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TCHAIKOVSKY
Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20 (The Royal Swedish Ballet) Nathalie Nordquist, Anders Nordström, Marketta Kaila, Christian Rambe Royal Swedish Ballet, Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra, Michel Quéval [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 8/Nov/2002 ] This stunning production by The Royal Swedish Ballet, produced by Ross MacGibbon, stars Nathalie Nordquist as Odette/Odile and Anders Nordström as Prince Siegfried. Choreographer Peter Wright stages Swan Lake as a romantic Gothic tragedy. This... |
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VERDI
Les Vespres Siciliennes (complete opera recorded in 2010) Netherlands Opera / Barbara Haveman, Burkhard Fritz, Alejandro Marco-Buhrmester / Paolo Carignani (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Aug/2012 ] The Netherlands Opera Chorus...remains one of the most musically and dramatically responsive among major companies." (International Record Review) |
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VINCENZO BELLINI
Bellini: Norma (the complete opera, recorded in 2005) Netherlands Opera / Hasmik Papian / Hugh Smith / Irini Tsirakidis / Julian Reynolds (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 7/Nov/2006 ] G :- "Conductor Julian Reynolds extensively studied Bellini's score in manuscript and introduces lots of surprising details." -De Telegraaf |
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W. A. MOZART
Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (complete opera recorded in 2008) Netherlands Opera / Laura Aikin / Edgaras Montvidas / Kurt Rydl / Mojca Erdmann / Constantinos Carydis (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 2/Feb/2009 ] "Constantinos Carydis conducts the excellent Netherlands CO with zest and a fair sense of period style." Gramophone Magazine, May 2009 |
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W. A. MOZART
Da Ponte Operas: Cosi fan Tutte / Le Nozze di Figaro / Don Giovanni (recorded 2006 & 2007) Netherlands Opera / Sally Matthews / Luca Pisaroni / Danielle de Niese / Garry Magee / Ingo Metzmacher(cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 4 DVD Box Set - released 1/Aug/2011 ] Wit and astute theatrical awareness are the hallmarks of this exceptional vision of Mozart's and Da Ponte's famous masterpieces, directed by the duo Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito. Set in a 1960s youth hostel, Così fan tutte is a charmingly... |
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RIMSKY-KORSAKOV
The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh and the Maiden Fevronia (complete opera recorded in 2012) Netherlands Opera / Svetlana Ignatovich, John Daszak, Vladimir Vaneev. / Marc Albrecht (conductor) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/Feb/2014 ] "This deeply felt production...is a significant step further in the internationalisation of the opera...The committed theatricality of the cast...goes far to making the production convincing on its own terms...[Ignatovich] sings without strain or fat |
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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL
Handel: Semele New Zealand Opera Chorus, Holy Trinity Cathedral Choir, New Zealand Opera Baroque Orchestra, Peter Walls [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 21/Jul/2023 ] "Amitai Pati is the pick of the bunch. The Samoan tenor is an outstanding Jupiter, bright-toned and fullvoiced, lyrical lines anchored by enough weight to make this reluctant smiter believable as both lover and thug." Gramophone |
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VERDI
Oberto (complete opera recorded in 2007) Opera de Bilbao / Ildar Abdrazakov, Evelyn Herlitzius, Carlo Ventre / Yves Abel (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 25/Mar/2008 ] G - "This new DVD of the opera from Opus Arte captures a performance that brings out the best from the opera and suggests conviction in its quality." (MusicalCriticism.com) |
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JONATHAN DOVE
Dove: The Adventures of Pinocchio (Complete opera recorded in 2008) BLU-RAY Opera North / Victoria Simmonds, Jonathan Summers, Mary Plazas, Rebecca Bottone / David Parry, conductor [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Apr/2009 ] "Plaudits should also go to the chorus, whose scenes are always visually and sonically spectacular, while the stunning surround sound of the DVD capturing every detail of Opera North's bold undertaking." (BBC Music Five Stars) |
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WAGNER
Lohengrin (recorded live at the Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden in 2006) Opera National de Lyon / Klaus Florian Vogt, Solveig Kringelborn, Hans-Peter Konig, Waltraud Meier / Tom Fox / Roman Trekel / Kent Nagano (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD - released 6/Dec/2006 ] G :- "Very highly recommended for those not allergic to updated Wagner" (MusicWeb May 2007) |
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TCHAIKOVSKY / PROKOFIEV / CHOPIN / etc
Opera National de Paris: Ballet - Swan Lake / Cinderella / Jewels / La Dame aux Camelias Paris Opera Ballet / Agnes Letestu, Jose Martinez, Aurélie Dupont, Marie-Agnès Gillot, Laëtitia Pujol, etc [ Opus Arte DVD / 6 DVD Box Set - released 20/Apr/2012 ] Bringing together four seminal works, this attractive collection offers a perfect introduction to the world's oldest national ballet company. |
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CHOPIN
La Dame aux Camelias (Complete ballet choreographed by John Neumeier recorded in 2008) Paris Opera Ballet / Agnes Letestu / Jose Martinez / Dorothee Gilbert / Michael Schmidtsdorff (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Oct/2009 ] G : - 'John Neumeier has created a ballet in which emotions go crescendo … Agnes Letestu, the great dramatic heroine, triumphs in this ballet danced to music by Chopin.' Figaro |
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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... |
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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 / DVD - 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. …... |
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SERGEI PROKOFIEV
Prokofiev: Cinderella (Complete ballet choreographed by Rudolf Nureyev recorded in 2008) Paris Opera Ballet / Agnes Letestu / Jose Martinez / Laetitia Pujol / Koen Kessels (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / 2 DVD - released 1/Dec/2008 ] "The production here was created in 1986 by Rudolf Nureyev. The setting is Hollywood in the 1930s. The basic story is intact and Nureyev was scrupulous in his use of Prokofiev's music. In all a sumptuous package." (MusicWeb Nov 2008) |
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MAURO LANZA / TEDD ZAHMAL
Le Songe de Medee / MC 14/22 (ballets recorded in 2004) Paris Opera Ballet / Marie-Agnes Gillot / Wilfried Romoli / Eleonora Abbagnato [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 27/Sep/2007 ] Recorded live at the Paris Opera on November 2004. |
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W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro [The Marriage of Figaro] (the complete opera, recorded in 2006) Paris Opera / Peter Mattei, Lorenzo Regazzo, Christiane Oelze, Christine Schäfer / Sylvain Cambreling (conductor) [ Opus Arte Essential Opera Collection DVD / 2 DVD - released 20/Oct/2013 ] "Update is the imperfect noun we use. Christoph Marthaler's production has transposed 18th-century upstairs-downstairs to bridal retail in 2001." (New York Times) De Telegraaf |
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TCHAIKOVSKY
Opera & Ballet favourites (winter gala concert from the Royal Opera House 1993) Placido Domingo / Kiri te Kanawa / Dmitri Hvorostovsky / Darcey Bussell / various conductors [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House DVD / DVD - released 1/Jan/2012 ] '…a dazzling evening in the company of a galaxy of stars from The Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera. …an unsurpassable celebration of opera and ballet.' Daily Telegraph |
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: La Traviata (recorded live Covent Garden in 2009) Royal Opera / Renee Fleming, Joseph Calleja, Thomas Hampson / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 30/Jun/2011 ] "this is a sensible, believable, attractive presentation that is more in line with Verdi than with the idiocies of Regietheater...Vocally, [Fleming] is on good form at almost every turn." (International Record Review) |
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ROSSINI
Rossini: Mosè in Egitto (complete opera recorded in August 2011) Riccardo Zanellato, Alex Esposito, Dmitry Korchak, Sonia Ganassi / Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Roberto Abbado & Graham Vick [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 2/Feb/2013 ] This thought-provoking, modern-day interpretation of Rossini's "Mosè in Egitto" sets the scene for superior music-making at the prestigious Rossini Festival in Pesaro. For conductor Roberto Abbado, the transposition of the action to the present day... |