Jacques Offenbach
LES CONTES D’HOFFMANN

Hoffmann – Aquiles Machado
Lindorf / Coppélius – Konstantin Gorny
Nicklausse – Katharine Goeldner
Antonia – María Bayo
Giulietta – Valentina Kutzarova
Olympia – Milagros Poblador
Luther / Crespel – Christophe Fel
Spalanzani – Christian Jean
Antonia’s Mother – Itxaro Mentxaka
Andrès / Cochenille – José Ruiz
Hermann / Schlémil – Marco Moncloa
Nathanaël – Manuel de Diego
Stella – Itziar Fernández de Unda

Bilbao Opera Chorus
(chorus master: Boris Dujin)
Bilbao Symphony Orchestra
Alain Guingal, conductor

Giancarlo Del Monaco, stage director
Michael Scott, set and costume designer
Wolfgang von Zoubek, lighting designer

Recorded live at the Ópera de Bilbao, 12 and 15 May 2006

Bonus:
- Interviews with María Bayo and Aquiles Machado
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 185 minutes
No. of DVDs: 2

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

Also available on standard DVD

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

Richard Wagner
DIE WALKÜRE

Wotan – John Bröcheler
Siegmund – John Keyes
Hunding – Kurt Rydl
Sieglinde – Nadine Secunde
Brünnhilde – Jeannine Altmeyer
Fricka – Reinhild Runkel
Gerhilde – Irmgard Vilsmaier
Ortlinde – Annegeer Stumphius
Waltraute – Hanna Schaer
Schwertleite – Hebe Dijkstra
Helmwige – Kirsi Tiihonen
Siegrune – Catherine Keen
Grimgerde – Regina Mauel
Rossweise – Elzbieta Ardam

Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Hartmut Haenchen, conductor

Pierre Audi, stage director
George Tsypin, set designer
Eiko Ishioka, costume designer
Wolfgang Göbbel, lighting designer

Recorded live from the Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, 1999

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format; LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Japanese
Running time: 260 mins
No. of DVDs: 3

Until her untimely death in 2003, Susan Chilcott was placed among the outstanding lyric sopranos of her generation, one whose captivating stage presence, dramatic vitality and vocal poetry created memorable portrayals of heroines in Verdi, Jan+�cek and Britten, among others. Her last recording was of songs by Copland, acclaimed at the time of it's first release for her 'commanding authority' and 'youthful vitality' (Gramophone). This recital is now complemented by a range of Shakespeare-inspired songs from Berlioz to Dominick Argento, never previously released.

The Essential Opera Collection is an exciting new mid-price series that brings together popular operas and classic productions in simple stylish packaging. The ten launch titles represent the leading opera houses of the world, including the Royal Opera House, Teatro Real, Paris Opera, Glyndebourne and the Netherlands Opera.

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
CLASSIC BALLETS
(3-DVD Box Set)

Swan Lake

Odette / Odille – Marianela Nuñez
Prince Siegfried – Thiago Soares
The Princess, Siegfried’s mother – Elizabeth McGorian
An Evil Spirit / Von Rothbart – Christopher Saunders
The Tutor – Alastair Marriott
Benno – David Pickering

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Valeriy Ovsyanikov, conductor

Anthony Dowell, stage director
Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, choreographers

Recorded at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on 16 and 24 March 2009

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast gallery
- Interview with Anthony Dowell
- Four Swan Queens - Exclusive 30-minute conversation on the demands of dancing the role of the Swan Queen with former Prima Ballerinas
- Dame Beryl Grey, Dame Monica Mason, Lesley Collier and current principal Marianela Nuñez

The Nutcracker

The Sugar Plum Fairy – Miyako Yoshida
Nephew / Nutcracker – Ricardo Cervera / Steven McRae
The Prince – Steven McRae
Drosselmeyer – Gary Avis

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Koen Kessels, conductor

Peter Wright, choreographer and director (after Lev Ivanov)

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

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Rehearsing at White Lodge
- Peter Wright tells the story of The Nutcracker

The Sleeping Beauty

Princess Aurora – Alina Cojocaru
Prince Florimund – Federico Bonelli
King Florestan XXIV – Christopher Saunders
His Queen – Elizabeth McGorian
Cattalabutte – Alastair Marriott
Carabosse – Genesia Rosato
Lilac Fairy – Marianela Nuñez

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Valeriy Ovsyanikov, conductor

Marius Petipa, choreographer

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 5 December 2006

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Illustrated synopsis

---

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles (bonus): French, German, Spanish (Nutcracker) + Italian (Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty)
Running time: 7 hours 37 mins
No. of DVDs: 3

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

Also available on standard DVD

The Biblical story of Belshazzar's hubristic arrogance set against the valour of the young warrrior-leader Cyrus provided the 20-year-old Rossini with a dramatic story with West-Eastern resonances which still speak to us today. For the title role of Cyrus, Rossini wrote what would be his longest-ever contralto role, to which the great Rossini singer Ewa Podles is both naturally attracted and ideally suited. She is partnered by two young stars of Rossini singing, Jessica Pratt and Michael Spyres, and a conductor-scholar, Will Crutchfield, of immense experience and sympathy.

What the press said:
''In the title role, the booming contralto Ewa Podles gives the kind of old-style, intensely felt performance that is her trademark. As Amira, the soprano Jessica Pratt established herself in two daunting arias as a brilliant new presence on the bel canto scene.'' New York Times

Gioachino Rossini CIRO IN BABILONIA
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Ciro – Ewa Podles
Amira – Jessica Pratt
Baldassare – Michael Spyres
Zambri – Mirco Palazzi
Argene – Carmen Romeu
Arbace – Robert McPherson
Daniello – Raffaele Costantini
Ned Keene – George von Bergen


Bologna Teatro Comunale Chorus and Orchestra Will Crutchfield, conductor


Davide Livermore, stage director

Recorded live at the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro, August 2012

Bonus:
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 165 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

MEYERBEER Robert le Diable & • Daniel Oren, cond; Marina Poplavskaya (Alice); Patrizia Ciofi (Isabelle); Bryan Hymel (Robert); John Relyea (Bertram); Jean-François Borras (Raimbaut); Nicolas Courjal (Alberti); Royal Opera Ch & O • OPUS ARTE 7121 (Blu-ray: 211:00+11:00) Live: Covent Garden 12/15/2012

& The Legacy of Robert le Diable

So, it seems I am playing the mop-up role again. James Altena has reviewed the DVD version of this Covent Garden video in the previous issue of Fanfare. I have here the Blu-ray version. Altena gives this production of Robert le Diable a favorable review, with which I generally agree, but we have some differences, which I will get to in a few moments. First, let me say that, as usual, the Opus Arte Blu-ray disc provides finely detailed video resolution and in this case, satisfying state of the art sound in both PCM stereo and HD surround formats. We are undergoing another major change in media formats with video and you would be wise to hop on board sooner rather than later.

Robert le Diable was one of the most popular operas of the 19th century, not only in France, but throughout the world. If we take a bit less enthusiastic a view today, it still should be with the appreciation that this is a fine operatic work which fully deserves a place in the standard repertoire. Here, as Altena says, we have probably the best recording of it to date, whether on audio or video. It does not come without flaws, however. This production has been criticized, especially in the British press, for its nontraditional, even cartoonish, sets: multicolored plastic horses for the knights, a cut-out cardboard castle for the princess Isabelle, a bar with red-checked tablecloths, and a lighted framework suggesting a simple frame church. In the final scene Robert is tempted to enter the dragon’s mouth to hell by dear old dad, while his doting step-sister Alice sits amongst fleecy clouds trying to entice him to the path of righteousness. Like Altena, I find all of this rather innocuous, even mildly entertaining. The story being told still comes through loud and clear with all its dramatic integrity maintained. The dance of the licentious nuns however, reportedly a major highlight in Paris, is a bit of a disappointment here. With their diaphanous white costumes we can’t even tell they are nuns, and they are made to look and act like escapees from Night of the Living Dead.

Considering all of the changes in cast for this production at the Royal Opera House in London, the singers that finally do appear are quite good. Bryan Hymel, as Robert, smudges a coloratura run or two, which original choice Juan Diego Flórez would have sung more cleanly, but Hymel sings very well here, and his dramatic ability is well beyond anything we could expect from Flórez. Patrizia Ciofi, a last-minute replacement, is a fine singer, and takes the vocal honors in this cast. Her coloratura is performed impeccably, and I do not hear a hint of the acidity in her top range reported by Altena. Ciofi is a major operatic star, lovely and well-cast here. It is baffling to me that she continues to be snubbed by the Metropolitan Opera. Russian soprano Marina Poplavskaya also always sings very well, as I have noted before, but lacks charisma on stage. Here, cast as the loving step-sister Alice, the epitome of good, I found myself rooting for Robert to step into the dragon’s mouth. Maybe it’s just me. Robert, like Hamlet, never really decides anything; the clock runs out, like at a football game. I guess we can all be relieved there are no last-minute turnovers. I was disappointed in bass John Relyea. Not only is he not the successor to Samuel Ramey in these roles, he lacks the vibrant low register to really carry this work as it should be sung. Twenty years ago Ramey would have eaten this role alive; sadly, we have no one comparable today.

I am also a bit perplexed by Altena’s favorable advocacy of the booklet notes. If the booklet writer is discussing literary values or grand themes pertaining to all the Meyerbeer operas, he is most probably addressing the work of librettist Eugene Scribe rather than composer Meyerbeer himself. I find all this intellectual analysis a bit pretentious and overblown; Scribe, like all librettists, was just looking for good stories, he was not contemplating writing Paradise Lost. This one is a good story, despite our perhaps more jaded 21st-century perspective, with quite good music to match. Recommended.

FANFARE: Bill White

Also available on Blu-ray

The Dresden Staatskapelle has a living Bruckner tradition, stretching back a century and more, which is lovingly curated by its new music director, Christian Thielemann, who is himself a powerful advocate for the composer's symphonies as the pinnacle of the Austro-German tradition; and in particular for the Wagnerian resonances of the Seventh, whose Adagio was shaped by news of Wagner's death in Venice. Hugo Wolf was also deeply affected by that news; his songs, like Bruckner's symphonies, can be seen as oblique reflections on the influence of Wagner, especially when sung, as they are here by Renée Fleming, with the utmost delicacy and intimacy.

Hugo Wolf:
Verbogenheit
Er ist’s
Elfenlied
Anakreons Grab
Mignon (2nd version)

Richard Strauss: Befreit, Op. 39, No. 4

Anton Bruckner: Symphony No. 7 in E major, WAB 107

Renée Fleming, soprano
Dresden Staatskapelle
Christian Thielemann, conductor

Recorded live at Semperoper Dresden, September 2012

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 106 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

The Dresden Staatskapelle has a Bruckner tradition that stretches back more than a century and is now lovingly curated by it's new music director, Christian Thielemann - himself a powerful advocate for the composer's symphonies. The Seventh, whose Adagio was shaped by news of Wagner's death in Venice, is paired with songs of Hugo Wolf, who was also deeply affected by that news. Wolf's songs, can be seen as oblique reflections on the influence of Wagner, especially when sung, as they are here by Renee Fleming, with the utmost delicacy and intimacy.

Also available on Blu-ray

Perhaps no opera is closely and affectionately associated with a single house as Le nozze di Figaro is with Glyndebourne. Effortlessly witty yet shot through with pain and sadness, this deeply ambivalent life in the day of masters and servants as they scheme and outwit one another was Glyndebourne’s opening production in 1934. Michael Grandage’s staging is the seventh, set in a louche Sixties ambience. Marshalled by the ‘ideal pacing’ of Robin Ticciati, a youthful cast of principals has ‘no weak link’ and ‘looks gorgeous’ (The Sunday Times) in a production that continues Glyndebourne’s rewarding history of engagement with Mozart’s and da Ponte’s ‘day of madness’.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

Countess Almaviva – Sally Matthews
Figaro – Vito Priante
Count Almaviva – Audun Iversen
Susanna – Lydia Teuscher
Cherubino – Isabel Leonard
Bartolo – Andrew Shore
Marcellina – Ann Murray
Don Basilio – Alan Oke
Antonio – Nicholas Folwell
Don Curzio – Colin Judson
Barbarina – Sarah Shafer
First Bridesmaid – Ellie Laugharne
Second Bridesmaid – Katie Bray

Glyndebourne Chorus
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Robin Ticciati, conductor

Michael Grandage, stage director

Recorded live at Glyndebourne Festival, June 2012

Bonus:
- The Greatest Opera Ever Written
- From page to stage

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 180 mins
No. of DVDs: 2


FULL REVIEW
Despite some qualification, Glyndebourne’s new Figaro (summer 2012) is a delight. The curtain opens during the overture on the outside of a Spanish mansion—just what we might expect from an opera set on the outskirts of Seville—with shiny tiles, Moorish arches, and handsome latticework, and townsfolk bustling back and forth. It’s startling to see a circa late-1960s red sports car pull up and have the Almavivas get out: they’re coming home from somewhere or settling into their summer getaway. The Count is the very picture of not-such-great-taste, sporting a page-boy haircut and costumed in a velvet suit with bell-bottomed pants and a wide-lapelled, multi-colored shirt. He obviously is quite a swinging dude, and director Michael Grandage and his wonderful designer Christopher Oram have placed the opera in the decade of the flower children. Will this work?
We meet Figaro and Susanna, dressed more moderately (she would appear to be pregnant in a black outfit with white collar, but it’s never mentioned) and nicely familiar. She is spunky and he seems like a nice guy, and he certainly doesn’t like the fact that his boss wants to sleep with his fiancée, although she seems able to take care of herself. And why should Figaro like it? This is the 1960s or ’70s, and despite the fact that Franco is still in power, the Count’s request is not a feudal right; it’s nothing but bullying. And so Beaumarchais’ and da Ponte’s satire on class war no longer exists, and that tends to be the crux of the opera in its original setting.
Instead, we get the never-ending battle of the sexes, a look at an unhappy marriage, and a rather nasty, wealthy guy with a sense of entitlement along with a pretty good comedy peopled by what seem like real people. During “Non piu andrai”, which Figaro sings while the Count is present, the two men hang out like chums, Figaro leaning with an arm on the Count’s shoulder. Susanna never curtsies and she seems genuinely concerned with cheering up the Countess. If you’re willing to forego the pre-Revolutionary subtext, you’ll have a fine time, especially watching the cast do the twist at the wedding and during the finale. The absolutely natural stage action eschews slapstick and vulgarity and the singers seem more than happy to adapt. Vito Priante’s Figaro, shorn of class anger, is a bit mild, but his stage presence and singing are extraordinary. Rhythmically precise throughout, he eats up “Aprite un po’…” in the last act and is superb in ensembles. Lydia Teuscher’s Susanna is a rich-voiced, non-soubrette, observant Countess-in-the-making; and of course, within this context she might some day have the same social standing. Sally Matthews, if she had a trill for the end of “Dov’e sono”, would be a perfect Countess: her predicament is very clear, and you sense that she wishes she were more lighthearted, more able to adjust to the swinging attitudes going on around her. The voice itself is a gorgeous, full lyric. Audun Iversen’s Count is a sloppy, privileged tyrant, all the more frustrated because no one will pay any attention to his nastiness. His singing is the least neat of all, but he’s a powerful presence. Isabel Leonard’s Cherubino is perfect—boyish and sassy and nimble.
Class acts Ann Murray and Andrew Shore, both a bit vocally worn, are nonetheless a terrific Marzellina and Bartolo, and Alan Oke’s Basilio is snidely right-on. (Neither he nor Marzellina get their last-act arias.) Sarah Shafer is a fine Barbarina, looking to be about 14 years old. And as mentioned, Oram’s luxurious sets add to the special feel of the production. I’m somewhat stumped by Robin Ticciati’s conducting of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. The instruments are period but the approach is mid-20th century—not slow or heavy, really, but somehow lacking the zip we expect these days. The finale of Act 2 is wonderfully clear but lacks the “accidental” mania it should have. There are plenty of laughs from the Glyndebourne audience, but the whole affair is not the insane day Mozart envisioned. The preferred DVD versions are Pappano’s from Covent Garden (Opus Arte) and Jacobs’ (on BelAir); nonetheless, this new one is fresh and charming and a good bet.
-- Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

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

Also available on standard DVD

Benjamin Britten
PETER GRIMES

Peter Grimes – John Graham Hall
Boy – Francesco Malvuccio
Ellen Orford – Susan Gritton
Captain Balstrode – Christopher Purves
Auntie – Felicity Palmer
First Niece – Ida Falk Winland
Second Niece – Simona Mihai
Bob Boles – Peter Hoare
Swallow – Daniel Okulitch
Mrs. Sedley – Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Rev. Horace Adams – Christopher Gillett
Ned Keene – George von Bergen

Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Robin Ticciati, conductor

Richard Jones, stage director

Recorded live at the Teatro alla Scala, June 2012

Bonus:
- Interviews with cast and crew

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 168 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

-----

REVIEW:

Robin Ticciati brings transparency and detail to the score, director Richard Jones focuses on Grimes the outsider and the entire cast gives a magnificent performance.

– Gramophone

A delightful program of French and Spanish song explores the theme of love found, enjoyed and lost, from the subtlety of Faure to the fiery passion of Turina, Obrador's and de Falla. The gentle charm of Hahn and impassioned fervor of Massenet's Manon are equally captured by American soprano Ailyn Perez, who has bewitched audiences on both sides of the Atlantic in opera and song.

From 'one of the most gorgeous voices on the opera stage today' comes a marine song recital by Stanford which celebrates a time when England ruled the waves. The cycles by Vaughan Williams look further, from the Dorset vales towards America and the far horizon that has always attracted poets and composers.

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

Ariane et Barbe-bleue makes its premiere on Blu-ray.

Stéphane Denève is universally acclaimed for his interpretation of French repertoire.

This is the twelfth release from the Liceu-Opus Arte partnership.

Dukas's opera Ariane et Barbe-bleue, based on Maeterlinck's symbolist version of the classic tale, sees free spirit Ariane become the sixth wife of the infamous Barbe-bleue, who gives his new bride seven keys to seven doors, but prohibits the use of the last. Ariane discovers an array of glittering jewels behind the first six doors, but a terrifying reality awaits her as she unlocks the seventh.

José van Dam is cast as the villainous Barbe-bleue, while taking on the immensely demanding role of Ariane - who does not leave the stage throughout the entire opera - is American soprano Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet.

-----

Reviews:

Charbonnet copes well with the extreme demands of Ariane, while Patricia Bardon is excellent as the nurse and it is wonderful to have Jose van Dam for Barbe-Bleu's handful of lines. Most of all, Stéphane Denève's pacing and handling of orchestral texture are spot-on.

– BBC Music Magazine

Charbonnet stands up remarkably well to the role's non-stop demands. As her nurse, Patricia Bardon is admirable in a role she has rather made her own on stage and disc. Dukas's opera deserves to be heard.

– Gramophone

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: 1080i High Definition
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 Disc: 1 (Bl-ray)