GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Nabucco (compete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY The Royal Opera / Placido Domingo, Liudmyla Monastyrska, Andrea Caré, Marianna Pizzolato & Vitalij Kowaljow / Nicola Luisotti (cond) [ Sony Classical Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jul/2015 ] On 16 March Sony Classical presents a highlight among its releases of major opera works: a memorable performance of Verdi's Nabucco from the Royal Opera House in London, recorded live in April 2013. In this production Plácido Domingo made his debut... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth / Il Trovatore / La Traviata (complete operas recorded 2002 - 2011) BLU-RAY Royal Opera / Simon Keenlyside, Liudmyla Monastryrska, Jose Cura, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Renee Fleming, Joseph Calleja / Antonio Pappano & Carlo Rizzi ( [ Opus Arte / BBC Blu-Ray / 3 Blu-ray Box Set - released 20/Feb/2018 ] This trio of unforgettable Royal Opera productions features some of the most cherished and admired examples of Verdi's operatic genius. |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La bohème (complete opera, recorded in 2020) Royal Opera / Sonya Yoncheva, Charles Castronovo, Andrzei Filonczyk, Gyula Nagy, Peter Kellner, Jeremy White / Emmanuel Villaume (co [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 23/Apr/2021 ] Sonya Yoncheva and Charles Castronovo lead an award-winning cast in Richard Jones's acclaimed production of Puccini's most heartrending opera. Emmanuel Villaume conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in 2016) BLU-RAY Salzburg Easter Festival / José Cura, Dorothea Röschmann, Carlos Álvarez, Benjamin Bernheim / Staatskapelle Dresden, Christian Thielemann [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/May/2017 ] A superb new Otello from the Salzburg Easter Festival: 'Cura is a commanding Otello with his richly coloured tenor and both fragile delicacy and fiery ardour' Südwestpresse. 'Röschmann as Desdemona guarantees effortless perfection' Neue Musikzeitung. |
LEOS JANACEK
Janacek: The Makropulos Case (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY Salzburg Festival / Angela Denoke, Raymond Very, Peter Hoare, Jurgita Adamonyte, Johan Reuter / Esa-Pekka Salonen (cond) [ C Major Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jan/2017 ] "The vocal performances are nearly all compelling. The men - Janacek's usual weak and neurotic bunch - are entirely believable...Both the lead and female roles are remarkably complete." (BBC Music) |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Strauss, (R.): Die Frau ohne Schatten (complete opera recorded in 2011) Salzburg Festival / Stephen Gould, Anne Schwanewilms, Michaela Schuster / Christian Thielemann (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Apr/2012 ] Already brimming with symbols and transformations, the epic fairytale recounted by Strauss and his librettist Hofmannsthal in Die Frau ohne Schatten acquires a further allegorical dimension in Christoph Loy's inventive production for the Salzburg... |
GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia (Complete opera recorded in 2012) BLU-RAY San Francisco Opera / Renée Fleming, Michael Fabiano, Elizabeth DeShong / Riccardo Frizza (conductor) [ EuroArts San Francisco Opera BLU-RAY / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Apr/2014 ] "Fabiano's plangent tenor is an ideal bel canto instrument with flexibility and strength...I shall follow his career with interest. The same goes for Elizabeth DeShong as Orsini. Her voice is a full-toned wide-ranging mezzo to which she adds convinci |
FRANZ LEHAR
Lehar: The Merry Widow (complete operetta recorded in English in 2001) BLU-RAY San Francisco Opera / Yvonne Kenny / Bo Skovhus / Angelika Kirchschlager / Gregory Turay [ BBC / Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Apr/2010 ] G : - '…this is about as lavish a production of Franz Lehár's adorable operetta as you are ever likely to see…soprano Yvonne Kenny is perfectly cast in the title role.' Classic FM Magazine |
GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Rinaldo (Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes August 2011) Sonia Prina, Anett Fritsch, Brenda Rae, Luca Pisaroni / Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Ottavio Dantone, Robert Carsen (Stage director) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2013 ] "Directing from his tinkling harpsichord, Ottavio Dantone encourages the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to be light, bright and Italian. Listen wholeheartedly; watch with caution." (The Times) |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Die Walkure (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Staatskapelle Weimar / Catherine Foster, Kirsten Blanck, Erin Caves, Renatus Meszar / Carl St. Ckar [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jun/2009 ] "The free man must be his own maker" Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung reflects the composer's autobiography as much as the political turmoil of his times. |
RICHARD WAGNER
Wagner: Gottdammerung (complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Staatskapelle Weimar / Catherine Foster, Norbert Schmittberg, Mario Hoff, Renatus Meszar / Carl St. Ckar [ Arthaus Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jun/2009 ] A bleak wind chord of E flat minor opens Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung. It establishes the dominant atmosphere of the piece from its first bar: twilight, a deceptive half-light, prevails. Shadowy figures stumble towards the abyss. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K492 (Complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Staatsoper Berlin / Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Dorothea Röschmann, Anna Prohaska / Gustavo Dudamel (cond) [ Accentus Music Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Nov/2018 ] "Nothing is harder to put on stage than lightness. And humor is the sharpest weapon of the desperate. That is why it is an obligation, indeed a must, to enjoy this Figaro by Jürgen Flimm at the Staatsoper to the fullest." (ARD Radio) This production... |
BELLINI
La Sonnambula (complete opera recorded in June 2013) BLU-RAY Stuttgart Opera / Ana Durlovski, Luciano Botelho, Catriona Smith, Enzo Capuano / Gabriele Ferro (cond) [ EuroArts Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 28/Feb/2014 ] Ana Durlovski won the German Theatre Prize "DER FAUST" for her breathtaking portrayal of Amina. The production La Sonnambula of the Oper Stuttgart was voted Opera of the Year in 2012 by the international renowned magazine Opernwelt. In this... |
GIUSEPPE VERDI / W. A. MOZART
Operas - Aida / I Due Foscari / Die Zauberflote / Le Nozze di Figaro / Die Entfuhrung] (complete operas recorded 2015 - 2019) Teatro alla Scala / Anita Rachvelishvili, George Gagnidze, Placido Domingo, Anna Pirozzi, Martin Summer, Yasmin Ozkan, Carlos Alvarez, Diana Damaru [ C Major DVD / 8 Blu-ray Box Set - released 20/Aug/2021 ] FIVE OUTSTANDING OPERAS FROM THE LEGENDARY TEATRO ALLA SCALA: ON BLU-RAY |
UMBERTO GIORDANO
Giordano: Fedora (Complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Teatro Carlo Felice / Daniela Dessì, Fabio Armiliato, Alfonso Antoniozzi, Daria Kovalenko / Valerio Galli (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Feb/2018 ] The soprano Daniela Dessì died suddenly on 20th August 2016, aged 59. She was hailed by critics and colleagues as one of the finest voices the world of opera has ever known. Dynamic pays tribute to the great soprano with this recording, filmed just... |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Tosca (complete opera recorded in 2010) Blu-ray Teatro Carlo Felice / Daniela Dessì, Fabio Armiliato & Claudio Sgura / Marco Boemi (conductor) [ Arthaus Musik Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 10/Apr/2012 ] "This is a good, conventionally designed Tosca, well sung and played and with a satisfying theatrical flair." - MusicWeb |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Teatro Coccia / Giuseppe Altomare, Giorgio Giuseppini, Dimitra Theodossiou, Dario Di Vietri / Giuseppe Sabbatini (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jul/2015 ] Recorded live at Teatro Carlo Coccia, Novara, 4-6 October 2013 |
GIOVANNI BATTISTA PERGOLESI
Pergolesi: Adriano in Siria (Complete opera recorded live in 2011) BLU-RAY Teatro Comunale Pergolesi / Marina Comparato, Lucia Cirillo, Annamaria Dell'Oste / Ottavio Dantone (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 20/Apr/2012 ] "Top marks go to conductor and director for giving the music space to breathe. The vocal cast is almost uniformly brilliant. Dell'Oste is in a class of her own: she turns coloratura into eloquent, heart-rending declarations" (BBC Music) |
ENNIO PORRINO
Porrino: I Shardana (Complete opera recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY Teatro Lirico di Cagliari / Manrico Signorini, Angelo Villari, Gianpiero Ruggeri, Domenico Balzani / Anthony Bramall (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2015 ] Porrino's drama mirrors a period in archaeology when Nuragic Sardinia was discussed even in non-specialist circles, with the island's bronze statuettes and megaliths recalling a primeval society at the origins of European civilization. |
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
Rossini: Semiramide (Complete opera recorded in 2015) BLU-RAY Vlaamse Opera Antwerpi / Myrtò Papatanasiu, Ann Hallenberg, Josef Wagner, Robert McPherson, Igor Bakan / Alberto Zedda (cond) [ Dynamic Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 11/May/2016 ] "The singer's unfailing musicality and sincerity offer much pleasure..Zedda's speeds are well judged." (International Record Review) |