LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: Kata Kabanova (complete opera recorded in 2008) Teatro Real, Madrid / Karita Mattila, Miroslav Dvorsky, Guy de Mey, Dali Schaechter / Jiri Belohlavek (cond) [ FRA Musica DVD / DVD - released 12/Dec/2010 ] "Its luminosity is reflected in Jiří Bělohlávek's conducting, undoubtedly the most airily lyrical Katya I can remember, which uses Mackerras's edition but applies less spiky gestures" BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** |
PHILIP GLASS
Glass: The Perfect American (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Teatro Real / David Pittsinger, Donald Kaasch, Christopher Purves, Janis Kelly / Dennis Russell Davies (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Oct/2013 ] "The dark tone is set from the beginning...Purves impresses conveys the complex and ultimately flawed character of Walt...Opus Arte's production is excellent...and brings The Perfect American - such as it is - very vividly to life." Gramophone |
LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: Jenufa (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Teatro Real Madrid / Amanda Roocroft, Deborah Polaski, Nikolai Schukoff / Ivor Bolton (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Aug/2011 ] "Something in the composer's writing brings out the best in [Roocroft's] creamy voice and committed acting, and here she's superb as a young woman who forgives her stepmother for committing a terrible crime." (ClassicFM) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera [The Masked Ball] (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Teatro Real / Marcelo Alvarez / Violeta Urmana / Marco Vratogna / ElenaZaremba / Jesus Lopez-Cobos (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] Passion, loyalty and political conspiracy are the three pillars of Un ballo in maschera (1859), the 'most operatic of all operas'. Set in XIX century Boston, Mario Martone's atmospheric production for the Teatro Real in Madrid brings out all the... |
PIETRO MASCAGNI / RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana / Leoncavallo: Pagliacci (complete operas recorded in 2007) BLU-RAY Teatro Real / Violeta Urmana / Vincenzo La Scola / Vladimir Galouzine / Maria Bayo/ Carlo Guelfi / Jesus Lopez-Cobos (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 2/Feb/2009 ] Blu-Ray - "The performances are uniformly superb; especially Violeta Urmana's Santuzza and Vladimir Galouzine's Canio, especially in the aria Vesti La Giubba, where he almost brings down the house. Very highly recommended!" (AudAud.com) |
JANACEK
Jenufa (complete opera recorded in 2009) Amanda Roocroft / Deborah Polaski / Miroslav Dvorský / Nikolai Schukoff / Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real Madrid / Ivor Bolton [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 26/Oct/2011 ] "Amanda Roocroft has won laurels as Jenufa in various stage productions and comes across as a deeply sincere performer here, even if the voice is apt to turn shrill at the top...[Polaski's] very understatement is moving in its own way." (Gramophone) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Aida / La Traviata / Rigoletto (complete operas recorded 2002 - 2006) Royal Opera, Teatro Real, Liceu Opera / Daniela Dessi, Elisabetta Fiorillo, Norah Amsellem, Renata Bruson, Christine Shafer, Marcelo Alvarez, etc [ Opus Arte DVD / 5 DVD Box Set - released 20/Dec/2014 ] "José Antonio Gutiérrez's production is, by definition, ultra-traditional, but everything looks beautiful thanks to Cabanes's feeling for colour - ochres and blues dominate - and perspective." (BBC Music on Aida) |
JANACEK
Janacek: Kata Kabanova (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Karita Mattila / Miroslav Dvorsky / Guy de Mey / Dali Schaechter / Orchestra del Teatro Real Madrid / Jiri Belohlavek [ FRA Musica Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 12/Dec/2012 ] "Throughout, Mattila sings with a flood of golden tone… Bělohlávek's conducting is beautifully judged, whether in tension or release. Utterly brilliant!" (Gramophone) |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti:Roberto Devereux (complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Teatro Real Madrid / Mariella Devia, Marco Caria, Silvia Tro Santafe, Gregory Kunde / Bruno Campanella (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2017 ] In the last and most dramatic aria in Roberto Devereux, one of the four Tudor period operas composed by Donizetti in 1837 (along with Anna Bolena, Maria Stuarda and Il Castello di Kenilworth), the protagonist, Queen Elizabeth I of England, exclaims:... |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2003) Madrid Teatro Real / Daniela Dessi, Fabio Armiliato, Ruggero Raimondi / Maurizio Benini (cond) [ Opus Arte Essential Opera Collection DVD / DVD - released 20/Oct/2013 ] "...An absolutely magnificent cast of voices." EL MUNDO, Madrid |