RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Lohengrin (complete opera recorded in 2016) BLU-RAY Dresden Opera / Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczala, Tomasz Konieczny, Georg Zeppenfeld / Christian Thielemann (cond) [ Deutsche Grammophon Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 15/Sep/2017 ] Previously at home in French and Italian lyric tenor roles, Piotr Beczala was expanding his repertory in a direction that many opera fans had long wanted him to explore, while Anna Netrebko was undertaking her first Wagnerian role. |
WALTER BRAUNFELS
Braunfels: Die Vogel [The Birds] (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Désirée Rancatore / Brandon Jovanovich / James Johnson / Martin Gantner / Los Angeles Opera Orchestra & Chorus / James Conlon [ Arthaus Musik Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 16/Feb/2011 ] "A rare chance to hear Braunfels's lighthearted, tenderly spiritual and little-known fable…" The New York Times "A marvelous performance…the orchestra sounded radiant." Los Angeles Times "Conlon conducted with lustrous élan…We should hear more... |
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO / PIETRO MASCAGNI
Leoncavallo: Pagliacci / Mascagni: Cavalleria Rusticana (recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / Anita Rachvelishvili, Ailyn Pérez, Rihab Chaieb, Brian Jagde, Roman Burdenko, Elena Zilio / Lorenzo Viotti (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 9/Apr/2021 ] "Anita Rachvelisvili is the undisputed star of Cav. She sings Santuzza as an unashamed mezzo, and her chest voice is thrilling in this music. Brian Jagde's Turridu is rakish and appealing, never a caricature villain, and he sings with electric energy |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2022) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / Malin Byström, Joshua Guerrero, Gevorg Hakobyan / Lorenzo Viotti (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 14/Apr/2023 ] "...this must be one of the bloodiest Toscas shown on stage, in a world where the characters' Christian faith is clearly a personal defence against the horror of the tyranny under which they live." Gramophone Editor's Choice July 2023 |
WAGNER / GOUNOD / MASCAGNI / CILEA / VERDI / PUCCINI
Opera Gala: Live from Baden-Baden 2016 BLU-RAY Ekaterina Gubanova (mezzo) Jonas Kaufmann (tenor) Anja Harteros (soprano) Bryn Terfel (bass-baritone) / Badische Staatskapelle, Marco Armiliato [ Sony Classical Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 8/Dec/2016 ] The Festspiel-Saison at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden culminated with Jonas Kaufmann, Bryn Terfel, Anja Harteros and Ekaterina Gubanova all on stage in this magnificent Opera Gala. The gala presented a diverse range of solo-arias and duets. Among the... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
The Rape of Lucretia (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY English National Opera / Sarah Connolly, Christopher Maltman, Catherine Wyn-Rogers / Paul Daniel (conductor) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 25/Nov/2013 ] "The main cast delivers a superlative response from start to finish, headed by baritone Christopher Maltman's bull-like Tarquinius and mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly's harrowingly intense Lucretia." BBC Music |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Belshazzar (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Festival Aix-en-Provence / Kenneth Taylor, Rosemary Joshua, Bejun Mehta / Rene Jacobs (cond) [ Harmonia Mundi Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Sep/2011 ] "the dramatic essence of the story...comes over in a striking semi-expressionist fashion. There's a strong set of central performances." (BBC Music - Blu-Ray Choice August 2011) |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 2007) BLU-RAY Festival d'Aix-en-Provence / Robert Gambill, Mikhail Petrenko, Eva Johansson / Sir Simon Rattle (cond) [ Bel Air Classiques Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Jan/2009 ] In a career spanning more than 30 years, Sir Simon Rattle has distinguished himself through his long-term relationships with a number of orchestras, wide-ranging repertoire and innovative educational and audiencebuilding activities. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni (complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Festspielhaus Baden-Baden / Anna Netrebko, Luca Pisaroni, Erwin Schrott, Malena Ernman, Jonathan Lemalu / Thomas Hengelbrock (cond) [ Sony Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2015 ] "[Schrott] looks wonderful, is a natural and extraordinarily gifted actor, and has so much sinister charm that one understands why no woman can resist him. He has a rich voice, with many subtle shades...a definitive account [of the title-role]" BBC |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2005) [with 147 minute Bonus] BLU-RAY Fiorenza Cedolins / Marcelo Alvarez / Ruggero Raimondi / Arena Di Verona / Daniel Oren [ Arthaus Musik BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2012 ] A superlative staging of Puccini's Tosca by Italian opera producer Hugo de Ana brought to you from the world-famous Arena di Verona and complete with all the splendour that a Puccini opera demands! |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Manon Lescaut (complete opera recorded in May 1997) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Festival Opera / Antonello Palombi, Patrick Denniston, Paolo Montarsolo, Roberto De Candia / John Eliot Gardiner [ Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 5/Jul/2017 ] "Gardiner makes a surprising appearance conducting Puccini with a blend of analysis and passion, allowing a sense of delicacy to pervade where others might encourage bombast." (Opera Now) |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Gianni Schicchi [with Rachmaninov - The Miserly Knight] (complete operas recorded in 2004) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Alessandro Corbelli / Massimo Giordano / Richard Berkeley-Steele / Maxim Mikhailov / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Dec/2008 ] Blu-Ray - "Alessandro Corbelli delivers a masterclass in how to extract every ounce of humour from comedy by playing it straight. He is the king of comedy and an international treasure." The Stage |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflöte (complete opera) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / David Portillo, Sofia Fomina, Björn Bürger, Brindley Sherratt / Ryan Wigglesworth [ Opus Arte DVD / Blu-ray - released 15/May/2020 ] "In the first half, André Barbe's exquisitely drawn and then enlarged interiors magic the eye, and the cut-out guests that people the hotel are a delight...is there a more satisfying Sarastro around at present than the magnificent Brindley Sherratt?" |
JEAN-PHILIPPE RAMEAU
Rameau: Hippolyte et Aricie (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Ed Lyon, Christiane Karg, Sarah Connolly / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, William Christie (conductor) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Aug/2014 ] "Christie lavishes his love and skill on a score whose splendours keep on growing over the show's three hours." (Times) |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Billy Budd (complete operetta recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / John Mark Ainsley, Jacques Imbrailo, Phillip Ens / Mark Elder (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "..this is the most compelling Billy Budd on video, and superb in Blu-ray." (DVD Choice - July 2011 BBC Music *****) |
IGOR STRAVINSKY
Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress (Complete opera recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Miah Persson, Topi Lehtipuu, Matthew Rose / Vladimir Jurowski (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Apr/2012 ] "It is hard to imagine a Tom Rakewell who looks the part better than the lanky, almost adolescent Topi Lehtipuu, his wide-eyed innocence an open invitation to corruption, and he sings the role with elegance." (Gramophone) |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Giulio Cesare (complete opera recorded in 2005) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Sarah Connolly / Angelika Kirchschlager / Danielle de Niese / Christophe Dumaux / Christopher Maltman / William Christie (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Apr/2009 ] G - "The sense of teamwork all round is confirmed in the interviews included in the extras. Robin Lough's DVD direction is faultless." (Gramophoen Classical Music Guide) |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Strauss, (R.): Der Rosenkavalier (complete opera recorded in 2014) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Tara Erraught, Kate Royal, Lars Woldt, Michael Kraus / Robin Ticciati (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Mar/2016 ] Strauss's musically ravishing comic masterpiece is given a visual updating in director Richard Jones's stylish and 'gently subversive' Glyndebourne staging, one which offers 'a dreamlike distortion not just of Vienna's 18th-century past, but also of... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 2006) BLU-RAY Glyndebourne Opera / Topi Lehtipuu / Luca Pisaroni / Miah Persson / Anke Vondung / Ivan Fischer (conductor) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2009 ] Blu-Ray 'I had to search long and hard down memory lane to recall a Così that so vividly revealed both the pleasure and the overwhelming pain of this evermore disturbing masterpiece, and I failed.' Opera |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in February 2006) BLU-RAY Gran teatre del Liceu, Barcelona / Jose Cura / Kressimira Stoyanova / Lado Ataneli / Vittorio Grigolo / Anotoni Ros-Marba (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "With strong conducting from Antoni Ros-Marbà, the whole cast collaborate to give us the truth of this desperately upsetting work, as no other DVD and few live performances I've seen of it ever have." (BBC Music) |