Wagner Tristan und Isolde opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2016 by PIerre Audi at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Stars Andreas Schager (Tristan), Rachel Nicholls (Isolde), Michelle Breedt (Brangäne), Brett Polegato (Kurwenal), John Relyea (King Marke), Andrew Rees (Melot), Gregory Bonfatti (A Shepherd), Gianfranco Montresor (A Steersman), and Rainer Trost (A Voice of a Young Sailro). Daniele Gatti conducts Orchestra and Choir of Teatro Opera of Rome (Chorus Master Roberto Gabbiani). Set and costume design by Christof Hetzer; dramaturgy by Willem Bruls; lighting design by Jean Kalman; video design by Anna Bertsch. Directed for TV by Annalisa Botto. Sung in German. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail opera to libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie (from Christoph Friedrich Bretzner). Directed 2017 at La Scala by Mattia Testi reviving the beloved 1965 production of Giorgio Strehler at the Salzburg Festival. Stars Lenneke Ruiten (Konstanze), Sabine Devieilhe (Blonde), Mauro Peter (Belmonte), Maximilian Schmitt (Pedrillo), Tobias Kehrer (Osmin), Cornelius Obonya (Pasha Selim), and Marco Merlini (A servant). Zubin Mehta conducts the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and Chorus. Carla Ceravolo revives set designs by Luciano Damiani; Sybille Ulsamer revives costumes by Luciano Damian; lighting by Marco Filibeck. Sung in German. Released 2019. Grade: NA
Read MoreJacques Offenbach Un mari à la porte (A Husband at the Door) operetta to libretto by Alfred Delacour and Léon Morand. Directed 2019 by Luigi Di Gangi and Ugo Giacomazzi at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence. Stars Patrizio La Placa (Henri Martel), Marina Ogii (Suzanne), Matteo Mezzaro (Florestan Ducroquet), and Francesca Benitez (Rosita). Valerio Galli conducts the Orchestra of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Set design by Federica Parolini; costume design by Agnese Rabatti; lighting design by Luigi Biondi. Directed for TV by Matteo Ricchetti; video editing by Adriano Figari; recording by Rino Trasi and Vera Zanotti; editing by Rino Trasi. Sung in French. Note this is a one-act farce that lasts only 47 minutes. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreAmbroise Thomas Hamlet opera to libretto by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier. Directed 2018 by Cyril Teste at the Opéra Comique. Stars Stéphane Degout (Hamlet), Sabine Devieilhe (Ophélie), Laurent Alvaro (Claudius), Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo (Gertrude), Julien Behr (Laërte), Jérôme Varnier (the Ghost), Kevin Amiel (Marcellus, Second Gravedigger), Yoann Dubruque (Horatio, First Gravedigger), and Nicolas Legoux (Polonius). Louis Langrée conducts the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées and Les éléments (Chorus Master Joël Suhubiette). Set design by Ramy Fischler; costume design by Isabelle Deffin; lighting design by Julien Boizard; production design by Nicolas Dorémus and Mehdi Toutain-Lopez; dramaturgy by Leila Adham. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Sung in French. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreHandel Rodelinda opera to a libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym. Directed 2018 by Jean Bellorini at the Opéra de Lille. Stars Jeanine De Bique (Rodelinda), Tim Mead (Bertarido), Benjamin Hulett (Grimoaldo), Avery Amereau (Eduige), Jakub Józef Orliński (Unolfo), and Andrea Mastroni (Garibaldo). Emmanuelle Haïm conducts Le Concert d’Astrée. Collaboration to the stage direction by Mathieu Coblentz, set design by Jean Bellorini and Véronique Chazal; costume design by Macha Makeïeff; lighting design by Luc Muscillo; assistance to the musical direction by Benoît Hartoin and Elisabeth Geiger. Sung in Italian. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Traviata opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Andrew Sinclair directed 2019-2020 a revival at the Royal Opera House of the well-regarded 1994 production by Richard Eyre. Stars Ermonela Jaho (Violetta Valéry), Charles Castronovo (Alfredo Germont), Plácido Domingo (Giorgio Germont), Simon Shibambu (Dr. Grenvil), Catherine Carby (Annina), Germán E. Alcántara (Baron Douphol), Aigul Akhmetshina (Flora Bervoix), Thomas Atkins (Gastone de Letorières), and Jeremy White (Marchese d'Obigny). Antonello Manacorda conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Sergey Levitin) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director William Spaulding). Designs by Bob Crowley; lighting by Jean Kalman; movement direction by Jane Gibson. [No credit on package for TV director.] Sung in Italian. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreChristoph Gluck Orphée et Eurydice opera/ballet production to libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline. Directed and choreographed 2018 by John Neumeier at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Singing stars are tenor Dmitry Korchak (Orphée), soprano Andriana Chuchman (Eurydice), and soprano Lauren Snouffer (Amore [should be Amour, as this is the French version]). Features The Joffrey Ballet (now the official ballet of the Lyric Opera) performing as themselves and the inhabitants of the underworld. Harry Bicket conducts the Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Michael Black). Sets by Neumeier (assisted by Heinrich Tröger), lighting design by Neumeier (assisted by Chris Maravich), and costumes by Neumeier. Directed for TV by Matthew Diamond; produced by John Walker; executive producer was David Horn. Sung in French. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+
Gluck’s relatively simple opera libretto and music encourages extensive embellishment with dancing and updated plot elements. Still, making a video of this is
Read MoreAntônio Carlos Gomes Lo Schiavo opera to libretto by Rodolfo Paravicini. Directed 2019 by Davide Garattini Raimondi at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. Stars Svetla Vassileva (Ilàra), Massimiliano Pisapia (Américo), Andrea Borghini (Iberè), Elisa Balbo (La contesa di Boissy), Daniele Terenzi (Gianfèra), Dongho Kim (Il conte Rodrigo/Goitacà), Marco Puggioni (Guarûco), Francesco Musinu (Tupinambà/Lion), and Michelangelo Romero (Tapacoà). John Neschling conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (Chorus Master Donato Sivo). Set design by Tiziano Santi; costume design by Domenico Franchi; light design by Alessandro Verazzi; choreography by Luigia Frattaroli. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRichard Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos opera to libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Directed 2014 by Sven-Eric Bechtolf at the Wiener Staatsoper. Stars Soile Isokoski (Primadonna/Ariadne), Sophie Koch (Der Komponist), Jochen Schmeckenbecher (Ein Musiklehrer), Johan Botha (Bacchus), Daniela Fally (Zerbinetta), Adam Plachetka (Harlekin), Carlos Osuna (Scaramuccio), Jongmin Park (Truffaldin), Benjamin Bruns (Brighella), Norbert Ernst (Ein Tanzmeister), Peter Matić (Der Haushofmeister), Macus Pelz (Ein Lakai), Won Cheol Song (Ein Perückenmacher), Dániel Lőkös (Ein Offizier), Valentina Nafornița (Najade), Rachel Frenkel (Dryade), and Olga Bezmertina (Echo). Christian Thielemann conducts the Orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper. Set design by Rolf Glittenberg; costume design by Marianne Glittentberg; lighting design by Jürgen Hoffmann. Directed for TV by Robert Gummlich. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreHans Werner Henze The Bassarids opera to libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. Directed 2018 by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Salzburg Festival. Stars singers Sean Panikkar (Dionysus), Russell Braun (Pentheus), Willard White (Cadmus), Nikolai Schukoff (Tiresias/ Calliope), Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Agave/Venus), Károly Szemerédy (Captain/Adonis), Vera-Lotte Böcker (Autonoe/Proserpine), Anna Maria Dur (Beroe). Bassarid dancers are Rosalba Guerrero Torres, Hector Buenfil Palacio, Flavie Haour, Katharina Platz, and Javier Salcedo Hernandez. Kent Nagano conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor.
Read MoreChristoph Gluck Orphée et Eurydice opera to libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline. This is the 1859 version by Hector Berlioz. Directed 2018 by Aurélien Bory at the Opéra Comique. Stars Marianne Crebassa (Orphée), Hélène Gilmette (Eurydice), and Lea Desandre (Amour). Raphaël Pichon conducts the Ensemble Pygmalion. Set design by Aurélien Bory and Pierre Dequivre; lighting design by Arno Veyrat; costume design by Manuela Agnesini; dramaturgy by Taïcyr Fadel. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Sung in French. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWagner Der Fliegende Holländer opera to a libretto by the composer (original 1841 version). Directed 2015 by Olivier Py at the Theater an der Wien. Stars Samuel Youn (Der Holländer), Ingela Brimberg (Senta), Lars Woldt (Donald), Bernard Richter (Georg), Manuel Günther (Der Steuermann), Ann-Beth Solvang (Mary), and Pavel Strasil (Satan). Marc Minkowski conducts Les Musiciens du Louvre and the Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus Masters Erwin Ortner, Ottokar Prochazka, and Jordi Casals). Set design by Pierre-André Weitz; lighting design by Bertrand Killy. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Sung in German. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRameau Hippolyte et Aricie opera to a libretto by Simon-Joseph Pellegrin. Directed 2018 by Aletta Collins at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden. Stars Anna Prohaska (Aricie), Reinoud Van Mechelen (Hippolyte), Magdalena Kožená (Phèdre), Gyula Orendt (Thésée), Elsa Dreisig (Diane), Adriane Queiroz (Œnone), Sarah Aristidou (La Grande Prêtresse de Diane/Une Matelote), Slávka Zámečníková (Une Chasseresse), Serena Sáenz (Une Bergère), Peter Rose (Pluton), Michael Smallwood (Mercure), Linard Vrielink (Première Parque), Arttu Kataja (Deuxième Parque), and Jan Martinik (Troisième Parque). Features dancers Bruna Diniz Afonso, Ema Jankovic, Patricia Langa, Sophia Preidel, Casia Vengoechea, Yuri Fortini, Daniel Hay-Gordon, Alessandro Marzotto Levy, Will Thompson, Po-Nien Wang, and Victor Villarreal. Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Martin Wright). Stage design, lighting design and costumes by Ólafur Elíasson; choreography by Aletta Collins; light by Olaf Freese; dramaturgy by Detlef Glese. Sung in French. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Le Trouvère (Il trovatore in the original Italian) opera to libretto by Salvadore Cammarano and Leone Emanuele Bardare and translated into French by Emilien Pacini. Directed 2018 by Robert Wilson at the Teatro Farnese, Parma, Italy (Co-Director Nicola Panzer; Assistant Director Giovanni Firpo). Stars Giuseppe Gipali (Manrique, Le Trouvère), Franco Vassallo (Le Comte de Luna), Marco Spotti (Fernand), Luca Casalin (Ruiz / Un Messager), Roberta Mantegna (Léonore), Nino Surguladze (Azucena, la Bohémienne), Tonia Langella (Inès), and Nicolo Donini (Un vieux Bohémien). Roberto Abbado conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma (Chorus Master Andrea Faidutti). Concept, set, and lighting design by Robert Wilson; collaborator for set design was Stephanie Engeln; collaborator for lighting design was Solomon Weisbard; costume design by Julia Von Lellwa; make-up design by Manu Halligan; video designs by Tomek Jeziorski; dramaturgy by José Enrique Macián. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in French. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini Ricciardo e Zoraide opera to libretto by Francesco Berio di Salsa. Directed 2018 by Marshall Pynkosky at the Rossini Opera Festival. Stars Pretty Yende (Zoraide), Juan Diego Flórez (Ricciardo), Sergey Romanovsky (Agorante), Victoria Yaravaya (Zomira), Nicola Ulivieri (Ircano), Xabier Anduaga (Ernesto), Sofia Mchedlishvili (Fatima), Martiniana Antone (Elmira), and Ruzil Gatin (Zamorre). Giacomo Sagripanti conducts the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale Della Rai and the Coro del Teatro Ventido Basso (Chorus Master Giovanni Farina). Set design by Gerard Gauci; costume design by Michael Gianfrancesco; lighting design by Michelle Ramsay; choreography by Jeanette Lajeunesse Zingg. Directed for TV by Ariella Beddini. Sung in Italian,. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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