FRANCESCO CILEA
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur (complete opera recorded in 2009) (Blu-ray) Teatro regio Torino / Michaela Carosi / Marcelo Alvarez / Marianne Cornetti / Alfonso Antoniozzi / Renati Palumbo [ Arthaus Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2010 ] "Carosi may lack some smoothness of line in her arias but she delivers them with fervour and strong tone and does not hold back in the Phaedra monologue, so the character which she projects is well drawn...Marianne Cornetti blazes forth in an... |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Dutch National Opera / Misha Didyk, Alexey Markov, Vladimir Stoyanov / Mariss Jansons (cond) [ C Major Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 9/Mar/2018 ] "Musically, standards are extremely high, led by Mariss Jansons's inspired presence in the pit...Aksenova sings a steely Lisa..Diadkova is remarkable as the Countess - singing rather than growling her role." Gramophone Blu-ray of the Month March 2018 |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame (complete opera recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Misha Didyk / Emily Magee / Lado Ataneli / Ludovic Tézier / Elena Zaremba / Gran Teatre del Liceu / Michael Boder [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 8/Aug/2011 ] "[Didyk] cuts a fine figure on stage: tall, blond, physically agile, he sings the role of the poor lunatic gambler well. His voice is laser-like in focus and has the familiar Slavic edge" International Record Review |
HENRY PURCELL
Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (complete opera) BLU-RAY Opera Comique / Malena Ernman / Christopher Maltman / Judith van Wanroij / Les Arts Florrisants / William Christie (cond) [ Fra Musica Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 12/Dec/2009 ] Brilliant stage direction by Deborah Warner combines various time spaces in the 17th century with the present day, enhanced by the subtle lighting schemes of Jean Kalman. |
LEO DELIBES
Delibes: Lakme (complete opera recorded in 2022) BLU-RAY Opera Comique, Paris / Sabine Devieilhe, Grederic Antouni, Stephane Degout, Ambroisine Bre / Pygmalion, Raphael Pichon [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 20/Oct/2023 ] "Laurent Pelly transforms Delibes's opera into an exploration of colonialism and cultural appropriation...Raphaël Pichon, conducting Pygmalion on original instruments, relishes Delibes's lush orchestration." BBC Music Blu-ray of the Month Jan 2024 |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Opera de Lyon / Laurent Naouri, Patrizia Ciofi, Charles Rice, Clara Meloni, Enea Scala / Lorenzo Viotti (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 27/Aug/2021 ] Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali - a joyful play on words in itself - more commonly known as Viva la mamma! is a two-act farce that shines an exaggerated spotlight on the behind-the-scenes working of a theatre and the rehearsal process. |
REYNALDO HAHN
Hahn: Ciboulette (complete operas recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Opera de Toulon / Julie Fuchs, Jean-François Lapointe, Julien Behr / Laurence Equilbey (cond) [ Fra Musica Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Nov/2014 ] Intended to set the spice of Parisian operetta against American musical comedy, 'Ciboulette' was Reynaldo Hahn's first light score. It features the tribulations of the pretty market gardener Ciboulette, determined to earn herself a bright future with |
ALMA DEUTSCHER
Deutscher: Cinderella (complete recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Opera San Jose / Vanessa Becerra, Jonas Hacker, Nathan Stark, Karin Mushegain / Jane Glover (cond) [ Sony Classical Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 18/Dec/2018 ] "As a dramatic construct, the opera's a marvel for one so young...Deutscher starts with two gifts on her side: natural talent (I'll avoid the word genius) and sincerity. Cinderella may be pastiche, but at the same time nothing is fake." BBC Music |
LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen (Complete opera sung in Czech recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Opéra Bastille / Elena Tsallagova, Jukka Rasilainen, Michèle Lagrange / Dennis Russell Davies (conductor) [ EuroArts / Medici Arts BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Sep/2011 ] "Enchanting staging…The sound is splendid, the video direction simply fabulous. Everyone, Tsallagova above all, responds beautifully to close-ups…make sure your whole family enjoys it with you!" IRR |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (Complete Opera recorded in June 2009) BLU-RAY Opéra Comique, Paris / Anna Caterina Antonacci, Andrew Richards, Nicolas Cavallier, Monteverdi Choir / John Eliot Gardiner (cond) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 14/May/2021 ] On 3 June 1975, the day after the 33rd performance of Carmen - indicating limited success as the receipts were meagre - he died from a heart attack, at the age of 36, like Mozart. |
NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Rimsky-Korsakov: Le Coq D'or (complete opera recorded 2002) Orchestre de Paris & Chorus of The Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg / Albert Schagidullin, Ilya Levinsky, Andrei Breus / Kent Nagano (cond) [ Arthaus Musik BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2012 ] This Châtelet revival of Le Coq d'Or brings to the stage once again the great Kabuki actor Ennosuke III's striking staging of Rimsky-Korsakov's opera first mounted in co-production with the San Francisco Opera in 1984. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Siegfried (complete opera recorded in Valencia, 2008) BLU-RAY Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia / Lance Ryan / Jennifer Wilson / Juha Uusitalo / Gerhard Siegel / Zubin Mehta [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Mar/2010 ] In this production "the visual codes of the digital era become elemental and dazzlingly employed means of narration" (Opernwelt). |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in Valencia, 2009) BLU-RAY Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia / Peter Seiffert / Juha Uusitalo / Matti Salminen / Jennifer Wilson / Zubin Mehta (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Apr/2010 ] "…this is the most exciting staging I've seen - slightly recalling Cirque du Soleil, perhaps, except that here the spectacle is wholly and intelligently at Wagner's service." BBC Music Magazine, March 2010 ***** |
JULES MASSENET
Massenet: Werther (complete opera recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Paris National Opera / Jonas Kaufmann, Sophie Koch, Ludovic Tezier / Michel Plasson (cond) [ Decca Music Group Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 14/Sep/2015 ] "..comes beautifully to life, with Sophie Koch's Charlotte much more involving in close-up than she was at a distance and Jonas Kaufmann an absolute dream of a Werther. Their scorching Act 3 duet will simply blow your head off." (Daily Telegraph) |
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 / Blu-ray - 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. … Letestu... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Paris Opera / Dimitris Tiliakos, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Violeta Urmana / Teodor Currentzis (conductor) [ Bel Air Classiques Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Apr/2013 ] "In film close-up, for instance, the wonderfully detailed acting of baritone Dimitris Tiliakos, a darkly handsome hero-villain, stands out" (BBC Music) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Paris Opera / Jacquelyn Wagner, Michèle Losier, Frédéric Antoun , Philippe Sly / Philippe Jordan (cond) [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray - released 12/Dec/2017 ] "With Philippe Jordan drawing excellent orchestral playing from the pit, with witty fortepiano recitatives, this is a most unusual Così which eventually had me hooked" Gramophone DVD/Blu-ray of the Month November 2017 |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Lohengrin (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Bayreuther Festtspiele / Piotr Beczała, Anja Harteros, Waltraud Meier / Christian Thielemann (cond) [ Deutsche Gramophon Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 4/Jul/2019 ] Featuring an illustrious cast including Piotr Beczala and Anja Harteros in their house debuts, as well as the acclaimed return of Waltraud Meier to the Bayreuth Festival. |
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. |
ALBENIZ / BIZET / BONOLIS / CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO / de FALLA
Carmen - A ballet in two acts BLU-RAY Rebecca Bianchi, Amar Ramasar / Corpo di Ballo & Orchestra of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Louis Lohraseb (conductor) [ Naxos Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 10/Oct/2020 ] Choreographer Jiří Bubeníček's Carmen celebrates the incredible inspiration of Bizet's timeless music in a completely new two-act ballet that also includes music by Albéniz, Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Falla, orchestrated and adapted by Gabriele Bonolis.... |