Ruling by divine right, but himself ruled by caprice, King Richard exiles Henry Bolingbroke and seizes his father’s vast estates. While Richard is distracted by a rebellion in Ireland, Bolingbroke returns to England, intent on recovering his rightful property and, with the support of his disgruntled peers, perhaps seizing the crown itself. Dazzlingly eloquent and ceremonious, Richard II invests a weak and self-dramatizing man with tragic status and represents Shakespeare’s most searching exploration of the meaning of kingship and the rising powers that can destroy it.

REVIEW:

Charles Edwards’s excellent Richard pierces the heart. Recommended. (The Independent)

Recorded live at the Shakespeare’s Globe, May 2014.

Antony and Cleopatra is Shakespeare’s great historical love story, a tragedy infused with comic elements that explores the conflicting claims of sex and power, expressed in poetry of breath-taking beauty. Conveying the polarities of Rome and Egypt, Jonathan Munby’s ‘exquisitely understated’ (Independent) Globe production effortlessly captures the play’s cinematic rhythm, with Clive Wood cast as a ruffian, ‘indomitable’ Antony (Financial Times) and Eve Best ‘restlessly sensual’ (Guardian) in her lauded portrayal of the mercurial Cleopatra.

REVIEWS:

A blistering roar of a production.

-- London Theatre

Richly Entertaining...

-- The Times (UK)

Spellbinding mood...

-- The Independent

The smash hit of Shakespeare’s early career, Titus Andronicus is one of the Bard’s most experimental works, a revenge tale of the utmost brutality that centers around the honored Roman general who fatally refuses to show mercy to the eldest son of Tamora, Queen of the Goths, whom he has defeated in war. Hailed as 'one of the darkest and most seminal productions in the Globe’s history' (Daily Telegraph), director Lucy Bailey’s staging of the Roman tragedy sees the great London theatre transformed into a temple of death, one in which swathes of black fabric coalesce with horrific violence and stand-out performances to create shatteringly powerful drama. Filmed in 2014, this revival of Lucy Bailey’s gory 2006 production of Shakespeare’s revenge tragedy had audiences fainting in the aisles. Shakespeare’s bloodiest play features scenes of rape, mutilation, murder and cannibalism.

REVIEWS:

"You leave the theatre feeling both harrowed to the marrow and disconcertingly elated." (The Daily Telegraph)

"Lucy Bailey's blackly comical production is the best I've seen." (The Times)

"Exceptional." (The Independent)

Portia, a wealthy heiress of Belmont, is forced to set her suitors a challenge. The winner will win her hand in marriage; the losers will lose her hand and much more. In Venice, the epicenter of consumption, speculation and debt, Bassanio borrows money from his friend Antonio to finance his attempt. Antonio, in turn, takes out a loan from the moneylender Shylock. The loan will be repaid when Antonio’s ships return to the city. But if the ships fail to return, and the money cannot be repaid, Antonio will give to Shylock a pound of his own flesh. And they do fail. And Shylock will have his ‘bond’. In some of his most highly-charged scenes, Shakespeare dramatizes the competing claims of tolerance and intolerance, religious law and civil society, justice and mercy; while in the character of Shylock he created one of the most memorable outsiders in all theatre. Double Olivier and Tony award winner Jonathan Pryce plays Shylock in his first appearance at Shakespeare’s Globe.

REVIEWS:

"Jonathan Munby's exceptionally well-told, well-played, well-paced, well-dressed revival...The Globe at its best." (The Mail on Sunday ★★★★★)

"A finely balanced, intelligent production." (The Times ★★★★)

"Jonathan Pryce is electrifyingly good… Jonathan Munby’s production really sings." (Time Out ★★★★)

"Jonathan Pryce, making his Globe debut, presents us with a Shylock of weight, gravity and considerable complexity." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"Director Jonathan Munby...extracts maximum comedy. He gives full weight to the romance, with Daniel Lapine and David Sturzaker excellent as the Venetian young bloods." (The Sunday Express ★★★★)

"Jonathan Munby’s oak-solid, finely weighted production…The lighter and darker elements combine in a seamless whole." (The Daily Telegraph)

"Jonathan Pryce as Shylock and his daughter, Phoebe…an inspiration. It’s a family affair – a double star turn." (The Observer ★★★★★)

"Pryce is excellent, with a notable gravitas and richness of performance. There’s particularly lovely work from Dorothea Myer-Bennett as Nerissa…she offers a delicious range of expressive looks and gestures." (The Evening Standard)

"A revival that boasts a fine Bassanio in Daniel Lapaine and re-focuses the role of Gratiano (David Sturzaker) as a really good one." (WhatsOnStage ★★★★)

Widely considered to be the last of his solo plays, The Tempest is Shakespeare’s final masterpiece, a tale of ‘forgiveness, generosity and enlightenment’ in which Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, conjures up a storm to lure his perfidious brother to the enchanted island on which he and his daughter Miranda have spent 12 years in exile. Combining sumptuous Jacobean costume with enchanting music and ‘spellbinding staging’ (The Daily Telegraph), this acclaimed Globe production – starring Olivier Award winner Roger Allam as a ‘poignantly humane’ Prospero (The Financial Times) – is a touching portrayal of one of the Bard's most lyrical stage works. Filmed in High Definition and true Surround Sound.

Review

From its mesmerizing first moments to the final fulfillment of the witches’ prophecy, Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most powerful tragedies – a gripping account of one man’s determination to secure his ambition and pronounced destiny, the crown of Scotland, by whatever means necessary. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound, this production marked actor Eve Best’s sensational debut as a director and was described as ‘cracking – at times, terrifying’ (Daily Telegraph). Joseph Millson and Samantha Spiro lead the cast, offering ‘superb fresh-minted performances’ as the power-obsessed Macbeth and his increasingly guilt-ridden wife.

Reviews

Samantha Spiro as Lady Macbeth and Joseph Millson as Macbeth give a rousing, frenetic portrait of a power-couple with a compulsion for bloodshed...Millson’s constant disbelief at what he is doing is a source of much of the production’s humour. But because he performs with such conviction, cumulatively it also packs a horrific punch – not least when he makes grasp for his wife’s throat...one of the warmest productions of ‘Macbeth’ you’ll ever see, but one which still strikes the requisite chill to the heart. Time Out

Millson [delivers] the famous “sound and fury” speech with a quiet desperation and indeed it is in the play’s quieter moments when he is given the chance to stand still that he really shines. The Upcoming

"Eve Best's directorial debut is a cracking – at times, terrifying – production of Macbeth." (The Daily Telegraph on Macbeth)

One of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies, Twelfth Night was ‘blissfully reborn’ (The Daily Telegraph) for the 2012/13 season at London’s Globe Theatre, under the direction of Tim Carroll. The hilarious tale of misdirection and deception is performed here by an all-male cast, as it would have been in Shakespeare’s day, with Mark Rylance playing Olivia and Roger Lloyd Pack as the hapless Sir Andrew Aguecheek. The production also marks Stephen Fry’s triumphant return to the stage as the pompous Malvolio, ridiculous in his yellow stockings. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound. Spoken in Shakespeare’s English with English and German subtitles.

REVIEWS:

"…no single actor dominates this radical yet perfectly balanced production at the Globe" (The Guardian)

"The irony is that Fry's performance – intelligently pondered, generous to the other actors, and almost studiedly not a "star turn" by a celebrity guest artiste – is exactly the opposite in tendency" (The Idependent)

"Although this is ensemble theatre at its finest, it’s Rylance’s contribution that puts the production among all-time Shakespeare greats. Frankly unmissable." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★★)

Rebellion and maturity run through Shakespeare's histories like a single twisted thread, exemplified by the tearaway turned - hero Hal and his forever adolescent associate Falstaff, who deserves and gets a comedy to himself in The Merry Wives of Windsor. Lives real and imagined, nobles and beggars, Tudor history and culture all spring to vivid life on the stage of the Globe Theatre in award-winning productions featuring many fine British actors and original music played by a Shakespearean pit band playing period instruments.

Reviews

"Henry IV is the Shakespeare play that's perfectly suited to the Globe. In Dominic Dromgoole's intelligent, faithful andentertaining new production, Sir John Falstaff, that 'sweet creature of bombast', might have stopped for a pint of sack in Southwark en route for a rendezvous with Doll Tearsheet at the Boar's Head." (The Guardian on Henry IV 1-2)

"A joyous spectacle." (The Sunday Telegraph on Henry VIII)

"Oustanding." (The Guardian on Henry VIII)

"Audiences tend to adore this play, in which Shakespeare genially celebrates his own middle-class English provincial background and seeks to do nothing more than entertain - which he does, splendidly. The Merry Wives, with its ridiculous foreigners, jealous husbands and scenes of low farce, keeps you chuckling almost throughout." (The Daily Telegraph on The Merry Wives of Windsor)

Doctor Faustus is Christopher Marlowe’s most renowned and controversial work. Famous for being the first dramatized version of the Faustus tale, the play depicts the sinister aftermath of Faustus’s decision to sell his soul to the Devil’s henchman in exchange for power and knowledge. In the first-ever staging of this menacing drama at the Globe Theatre, Matthew Dunster’s production features Paul Hilton as the arrogant, power-hungry Faustus and Arthur Darvill as the sardonic Mephistopheles, and includes several impressive magical stunts along the way.

Review

"A triumph of spine-tingling spectacle. Director Matthew Dunster conjures in a way that would delight the Prince of Darkness himself." (The Spectator)

Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well centers on the tale of Helena’s quest to marry the man she loves, the rather unimpressed Bertram, who initially refuses her due to her lack of social standing. Aided by fellow conspirator Diana, Helena devises a fail-safe scheme to ensnare her man. The production, directed by John Dove, stars Sam Crane and Ellie Piercey as Bertram and Helena, and includes performances by James Garnon as troublemaker Parolles and Janie Dee as Bertram’s interfering mother, the Countess of Roussillon. With lavish staging and costume, the production is a triumph that, according to The Independent, ‘leaves the audience reeling with happiness by the end.’

Reviews

"With so much to praise, it is hard to prioritise, but here goes..." (The Independent)

"This is a good, clear, well-spoken production by John Dove of one of Shakespeare's most beguiling but least-loved plays." (The Guardian)

The only one of Shakespeare’s plays to be set within his own class and country, The Merry Wives of Windsor is a farcical tale centering on the wily attempts of Sir John Falstaff to relieve his drinking debts through swindling and seduction. Featuring Christopher Benjamin in the title role, deftly supported by Serena Evans and Sarah Woodward as the scheming Mistress Page and Mistress Ford, this critically-acclaimed production was described by the Daily Telegraph as brimming with ‘humanity, ingenuity and irresistible charm’. A performance guaranteed to entertain.

REVIEWS:

"This revival of Christopher Luscombe's lively 2008 production is the perfect addition to the Globe's 2010 Kings and Rogues season and is arguably the most accessible to a contemporary audience." (The Stage)

"Audiences tend to adore this play, in which Shakespeare genially celebrates his own middle-class English provincial background and seeks to do nothing more than entertain, which he does, splendidly. The Merry Wives, with its ridiculous foreigners, jealous husbands and scenes of low farce, keeps you chuckling almost throughout." (The Daily Telegraph)

Henry VIII is one of Shakespeare’s final plays, a political thriller based on the power struggle between the Tudor court and the eponymous king’s ambitious first minister, Cardinal Wolsey. Though famous in its own time as the most extravagant of the playwright’s creations, the work is hardly performed today; Mark Rosenblatt’s spectacular 2010 production was the Globe Theatre’s first staging of the historical drama since 1613 and, featuring stellar performances from Dominic Rowan, Miranda Raison and Anthony Howell, it bursts with intrigue.

Reviews

"A joyous spectacle." (The Sunday Telegraph)

"Oustanding." (The Guardian)

Dominic Dromgoole’s acclaimed Olivier award-winning production is brought to its conclusion in Part 2 of Shakespeare’s historical masterpiece, Henry IV – a thrilling tale of family, treachery and war that surveys the entire panorama of English life. Staged with ‘terrific aplomb’ (Daily Telegraph) and featuring a stellar line-up, this magnificent Globe Theatre performance showcases some of the Bard’s deftest dramatic skill, and confirms why Henry IV is regarded as one of Shakespeare’s finest works. "It is the first time these wonderful plays have been staged at the reconstructed globe and it may be one of this theatre’s finest achievements." (The Daily Telegraph)

REVIEWS:

"Henry IV is the Shakespeare play that's perfectly suited to the Globe. In Dominic Dromgoole's intelligent, faithful and entertaining new production, Sir John Falstaff, that 'sweet creature of bombast', might have stopped for a pint of sack in Southwark en route for a rendezvous with Doll Tearsheet at the Boar's Head." (The Guardian)

"It is the first time these wonderful plays have been staged at the reconstructed globe and it may be one of this theatres finest achievements." (The Daily Telegraph)

The first installment of what is widely acknowledged to be Shakespeare’s greatest historical saga, Henry IV Part 1 is an epic tale of power, treachery and war, exploring the complexity of father-son relationships. Featuring an Olivier award-winning performance from Roger Allam as Falstaff, the comical mentor to Jamie Parker’s Prince Hal, this is a celebrated presentation of the English classic, expertly directed by Dominic Dromgoole.

REVIEWS:

"Henry IV is the Shakespeare play that's perfectly suited to the Globe. In Dominic Dromgoole's intelligent, faithful and entertaining new production, Sir John Falstaff, that 'sweet creature of bombast', might have stopped for a pint of sack in Southwark en route for a rendezvous with Doll Tearsheet at the Boar's Head." (The Guardian)

"It is the first time these wonderful plays have been staged at the reconstructed globe and it may be one of this theatres finest achievements." (The Daily Telegraph)

This Blu-ray box contains legendary concerts from 1977 – 1990 of Leonard Bernstein conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker, Orchestre National de France and the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. The set also includes the Centennial Celebration Concert at Tanglewood, featuring John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, Andris Nelsons, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tony Yazbeck and many more, performing works by Bernstein, Williams, Mahler and Copland. Notable compositions include Jean Sibelius’s Symphonies 1, 2, 5, and 7, Beethoven’s String Quartet No. 16, Haydn’s Missa in tempore beli, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, and many more.

When Herbert von Karajan conducted Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni at the Salzburg Festival in 1987 featuring an outstanding cast of singers, the fantastic Wiener Philharmoniker and staged by Michael Hampe, it became a legendary performance of the highest artistic level. Samuel Ramey stars as the title character Don Giovanni, alongside Gosta Winbergh as Don Ottavio and Anna Tomowa-Sintow as Donna Anna. This dream of artistic collaboration made it one of the best opera performances, which now is available for the first time on Blu-ray.

Please note: this is a recording of spoken theatre, not opera.

One of the most important dramas in the German language, Georg Büchner’s fragile fragment is based on the case of the soldier J.Ch. Woyzeck, who stabbed his lover to death in 1824. Büchner explores the question of our dependence on social conditions, while also addressing the role of individual freedom and of fatalistic determination in our lives. Rarely has the hopelessness of Büchner’s Woyzeck been so movingly portrayed as it is in this production. Ulrich Rasche’s sets conjure up a series of breathtaking images, each of them reflecting the situation onstage. This production opens up a direct route to the narrative that is hard to resist.

“Büchner's Woyzeck has never been seen like this. Gutted and yet filled. Abstract and at the same time of concentrated force." -Neue Zürcher Zeitung