Offenbach Les Contes d'Hoffmann opera to a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. Direction by John Schlesinger. Stars Vittorio Grigòlo (Hoffmann), Thomas Hampson (Lindorf/Coppélius/Dapertutto/Miracle), Sofia Fomina (Olympia), Christine Rice (Giulietta), Sonya Yoncheva (Antonia), Kate Lindsey (Nicklausse/Muse), Christophe Mortagne (Spalanzani), Eric Halfvarson (Crespel), Vincent Ordanneau (Andrès/Cochenille/Pittichinaccio/Frantz), Catherine Carby (Spirit of Antonia's Mother), David Junghoon Kim (Nathanaël), Charles Rice (Hermann), Yuriy Yurchuk (Schlémil), Jeremy White (Luther), and Olga Sabadoch (Stella). Evelino Pidò conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Co-Concert Master Sergey Levitin) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director Wiliam Spaulding). Sets by William Dudley; costumes by Maria Björnson; lighting by David Hersey; choreography by Eleanor Fazan; fight direction by William Hobbs; directed for the screen by Johathan Haswell. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Don Carlo opera to a 4-act libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle. Directed 2016 by Cesare Lievi as part of the Verdi Festival, Teatro Regio di Parma. Stars Michele Pertusi (Philip II, King of Spain), José Bros (Don Carlo, Infante of Spain), Vladimir Stoyanov (Rodrigo, Marchese di Posa), Ievghen Orlov (Grand Inquisitor), Serena Farnocchia (Elisabetta di Valois), Marianne Cornetti (Princess Eboli), Lavinia Bini (Tebaldo, Elisabetta’s Page), Gregory Bonfatti (Conte di Lerma), and Marina Bucciarelli (Celestial Voice). Daniel Oren conducts the Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini and the Chorus of the Teatro Regio di Parma (Chorus Master Martino Faggini). Sets and costumes designed by Maurizio Balò; lighting by Andrea Borelli. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBerlioz Béatrice et Bénédict opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2106 by Laurent Pelly at the Glyndebourne Summer Festival. Stars Stéphanie d'Oustrac (Béatrice), Paul Appleby (Bénédict), Philippe Sly (Claudio), Léonato (Georges Bigot), Sophie Karthäuser (Hero), Lionel Lhote (Somarone), Frédéric Caton (Don Pedro), Katarina Bradić (Ursule), and Paul Sheridon (Notary). Antonello Manacorda, replacing the ill Robin Ticciati, directs the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Leader Vesselin Gellev) and the Glyndebourne chorus (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines). Set designs by Barbara de Limburg; costumes designed by Laurent Pelly; lighting by Duane Schuler; and dialogue adapted by Agathe Mélinand. Film direction by François Roussillon; George Bruell was Executive Producer. Sung in French. Released 2017, disc has 5,1 dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Macbeth opera to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed 2016 by Darko Tresnjak at the LA Opera House. Stars Plácido Domingo (Macbeth), Ekaterina Semenchuk (Lady Macbeth), Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (Banquo), Joshua Guerrero (Macduff), Joshua Wheeker (Malcolm), Summer Hassan (Lady-in-Waiting), Theo Hoffmann (Doctor/ First Apparition), Liv Redpath (Second Apparition), Isaiah Morgan (Third Apparition), Reid Bruton (Servant), and James Martin Schaefer (Assassin). James Conlon conducts LA Opera Orchestra and Choir (Chorus Director Grant Gershon). Scenic design by Darko Tresnjak and Colin McGurk; costume design by Suttirat Anne Larlarb; lighting design by Matthew Richards; projection design by Sean Nieuwenhuis; fight director by Steve Rankin; climbing consultant was Daniel Lyons. Executive Producers Christopher Koelsch and Rupert Hemmings; Screen Producers Anthea Bhargava and Eric White; directed for screen by Matthew Diamond. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini Il barbiere di Siviglia opera to libretto by Cesare Sterbini. Directed by 2016 Annabel Arden at Glyndebourne. Stars Danielle de Niese (Rosina), Alessandro Corbelli (Dr Bartolo), Björn Bürger (Figaro), Taylor Stayton (Count Almaviva), Christophoros Stamboglis (Basilio), and Janis Kelly (Berta). Enrique Mazzola conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Leader Pieter Schoeman) and The Glyndebourne Chorus (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines). Designs by Joanna Parker; lighting by James Farncombe; movement by Toby Sedgwick; directed for film by François Roussillon; Executive Producer George Bruell. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MorePuccini La Bohème opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Directed 2014 by Orpha Phelan at the Malmö Opera. Stars Olesya Golovneva (Mimì), Joachim Bäckstöm (Rodolfo), Vladislav Sulimsky (Marcello), Maria Fontosh (Musetta), Daniel Hellström (Schaunard), and Miklós Sebestyén (Colline). Christian Badea conducts the Malmö Opera Orchestra & Chorus and Malmö Children’s Chorus. Choreography by Lynne Hockney; stage and costume designs by Leslie Travers; lighting design by Thomas C. Hase; video direction by Volker Werner. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreDonizetti Rosmonda d'Inghilterra opera to libretto by Felice Romani. Directed 2016 by Paolo Rota [named apparently misspelled "Paola" on back cover above] at the Teatrto Donizetti in Bergamo. Stars Jessica Pratt (Rosmonda), Eva Mei (Leonora), Dario Schmunck (Enrico), Nicola Ulivieri (Clifford), and Raffaella Lupinacci (Arturo). Sebastiano Rolli conducts the Orchestra Donizetti Opera. Set and lighting design by Nicolas Bovey; costumes by Massimo Cantini Parrini; assistant direction by Irene Petris; assistent costume design by Jessica Zambelli; video direction by Matteo Ricchetti. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreHandel Box Set released 2017. Below are the discs. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Guilio Cesare in Egitto. McVicar. 2005. (Grade: A+)
Rinaldo. Carsen.2011. (Grade: B+)
Saul. Kosky. 2016. (Grade: Help!) (We haven't reviewed this title yet, but it got fine reviews.)
This is a fine box with 3 highly-regarded titles. It appears the price is right to make this a great value. Total Grade: A
Read MoreDonizetti Olivo e Pasquale opera to a libretto by Jacopo Ferretti. 1827 Neapolitan Version revised by Maria Chiara Bertieri for the Donizetti Foundation. Directed 2016 by Ugo Giacomazzi and Luigi Di Gangi of operAlchemica. Stars Bruno Taddia (Olivo), Filippo Morace (Pasquale), Laura Giordano (Isabella), Pietro Adaini (Camillo), Matteo Macchioni (Le Bross), Edoardo Milletti (Columella), Silvia Beltrami (Matilde), and Giovanni Romeo (Diego). Federico Maria Sardelli conducts the Orchestra dell'Accademia Teatro alla Scala and the Coro Donizetti Opera (Chorus Master Fabio Tartari). Set and costume design by Sara Sarzi Sartori, Daniela Bertuzzi, and Arianna Delgado; light design by Luigi Biondi; video direction by Matteo Riccheti. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Otello opera to libretto by Arrigo Boito. Directed 2016 by Vincent Boussard at the Salzburg Easter Festival. Stars José Cura (Otello), Dorothea Röschmann (Desdemona), Carlos Álvarez (Iago), Benjamin Bernheim (Cassio), Christa Mayer (Emilia), Georg Zeppenfeld (Lodovico), Bror Magnus Tødenes (Roderigo), Csaba Szegedi (Montano), and Gordon Bintner (Herald). Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor, the Salzburger Festspieleand the Theater Kienderchor. Sets by Vincent Lemaire; costumes by Christian Lacroix; lighting by Guido Levi; video designs by Isabel Robson. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWagner Parsifal opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2012 by Pierre Audi at the Dutch National Opera. Stars Alejandro Marco-Buhrmester (Amfortas), Mikhail Petrenko (Titurel/Klingsor), Falk Struckmann (Gurnemanz), Christopher Ventris (Parsifal), Petra Lang (Kundry), Jean-Léon Klosterman (First Knight of the Grail), Roger Smeets (Second Knight of the Grail), Lisette Bolle, Rosanne van Sandwijk, Erik Slik, Jeroen de Vaal (4 Esquires), Lisette Bolle, Inez Hafkamp, Tomoko Makuuchi, Rosanne van Sandwijk, Oleksandra Lenyshyn, Melanie Greve (6 Flower Maids), and Marieke Reuten (Voice from Above). Iván Fischer conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Choir of the Dutch National Opera (Chorus Master Martin Wright), and the "Kickers" of the Waterland Youth Music School (Chorus Master Lorenzo Papolo). Set design by Anish Kapoor; costume design by Christof Hetzer; lighting design by Jean Kalman; movement by Gail Skrela; dramaturgy by Klaus Bertisch. Directed for TV by Misjel Vermeiren. Sung in German. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreSaverio Mercadante Francesca da Rimini opera to libretto by Felice Romani. Directed 2016 by Pier Luigi Pizzi at the Palazzo Ducale as part of the Festival della Valle d'Itria, Martina Franca, Italy. Stars Leonor Bonilla (Francesca), Aya Wakizono (Paolo), Merto Süngü (Lanciotto), Antonio Di Matteo (Guido), Larisa Martinez (Isaura) and Ivan Ayon Rivas (Guelfo). Fabio Luisi conducts the Orchestra Internazionale d’Italia and the Chorus of the Transylvania State and Philharmonic Orchestra of Cluj-Napoca (Chorus Master Cornel Groza). Set and costumes by Pier Luigi Pizzi; choreography by Gheorghe Iancu; first ballerina was Letizia Giuliani; video direction by Matteo Ricchetti. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreAlban Berg Lulu opera to libretto by the composer (3-act version completed by Friedrich Cerha in 1979). Directed 2015 by William Kentridge at the Met. Stars Marlis Petersen (Lulu), Susan Graham (Countess Geschwitz), Daniel Brenna (Alwa, Dr. Schön's Son, a composer), Paul Groves (The Painter/The African Prince), Johan Reuter (Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper), Martin Winkler (The Animal Tamer/The Acrobat), Franz Grundheber (Schigolch), Elizabeth DeShong (The Wardrobe Mistress/The Schoolboy/The Page), Alan Oke (The Prince/the Manservant/The Marquis), Julian Close (The Theater Manager/The Banker), Ashley Emerson (The Fifteen-Year-Old Girl), Jane Shaulis (Her Mother), Kathryn Day (The Designer), Tyler Duncan (The Journalist), Paul Corona (The Servant), James Courtney (The Physician/The Professor/The Police Commissioner), Joanna Dudley (Solo Performer), and Andrea Fabi (Solo Performer). Lothar Koenigs conducts the Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera. Co-directed by Luc De Wit; projection designs by Catherine Meyburgh; sets by Sabine Theunissen; costumes by Greta Goiris; lighting design by Urs Schönebaum; video direction by Matthew Diamond; music production by Jay David Saks. Supervising Producers were Mia Bongiovanni and Elena Park; Producers were Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik. Released 2016, combo package has a Blu-ray disc and a DVD. The Blu-ray disc has Dolby TrueHD surround sound. Grade: NA
Read More"Cav and Pag" opera double feature directed and staged 2015 by Philipp Stölzl at the Salzburg Easter Festival (Osterfestspiele).
- First plays the Pietro Mascagni Cavalleria rusticana to libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzeti and Guido Menasci. Stars Jonas Kaufmann (Turiddu), Liudmyla Monastyrska (Santuzza), Stefania Toczyska ( Lucia), Ambrogio Maestri (Alfio), Annalisa Stroppa (Lola), and Paul Clementi (Turiddu's Son).
- Then follows the Ruggero Leoncavallo Pagliacci to libretto by the composer. Stars Jonas Kaufmann (Canio), Maria Agresta (Nedda), Dimitri Platanias (Tonio), Tansel Akzeybek (Beppe), and Alessio Arduini (Silvio).
Christian Thielemann conducts the (1) Staatskapelle Dresden and the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Jörn Hinnerk Andresen), (2) the Salzburger Bachchor (Chorus Master Alois Glassner), and (3) the Salzburger Festspiele und Theater Kinderchor (Chorus Master Wolfgang Götz). Stage music by members of the Staatskappelle Dresden. Sets designed by Philipp Stölzl; costumes by Ursula Kudrna; lighting by Heinz Ilsanker; dramatury by Jan Dvořák; director of photography Nyika Jancsó; video direction by Brian Large. Released 2016, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreThis is a report on recent HDVDs envolving the mangling of Mozart music in one case of malsponsorship of public domain art and in another case of reverse product placement advertisement. Volkswagen and Rubolph Buchbinder are the culprits in the malsponsorship mangle. Red Bull is the culprit in the reverse product placement. First I'll introduce the two HDVDs:
1. Mozart Piano Concertos played 2014 by Rudolf Buchbinder in Dresden. Buchbinder also conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden in:
- Piano Concerto No. 20
- Piano Concerto No. 21 "Elvira Madigan"
- Piano Concerto No. 27
There is a bonus extra about the making of this recording in 4K. This is a 2K product---it appears there could be a 4K version later. Directed for video by Michael Beyer. Released 2016, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: F
2. Mozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail opera to libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie (from Christoph Friedrich Bretzner). Directed 2013 by Adrian Marthaler at the Salzburg Airport Hangar-7 entertainment complex (as part of the Salzburg Festival) Stars Desirée Rancatore (Konstanze), Tobias Moretti (Bassa Selim, spoken role), Javier Camarena (Belmonte), Rebecca Nelsen (Blonde), Thomas Ebenstein (Pedrillo), and Kurt Rydl (Osmin). Hans Graf conducts the Camerata Salzburg and Salzburger Bachchor (Chorus Master Alois Glaßner). Costumes by Lena Hoschek; dramatury by Ronny Dietrich; directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: F
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