Massenet 💓 Werther opera to a libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet, and Georges Hartmann. Directed 2010 by Benoît Jacquot at the Paris Opera Bastille. Stars Jonas Kaufmann (Werther), Sophie Koch (Charlotte), Ludovic Tézier (Albert), Anne-Catherine Gillet (Sophie), Alain Vernhes (Le Bailli), Andreas Jäggi (Schmidt), Christian Tréguier (Johann), Alexandre Duhamel (Brühlmann),and Olivia Doray (Käthchen). Sung in French. Michel Plasson conducts the Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Paris and the Maîtrese des Hauts-de-Seine (Chœur d'enfants de l'Opéra National de Paris). Set design and lighting by Charles Edwards and André Diot; costume design by Christian Gase. Directed for TV by Benoît Jacquot and Louise Narboni. Released 2014, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Read MoreBellini I Puritani opera to libretto by Carlo Pepoli. Directed 2009 by Pier'Alli (born Pierliugi Pieralli). Stars Juan Diego Flórez (Lord Arturo Talbo), Nino Machaidze (Elvira), Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (Sir Giorgio Valton), Ugo Guargliardo (Lord Gualtiero Valton), Gabrielle Viviani (Sir Riccardo Forth), Gianluca Floris (Sir Bruno Roberton), and Nadia Pirazzini (Enrichetta di Francia). Michele Mariotti conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. Set and costume design by Pier'Alli; lighting by Pier'Alli and Daniele Naldi; directed for TV by Andrea Bevilacqua. Released 2014, disc was recorded with 48kHz/24bit sound sampling and has 5.0 dts HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D
Read MoreHandel Partenope opera to a libretto by an unknown author from a libretto originally written by Silvio Stampiglia. Directed 2008 by Francisco Negrin at Det Kongelige Teater (The Royal Danish Theater). Stars Inger Dam-Jensen (Partenope), Andreas Scholl (Arsace), Tuva Semmingsen (Rosmira), Christophe Dumaux (Armindo), Bo Kristian Jensen (Ermilio), and Palle Knudsen (Ormonte). Lars Ulrich Mortensen conducts the Concerto Copenhagen. Directed for TV by Peter Borgwardt. Released 2014, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini La Cenerentola to libretto by Jacopo Ferretti. Directed 2007 by Joan Font at the Liceu Theatre. Stars Joyce DiDonato (Angelina, the Cenerentola or Cinderella), Juan Diego Flórez (Prince Ramiro), Bruno De Simone (Don Magnifico), David Menéndez (Dandini), Simón Orfila (Alidoro), Cristina Obregón (Clorinda) and Itxaro Mentxaka (Tisbe). Patrick Summers conducts the Met Orchestra & Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Sets and costumes by Joan Guillen. Released 2014. Grade: NA
Read MorePuccini Tosca opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Directed 2009 by Robert Carsen at Opernhaus Zürich. Stars Emily Magee (Tosca), Jonas Kaufmann (Caravadossi), Thomas Hampson (Scarpia), Valeriy Murga (Angelotti), and Giuseppe Scorsin (Sacristan). Paolo Carignani conducts the Orchestra, Chorus and Children's Chorus of Opernhaus Zürich. Set and costume design by Anthony Ward; lighting design by Davy Cunningham. Directed for TV by Felix Breisach, executive producer was Alexander Pereira. Sung in Italian. Released 2014, 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 2011 by Des McAnuff at the Met. Stars Jonas Kaufmann (Faust), René Pape (Méphistophélès), Marina Poplavskaya (Marguerite), Russell Braun (Valentin), Jonathan Beyer (Wagner), Michele Losier (Siebel), and Wendy White (Marthe). Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet of The Metropolitan Opera (Chorus Master Donald Palumbo). Set designs by Robert Ball; costume designs by Paul Tazewell; lighting designed by Peter Mumford; choreography by Kelly Devine; videos designs by Sean Nieuwenhuis. TV Director was Barbara Willis Sweete; Music Producer was Jay David Saks; Supervising Producers were Louisa Briccetti and Victoria Warivonchik. Released 2014, disc has dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini Le Comte Ory opera to libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson. Directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier. Stars Javier Camarena (Le Comte Ory), Cecilia Bartoli (La Comtesse Adèle), Rebecca Olvera (Isolier), Carlos Chausson (Le Gouverneur), Oliver Widmer (Raimbaud), Liliana Nikiteanu (Ragonde), and Teresa Sedlmair (Alice). Muhai Tang conducts the Orchestra La Scintilla and the Chorus of the Opernhaus Zürich. Directed for TV by Olivier Simonnet. Released 2014. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini Otello opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Berio di Salsi. Directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier. Stars John Osborn (Otello), Cecilia Bartoli (Desdemona), Peter Kálmán (Elmiro), Javier Camarena (Rodrigo /Lucio), Edgardo Rocha (Jago), Liliana Nikiteanu (Emilia), Nicola Pamio (Doge di Venezia), Ilker Arcayürek. Muhai Tang conducts the Orchestra La Scintilla and the Supplementary Chorus of the Opernhaus Zürich (Chorus Master Jürg Hämmerli). Set design by Christian Fenouillat, costumes by Agostino Cavalca, lighting by Christophe Forey and Hans-Rudolf Kunz; dramaturgy by Konrad Kuhn. Directed for TV by Olivier Simonnet and produced by Pierre-Olivier Bardet. Released 2014, disc has dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Messa da Requiem. Recorded 2012 at the Teatro alla Scala. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Orchestra and Coro del Teatro alla Scala (Chorus Master Bruno Casoni). Soloists are Anja Harteros (soprano), Elīna Garanča (mezzo-soprano), Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), and René Pape (bass). Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; director of photography was Martial Barrault; sound engineer was Rodrigue Durand. Sung in Latin. There are, however, no subtitles in Latin, nor is there a printed libretto in the keepcase booklet. Subtitles are translated into English, French, and German. Released 2013, sound was recorded at 48kHz/24-bit and disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Read MoreSwan Lake ballet. Music by Tchaikovsky. Book by V. P. Begitchev and Vasily Geltzer. Original choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Konstantin Sergeyev directed this performance, with his own revised choreography, in 2006 at the Mariinsky Theater in St Petersburg. Stars Ulyana Lopatkina (Odette/Odile), Danila Korsuntsev (Prince Siegfried), Alexandra Gronskaya (The Queen), Pyotr Stasiunas (The Tutor), Andrei Ivanov (Jester), Ilya Kuznetsov (Rothbart). Other dancers are Irina Golub, Yekaterina Osmolkina, and Anton Korsakov (Prince's Friends); Yevgenia Obraztsova, Svetlana Ivanova, Irina Golub, and Olesya Novikova (Little Swans); Alina Somova, Viktoria Tereshkina, Yekaterina Osmolkina, and Tatiana Tkachenko (Big Swans); Xenia Ostreikovskaya and Daria Sukhorukova (Two Swans); Ketevan Papava, Elena Bazhenova, Islom Baimuradov, and Andrei Merkuriev (Spanish Dance); Yana Selina and Maxim Khrebtov (Neapolitan Dance); Polina Rassadina and Artem Yachmennikov (Hungarian Dance); Galina Rakhmanova, Viktoria Kutepova, Marianna Pavlova, Yulia Slivkina, Andrei Yakovlev, Dmitry Sharapov, Alexander Klimov, and Karen Ioannisyan (Mazurka). Valery Gergiev conducts the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Ballet. Set design by Simon Virsaladze; costumes by Galina Solovieva. Directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon; produced for TV by Giles Oakley and Peter Maniura. Released 2008, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Read MoreSpartacus ballet. Music by Aram Khachaturian. Libretto and choreography by Yuri Grigorovich. Production of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. Performed 2008 at the Opéra national de Paris, Palais Garnier. Stars Carlos Acosta, Alexander Volchkov, Nina Kaptsova, and Maria Allash supported by the Corps de Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. Pavel Klinichev conducts the Orchestre Colonne. Scenario by Nikolai Volkov; scenography, set, and costume design by Simon Virsaladze; lighting by Mikhail Sokolov. Executive Pruducer François Duplat; Director of Photography Martial Barrault; directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon. Released 2008, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade A-
Read MoreNutcracker ballet. Music by Tchaikovsky to libretto by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. Adapted by Mihail Chemiakin with new choreography by Kirill Simonov. Performed 2007 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Peterburg. Stars Irina Golub (Masha), Leonid Sarafanov (Nutcracker Prince), Vladimir Ponomarev (Stahlbaum/Rat Emperor), Elena Bazhenova (Frau Stahlbaum/Rat Empress), Anton Adasinsky (Drosselmeyer), Anton Lukovkin (Fritz/Rat Commander), Alexander Kulikov (Nutcracker), Natalia Sveshnikova (Nanny), Igor Petrov (Cook), Tatiana Goryunova (Kitchen Maid), Ilmira Bagautdinova (Kitchen Maid), Eduard Gusev (Fly Person), Andrei Yakoviev (Kryselieu, the Rat Cardinal), Ekaterina Kondaurova (Queen of the Snowflakes), Olga Balinskaya (Sugar Plum Fairy) as well as Elena Adrosova, Daria Vasnetsova, Ekaterina Petina, and Daria Sukhorukova (Nutcracker's Sisters) and other artists of the Mariinsky Ballet plus students of the Academy of Russian Ballet. Valery Gergiev conducts the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre. Sets, costumes, and production design by Mihail Chemiakin. Directed for TV by Denis Caïozzi. Although most of this show was shot in high-definition, the pictures of the theater interior and all the shots showing the whole stage were shot in standard definition. Released 2008, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: C+
Read MoreDavid Garrett Legacy---Live in Baden-Baden concert. It's not an easy thing to pin down, but I think this concert was recorded on May 6, 2011 at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. The National Philharmonic of Russia backed up David Garrett on violin. The first half of the evening was devoted mostly to short, fun pieces by Fritz Kreisler. The Philharmonic was led for this by Vladimir Spivakov (their usual conductor), who was ill. Lorenzo Coladonato relieved Spivakov after the intermission, and led the orchestra in Garret's performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto in D Major. The sound engineer was Matthias Eberhard; lighting by Bernd Herr; the director was Torben Schmidt; the producer was Norbert Waldmann. This was published by "Decca Records" but the logo is the old 6-sided one that I don't remember seeing for a long time. Released 2013, the disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D+
Read MoreRossini Matilde di Shabran opera to a libretto by Jacopo Ferretti. Directed 2012 by Mario Martone at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Stars Olga Peretyatko (Matilde), Juan Diego Flórez (Corradino), Paolo Bordogna (Isidoro), Anna Goryachova (Edoardo), Nicola Alaimo (Aliprando), Chiara Chialli (Contessa d'Arco), Simon Orfila (Ginardo), Giorgio Misseri (Egoldo), Marco Filippo Romano (Raimondo), and Ugo Rosati (Rodrigo). Also features musicians Giulio Zappa (fortepiano) and Roberto Cima (Cello continuo). Michele Mariotti conducts the Orchestra and Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Chorus Master Lorenzo Fratini). Set design by Sergio Tramonti; costume design by Ursula Patzak; lighting design by Pasquale Mari; video direction by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2013, disc has dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreCecilia Bartoli Mission recital of music by Agostino Steffani (1654-1728), an obscure pre-baroque composer whose music has long been neglected and that Bartoli is now promoting. This title is called "A film by Olivier Simonnet", and it was shot over 6 days in June 2002 at the Château de Versailles. It has the look and feel more of a film than a video, but the cadence is 30 (not 24) fps. It rained most of the days of the shoot, which contributed a steamy, mysterious ambience to the film. Bartoli appears in almost every scene. She is joined by famous countertenor Philippe Jaroussky in several duets. Actor Frank Delage appears in the mute role of Agostino Steffani. The singers are supported by the I Barocchisti chamber orchestra (Conductor Diego Fasolis) and the Coro della Radiotelevisione svizzera (Swiss Radio Chorus)(Chorus Master Claude Hauri). Director of Photography was Alexis Kavyrchine; Sound Producer was Arend Prohmann; Costume Designer was Christian Gasc; Producer was Pierre-Olivier Bardet. A nice keepcase booklet has extensive credits for others who worked on this project and information such as the exact locations in the Château where each scene was shot. The sound was recorded at 48kHz24 bit and the disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound at 48kHz24 bit. Grade: A
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