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.... |
RICHARD STRAUSS
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Strauss, (R.): Der Rosenkavalier (complete opera) BLU-RAY Renee Fleming / Diana Damrau / Sophie Koch / Franz Hawlata / Munich Philharmonic Orchestra / Christian Thielemann (cond) [ Decca Music Group Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 5/Nov/2009 ] Renée Fleming finally appears on DVD in one of her greatest roles - the Marschallin, in Richard Strauss's magnificent period-comedy of ever-changing love, Der Rosenkavalier. Her peerless performance is supported by "a galactic cast" (Thielemann). |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Verdi: La Traviata (complete opera) BLU-RAY Los Angeles Opera / Renee Flemin, Rolando Villazon, Renato Bruson / James Colon (cond) [ Decca Music Group Limited Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 9/Mar/2009 ] "With the benefit of the latest picture technology, this performance goes to the top of the list for those preferring a traditional production." (Recording of the Month May 2008) |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Tannhauser (complete opera recorded at the Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden 2008) BLU-RAY Robert Gambill, Camilla Nylund, Waltraud Meier / Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Philippe Jordan, conductor [ Arthaus Musik BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2012 ] "The solo singing is the outstanding feature of this new recording. Robert Gambill might have more of the 'mad axeman' about him than Bayreuth's Spas Wenkoff, but he has immense stamina and the presence to command the stage, especially during the big... |
LISZT arranged LANCHBERY
Mayerling (complete ballet with choreography by Kenneth MacMillan recorded 2009) BLU-RAY The Royal Ballet / Edward Watson, Mara Galeazzi, Sarah Lamb / Barry Wordsworth (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Sep/2011 ] Edward Watson takes the role of Crown Prince Rudolf in Kenneth MacMillan's compelling ballet which lives out the final eight years of Rudolf's life with its relentless downward spiral of political intrigue, drugs and murder. |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71 (recorded at Bregenz Festival, 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Ballet / Orchestra of the Royal Opera House / Peter Wright (choreographer) / Miyako Yoshida / Ricardo Cervera / Steven McRae [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 19/Nov/2010 ] 'One of the very best seasonal treats for children and adults alike, the Royal Ballet's Nutcracker is a handsome, magical, thoroughly traditional rendering of ETA Hoffmann's immortal if deeply strange story.' Sunday Express |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Don Pasquale (complete opera recorded in 2019) BLU-RAY Royal Opera / Bryn Terfel, Ioan Hotea, Markus Werba, Olga Peretyatko / Evelino Pidò (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 29/Sep/2023 ] "Terfel sounds wonderful, singing with handsomely focused tone and brings considerable panache to his duet with Werba, which is denied its traditional encore here. In the pit, Evelino Pidò conducts with admirable precision and grace." (The Guardian) |
KAROL SZYMANOWSKI
King Roger (Complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY The Royal Opera, Covent Garden / Mariusz Kwiecien, Georgia Jarman, Saimir Pirgu, Kim Begley / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Dec/2015 ] Kasper Holten's production (The Royal Opera's first) of Król Roger (King Roger) brought the opera back to the London stage after an absence of almost 40 years. Karol Szymanowski's masterpiece powerfully presents the dilemmas of culture versus nature... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (recorded live Covent Garden in 2019) BLU-RAY Royal Opera / Ermonela Jaho, Charles Castronovo, Placido Domingo / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Antonello Manacorda [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 10/Sep/2019 ] ".Castronovo is a splendid Alfredo, his bright, springy tone capturing the character's impetuosity...Manacorda conducts sensitively, not always with Solti's zip, but supports his singers well." Gramophone |
GIACOMO MEYERBEER
Meyerbeer: Robert Le Diable (complete opera recorded in 2012) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Bryan Hymel, Patrizia Ciofi, John Relyea, Marina Poplavskaya / Daniel Oren (conductor) [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House Collection Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Aug/2013 ] "Meyerbeer's vocal writing demands virtuoso singing, and receives that here. Bryan Hymel hurls himself unstintingly at the title role, impossible high notes and all." BBC Music |
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 |
ENGELBERT HUMPERDINCK
Humperdinck: Hansel und Gretel (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Angelika Kirchschlager / Diana Damrau / Elizabeth Connell / Thomas Allen / Colin Davis, conductor [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2009 ] "Diana Damrau, a plain-Jane Gretel with awkward pigtails, gets along famously with her brother, dancing, playing, being huffy. They work well off one another and their voices blend beautifully. The Sandman and Dew Fairy are lovely." 10/10 ClassicsTod |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20 (complete ballet recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Marianela Nunez, Thiago Soares, Elizabeth McGorian / Valeriy Ovsyanikov, conductor [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Oct/2009 ] G : - 'Anthony Dowell's production…offers the ultimate classical experience, with the sights and sounds of a proud 19th century tradition running at full throttle.' The Times |
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOSVKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20 (complete ballet recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Marianela Nunez, Vadim Muntagirov, Elizabeth McGorian / Koen Kessels (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Oct/2019 ] Swan Lake has a special place in The Royal Ballet's repertory. This new production by Artist in Residence Liam Scarlett features additional choreography whilst remaining faithful to Petipa and Ivanov's classic. John Macfarlane's opulent designs... |
W.A. MOZART
Mozart: Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) (complete opera recorded in 2003) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Simon Keenlyside / Dorothea Roschmann / Will Hartmann / Diana Damarau / Franz-Josef Selig / Sir Colin Davis (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jun/2008 ] "Diana Damrau's supremely sung Queen of the Night oozes class, while Simon Keenlyside's profoundly human, touchingly sympathetic view of Papageno deserves an Olivier Award." (Classic FM) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Don Giovanni (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Simon Keenlyside / Kyle Ketelsen / Miah Persson / Ramón Vargas / Joyce DiDonato / Charles Mackerras (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jun/2009 ] "If one of the cast it to be named above the rest, that should be Joyce DiDonato, an outstandingly accomplished Elvira, brilliantly projected, interestingly conceived, her singing concentrated in tone." (Gramophone) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (complete opera recorded in 2006) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Erwin Schrott, Miah Persson, Gerald Finley / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte / BBC Blu-Ray / 2 Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "Here is a Figaro to put with the 1973 Glyndebourne production placed among the top five operatic DVDs. Figaro and Susanna are very much the centre here, and we like them not only because they sing and act well but because they are sympathetic in a... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in 2017) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Jonas Kaufmann, Marco Vratogna, Maria Agresta / Sir Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Sony Classical Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 15/May/2018 ] 'Jonas Kaufmann Sings an 'Otello' for the Ages'- New York Times. On a sweltering night at London's Royal Opera House in June 2017, Jonas Kaufmann made his debut performance as Otello - one of the most coveted and challenging roles in the tenor... |
GIOACCHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia [The Barber of Seville] (complete opera recorded in 2009) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Joyce DiDonato, Juan Diego Florez, Pietro Spagnoli, Ferruccio Furlanetto / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Erato / Warner Classics Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Nov/2015 ] "The Royal Opera's cheerful and colourful new production of Rossini's most popular work is a copper- bottomed hit." The Daily Telegraph |