Puccini Manon Lescaut opera to libretto by Domenico Oliva and Luigi Illica. Directed 2014 by Jonathan Kent at the Royal Opera House. Stars Kristine (Kristīne) Opolais (Manon Lescaut), Jonas Kaufmann (Des Grieux), Christopher Maltman (Lescaut, Manon's brother), Maurizio Muraro (Geronte), Benjamin Hulett (Edmondo), Nadezhda Karyazina (Musician), Robert Burt (Dancing Master), Nigel Cliffe (Innkeeper), Jihoon Kim (Sergeant), Luis Gomes (Lamplighter), and Jeremy White (Naval Captain). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Master Stephen Westrop); designs by Paul Brown; lighting design by Mark Henderson; movement by Denni Sayers. Directed for TV by Jonathan Haswell. Sung in Italian. Released 2015, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master sound. Grade: B
Read MoreLang Lang Live in Versailles, a piano recital by Lang Lang, features the following:
1. Chopin Scherzo No. 1
2. Chopin Scherzo No. 2
3. Chopin Scherzo No. 3
4. Chopin Scherzo No. 4
5. Tchaikovsky The Seasons.
This should have been called The Months. Here are the 12 short pieces in The Seasons:
1. January: "At the Fireside"
2. February: "Carnival"
3. March: "Song of the Lark"
4. April: "Snowdrop"
5. May: "White Nights"
6. June: "Barcarolle"
7. July: "The Reaper's Song"
8. August: "The Harvest"
9. September: "The Hunt"
10. October: "Autumn Song"
11. November: "Troika"
12. December: "Christmas"
Performed 2015 in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Released 2015, music was recorded at 48kHz/24-bit and the disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: A-
Read MorePurcell The Indian Queen opera. The music was composed in 1695. The original libretto was by John Dryden and Sir Robert Howard. The book was completely rewritten by Peter Sellars to create a modern version of the conquest of the New World by the Spanish. Theodor Currentzis, an avant-garde conductor who has worked a lot with the likes of Dmitri Tcherniakov, conducts MusicAeterna, a group that plays on baroque instruments. Released 2016. Grade: NA
Read MoreSommernachtskonzert 2015 (2015 Summer Night Concert). On May 14, 2015 Zubin Mehta conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker in the annual Summer Night Concert at the Baroque Park of the Schönbrunn palace in Vienna. Features pianist Rudolf Buchbinder. Sound produced by Raimund Langner; directed for TV by Henning Kasten. Released 2015, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Here is the program:
1. Richard Strauss, Fanfare für Wiener Philharmoniker
2. Carl Nielsen, Maskarade: Overture
3. Edvard Grieg, Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in A Minor (Buchbinder)
4. Alfred Grünfeld, Soirée de Vienne (Buchbinder encore)
5. Christian Sindling, Frühlingsrauschen (Rustle of Spring)
6. Edvard Grieg, Peer Gynt Suite No. 1
7. Jean Sibelius, Finlandia
Encores:
1. Hans Christian Lumbye, Kopenhagener Eisenbahn-Dampf-Galopp
2. Johann Strauss II, Wiener Blut - Walzer
Read MorePuccini La Fanciulla del West opera to a libretto by Guelfo Civinini and Carlo Zangarini. Directed by Marco Arturo Marelli. Stars Jonas Kaufmann, Nina Stemme, and Tomasz Konieczny. Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Orcheste & Chor der Wiener Staatsoper. Released in 2015. Grade: NA
Read MoreLang Lang - The Chopin Dance Project, is a piano recital by Lang Lang supporting a ballet performance for 16 dancers of the Houston Ballet, all live. Choreographed by Stanton Welch, the Dance Project was filmed 2013 at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. Dancers are Ian Casady, Jessica Collado, Derek Dunn, Karina Gonzalez, James Gotesky, Oliver Halkowich, Nozomi Iijima, Melody Mennite, Allison Miller, Jim Nowakowski, Katharine Precourt, Lauren Strongin, Brian Waldrep, Connor Walsh, Joseph Walsh, and Charles-Louis Yoshiyama. Detailed notes in the keepcase booklet list the dancers on stage for each of the following Chopin works:
1. Ballade No.1 in G minor op. 23
2. Etude No. 7 in C-sharp minor op. 25
3. Ballade No. 2 in F major op. 38
4. Ballade No. 4 in F minor op. 52
5. Waltz No. 1 in E-flat major op. 18 "Grande Valse brillante"
6. Nocturne No. 1 in F major op. 15
7. Waltz No. 19 in A minor op. posth.
8. Andante spianato op. 22
9. Etude No. 3 in E major opus 10 "Tristesse"
10. Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat major op. 55
11. Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major op. 22
12. Nocturne in C-sharp minor, op. posth. No. 16
Stage Director was Michelle Elliott; Lighting Designer was Lisa J. Pinkham; Video Director was Olivier Simonnet. Produced by Jean-Stéphane Michaux and François Bertrand. Music recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreVerdi Nabucco opera to a libretto by Temistocle Solera. Staged 2013 by Daniele Abbado at the Royal Opera House. Stars Plácido Domingo (Nabucco), Liudmyla Monastyrska (Abigaille), Andrea Caré (Ismaele), Marianna Pizzolato (Fenena), Vitalij Kowaljow (Zaccaria), Robert Lloyd (High Priest), David Butt Philip (Abdallo), and Dušica Bijelić (Anna) . Nicola Luisotti conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus. Directed for video by Rhodri Huw. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: NA
Read MoreLLang Lang at the Royal Albert Hall concert. Lang Lang performs two sets of piano pieces and eight encores at the Royal Albert Hall in November, 2013.
The first set is as follows:
1. Mozart Piano Sonata No. 5
2. Mozart Piano Sonata No. 4
3. Mozart Piano Sonata No. 8
The second set:
1. Chopin Ballade No. 1
2. Chopin Ballade No. 2
3. Chopin Ballade No. 3
4. Chopin Ballade No. 4
The encores include:
1. Ponce Intermezzo No. 1
2. Lecuona ...Y la negra ballaba!
3. Zuqiang Wu and Mingxin Du The Dance of the Waterweeds
4. Mozart "Rondo alla Turca" from Piano Sonata No. 11
5. Schumann Davidsbündlertänze
6. Chopin Waltz No. 6 "Minute Waltz"
7. Chopin Nocturne No. 16
8. Scriabin Étude in D-sharp minor
Directed by Christian Kurt Weisz; Technical Manager was Mario Mentel; produced by Bernhard Fleischer. Released in 2014, program was recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling and disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreMozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Directed 2013 by Philipp Himmelmann at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. Stars Erwin Schrott (Don Giovanni), Luca Pisaroni (Leporello), Anna Netrebko (Donna Anna), Charles Castronovo (Don Ottavio), Malena Ernman (Donna Elvira), Katija Dragojevic (Zerlina), Jonathan Lemalu (Masetto), and Mario Luperi (Commendatore). Thomas Hengelbrock conducts the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble (Leader Riccardo Minasi) and Balthasar-Neumann-Chor (Chorus Master Frank Markowitsch). Donna Elvira's maid (acrobat role) by Susanne Preissler. Extras: Alisa Berlin, Anna Biberacher, Angela Covelli, Kristina Daniel, Marcel Fox, Jessica Hempel, Mia Hilger, Valerie Holfeld, Ferris Jung, Nino Kolicic, Lisa Koßmann, Luisa Krieser, Sophie Kuznik, Camilla Maul, Florentina Maul, Franziska Meyer, Tamima Rastätter, Tabea Schell, Markus Senger, Mario Scholz, Deniz Can Ulucan, Lisa Wehle, and Hans Zelenka. Stage design by Johannes Leiacker; costumes by Florence von Gerkan; lighting by David Cunningham; directed for video by Jérémie Cuvillier. Stereo and sound recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C+
Read MoreMozart Die Zauberflöte opera to a libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Directed 2012 by Jens-Daniel Herzog at the Salzbulg Festival Felsenreitschule. Stars Bernard Richter (Tamino), Julia Kleiter (Pamina), Mandy Fredrich (Queen of the Night), Georg Zeppenfeld (Sarastro), Markus Werba (Papageno), Elisabeth Schwarz (Papagena), Rudolf Schasching (Monostatos), Martin Gantner (Speaker), Sandra Trattnigg (1st Lady), Anja Schlosser (2nd Lady), Wiebke Lehmkuhl (3rd Lady), Members of the Tölzer Knaben, Lucian Krasznec (1st armed man), and Andreas Hörl (2nd armed man). Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Concentus Musicus Wien and the Wein State Opera Chorus (Chorus Master Ernst Raffelsberger). Sets and costume design by Mathis Neidhard; lighting design by Stefan Bolliger; dramaturgy by Ronny Dietrich; choreography by Ramses Sigl. Directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Sung in German. Released 2014. Grade: NA
Read MoreRichard Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos opera to libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Directed 2012 by Sven-Eric Bechtolf at the Salzburg Festival. Stars Emily Magee (The Prima Donna/Ariadne), Elena Moșuc (Zerbinetta), Jonas Kaufmann (The Tenor/Bacchus), Eva Liebau (Naiad/A Shepherdess), Marie-Claude Chappuis (Dryad/A Shepherd), Eleonora Buratto (Echo/A Singer), Gabriel Bermúdez (Harlequin), Michael Laurenz, (Scaramuccio), Tobias Kehrer (Truffaldino), Martin Mitterrutzner (Brighella), Peter Matić (The Major-Domo), Cornelius Obonya (M. Jourdain), Thomas Frank (The Composer), Michael Rotschopf (Hofmannsthal), Regina Fritsch (Ottonie/Dorine), Stefanie Dvorak (Nikoline), and Johannes Lange (Lackey). Dancers are: Arsen Mehrabyan, Artur Babajanyan, Boris Myasnkov, Flavio Salamanka, Hasan Topcuoglu, Oleksandr Kirichenko, Sergiy Kirichenko, and Tigran Mikayelyan. Daniel Harding conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker. Set designs by Rolf Glittenberg; costume designs by Marianne Glittenberg; choreography by Heinz Spoerli; dramaturgy by Ronny Dietrich; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann. Directed for TV by Hannes Rossacher. Released 2014, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWagner Parsifal opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2013 by Francois Girard at the New York Met. Stars Jonas Kaufmann, Katarina Dalayman, Peter Mattei, René Pape, Evgeny Nikitin, Rúni Brattaberg, and Maria Zifchak. Daniele Gatti conducts the Orchestra of the Metropolitan Opera. Sets and costumes by Alexander Polzin; lighting by Urs Schönebaum; choreography by Annett Göhre; video directed by Brian Large. Released 2014. Grade: NA
Read MoreVolodos in Vienna piano recital. Arcadi Volodos plays the following pieces in 2009 at the Goldener Saal of the Musikverein in Vienna:
Scriabin: "Prélude in B flat minor op. 37/1"
Scriabin: "Prélude in B flat minor op. 11/16"
Scriabin: "Danse languide in B flat minor op. 51/4"
Scriabin: "Guirlandes in B flat minor op. 73/1"
Scriabin: "Feuillet d'album op. 45/1"
Scriabin: "Sonata in B flat minor No. 7 op. 64" ("Messe blanche")
Ravel Valses nobles et sentimentales (complete)
Schumann Waldszenen (Complete)
Liszt "Après une Lecture du Dante" from Années de Pèlerinage 2 (Dante Sonata)
J.S. Bach "Sicilienne" from D Minor Concerto
Tchaikovsky "Lullaby in A Storm" from Children's Songs
Gramophone magazine rated this performance in its CD version as the best instrumental recording of 2010. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer; the Recording Producer was Friedemann Engelbrecht (Teldex Studio Berlin); produced by Michael Brüggemann. Released 2010, disc has 5.1 Dolby Digital, a lossy technology rendered obsolete by the lossless sound formats used on most Blu-ray recordings. Grade: A-
Read MoreLang Lang Live in Vienna, a piano recital by Lang Lang with the following works:
1. Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 3
2. Beethoven Piano Sonata No. 23 "Appassionata"
3. Albéniz Iberia, Book I "Évocation", "El Puerto", and "Fête-Dieu à Sévile"
4. Prokofiev Piano Sonata No. 7
5. Chopin Étude Op. 25 No. 1
6. Chopin Polonaise No. 6 "Heroic"
7. Chopin Grande Valse brillante No. 2
Performed 2010 at the Musikverein, Großer Saal, Wien. 40 minutes of bonus features give us our first taste of 3D in a fine-art HDVD. Main program directed by Christian Kurt Weisz; 3D program directed by Andreas Morell. The main program was recorded with 48kHz sound sampling; there is no information on the disc or the package as to what bit rate or word length was used. Released in 2010, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
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