GAETANO DONIZETTI
Donizetti: Donizetti: Don Pasquale (complete opera recorded in 2019)) Royal Opera / Bryn Terfel, Ioan Hotea, Markus Werba, Olga Peretyatko / Evelino Pidò (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - 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." (Guardian). |
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... |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: Manon Lescaut (complete opera recorded in 2014) Royal Opera House / Jonas Kaufmann, Kristine Opolais, Christopher Maltman / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Sony Classical DVD / DVD - released 20/Oct/2015 ] 'Antonio Pappano has few peers today as a Puccini conductor, and gives the score a tremendous sense of vivid theatricality' THE GUARDIAN |
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 |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart Operas Box Set: Don Giovanni / Die Zauberflöte / Le Nozze di Figaro [complete operas recorded 2003-2008] Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Simon Keenlyside, Kyle Ketelsen, Miah Persson, Joyce DiDonato, Dorothea Röschmann, Erwin Schrott, etc [ Opus Arte DVD / 5 DVD Box Set - released 20/Nov/2014 ] "…as flames rage over the opening cast credits, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts an incandescent Overture which kindles the brilliance, clarity and indefatigable energy of his music direction throughout." (BBC Music on Don Giovanni) |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart Operas Box Set: Don Giovanni / Die Zauberflöte / Le nozze di Figaro [complete operas recorded 2003-2008] BLU-RAY Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Simon Keenlyside, Kyle Ketelsen, Miah Persson, Joyce DiDonato, Dorothea Röschmann, Erwin Schrott, etc [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / 5 Blu-ray Box Set - released 20/Nov/2014 ] Containing three of Mozart's best-known and loved operas, this 5-disc box set features outstanding Royal Opera House productions and a raft of world-class artists, available at mid-price for the very first time. |
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) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Otello (complete opera recorded in 2017) Royal Opera House / Jonas Kaufmann, Marco Vratogna, Maria Agresta / Sir Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Sony Classical DVD / 2 DVD - released 15/May/2018 ] "Kaufmann's exceptional musicality makes itself felt throughout the opera in a manner that has rarely been equalled…The vulnerability of this Otello lies not so much in his ethnic otherness as in his emotional ingenuousness." Gramophone |
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 |
GIACOMO PUCCINI
Puccini: La Boheme (recorded live Covent Garden in 2018) Royal Opera / Michael Fabiano (Rodolfo), Nicole Car, Mariusz Kwiecien, Nadine Sierra, Florian Sempey / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Sep/2018 ] A penniless poet, a young seamstress, and a lost key: Puccini's passionate opera tells the story of a captivating romance set against the background of 19th-century Paris. The luscious score, with its soaring melodies and rich orchestration, brings... |
W. A. MOZART
Mozart: Cosi fan Tutte (complete opera recorded in 2010) The Royal Opera / Pavol Breslik, Stephane Degout, Thomas Allen, Rebecca Evans / Thomas Hengelbrock (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Sep/2021 ] "It's a wry take on the opera, Miller emphasising that the plot is not so much about testing the fiancées' faithfulness, but an adventure in self-discovery" Gramophone |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Nabucco (compete opera recorded in 2013) The Royal Opera / Placido Domingo, Liudmyla Monastyrska, Andrea Caré, Marianna Pizzolato & Vitalij Kowaljow / Nicola Luisotti (cond) [ Sony Classical DVD / DVD - released 1/Jul/2015 ] 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 in the role o |
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. |
JACQUES OFFENBACH
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann [The Tales of Hoffmann] (compete opera recorded in 2016) The Royal Opera / Vittorio Grigolo, Kate Lindsey, Thomas Hampson, Christine Rice, Sonya Yoncheva / Evelino Pidò (cond) [ Sony Classical DVD / 2 DVD - released 10/Jul/2017 ] "Vittorio Grigolo acts with terrific fervour as both the drunken wreck of the exordia and the ingenuous patsy of the central episodes, making the conflicted character deeply sympathetic if faintly risible." Telegraph |
JACQUES OFFENBACHI
Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann [The Tales of Hoffmann] (compete opera recorded in 2016) BLU-RAY The Royal Opera / Vittorio Grigolo, Kate Lindsey, Thomas Hampson, Christine Rice, Sonya Yoncheva / Evelino Pidò (cond) [ Sony Classical Blu-ray / Blu-ray - released 10/Jul/2017 ] "Vittorio Grigolo brought as much colour and vigour to the (title) role as possible, his wonderful freely projected voice growing in size and intensity as the evening progressed." (Spectacular) |
JOE HISAISHI
Joe Hisaishi - A Symphonic Celebration: - Music From The Studio Ghibli Films Of Hayao Miyazaki (2LP set) Royal Philahmonic Orchestra, Joe Hisaishi (piano, conductor), with The Tiffin Choirs & Bach Choir [ Deutsche Grammophon LP / 2 LP - released 29/Sep/2023 ] For his first album on Deutsche Grammophon, Joe Hisaishi, the revered Japanese composer whose work has become synonymous with the magical Studio Ghibli animations of director Hayao Miyazaki has created an exciting series of symphonic arrangements.. |