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Kasper Holten's inaugural production as Director of Opera for The Royal Opera returns to Pushkin's verse novella to reveal the shadows of memory which haunt Tchaikovsky's lyric tragedy. Using doubles to suggest the paths taken, or not taken, by its two impulsive protagonists, Holten gives eloquent voice to the loss and regret that lies at the heart of Eugene Onegin. Simon Keenlyside and Krassimira Stoyanova bring both experience and dynamic energy to the pair of protagonists, while the youthful, 'heartrending' tenor of Pavol Breslik and the idiomatic sweep of Robin Ticciati's 'inspired' conducting (The Independent) were enthusiastically received at the premiere of this visually opulent staging.

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
EUGENE ONEGIN

Tatyana – Krassimira Stoyanova
Eugene Onegin – Simon Keenlyside
Olga – Elena Maximova
Lensky – Pavol Breslik
Prince Gremin – Peter Rose
Madame Larina – Diana Montague

Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra
Robin Ticciati, conductor

Kasper Holten, stage director

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Feburary 2013

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 154 mins
No. of Discs: 1

Kasper Holten's inaugural production as Director of Opera for The Royal Opera returns to Pushkin's verse novella to reveal the shadows of memory which haunt Tchaikovsky's lyric tragedy. Using doubles to suggest the paths taken, or not taken, by its two impulsive protagonists, Holten gives eloquent voice to the loss and regret that lies at the heart of Eugene Onegin. Simon Keenlyside and Krassimira Stoyanova bring both experience and dynamic energy to the pair of protagonists, while the youthful, 'heartrending' tenor of Pavol Breslik and the idiomatic sweep of Robin Ticciati's 'inspired' conducting (The Independent) were enthusiastically received at the premiere of this visually opulent staging.

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
EUGENE ONEGIN

Tatyana – Krassimira Stoyanova
Eugene Onegin – Simon Keenlyside
Olga – Elena Maximova
Lensky – Pavol Breslik
Prince Gremin – Peter Rose
Madame Larina – Diana Montague

Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra
Robin Ticciati, conductor

Kasper Holten, stage director

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Feburary 2013

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 154 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Also available on Blu-ray

Madame Larina – Olga Savova
Tatjana – Krassimira Stoyanova
Olga – Elena Maximova
Filipjevna – Nina Romanova
Jevgeni Onjegin – Bo Skovhus
Vladimir Ljenski – Andrey Dunaev
Vorst Gremin – Mikhail Petrenko
Petrovitsj – Peter Arink
Zaretski – Roger Smeets
Monsieur Triquet – Guy de Mey
Zapevalo – Richard Prada

Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Mariss Jansons, conductor

Stefan Herheim, stage director

Recorded live at De Nederlandse Opera, June 2011

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- 30-Minute Documentary Film

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
Running time: 151 mins (opera) + 30 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

This is one of those discs you might pass over if you see it in the bins, and you'd be making a big mistake. Tchaikovsky is one of those composers whose style is so personal that even its chips and discards sound characteristic, if not always as impressive as his fully realized masterpieces--and in any case many of the items in this collection show him at his best. Take the symphonic poem Fatum, which really is formally dysfunctional and hardly from Tchaikovsky's top drawer thematically. When performed as here, with a take-no-prisoners directness and excitement, it comes off as the best orchestral work that Liszt never wrote. The overture from the opera The Voyevoda (not to be confused with the late symphonic poem) is a welcome rarity--and when was the last time we had a chance to savor the prelude to The Queen of Spades as a separate item?


All of the other items are interludes and dances, and as you no doubt know, dance music almost always finds Tchaikovsky at his best. The Gopak from Mazeppa is relatively well-known, but the similar character numbers from The Maid of Orleans, Cherevichki (The Slippers), The Enchantress, and The Oprichnik are all marvelous and well worth hearing. Best of all, Theodore Kuchar and his Ukrainian orchestra deliver powerful, thrill-packed performances full of color and rhythmic excitement. The sonics capture Tchaikovsky's vivid scoring with often overwhelming impact: bass drum and cymbals leap from the speakers, while the brass bellow powerfully, hovering on the edge of that splendidly muscular vulgarity that seems to have disappeared from today's Russian orchestras. In short, this disc offers nearly 70 minutes of pure enjoyment. [3/16/2006]
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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It is also available in DVD format.

One of the most vibrant, colourful and eye-catching productions staged at London’s Royal Opera House who offered it as the 2009 Christmas presentation. Starting out life as Vakula the Smith, whatever its title, Tchaikovsky’s opera was based on Gogol’s story, Christmas Eve, its lighthearted fairytale aimed at creating an evening of delightful fantasy. The plot is complicated and requires a large cast, but taken down to its bare bones, it tells the story of Vakula, whose mother is courted by many men including the Devil, she too being something of a witch. He falls for the young village wench, Oxana, a rather highly-strung filly who says he will have to get the Empresses shoes before she will marry him. With the help of the Devil, who carries him on his back to St. Petersburg, he does successfully obtain a pair of the Empresses shoes. Victorious he returns only to find a contrite Oxana who has missed him greatly, and wants him as her husband with or without the Empresses shoes. Though it was heavily revised by Tchaikovsky to create Cherevichki (The Tsarina’s Slippers), he thought very highly of the finished product, but it has never found a place in the international opera repertoire. With a largely Russian cast, the Royal Opera House turned it into a visual spectacular, presenting one big scene after another, with big ballet scenes and a massive extravaganza at the Empresses palace. The cast is superb throughout, with Vsevolod Grivnov a heroic heldontenor as Vakula; Olga Guryakova a charming and typical Russian soprano as Oxana; Larissa Diadkova is a fulsome Solokha in voice and stature, but it is the big voice of Vladimir Matorin as Chub that almost steals the show. Maybe the chorus is just a little tentative at times, particularly at the return of Vakula, but with the range of magnificent costumes they still make a visual delight. A joint BBC/Royal Opera House product, the whole presentation is superb, the costume’s colours so thrillingly brought to your screen.

Solokha – Larissa Diadkova
The Devil – Maxim Mikhailov
Chub – Vladimir Matorin
Panas – John Upperton
Oxana – Olga Guryakova
Vakula – Vsevolod Grivnov
Pan Golova – Alexander Vassiliev
The Schoolmaster – Viacheslav Voynarovskiy
Odark – Olga Sabadoch
Wood Goblin – Changhan Lim
Echo – Andrew Macnair
His Highness – Sergey Leiferkus
Master of Ceremonies – Jeremy White

The Royal Ballet Royal Opera House Orchestra
Alexander Polianichko, conductor

Francesca Zambello, stage director
Alastair Marriott, choreography

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, November 2009.

Bonus: - Introducing Cherevichki by Francesca Zambello
- Cast and Characters
- Staging Gogol's world

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 154 mins
No. of Discs: 1

Includes work(s) by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Ensemble: Aurora Duo.

"The orchestra is full of interesting colors, and, under Yablonsky gives the familiar melodic material considerable direction and shape. There is something wonderfully human about the interpretive ideas that makes these performances so interesting." -- Peter Dobrin, The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 2003

"Let me say immediately that this new complete Swan Lake is thoroughly recommendable, and most enjoyable, both as a performance and recording. The Russian State Symphony Orchestra is obviously thoroughly at home in this glorious music. So is their excellent conductor, Dmitry Yablonsky, whose tempi can hardly be faulted.Throughout the four acts, Tchaikovsky's magnificent score is presented spontaneously and excitingly, vividly underlining the coherence of this masterpiece. The Russian solo playing is consistently impressive: Act 2's 'Dances of the Swans' (with fine solo violin and cello contributions) are as vivid as the national dances of Act 4. The orchestra is set back realistically and the effect is always convincing, suitably brilliant with good range and atmosphere and arresting climaxes (the Russian trumpets are especially striking)." -- Ivan March, Gramophone

MARGOT FONTEYN AND MICHAEL SOMES
Tchaikovsky Ballet Masterpieces

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky:
Sleeping Beauty (excerpts)
Swan Lake (excerpts)
The Nutcracker: Act II

Margot Fonteyn, dancer
Michael Somes, dancer

Sleeping Beauty
choreography after Marius Petipa
Royal Opera House Orchestra
John Lanchbery, conductor
Broadcast: 20 December 1959

Swan Lake
choreography by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Robert Irving, conductor
Broadcast: 9 June 1954

The Nutcracker
choreography by Peter Wright after Lev Ivanov
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Hugo Rignold, conductor
Broadcast: 21 December 1958

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: LPCM Mono
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Booklet notes: English, French, German
Running time: 72 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture / Romeo and Juliet / Capriccio It

Recorded in: Brangwyn Hall, Swansea 29 June-6 July 1992 Producer(s) John Fraser Sound Engineer(s) Mark Vigars Mark Rogers (Assistant)

Artists: Welsh National Opera Orchestra; Bosman, Gloria; Mackerras, Charles; Te Kanawa, Kiri; Bardon, Patricia; Gedda, Nicolai; Hampson, Thomas; Rosenshein, Neil; Finnie, Linda; Welsh National Opera Chorus; Connell, John; Allan, Richard van

“… a strong and individual artist whose depth of feeling and technical control are never in doubt.” (Gramophone) This lush and lovely album offers beguiling masterpieces for cello and orchestra by Russia’s most revered composer- played to perfection by the musical team of renowned Russian-American cellist Nina Kotova, with the legendary Russian maestro Vladimir Fedoseyev leading Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra- all musicians who have these soulful pieces in their very bones. Kotova and company begin with Tchaikovsky’s lively Pezzo capriccioso before serving listeners the main course: one of the world’s most beloved works for cello and orchestra, the gorgeous Variations on a Rococo Theme. Then the cellist bows out as we are treated to one of the composer’s greatest orchestral pieces of smaller scale, the shimmering Serenade for Strings. In all, it’s a program filled with soaring melodies and sheer musical delight.

REVIEW:

What’s so singularly impressive about Kotova’s interpretation and exposition of Tchaikovsky is her awareness of the music’s meaning. This allows her to eschew exhibitionism and translate Tchaikovsky’s musical purpose with pensive meticulous introspection.

Her understanding and elucidation of Tchaikovsky is nonpareil, flamboyant yet measured, but still emanating the turbulence of the music’s emotional impact. Her technique is immaculate and, in combination with her intuitive feel for Tchaikovsky, the end result is a confection of pure elegance.

– Huffington Post

This series of DVDs features travel scenes accompanied by classical music.

The Places
Our tour of Russia starts in St. Petersburg, including churches and palaces, and, above all, the River Neva, on the banks of which Peter the Great's city stands. We visit Tchaikovsky's house at Klin, near Moscow, and travel south to Ukraine to see Sebastopol in the Crimea and Odessa. Finally we return to St. Petersburg, seeing the surrounding countryside, the city by night, the bridges and the people.

The Music
Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky succeeded in uniting strands of Russian musical nationalism with music in the cosmopolitan forms of his training. He spent his childhood and adolescence in St. Petersburg, later moving to Moscow and finally finding some refuge in the country at Klin, where his house is preserved. The music accompanying our tour is Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and his Serenade for Strings.

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: Dolby Digital / DTS Surround
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 70 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Classical Music

Also available on Blu-ray

Mats Ek
JULIET AND ROMEO
Ballet in Two Acts
with music by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky

Juliet – Mariko Kida
Romeo – Anthony Lomuljo
Father – Arsen Mehrabyan
Mother – Marie Lindqvist
Duke – Niklas Ek
Nurse – Ana Laguna
Mercutio – Jérôme Marchand

Royal Swedish Ballet
Royal Swedish Orchestra
Alexander Polianichko, conductor

Recorded live at the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm, 2013

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 107 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD or HD DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Mats Ek
JULIET AND ROMEO
Ballet in Two Acts
with music by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky

Juliet – Mariko Kida
Romeo – Anthony Lomuljo
Father – Arsen Mehrabyan
Mother – Marie Lindqvist
Duke – Niklas Ek
Nurse – Ana Laguna
Mercutio – Jérôme Marchand

Royal Swedish Ballet
Royal Swedish Orchestra
Alexander Polianichko, conductor

Recorded live at the Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm, 2013

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format:PCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 107 mins
No. of Discs: 1