Bellini Norma opera to libretto by Felice Romani. Directed 2016 by Àlex Ollé at the Royal Opera House. Stars Sonya Yoncheva (Norma), Joseph Calleja (Pollione), Sonia Ganassi (Adalgisa), Brindley Sherratt (Oroveso), David Junghoon Kim (Flavio), and Vlada Borovko (Clotilde). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus (Concert Master Peter Manning). Set design by Alfons Flores; costume design by Lluc Castells; lighting design by Marco Filibeck. Directed for screen by Jonathan Haswell. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBellini I Puritani opera to libretto by Carlo Pepoli. Directed 2016 by Emilio Sagi at the Teatro Real de Madrid. Stars Miklós Sebestyén (Lord Gualtiero Valton), Nicolas Testé (Sir Giorgio), Javier Camarena (Lord Arturo Talbo), Ludovic Tézier (Sir Riccardo Forth), Antonio Lozano (Sir Bruno Robertson), Annalisa Stroppa (Enrichetta di Francia), and Diana Damrau (Lady Elvira Valton). Evelino Pidò conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real de Madrid (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Stage design by Daniel Bianco; costume design by Peppispoo; lighting design by Eduardo Bravo; filmed and edited by Jérémie Cuvillier. Producer Xavier Dubois; Executive Producer François Duplat. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Ernani opera to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed 2017 by Jean-Louis Grinda at the Opéra Monte-Carlo. Stars Ramón Vargas (Ernani), Ludovic Tézier (Don Carlo), Alexander Vinogradov (Don Ruy Gomez de Silva), Svetla Vassilieva (Elvira), Karine Ohanyan (Giovanna), Maurizio Pace (Don Riccardo), and Gabriele Ribis (Jago). Daniele Callegari conducts the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Monte-Carlo Opera Chorus (Chorus Master Stefano Visconti). Set design by Isabelle Partiot-Pieri; costumes by Teresa Acone; lights by Laurent Castaingt; film direction by Stéphan Aubé; produced by Frederic Allain (Wahoo). Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreDonizetti Lucia di Lammermoor opera to libretto by Salvadore Cammarano. Directed 2016 by Katie Mitchell at the Royal Opera House. Stars Diana Damrau (Lucia), Charles Castronovo (Edgardo), Ludovic Tézier (Enrico), Taylor Stayton (Arturo), Kwangchul Youn (Raimondo), Rachael Lloyd (Alisa), and Peter Hoare (Normanno). Daniel Oren conducts the Orchestra (Associate Concert Master Ania Safonova) and Chorus of the Royal Opera House (Chorus Director Renato Balsadonna). Designs by Vicki Mortimer; lighting design by Jon Clark; Movement Director and Associate Director Joseph Alford; Fight Directors Rachel Bown-Williams and Ruth Cooper-Brown. Directed for screen by Margaret Williams. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 Dobly Digital sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Lucio Silla opera to libretto by Giovanni de Gamerra. Directed 2016 by Marshall Pynkoski at the Teatro alla Scala. Stars Kresimir Spicer (Lucio Silla), Lenneke Ruiten (Giunia), Marianne Crebassa (Cecilio), Inga Kalna (Lucio Cinna), and Giulia Semenzato (Celia). Makhar Vaziev directs the Ballet Company of Teatro alla Scala. Also features basso continuo by Francesco Corti (Cembalo), Simone Groppo (Violoncello), and Pino Ettorre (Contrabasso). Marc Minkowski conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala (Chorus Master Bruno Casoni). Choreography by Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg; stage and costume design by Antoine Fontaine; lighting design by Hervé Gary; video direction by Arnalda Canali. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
This was Mozart's 8th opera, written when he was 18. Hugo Shirley, writing in the March 2018 Gramophone (page 88), praises and recommends this as "an effective video version" of the work. He comments that director Pynkoski directs "each singer with an impressive, engaging eye for detail . . . and creates his own aesthetic of artful, flowing theatricality, which is underlined by Antoine Fontaine's designs."
Read MoreThe Royal Opera Collection Box Set released 2017. Below are the discs for 15 productions of The Royal Opera. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
- Le nozze di Figaro. Mozart. 2009. (Grade: A+)
- Don Giovanni. Mozart. 2014. (Grade: A)
- Die Zauberflöte. Mozart. 2008. (Grade A)
- Macbeth. Verdi. 2012. (Grade A-)
- La traviata. Verdi. 2011. (Grade A)
- Carmen. Bizet. 2008. (Grade A+)
- Parsifal. Wagner. 2014. (Grade N/A)
- Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci. Mascagni/Leoncavallo. 2016. (Grade N/A)
- La Bohème. Puccini. 2010. (Grade C+)
- Turandot. Puccini. 2014. (Grade N/A)
- Il trittico (Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi). Puccini. 2012. (Grade A)
- Salome. Strauss. 2010. (Grade A+)
- Król Roger. Syzmanowski. 2015. (Grade N/A)
- Gloriana. Britten. 2013. (Grade N/A)
- Written on Skin. Benjamin. 2014. (Grade B+)
Read MoreAlban Berg Lulu opera to libretto by the composer (3-act version completed by Friedrich Cerha in 1979). Directed 2015 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Stars Marlis Petersen (Lulu), Bo Skovhus (Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper), Daniela Sindram (Gräfin Geschwitz), Matthias Klink (Alwa), Rainer Trost (Der Maler (Painter)/Ein Neger (Negro)), Martin Winkler (Ein Tierbändiger(Animal Trainer)/Ein Athlet), Pavlo Hunka (Schigolch), Christian Rieger (Der Medizinalrat/Der Bankier/Der Professor), Rachel Wilson (Eine Theater-Garderobiere/Ein Gymnasiast/Ein Groom), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Der Marquis), Christoph Stephinger (Der Theaterdirektor), Elsa Benoit (Eine Fünfzehnjährige (15 year-old girl)), Cornelia Wulkopf (Ihre Mutter (Mother of the Girl )), Heike Grötzinger (Eine Kunstgewerblerin (Gallery Owner)), John Carpenter (Ein Journalist), Leonard Bernad (Ein Diener (Servant)), and Nicholas Reinke (Der Polizeikommissär). Kirill Petrenko conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Costume designs by Elena Zaytseva; choreography by Tatiana Baganova; set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinksy; video direction by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreDonizetti La Favorite opera to a libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz. Directed 2016 by Amélie Niermeyer at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Stars Elīna Garanča (Léonor de Guzmán), Matthew Polenzani (Fernand), Mariusz Kwiecień (Alphonse XI, King of Castile), Mika Kares (Balthazar), Joshua Owen Mills (Don Gaspar), and Elsa Benoit (Inès). Karel Mark Chichon conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and the Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Chorus Master Sören Eckhoff). Set design by Alexander Müller-Elmau; costume design by Kirsten Dephoff; lighting design by Michael Baueri. Directed for video by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreFranco Faccio Hamlet opera to libretto by Arrigo Boito (the libretto is in Italian and the real name is Amleto). Directed 2016 by Olivier Tambosi at the Bregenz Festival. Stars Pavel Černoch (Amleto), Claudio Sgura (Claudio), Eduard Tsanga (Polonio), Sébastien Soules (Orazio), Bartosz Urbanowicz (Marcello), Paul Schweinester (Laerte), Iulia Maria Dan (Ofelia), Dshamilja Kaiser (Gertrude), Gianluca Buratto (The Ghost/A Priest), Jonathan Winell (King Gonzaga/A Herald), Sabine Winter (The Queen), Yasushi Hirano (Luciano/First Gravedigger), and Hans-Jorg Ulm (Second Gravedigger). Paolo Carignani conducts the Wiener Symphoniker and the Prague Philharmonic Choir (Chorus Master Lukáš Vasilek). Set design by Frank Philipp Schlößmann; costume design by Gesine Völlm; lighting design by Davy Cunningham; choreography by Ran Arthur Braun; directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Released 2017, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MorePuccini La Bohème opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Directed 2016 by Àlex Ollé at the Teatro Regio di Torino. Stars Irina Lungu (Mimì), Giorgio Berrugi (Rodolfo), Kelebogile Besong (Musetta), Massimo Cavalletti (Marcello), Benjamin Cho (Schaunard), Gabriele Sagona (Colline), Matteo Peirone (Benoît/Alcindoro), and Cullen Gandy (Parpignol). Gianandrea Noseda conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Torino. Set design by Alfons Flores; costume and set designs by Lluc Castells; lighting design by Urs Schonebaum; video direction by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWagner Lohengrin opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2016 by Angela Brandt (after the 1983 production by Christine Mielitz) at at the Dresden State Opera or Semperoper. Stars Piotr Beczała (Lohengrin), Anna Netrebko (Elsa von Brabant), Tomasz Konieczny (Friedrich von Telramund), Evelyn Herlitzius (Ortrud), Georg Zeppenfeld (König Heinrich der Vogler), Derek Welton (Der Heerrufer des Königs or the King's Herald), Tom Martinsen (1st Nobleman of Brabant), Simeon Esper ( 2nd Nobleman of Brabant), Matthias Henneberg (3rd Nobleman of Brabant), Tilmann Rönnebeck (4th Nobleman of Brabant) as well as Jana Hohlfeld, Monika Harnisch, Annett Eckert, and Masako Furuta (four Pages). Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden, men of the Sinforniechor Dresden, and the Sempreoper Extra Choir (Choirmaster Jörn Andresen). Set and costume designs by Peter Heilein; lighting by Friedewalt Degen; dramaturgy by Matthias Rank. Directed for video by Tiziano Mancini with photography directed by Luca Longarini. All regions. Sound on the 4K version was recorded with 96kHz/24-bit sound sampling with Audio Engineer Peter Hecker and Audio Producer Arend Prohmann. Recording by Metisfilm Classica produced by Magdalena Herbst. Released 2017, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini William Tell opera to a libretto by Étienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis. Directed 2015 by Damiano Michieletto at the Royal Opera House. Stars Gerald Finley (Guillaume Tell), Malin Byström (Mathilde), John Osborn (Arnold Melchtal), Enkelejda Shkosa (Hedwige), Sofia Fomina (Jemmy), Eric Halfvarson (Melcthal), Nicolas Courjal (Gesler), Alexander Vinogradov (Walter Furst), Michael Colvin (Rodolphe), Samuel Dale Johnson (Leuthold), and Enea Scala (Ruodi). Antonio Pappano conducts the Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Chorus Director Renato Balsadonna; Co-Concert Master Sergey Levitin). Set design by Paolo Fantin; costume design by Carla Teti; lighting design by Alessandro Carletti. Directed for the screen by Jonathan Haswell. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreCharles Gounod Faust opera to libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. Directed 2016 by Reinhard von der Thannen at the Salzburger Festival. Stars Piotr Beczała (Faust), Ildar Abdrazakov (Méphistophélès), Maria Agresta (Marguerite), Alexey Markov (Valentin), Tara Erraught (Siébel), Paolo Rumetz (Wagner), and Marie-Ange Todorovitch (Marthe). Alejo Pérez conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Philharmonia Chor Vienna (Chorus Master Walter Zeh). Set design by Reinhard von der Thannen; choreography by Giorgio Madia; lighting design by Franck Evin; dramatic advisor was Birgit von der Thannen. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWagner Parsifal opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2016 by Uwe Eric Laufenberg at the Bayreuth Festival. Stars Ryan McKinny (Amfortas), Karl-Heinz Lehner (Titurel), Georg Zeppenfeld (Gurnemanz), Klaus Florian Vogt (Parsifal), Gerd Grochowski (Klingsor), Elena Pankratova (Kundry), Tansel Akzeybek (First Knight of the Grail), Timo Riihonen (Second Knight of the Grail), Alexandra Steiner (1st Squire), Mareike Morr (2nd Squire), Charles Kim (3rd Squire), Stefan Heibach (4th Squire), Anna Siminska, Katharina Persicke, Mareike Morr, Alexandra Steiner, Bele Kumberger, Ingeborg Gillebo (Flower Maidens), and Wiebke Lehmkuhl (Voice from Heaven). Hartmut Haenchen conducts the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Eberhard Friedrich). Stage design by Gisbert Jäkel; costumes by Jessica Karge; lighting by Reinhard Traub, dramaturgy by Richard Lorber, video designs by Gérard Naziri. Directed for video by Michael Beyer. Released 2017, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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