Poulenc wrote his "Stabat Mater," a hauntingly passionate work, after visiting the sacred shrine of the Black Madonna of Rocamadour. He made a pilgrimage to her remote chapel in the south of France after a good friend of his was hilled in a car accident.

PROM AT THE PALACE
Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Thomas Allen,The London Adventist Chorale, Julian Bliss, Ashley Wass, Roberto Bolle, Zenaida Yanowsky, Mstislav Rostropovich with cello section LSO, The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus Sir Andrew Davis

All-time classical favourites from the first ever public concert held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace, hosted by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
FEATURING Music by Walton, Handel, Bizet, Gershwin, Messager, Holst, Tchaikovsky, Rossini, German, Arnold, Villa-Lobos, Puccini, Verdi, Elgar and Arne. PLUS special performances from the magnificent ballroom & the music room of Buckingham Palace ‘...some of the world’s finest classical artists gave their all. ...The whole atmosphere even before the concert was great. It doesn’t get better than this.’ THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘This is a souvenir d’occasion of the first ever public concert held in the grounds of Buckingham Palace… Bob Coles’s slick direction captures the spirit of the evening… undoubtedly gives us – the uninvited millions – a better view and sound mix than that which those present experienced. …[an] unmissable turn was the astonishing 12-year-old clarinettist Julian Bliss in Messager’s Solo de concours.’ BBC Music Magazine

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Franz Léhar
THE MERRY WIDOW
(Sung in English)
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Anna Glawari – Yvonne Kenny
Count Danilo Danilovitch – Bo Skovhus
Valencienne – Angelika Kirchschlager
Camille de Rosillon – Gregory Turay
Baron Mirko Zeta – Carlo Hartmann
Vicomte Cascada – Curtis Sullivan
Raoul de St. Brioche – Jonathan Boyd
Kromow – Bob Amaral
Olga – Marnie Breckenridge
Pritschitch – William Saetre
Praskowia – Jayne Taini
Bogdanovitch – Peter Strummer
Sylviane – Colleen McGrath
Njegus – Elijah Chester
Zozo – Janice Lynde
Maître d’hôtel – Matt Logan

San Francisco Opera Ballet
San Francisco Opera Chorus
San Francisco Opera Orchestra
Erich Kunzel, conductor

Lotfi Mansouri, stage director

Recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco on 8 December 2001.

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis and cast gallery
- Impressions - Lotfi Mansouri, Yvonne Kenny, Bo Skovhus, Angelika Kirchschlager and Gregory Turay discuss The Merry Widow.

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and 4.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: French, German, Spanish
Running time: 189 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (BD 50)

This special DVD collection presents The Royal Ballet in three of the world's most popular ballets, as featured in the best-selling book Ballet Spectacular.

BALLET SPECTACULAR
(3-DVD Box set)

Adolphe Adam
GISELLE

Giselle - Alina Cojocaru
Count Albrecht - Johan Kobborg
Myrtha - Marianela Nuñez
Hilarion - Martin Harvey

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Boris Gruzin, conductor

Marius Petipa, choreographer (after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot)
John MacFarlane, stage and costume designer
Jennifer Tipton, lighting designer

Léo Delibes
COPPÉLIA

Swanilda - Leanne Benjamin
Franz - Carlos Acosta
Doctor Coppélius - Luke Heydon
Coppélia - Leana Palmer

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Nicolae Moldaveanu, conductor

Ninette de Valois, choreographer (after Lev Ivanov and Enrico Cecchetti)
Osbert Lancaster, stage and costume designer
John B. Read, lighting designer

Ferdinand Hérold
LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE

Colas - Carlos Acosta
Lise - Marianela Nuñez
Simone - William Tuckett
Alain - Jonathan Howells

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Anthony Twiner, conductor

Frederick Ashton, choreographer
Osbert Lancaster, set and costume designer
John B. Read, lighting designer

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, January 2006 (Giselle), 2000 (Coppélia) and 2 February 2005 (La Fille Mal Gardée)

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast gallery
- Historic 10-minute film, “The Ballet Moves” (Coppélia)
- llustrated biography of Osbert Lancaster (Coppélia)

---

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM Stereo / 5.1 Surround sound
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language (bonus): English
Running time: 5 hrs 44 mins
No. of DVDs: 3

On a distant island, a man waits. Robbed of his posiiton, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man, and this is no ordinary island. Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to his will. When a sail appears on the horizon, he reaches out across the ocean to the ship that carries the men who wronged him. Creating a vast magical storm, he wrecks the ship and washes his enemies up onto shore. When they wake, they find themselves lost on a fantastical island where nothing is as it seems

'The school for lovers', Mozart's alternative title for Cos� fan tutte, is given a playful, theatrical treatment by German director Jan Philipp Gloger, who sets this new production for The Royal Opera in a theatre. The four lovers are performed by a cast of young rising stars, with Sabina Puertolas as the fun-loving Despina and acclaimed German baritone and comic genius Johannes Martin Kranzle as the impresario Don Alfonso, who leads the lovers on a role-playing journey full of picturesque settings. Semyon Bychkov conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in one of Mozart's most beautiful scores, packed with wonderful arias and ensembles. "Ensemble singing is strong; the standout is Daniel Behle's gorgeous tenor as Ferrando. Above all, Semyon Bychkov's impeccable balance and pacing in the pit allows it full space to blossom." (The Independent) "Semyon Bychkov gives an enthralling lesson in Mozart from the outset. Conducting his first Mozart opera in 20 years, he has a style might be said to belong (in the best sense) to the old school. But, Bychkov draws glowingly warm playing, and the textures are lithe and lively. The score's darker colours are all brought out in a performance that bristles with dramatic tension." (The Daily Telegraph)

Contemporary British Operas

A beautiful production of this charming ballet with a wonderfully melodic score by Delibes.
Sylvia was first produced at the Palais Garnier, Paris on 14 June 1876, four years after Delibes other big success, Coppélia. Of Delibes’s Sylvia music, Tchaikovsky, who saw the ballet in Vienna in 1877, enthused, “It is the first ballet in which the music constitutes not just the main but the only interest. What charm and elegance, what riches in the melody, the rhythm, the harmony. I was ashamed. If I had known this music before, I would not have written Swan Lake.”. Praise indeed, but Tchaikovsky is being very hard on the other elements of this charming ballet based on classical mythology.

Frederick Ashton choreographed the production, featured on this DVD, first performed at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 3 September 1952. Ashton was not completely satisfied with it, however, and it was put aside. The production languished for forty years or so; and by now Ashton had died. The realization and staging of this 2005 production is the work of Christopher Newton who had danced under the direction of Ashton and was aware of the sort of refinements the great choreographer had in mind. Newton is interviewed about all this in the interviews before Act III of the ballet.

The sets and lighting are sumptuous and atmospheric, the costumes gorgeous and colourful. Delibes’ music is full of melody, one memorable tune succeeding another right through the ballet. Darcey Bussell enchants as the warrior nymph, Sylvia; arrogant in her taunting of the statue of the god Eros who repays her by shooting her with an arrow of love so that she falls for the enamored, shepherd, Aminta (Roberto Bolle). She is gracefully athletic especially in her dances with her two male leads: Bolle and Thiago Soares as the evil Orion who lusts after Sylvia and kidnaps the nymph, carrying her off to his island lair. Here, in Act II Darcey has to dance seductively to divert the attentions of Orion, to make him drunk so that she might escape - an escape made possible by a disguised Eros. Arguably Bussell does not have the figure for seductive dancing, she is also too graceful and stately, so the dance is sinuous rather than seductive. The two male leads are strong and acrobatic, displaying tremendous leaps. The corps de ballet impress throughout with beautiful ensemble dancing and the speciality dancers – the orientals in Act II and the goats in Act III - are quite charming.

The DVD includes interviews with Christopher Newton and Peter Farmer who added his special design talents to the original sets of Robin and Christopher Ironside. Before each act Darcy Bussell comments on the ballet and we see her and others in rehearsal and behind the scenes and between acts during the performance. Illustrated synopses of the action in each of the ballet’s three acts are also enclosed.

David Nice’s erudite note details Delibes music as applied to the dances and shows how the composer was influenced by Berlioz and Wagner. Elgar, as a young man, Nice reminds us, played the violin in a Birmingham performance of the Sylvia Suite and later conducted it himself. Moreover, Nice claims, Delibes’s broad ‘Bacchus’ theme, influenced Elgar’s First Pomp and Circumstance March.

A beautiful production of this charming ballet with a wonderfully melodic score by Delibes.

-- Ian Lace, MusicWeb International [reviewing the standard DVD version]

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players, and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Leo DELIBES (1836-1891)
Sylvia - ballet in three acts with choreography by Frederick Ashton (1876)
Sylvia … Darcey Bussell
Aminta … Roberto Bolle
Orion … Thiago Soares
Eros … Martin Harvey
Diana … Mara Galeazzi
The Royal Ballet
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House/Graham Bond
rec. The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 1, 5 December 2005

FORMAT: All Formats
REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: 117 Mins
SOUND: DTS SURROUND 5.1 / LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT
NO OF DISCS: 1

Francesco Cavalli
ERCOLE AMANTE

Ercole – Luca Pisaroni
Iole – Veronica Cangemi
Giunone – Anna Bonitatibus
Illo – Jeremy Ovenden
Deianira – Anna Maria Panzarella
Licco – Marlin Miller
Nettuno / Tevere / Spirit of Eutyro – Umberto Chiummo
Bellezza / Venere – Wilke te Brummelstroete
Cinzia / Pasitea / Spirit of Clerica – Johannette Zomer
Mercurio / Spirit of Laomedonte – Mark Tucker
A Page / Spirit of Bussiride – Tim Mead

Netherlands Opera Chorus
Concerto Köln
Ivor Bolton, conductor

David Alden, stage director

Recorded live from the Het Muziektheater, 2009.

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis.
- Cast gallery.
- Behind the scenes with Johanette Zomer.
- Behind the scenes with Luca Pisaroni.
- The making of Ercole Amante.

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo and 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch
No. of DVDs: 2

Cecilia Bartoli Sings Mozart & Haydn (Ntsc)

Royal Ballet Principals Federico Bonelli, Laura Morera and Steven McRae dance the lead roles in Liam Scarlett's new ballet, based on the world's most famous work of horror fiction, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This ambitious theatrical collaboration brings the novel to life with spectacular period sets and costumes by John Macfarlane and a newly commissioned score by Lowell Liebermann. Scarlett's choreography draws out the emotional power of this classic story. Passionate encounters between Victor, Elizabeth and the Creature express their torment, regret, anger, yearning and love.

Many operas, tragic in nature, leave an audience deeply affected. But Wozzeck holds a special place: its "man's inhumanity to man" and "society and the system will destroy you" messages go straight to the heart and leave us feeling dejected. The recently-released 1970 film of the opera from Hamburg by Rolf Liebermann perfectly captured the work's bleakness and nihilism, and I suspect that for sheer atmosphere and honesty to the text it never will be bettered. But for an almost unbearable, ghastly view of life, madness, and uncaring, this present production, from the stage of Barcelona's Teatre del Liceu--directed by bad-boy Calixto Bieito--will hereafter be the one to beat.

This isn't one of Bieito's juvenile-delinquent ravings like his Ballo with the conspirators on toilets; rather, he just takes a life-deadening score and plot and degrades the characters even further by placing them in a sunless underground world of the future. The life-is-pointless theme remains, but now life is made up not only of heartlessness, but filth and human innards, no natural light, and necrophilia. It's amazing that the audience doesn't go crazy the way Wozzeck does; indeed, near the opera's close, naked cast members, covered in God-knows-what sort of excremental grime, walk into the audience, zombie-like.

We are, I believe, in an oil refinery or petro-chemical plant (Wozzeck is no longer a soldier, just a lowly employee with the captain as Foreman), with acres of twisting pipes looking for all the world like the intestines the doctor rips out of the dead bodies he then cuddles up to. Wozzeck and Marie live in a fluorescently illuminated box with a patch of green shrubbery that Wozzeck tends until it, too, gets destroyed and leaves the scene lifeless. The Drum Major is a local entertainer dressed as either an Elvis- or Elton John-impersonator that Marie sees as an alternative to the dreary slime around her; her child, invariably in a fetal position (though he's big enough to be 10 years old) or on his omnipresent hobby horse, has open sores, is bald, and must breathe through an oxygen mask. (Others in the cast are similarly afflicted.)

Pianos, Marie and Wozzeck's living quarters, other spaces, descend into the playing area in front of the piping; an area of the stage will be illuminated to represent, say, the tavern, while the remainder goes dark. The scenes in the tavern are wild, the Idiot deformed and screaming, with television director Pietro D'Agostino's close-ups horrendous. The turning point comes in the third scene of the second act (although the opera is performed uninterrupted, in one act) when the Doctor, Captain, and Wozzeck meet on the street. The Captain dances insanely as the Doctor does sexual push-ups on the dead body of a woman he has carried onto the scene. Wozzeck, thoroughly confused and trying to get away from them, goes mad. He seems suddenly to realize that the only way to conform is to be as lunatic as they are; his murder of Marie, as they sit on a pipe in a world without a moon, is a thing to do and seems undriven by passion. He shoves her into a pipe drain from which dirty water has been spewing and climbs in there himself in the opera's penultimate scene.

We must be grateful that Sebastian Weigle, the Liceu's music director, leads a reading of the score that is an antidote to the filth in front of him. Weigle takes every opportunity to express Berg's lyricism rather than his harshness. (I was reminded of Richard Strauss' admonition to the orchestra at the premiere of Elektra to play softly because the music on the page was already so loud.) One of the production's real mistakes is Bieito's decision to keep the stage lit and the action going during Berg's all-important orchestral interludes. Berg's transitions are descriptive enough and need no distractions; thanks to Weigle and his orchestra they almost have their full effect. The overwhelming interlude before the opera's last scene is beautifully played; Bieito's intrusions upon it scarcely matter. And there are moments of such tenderness between Marie and her child that humanity does creep through. In addition, Weigle's cast never overplays the Sprechgesang; there is always "gesang" present with Wozzeck and Marie, so we can continue to feel what softness has been left them. The orchestra's control of dynamics, from Berg's pppppp to fffff, can take your breath away.

The cast is remarkable. Franz Hawlata, all-too-human as Wozzeck, has a fine baritone, his pitched speaking as impressive as his more melodic work. He roams the last third of the opera filthy and shirtless, looking like someone on a terrible precipice, which is just what he is. He never breaks character. Angela Denoke, in red overalls like the other workers, has the full compass of the role of Marie both vocally and dramatically--so much a victim, so uncomprehending of what is going on around her, wanting just a bit more out of life. Hubert Delamboye's Captain is terrifying, his falsetto like a train whistle. Johann Tilli's Doctor is not someone you'd want to meet on a dark street; his cannibalism seems the least of his issues. David Kuebler as Andres sings stentorianly and with misguided passion; Reiner Goldberg's Drum Major is glitter and no-substance, sort of an even-dumber and more treacherous Siegfried. And once Steven Cole's Fool opens his mouth and starts wailing, there's no turning back.

My first choice of video Wozzecks remains the 1971 film; this version is startling in its unpleasantness, and as such becomes a work of art, albeit a work hard to come to terms with. Perhaps it's a misreading--maybe Bieito is telling us that our environment can make us insane, and that isn't quite Berg's point. But it is ferocious in its persuasiveness, the opera is superbly served musically, and you won't forget it.

--Robert Levine
FORMAT: All Formats
REGIONS: All Regions
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: 129 Mins
SOUND: DTS 5.0 SURROUND/ LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/CA
NO OF DISCS: 1

Wozzeck: Franz Hawlata
Marie: Angela Denoke
Drum Major: Reiner Goldberg
Margret: Vivian Tierney
Doctor: Johann Tilli
Captain: Hubert Delamboye
Andres: David Kuebler

Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Vivaldi Chorus – IPSI – Petits Cantors de Catalunya
Musical Director: Sebastian Weigle
Stage Director: Calixto Bieito

Plus
Documentary, including interviews with Sebastian Weigle & Calixto Bieito

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

Also available on standard DVD

Puccini’s Japanese tragedy Madama Butterfly is given a ravishing production by The Royal Opera. Its alluring imagery of Japan from the 19th-century European Imagination heightens the intense clash of East and West. When the American naval officer Pinkerton seduces the young ‘Butterfly’ Cio-Cio-San, he seems to promise every happiness – but his cruel abandonment leads to her tragic self-sacrifice. Antonio Pappano, Music Director of The Royal Opera and renowned for his interpretations of Puccini, conducts an exceptionally fine cast with the Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House. Powerful performances show why Madama Butterfly remains one of the all-time operatic favourites. ‘‘Always at his best in Puccini, Antonio Pappano conducts with passionate sincerity.’’ (The Guardian 5 Stars) ‘‘An opera that ranks among the very greatest of the 20th century.’’ (The Daily Telegraph 4 Stars) ‘‘Ermonela Jaho is the best Cio-Cio-San London has seen in years’’ (Independent 4 Stars)
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REVIEWS:

The Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho is one of the great singing actresses of our time. Hers is not a sumptuous soprano, but the colors she brings to her portrayal are astonishing. Her Flower Duet with Elizabeth DeShong's feisty, sympathetic Suzuki is quite beautifully sung. Pappano - arguably today's greatest Puccianian conductor - draws ardent playing from the orchestra, superbly detailed in its commentaries.

– Gramophone

Pappano is particularly alert to Puccini borrowing traditional Japanese melodies; at times he makes you hear this score, as well as the drama on stage, as a tug of war between East and West. It’s Sharpless and Suzuki who steal the show – a consul with a tender conscience from Scott Hendricks and Elizabeth DeShong as a maid who could melt the stoniest of hearts.

– BBC Music Magazine

Paul Dukas
ARIANE ET BARBE-BLEUE

Barbe-Bleue – José van Dam
Ariane – Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet
Nurse – Patricia Bardon
Sélysette – Gemma Coma-Alabert
Ygraine – Beatriz Jiménez
Mélisande – Elena Copons
Bellangère – Salomé Haller
Alladine – Alba Valldaura

Liceu Grand Theater Chorus and Orchestra
Stéphane Denève, conductor

Claus Guth, stage director

Recorded live at Gran Teatre del Liceu, June and July 2011

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Catalan, Japanese
Running time: 120 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

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

In 2000, seventeen years after George Balanchine’s death, a rare and precious ballet arrived at the Paris Opéra: Jewels, a work first performed by the New York City Ballet in 1967. This alluring, abstract ballet, a triptych in which each piece sparkles with the brilliance of a precious stone, is a lyric tribute to women and to the capital cities of the great dance schools. Couturier, painter and craftsman Christian Lacroix created the glorious costumes and sets which, together with the outstanding performances of the dancers and the sensitive musical direction of Paul Connelly, results in a celebration of sumptuous splendour. Aurélie Dupont, Marie-Agnès Gillot, Agnès Letestu, Clairemarie Osta, Laëtitia Pujol, Jean-Guillaume Bart, Kader Belarbi, Mathieu Ganio

Ballet de L’Opéra national de Paris
Orchestre de L’Opéra national de Paris

Choreography: George Balanchine
Musical Director: Paul Connelly
Set & costume design: Christian Lacroix

Recorded live at the Opéra national de Paris, October & November 2005.

Repertoire:
Gabriel Fauré - Pelléas and Mélisande and Shylock
Igor Stravinsky - Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky - Symphony No.3 in D major

Plus:
George Balanchine forever - A film by Reiner E. Moritz

Reviews:
"For Rubies nothing but delight. Aurélie Dupont, Marie-Agnes Gillot, Alessio Carbonne were electric, super charged, at the head of a fizzing cast, hard edged, hard driven, hard to beat." -- Financial Times

"A gem of dazzling brilliance." -- The Independent

Region code: 0 (all regions)
Picture: 1080i
Sound: 2.0 & 5.0 PCM Audio
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian

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

Also available on standard DVD


This release is a delight, a relay from Covent Garden which was, as far as I’m aware, broadcast live into cinemas last December. It features their current production which has been doing the rounds since the early 1970s, here revived by the original director himself. Copley’s production is traditional and beautiful, its chief concern being to tell the story directly. In December 2009 some criticised it for looking a little worn and shabby. Don’t believe a word of it! In the close-up of the screen it looks neat, fresh and as good as new, every piece of furniture and inch of set design serving the purpose of the drama nicely. The garret is well designed on two levels so that the most intimate action takes place closest to the audience, away from the busyness of the entries and exits. The Barrière d’Enfer looks beautiful with its warm looking tavern and gently falling snow. The Cafe Momus is uncrowded and easy on the eye, though the action in the street outside seems rather cramped. Costumes and sets place us firmly in Paris in the 1830s and there is nothing to detract from the basic narrative. Some might find this unimaginative, but there is a lot to be said for telling a story well and this is certainly one production (or, by extension, DVD) to which I would happily take a newcomer to opera.

The cast of singers are all young up-and-comings, but they are all the better for that. Bohème is all about the energy of youth and the excitement of young love, and this cast all look the part as well as sounding great. Hibla Gerzmava is a lovely Mimi, lyrical and vulnerable with a very beautiful voice: she is at her best during the parting duet of Act 3. Teodor Illincai is a very fine Rodolfo with a great ring to his voice and lots of youthful ardour. Strangely, though, Che gelida manina is probably the weakest point of his performance as he attacks from below the note – a shame as the top of his voice is thrilling. Inna Dukach is a characterful Musetta, her bright, slightly sharp soprano contrasting well with Gerzmava’s. Viviani is a warm, likeable Marcello, powerful in Acts 2 and 3 and very moving in the duet at the start of Act 4. Kostas Smorginias is of rather pale voice until the Raincoat aria which he sings with strength, and Jacques Imbrailo’s Schaunard is lovely of presence and voice. Benoit and Alcindoro are acted well by two stalwarts who love every minute of it.

Like his cast, conductor Andris Nelsons brings youth, vigour and energy to this ever-young score. The pulse of the first Act is infectious and the great crashes that begin and end Act 3 are razor-sharp. The orchestra play this most familiar of scores as if it were the only performance they would ever give, enthusiasm and virtuosity coming through in every bar. They are helped in this by production values of the highest order: the DTS sound, in particular, is outstandingly clear and well-separated without drawing attention to itself. The picture is also crystal-clear and the camera-work is effective and entirely non-intrusive.

Opus Arte’s usual high standards are maintained in the presentation and title menus, and there are brief interviews with Nelsons and Copley about the production. There are many Bohèmes available on DVD, but this one is as recommendable as any, and it feels good to be able to say this about such a home-grown product. Covent Garden have kept this production for so long because it works so well, and I think that anyone with this DVD in their collection would feel the same way.


-- Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

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J Regions: All regions
Picture Format: 1080i High Definition / 16:9
Sound Type: 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS Surround
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian

Rodolfo: Teodor Ilincai
Mimì: Hibla Gerzmava
Marcello: Gabriele Viviani
Musetta: Inna Dukach
Colline: Kostas Smoriginas
Schaunard: Jacques Imbrailo
Benoit: Jeremy White
Alcindoro: Donald Maxwell
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Andris Nelsons
Director: John Copley

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in December 2009

Extra features:
Cast gallery
Interview with Jonathan Copley
Interview with Andris Nelsons

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

Picture Format: 1080i High Definition, NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Format: 2.0 and 5.0 PCM audio
Region Code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running Time: 149 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

Naomi Frederick and Jack Laskey star in this Thea Sharrock production of the Shakespeare comedy.

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

Picture Format: 1080i High Definition, NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Format: 2.0 and 5.0 PCM audio
Region Code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running Time: 172 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

Also available on Blu-ray

Richard Wagner
DIE FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Dalland – Robert Lloyd
Senta – Catherine Naglestad
Erik – Marco Jentzsch
Mary – Marina Prudenskaja
Der Steuermann Dalands – Oliver Ringelhahn
Der Hollander – Juha Uusitalo

Netherlands Opera Chorus
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Harmut Haenchen, conductor
Martin Kušej, stage director

Recorded live at the De Nederlandse Opera, February 2010.
Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Insights and interviews

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch
Running time: 166 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

R E V I E W:

Director Martin Kusej has been responsible for one of the worst Don Giovannis I've ever seen (Salzburg, 2006--Decca DVD) and the best Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (BBC--Opus Arte), so I wondered what to expect from this Netherlands Opera Dutchman, recorded in February, 2010. As it turns out, it is indeed "controversial"--it takes startling liberties and doesn't always make sense--but it's a very strong performance.

But before I get into its look and dramatic execution I must give utmost praise to conductor Hartmut Haenchen, who offers a whip-smart account of the score in the original one-act version, taking just two hours and 15 minutes. It never feels rushed but it does feel inexorable, with the orchestra playing with amazing transparency: you can hear Wagner's genius creating and growing. I don't want to call it a chamber-like approach because it is anything but delicate and miniaturized, but each instrumental section gets its due and is crystal clear; the balance between stage and pit is invariably right (bravo to the engineers as well), and somehow Haenchen manages Wagner's awkward mood/tempo changes as if they were organic.

The second act, with Erik popping in all hot and bothered, and then later, Daland, after the big duet, is normally clumsily done; here drama remains heightened. The chorus also is remarkably handled, particularly given what they have to do physically.

I can understand people despising Kusej's approach, but the care he gives to the characterizations somehow makes up for the overall approach which, as suggested above, is quirky. We are on a cruise ship, all glass doors and a deck, in modern dress. (The roomy, wall-to-wall set is by Martin Zehetsgruber and costumes are by Heide Kastler). The tourists, in true tourist outfits (floral shirts, shorts, sunglasses) are terrified of what is on the other side of the glass doors: it is the Dutchman's crew, who appear to be zombies. Well, maybe not zombies, but undesirables--like refugees from one of those unhappy countries who are being ferried to more stable places, each person with a look of desperation on his or her face. Perhaps they are asylum seekers, looking for a homeland, with a doomed captain looking for redemption and love.

The Dutchman suddenly appears--perhaps he's been lying down amid the guests--to sing "Die Frist ist um". When Daland arrives, he's a spiffily dressed tycoon and is interested in business--money changes everyone's status and the Dutchman realizes that. The second scene is set in a women's spa, with everyone except Senta in bathing suits or towels; she is in a black dress, actually has an old-fashioned spinning wheel (what is it doing in a spa?) and stares at a smallish painting of the sea and sky. (Sea and sky are projected throughout the overture as well.)

The last scene, after the weird back-and-forth of the sailors (in black, monkish, hooded clothing) and ladies, is stunning in its severity--just Senta, the Dutchman, and Erik against a background of roiling sea and sky. Senta has become part of her idealized picture. Will she remain true to the Dutchman until death? Apparently, since the shotgun-bearing Erik shoots them both dead at the curtain. Applicable or not--and each may decide for him/herself--this is a very good-looking, action-packed, thought-provoking show.

All of this would be for close to naught if the singing and dramatic commitment were any less fine than they are. Juha Uusitalo has found his ideal role in the Dutchman. His voice is big, with a distinct grain. It is not particularly beautiful but it is highly expressive, and if you think you've seen brooding, wait until you see him. His duet with Senta in Act 2 is so fraught with tension, attraction, disbelief, shock, relief, and sheer craziness that it could leave you trembling. He may be the finest Dutchman I've ever encountered.

Catherine Naglestad's Senta, almost perfectly sung, matches Uusitalo. She's clearly playing with less than a full deck from the start, but she gets stronger as the opera progresses and her vision becomes clearer and more real. I believe she sings Senta's ballad a half-tone higher than usual, which was Wagner's original conception, and the voice gleams. It is an ideally built sound, from the solid middle both up and down, and it's filled with warmth.

Tenor Marco Jentzsch, obviously a plot linchpin in Kusej's worldview of this opera, is active, involved, and sings with ringing if not always appealing tone, particularly above the staff. But he comes across as he should here, as a major player rather than an also-ran in Senta's life. Robert Lloyd proves that he still has the resources for Daland, and his mercenary outlook is in keeping with the text. There have been many better Steersmen than Olivier Ringelhahn, but Marina Prudenskaja's Mary is more appealing than most. Does she run the spa?

Picture, sound, and all production values are stunning, although there is no track-listing in the accompanying booklet (this seems to be a trend that is to be discouraged). There are three other performances of this opera on DVD; none is nearly as good as this one but Kultur's, from the Savonlinna Opera Festival (with Behrens and Grundheber) is extremely well sung. Subtitles are in English, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch. This may be odd, but it is not to be dismissed under any circumstances. It packs quite a wallop.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier

Classical Music

A very special dance occasion in honour of a celestial alignment of events, the Gala des Étoiles celebrates the Ballet Corp’s time-honoured tradition of a Grand Gala at La Scala as it coincides with Milan’s tenure as host city of EXPO 2015. Symbolically espousing the spirit of the Universal Exposition by bringing together outstanding international talent, La Scala’s étoiles – Svetlana Zakharova, Roberto Bolle and Massimo Murru – extend Milan’s red carpet to a veritable constellation of guest dancers from around the world, including rising stars and luminaries of the ballet universe.

Classical Music

Classical Music