The performance of Il turco in Italia at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro is presented as a totally renewed production. With references to films of the iconic film director Federico Fellini “Davide Livermore brought it all together adding the perfect physical comic schtick that matched up perfectly with the musical pace of Rossini’s masterpiece - it was spectacular” (Opera Today). “Obviously the brilliant outcome of the performance is also due to Speranza Scapucci’s conducting, well prepared and highly talented, …” (Il Resto del Carlino Pesaro). The cast featuring Erwin Schrott, “who manages the most intricate colloratura effortlessly with his agile, beautiful bass- baritone...” (General-Anzeiger) and Olga Peretyatko being “the ideal cast” (Das Opernglas) made it a marvellous performance.

The composition of Un ballo in maschera caused Verdi many problems. What began as an opera called Gustavo III was subject to censorship by the Neapolitan and Roman authorities, so its libretto, location and title all changed. The subject, however, is still the murder of Riccardo (Gustavo) at the masked ball, couched in a musical language in which the seriousness of Italian opera is infused with French vivacity. The opera’s structure is carefully symmetrical in the great terzets, and the themes of duty, pleasure, drama and humor are rendered with masterful clarity.

Nicola Porpora was a composer who helped to turn Italian opera into the most successful and spectacular genre in Europe. One of the few luminaries of the ‘Neapolitan School’ to actually be born in Naples, Porpora wrote L’Angelica, a serenade for six voices and instruments, to a libretto by the young Pietro Metastasio in 1720. The work was composed for the birthday of Empress Elizabeth Christine, wife of Charles VI, and its plot is comedic, focusing on the travails of a couple in love. The opera’s success was immediate, resulting in the commissioning of further works that would lead to ever more glamorous successes for Porpora in Venice, London, Dresden and Vienna.

This is one volume in a multi-volume set. Find the complete box set here.

On the occasion of the Bruckner bicentenary, the Wiener Philharmoniker recorded its first ever complete Bruckner cycle under the baton of Christian Thielemann. In addition to the well-known canon of nine symphonies, the two earliest Bruckner symphonies in F minor and D minor, which are a world premiere on DVD and Blu-ray, were also recorded for the first time in the orchestra's history. This uniquely complete edition from the Musikverein and Salzburg Festival, featuring 11 symphonies, also includes extensive conversations with Christian Thielemann about each symphony and insights into his rehearsal work. “Orchestra and conductor impressed with Anton Bruckner's Second.” (Der Standard on Bruckner 2) “Only the highest musical perfection sounds like this.” (Die Presse)

In 1986, the legendary pianist Vladimir Horowitz, who left his homeland 61 years ago, announced that he would return to the Soviet Union for the first time since 1925 to give recitals in Moscow and Leningrad. This sensational historic recital from Moscow includes works by Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, whom Horowitz knew both, Domenico Scarlatti, W.A. Mozart, Franz Liszt, Frédéric Chopin, Robert Schumann and Moritz Moszkowski. The disc too contains additional documentary footage with Horowitz. “Horowitz, playing with a clarity and dynamic range that friends said he had not matched in many years“ (New York Times) made an outstanding performance of musical, as well as political, significance.

This very special release includes the legendary concert of the Original Three Tenors - José Carreras, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, conducted by Zubin Mehta at the Terme di Caracalla, Rome 1990 on the eve of the Football World Cup in Italy, watched by 1.6 billion spectators worldwide. For the first time available on Blu-ray, digitally remastered! This edition includes the new documentary The Three Tenors - From Caracalla to the World featuring recent interviews with José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, Zubin Mehta, Pavarotti‘s widow Nicoletta Mantovani, Lalo Shifrin, Brian Large, Mario Dradi, Paul Potts, Sir Bryn Terfel, Norman Lebrecht, Didier de Cottignies and many more. Previously unpublished backstage material shows the tenors unadorned and offers a fascinating insight into what takes place beyond the spotlight in Rome, 1990 and the sequel in Los Angeles, 1994. The film takes a completely new look at the concert legends. For the first time, they talk about José Carreras‘ struggles with leukemia, their rivalries and friendships, their spectacular contract poker and life as an opera star.

A parable for our times. -- Daily Telegraph

A searing central performance. -- The Guardian

In a world driven by greed, what do we truly value? Timon has it all – money, influence, friends. Surely it can’t last? When the money runs out, Timon soon finds her influence and friends have also gone. Left alone, she flees Athens to take refuge in the woods, cursing the city she once loved. Simon Godwin directs Kathryn Hunter as Timon in this dark satire, which forces us to question: where does happiness really lie?

Twins Sebastian and Viola are shipwrecked on the coast of Illyria, separated and believing each other to be dead. Beside herself with grief, Viola disguises herself as a boy and goes into the service of the Duke Orsino. The Duke, madly in love with the Countess Olivia, sends Viola to woo on his behalf. What could possibly go wrong? Olivia falls in love with the cross-dressed page while Viola falls deep and fast for Orsino. Meanwhile, mischievous servants play painful pranks at each other’s expense. Heady chaos ensues as griefs, loves and deep human confusions collide, but fear not! Sweet resolution wins the day as friends, twins and lovers are reunited. Cross-dressing, hijinks and bittersweet hilarity as Emma Rice directs Shakespeare’s timeless, soulful and irrepressible comedy – in a production unlike any other, taking the spirit and frivolity of disco to the high seas!

Reviews

"Twelfth Night reserves its sharpest barbs for purists and puritans. The humiliation of Malvolio, with his rule-bound antipathy to everything the play celebrates – excesses of music and food and love – is its abiding image. Rarely can that theme have seemed as pointed as in Emma Rice’s life-loving production at the Globe. Rice finds in Twelfth Night a brilliant reminder that, set against love and life, melancholy can be a little overrated." (The Guardian ★★★★)

"I watched much of the show with a broad smile on my face, both for its audacity and downright cheek...the most entertaining, exciting Twelfth Night for years...wonderfully refreshing." (The Daily Mail ★★★★★)

"Twelfth Night is often seen as Shakespeare's "perfect comedy", and in the hands of Emma Rice and her cast this production certainly lives up to those expectations. It's entertaining, heartfelt and extremely uplifting." (Broadway World ★★★★★)

" ...this show is pretty much essential viewing." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★)

"It boasts an exuberant cast – blessed with a widely lauded performance from Katy Owen as Malvolio – and even some of Rice’s staunchest opponents admit that it generates mountains of feel-good energy." (The Stage)

"Audiences should take note: drop your guard, forget 'proper Shakespeare blah blah' and just enjoy. This Twelfth Night's a delight: a cheek-ache from start to finish. Great art? Probably not. Great fun? You bet." (WhatsOnStage ★★★★)

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

Four runaway lovers find themselves smack bang in the middle of a dispute between the King and Queen of the fairies, and, if that wasn’t enough, a troupe of amateur actors are trying to rehearse a play. Between these unlikely groups flies Puck, armed only with a wicked sense of humour and a love potion capable of making anyone fall for the first person they set eyes upon. What could possibly go wrong Fusing music dance and some serious comedy, Emma Rice’s first production as Artistic Director brings the Dream crashing into the Globe’s magical setting. Naughty, tender, transgressive and surprising, it is truly a festival of theatre. Internationally acclaimed actor, singer and Performance Diva Meow Meow plays the mischievous fairy queen Titania. Let the joy begin!

REVIEWS:

"The Globe certainly rocks with laughter in an irreverent evening in which the jokes come fast and furious...an entertaining and rowdy night out..." (The Guardian)

"This is living theatre, hot-blooded and hot-bodied, a production that feels utterly at home in the space while also challenging people’s perceptions of what the Globe is for...this is joyful stuff." (The Stage)

"...A Midsummer Night’s Dream along with a vibrant score of toe-tapping music that offers a knowing commentary on the text. There are bursts of Bowie and Beyoncé, and snatches of George Formby and Marilyn Monroe, which add delicious feather-light suggestions and illuminations that link our culture with the Elizabethan age. It’s wonderful stuff. The ensemble work, the visual exuberance, and the fun-loving spirit of the piece are astoundingly good. What an extraordinary debut for Emma Rice." (The Spectator)

Experience the wonder of New York City Ballet’s iconic holiday classic on the big screen. In George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Tchaikovsky’s beloved melodies transport the young and young at heart to a magical world where mischievous mice besiege a battalion of toy soldiers, and an onstage blizzard leads to an enchanted Land of Sweets. Balanchine’s stunning choreography shines amidst awe-inspiring set pieces, ornate costumes, and grand one-of-a-kind visual effects, like the one-ton Christmas tree that grows to an astonishing 40 feet. NYCB’s beloved production has been performed in New York City every year since its premiere on February 2, 1954, and is seen live by more than 100,000 people annually.

DETAILS:

Format: Classical, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: All Regions
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Run Time: 110 minutes

REVIEWS:

This New York City Ballet production has been revived annually for more than 60 years and it’s easy to see its appeal. Balanchine’s inventive choreography, high production standards and expert performances from both principals and the corps de ballet make this a recorded performance to treasure—and not just at Christmas.

-- MusicWeb International

In 1954, George Balanchine and the New York City Opera were chief among the pioneering groups that made The Nutcracker a holiday favorite now danced by every company in the land during December. The film released this year by the C Major label is the 2011 production and it’s a beauty from beginning to end. The party in the first act is festive, the transformation scene, with its tree that grows from 12 to 40 feet, is magical, as is the rest of the production up to the end which finds Marie and her prince transported to the stars in a reindeer pulled sleigh. The dancing is first rate throughout and the orchestra plays admirably well, led by maestra Clotilde Otranto, who chooses fairly brisk tempos throughout. These never seem rushed nor do they seem to pose any problems for the dancers. Overall this is a five star production with state of the arts video and audio reproduction. Not to be missed.

-- Rad's Reference Reviews

Finnish opera star Camilla Nylund sings masterpieces from the Great American Songbook in this unique collaboration with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra under their music director Marin Alsop. The classic songs in this film were specially arranged to suit Nylund's performance style, vocals and personality, as if they had been written for her. This special edition includes a Blu-ray of the concert film-project by Andr� Heller in black and white, plus an audio only recording.

Since the death of Herbert von Karajan in 1989, the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s concerts around Ascension Day (15 August) have firmly been in the hands of Riccardo Muti. Always sold out, they are among the highlights of every festival summer. For this year’s concert and on occasion of his 80th birthday, the maestro was acclaimed for his interpretation of Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, a piece he has never conducted before. “Muti is a master in conveying extremes: monumentality, where it is compositionally intended, and highest internalization alternate with each other in a dense interplay.” (FAZ) “Muti mastered the work and presented it as stringently as perhaps no one else can do it today.” (Die Presse)

Excellent…a rolling mass of desire, repression and duplicity FINANCIAL TIMES "This fresh, insightful version of a morally murky play finds the RSC on flying form" MAIL ON SUNDAY When a young novice nun is compromised by a corrupt official, who offers to save her brother from execution in return for sex, she has no idea where to turn for help. When she threatens to expose him, he tells her that no one would believe her. Shakespeare wrote this play in the early 1600s, yet it remains astonishingly resonant today. Artistic Director Gregory Doran directs this new production of Shakespeare’s astonishingly resonant work.

This release contains the international acclaimed Bruckner cycle of Christian Thielemann, a “magician of the Bruckner sound”(Kurier on Symphony No. 5) and the Staatskapelle Dresden, whose own Bruckner tradition dates back more than a century. Outstanding reviews emphasize the exceptionally high artistic quality of the concerts: “Once again Thielemann proved to be the unrestricted ruler on his ancestral territory, German Romantic repertoire” (Hamburger Abendblatt on Symphony No. 2). Christian Thielemann “displays the full musical maelstrom of Bruckner’s Symphony No. 3” (Münchner Merkur). “Another Bruckner triumph for Dresden” (Sächsische Zeitung on Symphony No. 6). “… one would have to be hard-hearted not to be touched by this heartfelt music” (Der Tagesspiegel on Symphony No. 8).