Verdi: Il Trovatore, Falstaff, Rigoletto / Royal Opera Covent Garden
Opus Arte
DVD
$71.99Jun 26, 2007
Falstaff Sir John Falstaff - Bryn Terfel Ford - Roberto Frontali Fenton - Kenneth Tarver Dr Caius - Robin Leggate Bardolph - Peter Hoare Pistol - Gwynne Howell Alice Ford - Barbara Frittoli Nannetta - Desirée Rancatore The Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House Bernard Haitink, Conductor Graham Vick, Stage Director
Il trovatore Manrico - José Cura Count di Luna - Dmitri Hvorostovsky Leonora - Verónica Villarroel Azucena - Yvonne Naef Ferrando - Tómas Tómasson Ines - Gweneth-Ann Jeffers Old gypsy - Thomas Barnard The Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House Carlo Rizzi, Conductor Elijah Moshinsky, Stage Director
Rigoletto Duke of Mantua - Marcelo Alvarez Matteo Borsa - Peter Auty Count Ceprano - Graeme Broadbent Countess Ceprano - Dervla Ramsay Rigoletto - Paolo Gavanelli Marullo - Quentin Hayes Sparafucile - Eric Halfvarson Gilda - Christine Schäfer The Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House Edward Downes, Conductor David McVicar, Stage Director
Extras: Each opera has an illustrated synopsis, various documentaries and interviews with members of the creative team
Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format: Dolby Surround / Dolby Stereo Region code: 0 (All Regions) Menu Language: English Subtitles: English Running time: 8 hours 15 minutes No. of DVDs: 3
American Classics - Schuman: Violin Concerto, Etc; Ives
Naxos
CD
$19.99May 01, 2001
The Violin Concerto is one of Schuman's most powerful works. Emotionally packed, it could almost be considered a symphony for violin and orchestra. Rather than "accompanying" the soloist in the classic tradition, the orchestra becomes a participant in the high drama. The work is indeed extremely theatrical, evoking powerful emotions in a highly charged romantic atmosphere. Schuman was a poet at heart. His earliest interests actually included the writing of poetry. The concerto has some of the most poetic music ever written by Schuman. The work underwent several transformations after each of the first performances. Schuman seemed unsatisfied with the form, eventually settling for the final version of two very large movements instead of the original three. The final version of the work was performed by Roman Totenberg at the Aspen Festival in Colorado in 1959. - Jose Serebrier
This selection was nominated for the 2001 Grammy Awards for "Best Orchestral Performance" and "Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)."