Puccini La Bohème opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Directed 2017 by Richard Jones at the Royal Opera House. Stars Nicole Car (Mimì), Michael Fabiano (Rodolfo), Simona Mihai (Musetta), Mariusz Kwiecień (Marcello), Luca Tittoto (Colline), and Florian Sempey (Schaunard). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) and Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Master William Spaulding). Associate direction by Elaine Kidd; designs by Stewart Laing; lighting design by Mimi Jordan Sherin; movement direction by Sarah Fahie. Directed for TV by Rhodri Huw. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreJanáček Věc Makropulos (The Makropulous Thing) opera to a libretto by the composer after Karel Čapek’s play. Directed 2011 by Christoph Marthaler at the Großes Festspielhaus as part of the Salzburg Festival. Stars Angela Denoke (Emilia Marty), Raymond Very (Albert Gregor), Peter Hoare (Vítek, the lawyer's clerk), Jurgita Adamonytė (Krista, his daughter), Johan Reuter (Jaroslav Prus), Aleš Briscein (Janek, his son), Jochen Schmeckenbecher (Dr. Kolenatý, the lawyer), Linda Ormiston (A Scottish maid) Peter Lobert (A conscientious objector), Ryland Davies (Hauk-Šendorf), Sasha Rau (Jin Ling), Silvia Fenz (Mary Lang), and Antia Stadler (Anita Stadler). Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Jörn H. Anderson), and Members of the Angelika Prokopp Sommerakademie of the Wiener Philharmoniker. Set and costume design by Anna Viebrock; lighting design by Olaf Winter. Directed for TV by Hannes Rossacher; produced by Magdalena Herbst. Sung in Czech. Released in 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Věc Makropulos is usually translated as The Makropulos Affair or Case Makropulos, but it should be called The Makropulos Thing. This is perhaps the weirdest opera in the canon because it is (1) a philosophical discourse on the meaning of life, (2) a comedy of manners, (3) although no crime was committed, a who-done-it-type detective story, (4) the only opera ever about a decedent’s probate case that has lasted for 100 years, and (5) the only opera ever with a character who is 337 years old! Director Christoph Marthaler ratchets up the weirdness
Read MoreMassenet Cendrillon opera (Cinderalla) to a libretto by Henri Caïn . Directed 2017 by Barbara Mundel and Olga Motta at the Theater Freiburg. Stars Kim-Lillian Strebel (Cendrillon), Anja Jung (Madame de la Haltière), Anat Czarny (Le Prince Charmant), Katharina Melnikova (La Fée), Irina Jae Eun Park (Noémie), Silvia Regazzo (Dorothée), Juan Orozco (Pandolfe), Jongsoo Yang (Le Roi), Naoishi Sekiguchi (Le Surintendant des Plaisirs), Roberto Gionfriddo (La Doyen de la Faculté), and Pascal Hufschmid (Le Premier Ministre / La Voix du Hérault). Fabrice Bollon conducts the Philharmornisches Orchester Freiburg as well as the Opern und Extrachor des Theater Freiburg (Chorus Master Bernhard Moncado). Choreography by Graham Smith; set design and costumes by Olga Motta; lighting by Dorothee Hoff; dramaturgy by Heiko Voss. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreChe originali! and Pigmalione opera double feature directed and staged 2017 by Roberto Catalano at the Fondazione Donizetti in Bergamo.
Giovanni Simone Mayr Che originali! to libretto by Gaetano Rossi. Stars Bruno de Simone (Don Febeo), Chiara Amarù (Donna Aristea), Leonardo Cortellazzi (Don Carolino), Angela Nisi (Donna Rosina), Omar Montanari (Biscroma), Gioia Crepaldi (Celestina), and Pietro Di Bianco (Carluccio).
Gaetano Donizetti Pigmalione to libretto by Simeone Antonio Sografi. Stars Antonio Siragusa (Pigmalione), and Aya Wakizono (Galatea).
Gianluca Capuano conducts the Orchestra dell'Accademia Teatro alla Scala (assistant conductor Roberto Frattini). Set design by Emanuele Sinisi; costume design by Ilaria Ariemme; lighting design by Alessandro Andreoli. Directed for TV by Matteo Ricchetti. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreThe Da Ponte Operas box set with 3 of Mozart's operas with librettos by Lorenzo Da Ponte. You can get more details for each title by using the links provided:
1. Le nozze di Figaro. 2009. (Grade A+)
2. Don Giovanni. 2014. (Grade A)
3. Così fan tutte. 2018. (no grade)
Read MoreWagner Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2017 by Barrie Kosky at the Bayreuth Festival. Stars Michael Volle (Hans Sachs), Günther Groissböck (Veit Pogner), Johannes Martin Kränzle (Sixtus Beckmesser), Klaus Florian Vogt (Walther von Stolzing), Daniel Behle (David), Anne Schwanewilms (Eva), and Wiebke Lehmkuhl (Magdalene). Philippe Jordan conducts the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Eberhard Friedrich). Stage design by Rebecca Ringst; costume design by Klaus Bruns; lighting design by Franck Evin; video by Regine Freise; dramaturgy by Ulrich Lenz. Released 2018, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MorePuccini La Fanciulla del West opera to a libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini. Directed 2017 by Hugo de Ana. Stars Emily Magee (Minnie), Roberto Aronica (Dick Johnson), Claudio Sgura (Jack Rance), Bruno Lazzaretti (Nick), John Paul Huckle (Ashby), Gianfranco Montresor (Sonora), Paolo Orecchia (Sid), Antonello Ceron (Trin), Tommaso Barea (Bello), Orlando Polidoro (Harry), Enrico Cossutta (Joe), Ivan Marino (Happy), Donato Di Gioia (Larkens), Enrico Marchesini (Billy Jackrabbit), Alessandra Visentin (Wowkle), Carlo Checchi (Jake Wallace), Francesco Musinu (José Castro), and Armando Valentino (Un Postiglione). Juraj Valčuha conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro di San Carlo (Chorus Master Marco Faelli). Sets and costumes by Hugo de Ana; lighting by Vinicio Cheli; video direction by Tiziano Mancini. Released in 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Il trovatore opera to libretto by Salvadore Cammarano and Leone Emanuele Bardare. Directed 2017 by Revival Director Julia Burbank after David Bösch. Stars Lianna Haroutounian (Leonora), Gregory Kunde (Manrico), Anita Rachvelishvili (Azucena), Vitaliy Bilyy (Luna), and Alexander Tsymbalyuk (Ferrando), Francesca Chiejina (Inez), Samuel Sakker (Ruiz). Richard Farnes conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus. Set and video design by Patrick Bannwart; costume design by Meentje Nielsen; lighting design by Olaf Winter and associate Nick Havell. Directed for TV by Bridget Caldwell. Sung in italian. Released in 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBrett Dean Hamlet opera to libretto by Matthew Jocelyn. Directed 2018 by Neil Armfield at Glyndebourne (in a World Premiere). Stars Allan Clayton (Hamlet), Barbara Hannigan (Ophelia), Sarah Connolly (Gertrude), Rod Gilfry (Claudius), Kim Begley (Polonius), John Tomlinson (Ghost of Old Hamlet), David Butt Philip (Laertes), Jacques Imbrailo (Horatio), Rupert Enticknap (Rosencrantz), and Christopher Lowrey (Guildenstern). Vladimir Jurowski conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Leader Vesselin Gellev) and The Glyndebourne Chorus (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines). Set design by Ralph Myers; costume design by Alice Babidge; movement direction by Denni Sayers; lighting design by John Clark; fight direction by Nicholas Hall; produced by George Bruell; directed for TV by François Roussillon. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Giovanna d'Arco opera to a libretto by Temistocle Solera. Directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier at the Teatro alla Scala. Stars Francesco Meli (Carlo VII), Anna Netrebko (Giovanna), Carlos Álvarez (Giacomo), Dmitry Beloselskiy (Talbot), and Michele Mauro (Delil). Riccardo Chailly conducts the Coro e Orchestra del Teatro alla Scala (Chorus Master Bruno Casoni). Set design by Christian Fenouillat; costume design by Agostino Cavalca; lighting design by Christope Forey; video design by Étienne Guiol; movement direction by Leah Hausman; directed for TV by Patrizia Carmine. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: NA
Read MoreJules Massenet Thaïs to libretto by Louis Gallet. Directed 2008 by Stefano Poda at the Teatro Regio Torino. Stars Barbara Frittoli (Thaïs, actress and courtesan), Lado Ataneli (Athanaël, a Cenobite monk), Alessandro Liberatore (Nicias, a philosopher), Maurizio Lo Piccolo (Paléman, an old monk), Diego Matamoros (A servant), Eleonora Buratto (Crobyle, a slave), Ketevan Kemoklidze (Myrtale, a slave), Nadežda Serdyuk (Albine, an abbess), and Daniela Schillaci (La Charmeuse, a ballet dancer). Gianandrea Noseda conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of The Teatro Regio Di Torino (Chorus Master Roberto Gabbiani). Choreography, set, lighting, and costume design by Stefano Poda! Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in French. Released 2009, disc has dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 sound. Grade B+
Read MorePuccini Turandot opera to a libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni and as completed by Lucio Berio. Directed 2016 by Enrico Stinchelli at the Torre del Lago Puccini Festival. Stars Rebeka Lokar (Turandot), Rudy Park (Calaf), Franceska Cappelletti (Liù), Vladimir Reutov (Old Emperor), Ernesto Morillo (Timur), Mauro Buda (Ping), Ugo Tarquini (Pang), Tiziano Baroncini (Pong), Claudio Ottino (The Mandarin), and Alberto Petricca (Prince of Persia), Anna Poala Troiano (First Handmaid), and Donatella De Caro (Second Handmaid). Jacopo Sipari di Pescasseroli conducts the Orchestra, Chorus, and Boy Soprano Chorus of the Puccini Festival (Chorus Master Viviana Apicella). Sets by Ezio Frigerio; costumes by Franca Squarciapino; lighting by Enrico Stinchelli; directed for TV by Chris Boula. Sung in Italian. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. Grade: B-
Read MoreLa Voix humaine (English: The Human Voice) and Le Château de Barbe-Bleue (Hungraian: A kékszakállú herceg vára; English: Bluebeard's Castle) double bill directed 2015 by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Palais Garnier:
Francis Poulenc La Voix humaine one-act opera to a libretto by Jean Cocteau. Stars Barbara Hannigan (Her) and Claude Bardouil (Him, a silent role).
Béla Bartók Le Château de Barbe-Bleue one-act opera to a libretto by Béla Balázs. Stars John Relyea (Duc) and Ekaterina Gubanova (Judith). Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Paris Opera Orchestra.
Set and costume design by Małgorzaty Szczęśniak; lighting design by Felice Ross; video by Denis Guéguin; choreography by Claude Bardouil; dramaturgy by Christian Longchamp; sound recording and mixing by Radio France. Directed for TV by Stéphane Metge; produced by Antoine Perset, Denis Morlière, and Laurent Métivier. Sung in French (La Voix humaine) and Hungarian (Le Château de Barbe-Bleue). Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreOttorino Respighi La Campana Sommersa opera to a libretto by Claudio Guastella. Directed by Pier Francesco Maestrini in 2016 at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. Stars Valentina Farcas (Rautendelein), Maria Luigia Borsi (Magda), Agostina Smimmero (An Old Witch), Angelo Villari (Enrico), Thomas Gazheli (The Ondino), Filippo Adami (A Faun), Dario Russo (A Priest), Nicola Ebau (A Schoolmaster), and Mauro Secci (A Barber). Donato Renzetti conducts the Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, the Coro del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (Chorus Master Gaetano Mastroiaco), and the Coro di Voci Bianche del Conservatorio 'G. P. da Palestrina' di Cagliari (Chorus Master Enrico di Maira). Set design and projections by Juan Guillermo Nova; costume design by Marco Nateri; lighting design by Pascal Mérat. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Lucio Silla opera to libretto by Giovanni de Gamerra. Directed 2017 by Claus Guth at the Teatro Real. Stars Kurt Streit (Lucio Silla), Patricia Petibon (Giunia), Silvia Tro Santafé (Cecilio), Inga Kalna (Lucio Cinna), María José Moreno (Celia), and Kenneth Tarver (Aufidio). Ivor Bolton conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real de Madrid (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Assistant stage direction by Tine Buyse; set and costume design by Christian Schmidt; original lighting design by Manfred Voss; revival lighting design by Jürgen Hoffman; dramaturgy by Ronny Dietrich; directed for TV by Jérémie Cuvillier; produced by Xavier Dubois & Natalia Camacho. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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