GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth (feature film of the opera recorded in 1987) Leo Nucci / Samuel Ramey / Shirley Verrett / Veriano Luchetti / Teatro Comunale di Bologna / Riccardo Chailly [ Deutsche Grammophon DVD / DVD - released 9/Nov/2007 ] G - "Practically everything has already been said about the quality of Shirley Verrett´s voice: she plays Lady Macbeth magnificently. On the other hand, her partner Leo Nucci, new to the role of Macbeth, seems like a fresh discovery." (Le Figaro) |
CLAUDIO MONTEVERDI
Monteverdi: L'Orfeo (complete opera recorded in 2015) DVD + Blu-ray Theatre de Caen / Cyril Auvity, Hannah Morrison, Paul Agnew / Les Arts Florissants, Paul Agnew [ Harmonia Mundi DVD + Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 1/Dec/2017 ] "Cyril Auvity's tremulous and emphatic singing of the title-role has unstinting dramatic commitment: the shadowy silhouettes of the obbligato instrumentalists in 'Possente spirto' appear as if the underworld is conjured to do Orfeo's bidding)." |
MONTEVERDI
L'Orfeo (complete opera recorded in 2002) Les Concert des Nations / Furio Zanasi, Arianna Savall, Montserrat Figueras, Sara Mingardo / Jordi Savall [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 11/May/2015 ] Jordi Savall directs Le Concert des Nations, La Capella Reial de Catalunya and the leading soloists of early opera in a beautiful period production of Monteverdi's favola in musica staged at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2002. Gilbert Deflo's... |
BENET CASABLANCAS
Casablancas: L'Enigma di Lea (complete opera recorded in 2019) Liceu Grand Theatre / Allison Cook, José Antonio López, Sara Blanch, Marta Infante, Sonia de Munck / Josep Pons (cond) [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 21/Jan/2022 ] Recorded at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona, Spain, 12-13 February 2019 |
R. STRAUSS
Elektra (complete opera recorded live in Baden-Baden, 2010) Linda Watson / Manuela Uhl / Jane Henschel / Albert Dohmen / Rene Kollo / Munich Philharmonic Orchestra / Christian Thielemann [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 27/Jan/2011 ] Linda Watson, one of the great Wagnerian sopranos of today, superbly masters her role debut as Elektra, one of opera's most demanding roles. |
DONIZETTI
L'Elisir D'Amore (Complete opera recorded in August 2009) Glyndebourne Opera / Ekaterina Siurina, Peter Auty, Alfredo Daza / Annabel Arden (Director) / Maurizio Benini (Conductor) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 29/Mar/2011 ] Acclaimed Italian conductor Maurizio Benini makes his Glyndebourne debut in Donizetti's intoxicating and deeply touching opera, whose fast-moving comic story unfolds the romantic rivalry between penniless farmhand and bumptious soldier, both vying... |
NICOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
Rimsky-Korsakov: The Golden Cockerel (complete opera recorded in 2021) l'Opéra National de Lyon / Nina Minasyan, Margarita Neksarova, Andrey Popov, Dmitry Ulyanov / Daniele Rustioni (cond) [ Naxos DVD / DVD - released 12/Aug/2022 ] In the autumn of 1906, at a time when he was saying he didn't want to write anything further, Rimsky-Korsakov had the idea of starting an opera based on The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, the last of Pushkin's folk tales in verse, written in 1834. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Macbeth ( complete opera recorded in 2016) Los Angeles Opera / Plácido Domingo, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo, Joshua Guerrero / James Conlon (cond) [ Sony DVD / DVD - released 1/Jul/2017 ] "Advancing age has done nothing but strew bouquets of honor, love and admiration on Plácido Domingo." L.A. Times |
VERDI / PUCCINI / MOZART / DONIZETTI / LEONCAVALLO
Bravo Pavarotti: Greatest performances at the Metropolitan Opera Luciano Pavarotti (tenor) with Joan Sutherland & Renata Scotto (sopranos) [ Decca Music Group DVD / DVD - released 7/Oct/2010 ] Marking 75 years since the great tenor's birth on October 12th, 1935, 'Bravo Pavarotti' is a unique DVD compilation celebrating the majesty of Luciano Pavarotti on the opera stage. |
JANACEK
The Cunning Little Vixen (Complete opera recorded in 2012) Glyndebourne Opera / Lucy Crowe, Emma Bell, Sergei Leiferkus / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jurowski [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 31/Jul/2013 ] "Crowe's Vixen is vocally completely secure and delightfully and sharply characterized...[in the closing scene] there is just the right sense of pantheistic rapture...an outstanding achievement." (International Record Review, 2012) |
W. A. MOZART
Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (complete opera recorded in 2010) Ludovic tezier / Barbara Frittoli / Ekaterina Siurina / Luca Pisaroni / Orchestra of the Paris National Opera / Philippe Jordan [ Bel Air Classiques DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/Sep/2012 ] G:- "Unlike many Figaro productions these days, the physicality is never vulgar, and there are constant small touches that add character...[Pisaroni] displays the ideal bass-baritone instrument for this role" (International Record Review) |
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 |
GASPARE SPONTINI
Spontini: Fernando Cortez (La conquète du Mexique) (complete opera recorded in 2019) Maggio Musicale Fiorentino / Dario Schmunck, Alexia Voulgaridou, Luca Lombardo, Gianluca Margheri / Jean-Luc Tingaud (cond) [ Dynamic DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/May/2020 ] Gaspare Spontini's rare opera 'Fernand Cortez' is now available on DYNAMIC. Recorded in October 2019 at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, this production is a WORLD PREMIERE VIDEO RECORDING of the first modern times performance |
FRANCESCO CILEA
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur (Complete Opera recorded in 2021) Maggio Musicale Fiorentino / Maria José Siri, Ksenia Dudnikova, Martin Muehle, Paolo Antognetti / Daniel Harding (cond) [ Naxos / Dynamic DVD / DVD - released 9/Sep/2022 ] Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur was inspired by the real-life story of a celebrated actress at the Comédie-Française who was much admired by Voltaire. Hailed as a masterpiece, the opera was triumphantly staged in cities around the world. |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 2021) Maggio Musicale Fiorentino / Valentina Nafornita, Benedetta Torre, Vasilisa Berzhanskaya, Matthew Swensen, Thomas Hampson / Zubin Mehta (cond) [ Naxos DVD / 2 DVD - released 8/Apr/2022 ] The production of Mozart's classic comic opera from 2021 is directed by the acclaimed German director Sven-Eric Bechtolf. Conducted by Zubin Mehta, the cast includes Thomas Hampson as Don Alfonso, and the Moldovan soprano Valentina NaforniĊ£a. |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Rigoletto (Complete Opera recorded in 1996) Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Marcelo Alvarez, Peter Auty, Graeme Broadbent, Christine Schafer / Edward Downes (cond) [ Opus Arte Essential Opera Collection DVD / DVD - released 1/Jun/2014 ] "A thrilling performance, with Gavanelli the best acted Rigoletto since Gobbi." - Gramophone Magazine (June 2002) |
PYOTR Il'yich TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake (complete ballet recorded in 2009) Royal Opera House / Marialela Nunez, Thiago Soares, Elizabeth McGorian, Christopher Saunders / Valery Ovsyanikov (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Aug/2011 ] 'The production as a whole is beautifully formed and dramatically convincing… And praise, too, for the corps, who made us feel the sorrow and anger of the swans' collective misfortune.' The Times |
RICHARD STRAUSS
Die Frau Ohne Schatten (Complete opera recorded in 2011) Mariinsky Theatre / Avgust Amonov, Mlada Khudoley, Olga Savova, Edem Umerov / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Mariinsky DVD / Blu-ray Disc - released 10/Nov/2013 ] In October 2013, the Mariinsky label releases a DVD & Blu-ray of Strauss' most Wagnerian of operas, Die Frau ohne Schatten. Filmed in the historic Mariinsky Theatre in 2011, it stars Russian tenor Avgust Amonov as The Emperor, Mlada Khudoley as The... |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Romeo and Juliet, Op. 64 (Complete ballet recorded in 2013) BLU-RAY/DVD Mariinsky Theatre / Diana Vishneva, Vladimir Shklyarov, Alexander Sergeyev, Ilya Kuznetsov / Valery Gergiev (cond) [ Mariinsky DVD + Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc/DVD - released 10/Sep/2014 ] "Balanchine's 1967 creation is a dazzling stylistic potpourri of pure dance ... a spectacular sight and a fitting climax to a great evening" The Times |
SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel (complete opera) Mariinsky Theatre / Galina Gorchakova, Sergei Leiferkus / Valery Gergiev (conductor) [ Arthaus Mariinsky DVD / DVD - released 2/Jun/2016 ] Valéry Gergiev is said to be at his best when interpreting Russian composers. Convincing evidence is given with this production of Sergei Prokofiev's The Fiery Angel from the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Prokofiev's disturbingly enigmatic... |