GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (Complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Bregenzer Festspiele / Gaëlle Arquez, Daniel Johansson, Scott Hendricks, Elena Tsallagova / Paolo Carignani (cond) [ C-Major BLU-RAY / Blu-ray - released 24/Sep/2017 ] "The French singer Gaëlle Arquez proves to be a lucky find. Not only her massive, shimmering mezzo-soprano is convincing, but her high-quality acting skills as well." Salzburger Nachrichten |
A film by Jan Schmidt-Gar, with Asmik Grigorian, Barbara Hannigan, Ermonela Jaho
Fuoco Sacro - A search for the sacred fire of song (Blu-ray) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 14/Oct/2022 ] Fuoco Sacro ('Sacred Fire') seeks out singers who have the power to pierce our hearts, presenting three of them at work in the most intimate details of their rehearsals and preparations. |
BRETT DEAN
Dean: Hamlet (Complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Allan Clayton, Sarah Connolly, Barbara Hannigan, Rod Gilfry / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 20/Jun/2019 ] GRAMOPHONE AWARD NOMINATION 2019 WINNER - Contemporary |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Madama Butterfly (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Royal Opera / Ermonela Jaho, Marcelo Puente, Scott Hendricks, Carlo Bosi / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 5/Dec/2018 ] Puccini's Japanese tragedy Madama Butterfly is given a ravishing production by The Royal Opera. Its alluring imagery of Japan from the 19th-century European Imagination heightens the intense clash of East and West. When the American naval officer... |
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 |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni, K527 (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY La Scala Milan / Anna Netrebko, Bryn Terfel, Anna Prohaska, Barbara Frittoli / Daniel Barenboim (conductor) [ Deutsche Grammophon Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 6/Dec/2015 ] Recorded live at the opening of the 2011-12 La Scala season, Don Giovanni was released in honour of Bryn Terfel's 50th birthday which was on 9 November 2015. It also tied in with the traditional opening of the new season at La Scala - 7 December. |
VERDI
Les Vespres Siciliennes (complete opera recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Netherlands Opera / Barbara Haveman, Burkhard Fritz, Alejandro Marco-Buhrmester / Paolo Carignani (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Nov/2015 ] Les vêpres siciliennes, like the similarly epic Don Carlos, was conceived as a grand opéra for Paris and is driven by the tensions between private passions and public politics. Originally set during Sicily's 13th-century uprising against French rule,... |
W. A. MOZART
Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (complete opera recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Paris Opera / Ludovic Tezier, Barbara Frittoli, Ekaterina Siurina / Philippe Jordan [ Bel Air Classiques Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Sep/2012 ] G:- "Unlike many Figaro productions these days, the physicality is never vulgar, and there are constant small touches that add character...[Pisaroni] displays the ideal bass-baritone instrument for this role" (International Record Review) |
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. |
GEORGE BENJAMIN
Benjamin: Written on Skin (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Christopher Purves, Barbara Hannigan, Bejun Mehta, Victoria Simmonds / George Benjamin (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Aug/2014 ] GRAMOPHONE MAGAZINE AWARD WINNER 2014 - Contemporary |
GEORGE BENJAMIN
Benjamin: Lessons in Love and Violence (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Gyula Orendt, Peter Hoare / George (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jul/2019 ] "At just 90 minutes, this is an opera of impressive concentration with not a word or note wasted." Gramophone |
JULES MASSENET
Massenet: Thais (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Teatro Regio Torino / Barbara Frittoli, Lado Ateneli, Alessandro Liberatore / Gianandrea Noseda (cond) [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2012 ] "Ataneli gives a strong performance but the highly stylised nature of the staging doesn't allow for much subtlety of expression. Gianandrea Noseda conducts with... sensitivity for Massenet's style" (Gramophone) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Falstaff (complete opera recorded in October 2012) BLU-RAY Zurich Opera House / Ambrogio Maestri, Barbara Frittoli, Meg Page, Mistress Quickly, Massimo Cavalletti / Daniele Gatti (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jan/2017 ] "The cast, led by a secure Maestri, can boast a lovable Nannetta in Liebau and further clever variations on Quickly's eccentricity from Naef." Gramophone |
IGOR STRAVINSKY / GYORGY LIGETI / ALBAN BERG / ANTON WEBERN
Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring / Ligeti: Mysteries of the Macabe / etc (Blu-ray/DVD) Barbara Hannigan (soprano) London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle [ LSO Live DVD + BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 24/Nov/2017 ] Sir Simon Rattle is joined by virtuosic soprano Barbara Hannigan for a modernist programme that showcases the immense capabilities of the London Symphony Orchestra. |
AMANTE FRANZONI
Franzoni: Vespro per la festa di Santa Barbara Accademia Degli Invaghiti, Concerto Palatino, Cappella Santa Barbara, Francesco Moi (conductor) [ Brilliant Classics / CD - released 1/Nov/2016 ] The scene is Mantua in Lombardy, Italy. The Duke of Mantua - himself a composer and eager to become a patron of the arts ¬- establishes a Basilica in the city. Freed from the auspices of Rome and with its own bespoke liturgy, the Basilica became the... |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Messiah (Complete oratorio) Andreas Scholl, Barbara Schlick, Sandrine Piau, Mark Padmore, Nathan Berg / Les Arts Florissants / William Christie [ Harmonia Mundi / 2 CD - released 6/Dec/2019 ] |
RICHARD. STRAUSS
Der Rosenkavalier (complete opera recorded in 1995) Royal Opera House / Ann Murray / Anna Tomowa-Sintow / Kurt Moll / Barbara Bonney / Andrew Davis (cond) [ Opus Arte CD / 3 CD - released 22/Dec/2010 ] "All three characters are splendidly drawn here, Octavian (a winning Ann Murray, not too feminine), Baron Ochs (Kurt Moll) with a rich low register to all but dignify his underlying boorishness, and Anna Tomowa-Sintow a commandingly sympathetic,... |
HANS GAL
Works for violin and piano Annette-Barbara Vogel (violin) Juhani Lagerspetz (piano) [ Avie / CD - released 1/May/2010 ] "If you're looking for a disc of beautiful late Romantic music for violin and piano, this CD is an excellent choice." (AudAud.com) |
HANS GAL
Violin Concerto / Violin Concertino / Triptych for Orchestra Annette-Barbara Vogel (violin) / Northern Sinfonia / Kenneth Woods [ Avie Records / CD - released 22/Aug/2011 ] "Woods directs a highly polished account [of Triptych] but the orchestral playing throughout is most assured. Avie's sound is excellent but it is the music that compels attention. Strongly recommended." (Gramophone) |
HANDEL / MOZART / BRAHMS / BACH / FAURE / etc
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Anthony Way: Wings of a Dove Anthony Way (treble), with Barbara Bonney, Tabitha Watling, Choir of Uppingham School [ Decca / CD - released 15/Aug/2019 ] Anthony Way was born in London on 14 December 1982, and was a chorister by the age of eight. He is the 6th child out of 8 siblings. Wings of a Dove was originally released in 1997. |