"Cav and Pag" opera double feature directed and staged 2015 by Damiano Michieletto at the Royal Opera House.
- First plays the Pietro Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana to libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzeti and Guido Menasci. Stars Aleksandrs Antonenko (Turiddu), Elena Zilio (Mamma Lucia), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Santuzza), Dimitri Platanias (Alfio), and Martina Belli (Lola).
- Then follows the Ruggero Leoncavallo Pagliacci to libretto by the composer. Stars Dimitri Platanias (Tonio), Aleksandrs Antonenko (Canio), Carmen Giannattasio (Nedda), Benjamin Hulett (Beppe), Dionysios Sourbis (Silvio), Elliot Goldie (Villager), and Nigel Cliffe (Villager).
Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus. Set design by Paolo Fantin; costume design by Carla Teti; lighting design by Alessandro Carletti; directed for the screen by Rhodri Huw. Released 2016, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound (information on package confused) and Dolby Atmos sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Rigoletto opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed 2013 by Michael Mayer at the Met. Stars Piotr Beczala (Duke), Željka Lučić (Rigoletto), Diana Damrau (Gilda), Štefan Kocán (Sparafucile), Oksana Volkova (Maddalena), Maria Zifchak (Giovanna), Robert Pomakov (Monterone), Jeff Mattsey (Marullo), Alexander Lewis (Borsa), David Crawford (Count Ceprano), Emalie Savoy (Countess Ceprano), Earle Patriarco (A Guard), and Catherine Choi (Page). Michele Mariotti conducts the Met Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Donald Palumbo). Met Ballet choreographed by Steven Hoggett. Sets by Christine Jones; costumes by Susan Hilferty; lighting by Kevin Adams. The English subtitles in this production contribute enormously to its success; I think the credit for this should go to David Rebhun. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Read MoreGiuseppe Verdi Rigoletto opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed 2006 by Gilbert Deflo at the Zurich Opera House. Stars Leo Nucci (Rigoletto), Piotr Beczala (Duke), Elena Moşuc (Gilda), László Polgár (Sparafucile), Katharina Peetz (Maddalena), Kismara Pessatti (Giovanna), Rolf Haunstein (Monterone), Valeriy Murga (Marullo), Bogusław Bidziński (Borsa), Morgan Moody (Count Ceprano), Angela Kerrison (Countess Ceprano), Manuel Betancourt (Usher), and Martina Welschenbach. (Page to the Duchess). Dancers: Camilla Hoffmann, Megan Laehn, Julia Cheremeteff, Patricia Fässler, Eric Müller, Maurizio Tuozzo, Christian Altenburger, and Marc Meyer. Nello Santi conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Zurich Opera House (Chorus Master Ernst Raffelsberger). Stage production by Aglaja Nicolet; set design by William Orlandi; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann; choreography by Megan Laehn; directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Released 2008, disc features 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreVerdi Rigoletto opera to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed by Stefano Vizioli in 2008 (after the 1987 Pierluigi Samaritani production) at the Teatro Regio di Parma Verdi Festival. Stars Francesco Demuro (Duke of Mantova), Leo Nucci (Rigoletto), Nino Machaidze (Gilda), Marco Spotti (Sparafucile), Stefanie Irányi (Maddalena), Katarina Nikolic (Giovanna), Roberto Tagliavini (Count of Monterone), Orazio Mori (Marullo), Mauro Buffoli (Matteo Borsa), Ezio Maria Tisi (Count di Ceprano), and Scilla Cristiano (Countess di Ceprano). Andrea Battistoni conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio Di Parma (Chorus Master Martino Faggini). Set and costumes originally designed (1987) by Pierluigi Samaritani and revised by Alessandro Ciammarughi; lighting by Franco Marri; directed for video by Andrea Bevilacqua. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreVerdi Rigoletto opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed 2010 by Elijah Moshinsky at the Sydney Opera House. Stars Alan Opie (Rigoletto), Emma Matthews (Gilda), Paul O'Neill (Duke), David Parkin (Sparafucile), Elizabeth Campbell (Giovanna/Maddalena), Christopher Hillier (Count Ceprano), Jane Parkin (Countess Ceprano), Andrew Moran (Marullo), David Corcoran (Borsa), Gennadi Dubinsky (Count Monterone), Jodie McGuren (Page), and Clifford Plumpton (Court Usher). Giovanni Reggioli conducts the Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra (Concertmaster Aubrey Murphy) and the Opera Australia Chorus (Chorus Master Michael Black). Designs by Michael Yeargan; lighting by Robert Bryan; directed for TV by Cameron Kirkpatrick. Executive Producer was Chris Yates; Supervising Producer was Sam Russell; Audio Director was Tony David Cray. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D
Read MoreBritten The Rape of Lucretia opera to libretto by the Ronald Duncan. Directed 2015 by Fiona Shaw at Glyndebourne. Stars Christine Rice (Lucretia), Allan Clayton (Male Chorus), Kate Royal (Female Chorus), Duncan Rock (Tarquinius), Matthew Rose (Collatinus), Michael Sumuel (Junius), Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Bianca), and Louise Alder (Lucia). Leo Hussain conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Leader Pieter Schoeman). Set design by Michael Levine; costume design by Nicky Gillibrand; lighting design by Paul Anderson; film direction by François Roussillon; produced by George Bruell. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRodion Shchedrin The Left-Hander opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2013 by Alexei Stepanyuk at the Mariinsky. Stars Andrei Popov (The Left-Hander), Edward Tsanga (Ataman Platov), Vladimir Moroz (Alexander I & Nicholas I), Kristina Alieva (The Flea), Maria Maksakova (Princess Charlotte), and Andrei Spekhov (English Under-Skipper). Valery Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Orchestra & Chorus. Set design by Alexander Orlov; costume design by Irina Cherednikova; lighting design by Alexander Sivaev; video direction by Anna Matison. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreHandel Hercules musical drama to libretto by Thomas Broughton. Directed 2004 by Luc Bondy. Stars William Shimell (Hercules), Joyce DiDonato (Dejanira), Toby Spence (Hyllus), Ingela Bohlin (Iole), Malena Ernman (Lichas), and Simon Kirkbride (Priest of Jupiter). William Christie conducts and chorus of Les Arts Florissants. Set design by Richard Peduzzi; costume design by Rudy Sabounghi; lighting design by Dominique Bruguière. Produced by François Duplat; directed for TV by Vincent Bataillon. Released 2016, disc has dts-HD Master Audion sonud. Grade: NA
Read MoreHandel Admeto opera to libretto by Nicola Haym or Paolo Antonio Rolli. Directed 2009 by Doris Dörrie at the Deutsches Theatre, Göttingen, Germany as part of the Internationale Handel-Festspiele. This title (with C Major catalog number 750704) appears to be the exact same record as the Admeto published by C Major in 2010 (with C Major catalog number 702104). The only difference between the two versions we can see are the front art on the package. Just follow the link above for a review with screenshots of this title, which earned an especially bad grade from us. We have no idea why C Major continues to flog this broken horse.)
Read MoreRossini Festival Collection of 4 operas performed at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Below are the titles. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Mosè in Egitto. 2012. (Grade: B+)
Ciro in Babilonia. 2013. (Grade: NA)
Il signor Bruschino. 2015. (Grade: NA)
.L’italiana in Algeri. 2014. (Grade: NA)
Read MoreBeethoven Fidelio opera (1814 version) to libretto by Joseph Ferdinand von Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuning, and Georg Friedrich Treitschke. Directed 2015 by Claus Guth at the Salzburg Festival. Stars Adrianne Pieczonka (Leonore), Jonas Kaufmann (Florestan), Tomasz Konieczny (Don Pizarro), Hans-Peter König (Rocco), Olga Bezsmertina (Marzelline), Norbert Ernst (Jaquino), and Sebastian Holecek (Don Fernando). Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Konztertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Ernst Raffelsberger). Set and costume design by Christian Schmidt; dramatic advisory by Ronny Dietrich; lighting design Olaf Freese; sound design by Torsten Ottersberg; video design by Andi A. Müller; video direction by Michael Beyer. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts Digital Surround sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreDonizetti Poliuto opera to libretto by Salvadore Cammarano. Directed 2015 by Mariame Clément at Glyndebourne. Stars Michael Fabiano (Poliuto), Ana Maria Martinez (Paolina), Igor Golovatenko (Severo), Matthew Rose (Callistene), Timothy Robinson (Felice), Emanuele D'Aguanno (Nearco), Gyula Rab (Christian), and Adam Marsden (Christian). Enrique Mazzola conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Leader Pieter Schoeman) and the Glyndebourne Chorus (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines). Designed by Julia Hansen; lighting design by Bernd Purkrabek; video design by fettFilm; produced by George Bruell; film direction by François Roussillon. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWagner Tristan und Isolde opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2015 by Katharina Wagner at the Bayreuth Festival. Stars Stephen Gould (Tristan), Evelyn Herlitzius (Isolde), Georg Zeppenfelds (König Marke), Iain Paterson (Kurwenal), Raimund Nolte (Melot), Christa Mayer (Brangäne), Tansel Akzeybek (Ein Hirt), Kay Stiefermann (Ein Steuermann), and Tansel Akzeybek (Junger Seemann). Christian Thielemann conducts Orchester der Bayreuther Festpiele and the Chor der Bayreuther Frestpiele (Chorus Master Eberhard Friedrich). Set design by Frank Philipp Schlößmann and Matthias Lippert; costume design by Thomas Kaiser; dramaturgy by Daniel Weber; lighting design by Reinhard Traub; video design by Marco Kies and Markus Spona. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. Sung in German. Released 2016, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MorePuccini Gianni Schicchi to libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. Directed 2015 by Kathleen Smith Belcher (as a revival of the 2008 Woody Allen production) at the LA Opera. Stars Plácido Domingo (Gianni Schicchi), Andriana Chuchman (Lauretta), Arturo Chacón-Cruz (Rinuccio), Philip Cokorinos (Betto di Signa), Meredith Arwady (Zita), Craig Colclough (Simone), Greg Fedderly (Gherardo), Stacey Tappan (Nella), Liam Bonner (Marco), and Peabody Southwell (La Ciesca) [Caution: several roles are missing here and preliminary information needs to be confirmed]. Grant Gershon conducts the LA Opera Orchestra. Set and costume design by Santo Loquasto; lighting by York Kennedy; video direction by Matthew Diamond. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini La Gazzetta opera to libretto by Giuseppe Palomba. Directed 2014 by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium. Stars Cinzia Forte (Lisetta), Enrico Marabelli (Don Pomponio), Edgardo Rocha (Alberto), Laurent Kubla (Filippo), Julie Bailly (Doralice), Monica Minarelli (Madama La Rose), Jacques Catalayud (Anselmo), and Roger Joakim (Monsù Traversen). Jan Schultsz conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Opéra Royal de Wallonie (Chorus Master Marcel Seminara). Set designs by Jean-Guy Lecat; lighting by Franco Marri; costume design by Fernand Ruiz; choreography by Luciana Fumarola; video direction by Frédéric Caillierez. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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