetka / Vienna Philharmonic, Dan Ettinger [ EuroArts 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 12/Aug/2022 ] "..the winning performances of a compelling cast; and the supple, glowing playing that the conductor Dan Ettinger drew from the Vienna Philharmonic…" The New York Times |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Blu-ray) Salzburg Festival / Monika Bohinec, Anna Gabler, Roberto Saccà, Peter Sonn, Michael Volle / Wiener Philharmoniker, Daniele Gatti [ EuroArts Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 15/Jul/2022 ] "A fresh, charming and perceptive production, magical and irresistible!" (New York Times) "All narrative and poetry is nothing but the key to true dreams" (Hans Sachs). |
VARIOUS COMPOSERS
Verbier Festival - The 25th Anniversary Concert (Blu-ray) Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, RIAS Chamber Chorus, Valery Gergiev (conductor) [ Naxos / Blu-ray - released 12/Jul/2019 ] The Verbier Festival is one of classical music's greatest events. In celebration of the festival's 25th anniversary, this unique concert brings together 36 classical stars in an unprecedented evening of ingenious programming and captivating... |
MAHLER
Symphony No. 3 (recorded at the Lucerne Festival, 2007) BLU-RAY Anna Larsson (alto) / Arnold Schoenberg Choir / Lucerne Festival Orchestra / Claudio Abbado [ EuroArts Music Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Jan/2010 ] G : - "This is easily the greatest, most concentrated, most moving and beautifully played performance of this massive work I've yet encountered" (Keith). This DVD was a Staff Pick DVD for 2010. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Lohengrin (complete opera recorded at the Bayreuth Festival, August 2011 BLU-RAY Bayreuth Festival / Klaus Florian Vogt, Annette Dasch, Petra Lang, Jukka Rasilainen / Andris Nelsons (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jan/2017 ] Hans Neuenfels's striking new production of Wagner's fairytale opera gives this medieval story of doomed love and sorcery the Bayreuth treatment. As controversial as it is stimulating, this production was the talk of the 2011 Festival, and showcases... |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde (complete opera recorded live in 2009) BLU-RAY Bayreuth Festival / Robert Dean Smith, Robert Holl, Irene Theorin, Jukka Rasilainen / Peter Schneider (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2010 ] G - 'In Tristan the standard of conducting and singing is high. Peter Schneider draws seamless playing from the orchestra, contouring Wagner's long arcs of sound as only someone of his experience can do.' The Financial Times |
WAGNER
Der fliegende Holländer [The Flying Dutchman] (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Bayreuth Festival / Samuel Youn, Franz-Josef Selig, Ricarda Merbeth / Christian Thielemann (conductor) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Aug/2014 ] 2013's revival of Jan Philipp Gloger's controversial 2012 production was greeted (as so often in Bayreuth) with huge acclaim. He translates the tale of the Dutchman, whose travails can only be redeemed through the unconditional love of a woman... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte, K620 [The Magic Flute] (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Bregenz Festival / Alfred Reiter, Norman Reinhardt, Ana Durlovski, Bernarda Bobro / Patrick Summers (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Nov/2013 ] Staged by: David Pountney Subtitles: E, G, F, Sp, Kor, Chin Sound Format: DD 2.0, dts 5.1 Picture: 16:9, HD Booklet: E, G Total Running Time: 150 mins |
BERTHOLD GOLDSCHMIDT
Goldschmidt: Beatrice Cenci (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Bregenz Festival / Christoph Pohl, Gal James, Dshamilja Kaiser, Christina Bock / Johannes Debus (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 12/Jul/2019 ] "There is never a dull moment…Pohl takes the brave route with Cenci…With his baritone in lustrous form, this is a performance to savour" Opera - October 2019 - Disc of the Month |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann [The Tales of Hoffmann] (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Bregenz Festival / Daniel Johansson, Kerstin Avemo, Mandy Fredrich, Rachel Frenkel, Michael Volle / Johannes Debus (cond) [ C Major BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2016 ] "Johansson's big-voice Hoffmann lacks a genuine pianissimo but phrases elegantly…Fredrich and Frenkel are nicely stylish…playing and choral singing are both excellent" (Gramophone) |
UMBERTO GIORDANO
Giordano: Andrea Chénier (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY Bregenz Festival / Hector Sandoval, Norma Fantini, Scott Hendricks / Ulf Schirmer (cond) [ C Major Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Feb/2016 ] Girodano Umberto's Andrea Chénier is set against the backdrop of the horrors of the French Revolution and tells the tragic tale of a doomed love affair involving the historical figure of the poet Andrea Chénier, who initially champions the Revolution |
MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG
The Passenger, Op. 97 (complete opera recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Bregenz Festival / Michelle Breedt, Roberto Sacca, Elena Kelessidi, Artur Rucinski, Svetlana Doneva / Teodor Currentzis (cond) [ Arthaus Musik Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Dec/2015 ] Continuing its tradition of unearthing little-known 20th-century operas, the Bregenz Festival presented the first staged production of Polish-Russian composer Mieczysław Weinberg's 'The Passenger' in 2010.. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Turandot (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Bregenz Festival / Mlada Khudoley, Manuel von Senden, Michael Ryssov, Riccardo Massi / Paolo Carignani (cond) [ EuroArts / Unitel Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Mar/2016 ] "Guanqun Yu's schoolgirl Liu, sporting beret and pigtails, is the pick of the cast. She delivers a beautifully affecting, 'Tu che di gel sei cinta'. Riccardo Massi sings attractively as Calaf, with a very creditable 'Nessun dorma'." |
FRANCO FACCIO
Faccio: Hamlet (complete opera recorded at the Bregenz Festival, July, 2016) BLU-RAY Bregenz Festival / Pavel Cernoch, Claudio Sgura, Iulia Maria Dan, Eduard Tsanga, Dshamilja Kaiser / Paolo Carignani (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Aug/2017 ] "this marvellous opera, anticipating the musical language of later Italian verismo composers, combines lovely musical interludes with superb vocal writing" Telegraph |