Opera

Die Zauberflöte

Mozart Die Zauberflöte opera to a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Directed 2014 by Simon McBurney at the De Nederlandse Opera. Stars Maximilian Schmitt (Tamino), Christina Landshamer (Pamina), Thomas Oliemans (Papageno), Nina Lejderman (Papagena) Brindley Sherratt (Sarastro), Íride Martínez (Königin der Nacht), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Monostatos), Ana Maria Labin, Silvia de la Muela, and Julia Faylenbogen (Three Ladies), Maarten Koningsberger (Speaker), Thomas Dear (First Priest/Second Armed Man), Elmar Gilbertsson (Second Priest/First Armed Man), and solosits of the Knabenchor der Chorakademie Dortmund (Three Spirits). Marc Albrecht conducts the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Chorus of the Dutch National Opera (Chrorus Master Nicholas Jenkins). Set design by Michael Levine; costume design by Nicky Gillibrand; lighting design by Jean Kalman; movement by Josie Daxter; dramaturgy by Simon McBurney and Klaus Bertisch. Directed for TV by Misjel Vermeiren. Sung in German. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Der Ring des Nibelungen

Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen opera cycle performed 2010-2013 at the Teatro alla Scala with Guy Cassiers as stage director and Barenboim conducting. The box includes the four titles described in more detail on this site:
Das Rheingold
Die Walküre
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung

We have not reviewed any of the operas in this Ring. Our goal would be to review them all separately. The main purpose of this report would be to alert you to the opportunity to save by buying the cycle in this box.

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Der Ring des Nibelungen

Wagner Der Ring des Nibelungen opera cycle staged by various directors from 2002 through 2003 at the Staatsoper Stuttgart. This box set of 4 Blu-ray discs contains the whole Ring cycle. Lothar Zagrosek conducts the Staatsorchester Stuttgart for all 4 productions. Released 2014, the discs have 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound.

1. Das Rheingold. Produced 2002. Stage direction by Joachim Schloemer. Stars Wolfgang Probst (Wotan), Motti Kastón (Donner), Bernhard Schneider (Froh), Robert Künzli (Loge), Esa Ruuttunen (Alberich), Eberhard Francesco Lorenz (Mime), Roland Bracht (Fasolt), Phillip Ens (Fafner), Michaela Schuster (Fricka), Helga Rós Indridadóttir (Freia), Mette Ejsing (Erda), Catriona Smith (Woglinde), Maria Theresa Ullrich (Wellgunde), and Margarete Joswig (Flosshilde).

2. Die Walküre. Produced 2003. Stage direction by Chritoph Nel. Stars Robert Gambill (Siegmund), Attila Jun (Hunding), Jan-Hendrik Rootering (Wotan), Angela Denoke (Sieglinde), Renate Behle (Brünnhilde), Tichina Vaughn (Fricka), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Gerhilde), Wiebke Göetjes (Ortlinde), Stella Kleindienst (Waltraute), Helene Ranada (Schwertleite), Magdalena Schäfer (Helmwige), Nidia Palacios (Siegrune), Maria Theresa Ullrich (Grimgerde), and Margit Diefenthal (Rossweisse).

3. Siegfried. Produced 2003. Stage direction and dramaturgy by Jossi Wieler & Sergio Morabito. Stars Jon Fredric West (Siegfried), Heinz Göhrig (Mime), Wolfgang Schöne (Der Wanderer), Björn Waag (Alberich), Attila Jun (Fafner), Helene Ranada (Erda), Lisa Gasteen (Brünnhilde), and Gabriela Herrera (Der Waldvogel).

4. Götterdämmerung. Produced 2003. Stage direction by Peter Konwitschny. Stars Albert Bonnema (Siegfried), Luana DeVol (Brünnhilde), Roland Bracht (Hagen), Hernan Iturralde (Gunther), Franz-Josef Kapellmann (Alberich), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Gutrune), Tichina Vaugh (Waltraute), Janet Collins (First Norn, Flosshilde), Lani Poulson (Second Norn), Sue Patchell (Third Norn), Helga Rós Indridadóttir (Woglinde), and Sarah Castle (Wellgunde).

Grade: NA

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Der Fliegende Holländer

Wagner Der Fliegende Holländer opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2013 by Andreas Homoki at the Zurich Opera House. Stars Bryn Terfel (Der Holländer), Matti Salminen (Daland), Anja Kampe (Senta), Marco Jentzsch (Erik), Liliana Nikiteanu (Mary), Fabio Trümpy (Dalands Steuermann), and Nelson Egede (Dalands Diener). Alain Altinoglu conducts the Philharmonia Zürich and the Chor def Oper Zürich (Chorus Master Jürg Hämmerli. Set design by Wolfgang Gussmann; costume design by Wolfgang Gussmann and Susana Mendoza; lighting design by Franck Evin; dramaturgy by Werner Hintze; directed for video by Nele Münchmeyer. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Belcanto D'Amore

Belcanto D'Amore five opera box. In English, this title means Beautiful Song of Love or Beautiful Love Song. Four of the operas are by Verdi, and Madama Butterfly is by Puccini. (So this title is not connected to "belcanto" operas written by composers like Bellini and Donizetti.) Each of the operas is on an HDVD previously published by C Major to be purchased separately. Here are the individual titles included (alphabetical order):

1. Aida. This was recorded in 2009 at the outdoor Lake Stage of the Bregenzer Festival. People who go to the Lake Stage productions (literally over and under water) like this sort of extravaganza, which is made of equal parts of Cirque du Soleil, Eurotrash, Eurosplash, and anti-Americanism.  I gave it a "D" grade --- it's hard to do an outdoor show for 6,500 people that will look and sound good in a film made with HD cameras (which don't like to get wet).

2. Madama Butterfly by Puccini. This was also performed in 2009 outdoors at the Arena Sferisterio in Macerata, Italy. This is the best outdoor opera film I have seen. Pier Luigi Pizzi managed to come up with a set that was beautiful in the flesh and also in HDVD pictures. The music, directing, and acting is excellent. Raffaella Angeletti plays Cio-Cio-San (or Butterfly) all over the world and is acceptable on a stage. But her age and (please forgive me, but I have to tell the truth) bad teeth work against her in HDVD images. I gave this a "B" grade.

3. Rigoletto. This was produced and recorded in 2008 at the Teatro Regio di Parma Verdi Festival. Even though Parma has only about 200,000 inhabitants, its opera house is one of the most important in Italy. I haven't seen this, but critics liked it and the customer reviews on Amazon.com have been extremely favorable. So my hunch would be that this is probably an "A" grade title.

4. Traviata. Another outdoor show, this time at the Arena di Verona. I haven't seen this, nor have I seen any thorough review by a critic. But after surfing around I now have a hunch that this is a ""C+" or "B" title which uses giant picture frames to try to cope with the ugly stage in Verona.

5. Turandot. This was shot in 2008 at the Valencia opera house.  I watched this 3 or 4 times and gave it an "A."

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Don Carlo

Verdi Don Carlo opera to a libretto by Camille du Locle and Joseph Méry. Directed 2013 by Hugo de Ana at the Teatro Regio, Torino. Stars Ramón Vargas (Don Carlo), Svetlana Kasyan (Elizabeth of Valois), Ildar Abdrazakov (Philip II), Ludovic Tézier (Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa), Daniela Barcellona (Princess Eboli), Marco Spotti (Grand Inquisitor), Roberto Tagliavini (Monk), Sonia Ciani (Tebaldo), Erika Grimaldi (Voice from Heaven),  Dario Prola (Count of Lerma), and Luca Casalin (Herald). Gianandrea Noseda conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Region, Torino (Chorus Master Claudio Fenoglio). Set design and costume design by Hugo de Ana; choreography by Leda Lojodice; lighting by Sergio Rossi; assitant direction by Filippo Tonon; directed for video and television by Ariella Beddini; executive producer Edoardo Fioravanti. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Der Rosenkavalier

Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier opera to libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Directed 2014 by Harry Kupfer at the Salzburg Festival. Stars Krassimira Stoyanova (Feldmarschallin), Günther Groisböck (Baron Ochs), Sophie Koch (Octavian), Adrian Eröd (Faninal), Mojca Erdman (Sophie), Silvana Dussmann (Leitmetzerin), Rudolph Schasching (Valzacci), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (Annina), and Stefan Pop (Sänger). Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Philharmoniker (Chorus Master Ernst Raffelsberger), and the Salzburger Festpiele und Theater Kinderchor (Chorus Master Wolfgang Götz). Set design by Hans Shavernoch; costume design by Yan Tax; lighting design by Jürgen Hoffmann; video direction by Brian Large. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Lohengrin

Richard Wagner Lohengrin opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2009 by Richard Jones at the Munich Festival. Stars Jonas Kaufmann (Lohengrin), Anja Harteros (Elsa), Wolfgang Koch (Telramund), Michaela Schuster (Ortrud), Christof Fischesser (König Heinrich), and Evgeny Nikitin (Herald). Kent Nagano conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Set and costume design by Ultz; lighting design by Mimi Jordan Sherin; video direction by Karina Fibich. Released 2014, disc has dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. Grade: NA

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Il trovatore

Verdi Il trovatore opera to a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano and Leone Emanuele Bardare. Directed 2012 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at La Monnaie / De Munt. Stars Misha Didyk (Manrico), Marina Poplavskaya (Leonora), Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo (Azucena), Scott Hendricks (Il Conte di Luna), and Giovanni Furlanetto (Ferrando). Marc Minkowski conducts the Orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie and the Choeurs de la Monnaie. Set and costume design by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer. Sung in Italian. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Falstaff

Verdi Falstaff opera to libretto by Arrigo Boito. Directed 2013 by Damiano Michieletto at the Strasburg Festival (Haus für Mozart). Stars Ambrogio Maestri (Sir John Falstaff), Fiorenza Cedolins (Mrs. Alice Ford), Massimo Cavalletti (Ford), Eleonora Buratto (Nannetta), Javier Camarena (Fenton), Elisabeth Kulmann (Mrs. [or Mistress] Quickly), Stephanie Houtzeel (Mrs. Meg Page), Luca Casalin (Dottore Cajus), Gianluca Sorrentino (Bardolfo), and David Fersini (Pistola). Zubin Mehta conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Philharmonia Chor Wien (Chorus Master Walter Zeh). Video direction by Karina Fibich. Released in 2014, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Don Giovanni (Schrott)

Mozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Directed 2013 by Philipp Himmelmann at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. Stars Erwin Schrott (Don Giovanni), Luca Pisaroni (Leporello), Anna Netrebko (Donna Anna), Charles Castronovo (Don Ottavio), Malena Ernman (Donna Elvira), Katija Dragojevic (Zerlina), Jonathan Lemalu (Masetto), and Mario Luperi (Commendatore). Thomas Hengelbrock conducts the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble (Leader Riccardo Minasi) and Balthasar-Neumann-Chor (Chorus Master Frank Markowitsch). Donna Elvira's maid (acrobat role) by Susanne Preissler. Extras: Alisa Berlin, Anna Biberacher, Angela Covelli, Kristina Daniel, Marcel Fox, Jessica Hempel, Mia Hilger, Valerie Holfeld, Ferris Jung, Nino Kolicic, Lisa Koßmann, Luisa Krieser, Sophie Kuznik, Camilla Maul, Florentina Maul, Franziska Meyer, Tamima Rastätter, Tabea Schell, Markus Senger, Mario Scholz, Deniz Can Ulucan, Lisa Wehle, and Hans Zelenka. Stage design by Johannes Leiacker; costumes by Florence von Gerkan; lighting by David Cunningham; directed for video by Jérémie Cuvillier. Stereo and sound recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C+

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Parsifal

Wagner Parsifal opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2014 by Stephen Langridge at the Royal Opera House. Stars Simon O'Neill (Parsifal), René Pape (Gurnemanz), Angela Denoke (Kundry/Voice from Above), Gerald Finley (Amfortas), Willard W. White (Klingsor), Robert Lloyd (Titurel), David Butt Philip (First Knight), Charbel Mattar (Second Knight), Dusiča Bjeli (First Squire), Rachel Kelly (Second Squire), Sipho Fubesi (Third Squire), Luis Gomes (Fourth Squire), and Celina Byrne, Kiandra Howarth, Anna Patalong, Anna Devin, Ana James, Justina Gringyte (Flowermaidens). Antonio Pappano conducts the Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Peter Manning). Designs by Alison Chitty; lighting design by Paul Pyant; movement by Dan O’Neill; video design by Thomas Bergmann and William Bramsche. Directed for TV by Jonathan Haswell. Sung in German. Released 2014, disc claims 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Genoveva

Robert Schumann Genoveva opera with libretto by Robert Reinick and the composer. Directed 2008 by Martin Kušej at the Zurich Opera House. Stars Juliane Banse  (Genoveva), Shawn Mathey (Golo), Martin Gantner (Siegfried), Cornelia Kallisch (Margaretha), Alfred Muff (Drago), Ruben Drole (Hidulfus), Tomasz Slawinski  (Balthasar), and Matthew Leigh (Caspar). Nikolaus Harnoncourt directs the Orchestra and Chorus of the Zurich Opera House (Chorus master Ernst Raffelsberger). Set by Rolf Glittenburg; costumes by Heidi Hackl; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann; TV director was Felix Breisach. Released  2009, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: B+

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Rusalka

Dvořák Rusalka opera to libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil. Directed 2012 by Stefan Herheim at De Munt/La Monnaie in Brussels. Stars Myrtò Papatanasiu (Rusalka), Pavel Černoch (Prince), Annalena Persson (Foreign Princess), Willard White (Vodnik, the Water Goblin), Renée Morlo (Jezibaba), Ekaterina Isachenko, YoungHee Kim [or Young Hee Kim], Nona Javkhidze (3 Wood Nymphs), Julian Hubbard (Hunter and Priest), André Grégoire (Butcher), and Marc Coulon (Policeman). Adam Fischer conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orcestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Richard Lewis). Sets by Heike Scheele; costumes by Gesine Völlm; lighting by Wolfgang Göbbel; videos by Fettfilm Berlin; dramaturgy by Wolfgang Willaschek. Sung in Czech and released 2014, disc has has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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Mefistofele

 Arrigo Boito Mefistofele opera to a libretto by the author. Revival directed 2013 by Laurie Feldman (after Robert Carsen) at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. Stars Ildar Abdrazakov (Mefistofele), Ramón Vargas (Faust), Patricia Racette (Margherita/Elena), Erin Johnson (Marta), Renée Rapier (Pantalis),  and Chuanyue Wang (Wagner and Rereo). Nicola Luisotti conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Dance Corps (Chorus Director Ian Robertson). Designed by Michael Levine; lighting design by Gary Marder (based on lighting design by Duane Schuler); choreography by Alphonse Poulin; video direction by Frank Zamacona; produced by Jessica Koplos and Matthew Shilvock; executive producer was David Gockley. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

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