FRANCESCO CILEA
Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur (complete opera recorded in 2010) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Angela Gheorghiu, Olga Borodina, Jonas Kaufmann / Mark Elder (cond) [ Decca Music Group Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 5/Apr/2012 ] "Gheorghiu is an inspired piece of casting for the heroine...There is an excitement about [Kaufmann's] voice and stage presence that is infectious" (MusicWeb) |
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Verdi: Aida (Complete Opera recorded in 1973) Montserrat Caballe, Placido Domingo, Piero Cappuccilli, Nicolai Ghiaurov / Royal Opera House Chorus & Orchestra, Riccardo Muti [ Warner Classics Home of Opera / 3 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2016 ] 'An outright winner. Muti is the undoubted hero, so compelling is his interpretation of the score, and there are no weaknesses in his cast, which features five of the biggest operatic 'names' of the day.' (Gramophone) |
VERDI
Aida (recorded live Covent Garden in 1994) Royal Opera House / Cheryl Studer / Luciana d'Intino / Dennis O'Neill / Edward Downes (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "[Sir Edward Downes'] command of the score's structure, its curious blend of delicacy and bombast, of classical propriety and romantic excess, is complete and he drew superbly disciplined playing from the pit and lusty singing from the augmented... |
JOBY TALBOT
Talbot: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (complete ballet recorded in 2011) Royal Opera House / Lauren Cuthbertson, Sergei Polunin, Edward Watson, Zenaida Yanowsky / Barry Wordsworth (cond) [ Opus Arte DVD / DVD - released 25/Nov/2014 ] Lewis Carroll's ever-popular story provides the basis for Christopher Wheeldon's spectacular new work, starring Royal Ballet Principal Lauren Cuthbertson. Captivating designs by Bob Crowley, an engaging and passionate score by Joby Talbot, and... |
TURNAGE
Anna Nicole (complete opera recorded in 2011) Royal Opera House / Eva-Maria Westbroek, Alan Oke, Gerald Finley / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House Collection DVD / DVD - released 20/Aug/2011 ] "...It's a tremendous show...shocking it isn't; stunning it is!" The Independent |
TURNAGE
Anna Nicole (complete opera recorded in 2011) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Eva-Maria Westbroek, Alan Oke, Gerald Finley / Antonio Pappano (cond) [ Opus Arte Royal Opera House Collection Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Aug/2011 ] "The six camera operators get in close enough for us all to appreciate the visual brilliance of Richard Jones's direction and Miriam Buether's colourfully absurd sets. Better yet, the cameras offer extra chances for the Dutch soprano Eva-Maria... |
RICHARD WAGNER
MARBECKS COLLECTABLE: Wagner: Arias & Love Duets (Scenes from the Ring and Tristan und Isolde) Placido Domingo, Deborah Voigt, Natalie Dessay, Violeta Urmana / Royal Opera House Orchestra / Antonio Pappano [ EMI Classics / 2 CD - released 1/Nov/2007 ] 2001 GRAMOPHONE AWARD FINALIST - Recital "For those who like their Wagner short and for those who wish to hear Domingo especially in these two duets, this disc is a must." (MusicWeb on the original release) |
PETER ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
Ballet at the Opera (from Eugene Onegin, Oprichnik, The Maid of Orleans, etc) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Colin Davis [ SBS Decca Australian Eloquence / CD - released 1/May/2009 ] "An unhackneyed sample of the operatic-balletic Tchaikovsky culled from the well known and the neglected operas - brilliant performed and recorded." (MusicWeb Aug 2007) |
DELIBES / ADAM / HEROLD
Ballet Spectacular: Coppelia, Giselle, La Fille Mal Gardee (Complete ballets recorded 2000-2006) The Royal Ballet / Leanne Benjamin, Carlos Acosta, Alina Cojocaru, Johan Kobborg, Marianela Nunez / Opera House Orchestra [ BBC / Opus Arte DVD / 3 DVD Box Set - released 20/Dec/2014 ] "La fille mal gardée is sheer perfection, Nuñez and Acosta are unsurpassable respectively in the feminine grace and masculine confidence of Ashton's Lise and Colas, and their mimetic skills are delicious" BBC Music |
VINCENZO BELLINI
Bellini: Norma (complete opera recorded live in 1952) Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Mirto Picchi / Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Vittorio Gui [ Warner Classics Maria Callas Live Remastered / 2 CD - released 1/Feb/2019 ] 'Bellini's Norma is an epic and multi-faceted role, often considered the ultimate vocal challenge for an operatic soprano. Callas sang it on stage 92 times, more often than any other heroine, and her achievement casts a long shadow: more than 50... |
GEORGE BENJAMIN
Benjamin: Lessons in Love and Violence (complete opera recorded in 2018) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Stéphane Degout, Barbara Hannigan, Gyula Orendt, Peter Hoare / George (cond) [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jul/2019 ] "At just 90 minutes, this is an opera of impressive concentration with not a word or note wasted." Gramophone |
ERIK SATIE
Best of Satie Aldo Ciccolini, Anne Queffelec (piano) / Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House [ Warner Classics Inspiration Series / CD - released 20/Jun/2015 ] Meditative piano sounds and glitter of Parisian cabaret. Satie was one of the most interesting figures of early 20th century Paris moving in the same artistic circles as Pablo Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Man Ray. He was known for his droll sense of... |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (complete opera filmed in 2006) Royal Opera House / Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo / Antonio Pappano (conductor) [ Decca Classics DVD / DVD - released 25/Jan/2017 ] "Kaufmann and Antonacci are that rare breed: superb singers who can also act with subtlety and passion" The Guardian |
BIZET / MENDELSSOHN / MOZART / PUCCINI / STRAUSS 11 / RAMEAU
THE BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: Opera and Ballet Highlights Paris Opera Ballet / Royal Opera House / Teatro Real, Madrid / Glyndebourne Opera / Pacific Northwest Ballet / Drottningholms Slottsteater [ Opus Arte Blu-Ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 1/Jan/2009 ] Blu-Ray - Opera and Ballet Highlights from the Opus Arte catalogue at a very special price. |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten conducts Britten: Opera 2 (A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Rape of Lucretia, The Turn of the Screw, Death in Venice, Gloriana) SPECIAL PRICE Benjamin Luxon; Heather Harper; Peter Pears / English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra & Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden / Benjamin Britten [ Decca Budget Boxes / 10 CD Box Set - released 1/Feb/2005 ] 1001 Classical Recording you must hear before you die (1901-1950 for Rape of Lucretia & Turn of the Screw) - These recordings of the remaining five Britten operas in the Decca catalogue are conducted by a mixture of the composer and two colleagues,... |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: Peter Grimes Peter Pears / Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten [ Alto / 2 CD - released 23/Nov/2009 ] Rosette Recording - Penguin Guide (on original Decca recording) |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Simple Symphony / Spring Symphony / Four Sea Interludes Jennifer Vyvyan; Norma Proctor; Peter Pears / Royal Opera House Orchestra, Benjamin Britten / I Musici, Felix Ayo [ Alto / CD - released 10/Aug/2013 ] (Spring Symph) "confirmed in my admiration by this, both technically and musically among the best things the gramophone has given us. The music is not difficult for any open-minded listener to enjoy" (Gramophone) |
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
The Prince of the Pagodas, Op. 57 (complete ballet) Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten [ Decca Ballet Edition / 2 CD - released 16/Apr/2012 ] The first recording of The Prince of the Pagodas at the Royal Opera House, with Britten himself conducting. The Prince of the Pagodas is Britten's only full-length ballet - a glittering score full of the oriental harmonies and instrumental colour... |
GEORGES BIZET
Bizet: Carmen (complete opera filmed in 2006) BLU-RAY Royal Opera House / Jonas Kaufmann, Anna Caterina Antonacci, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo / Antonio Pappano (conductor) [ Decca Music Group Blu-ray / Blu-ray Disc - released 25/Jan/2017 ] BLU-RAY - 'Kaufmann and Antonacci are that rare breed: superb singers who can also act with subtlety and passion' The Guardian |
JULES MASSENET
Massenet: Cendrillon [Cinderella] (the complete opera, recorded in 2011) Royal Opera House / Joyce DiDonato, Alice Coote, Eglise Gutierrez, Ewa Podles / Bertrand de Billy (conductor) [ Virgin Classics DVD / 2 DVD - released 11/May/2012 ] "Bertrand de Billy leads a highly sympathetic reading of the score...revelling in the pomposity of the court dances while conjuring magic in the duets." (International Record Review) |