When the King of Navarre and his three courtiers forswear all pleasure – particularly of the female variety – in favour of a life of study, the arrival of the Princess of France and her ladies plays havoc with their intentions. Using every kind of verbal gymnastics to poke fun, Shakespeare’s most intellectual comedy is brought to hilarious life in Dominic Dromgoole’s highly entertaining production, rich in visual humour and sexual innuendo. Jonathan Fensom’s knot garden and original music by Claire van Kampen create the framework for an engaging performance by an excellent cast. Filmed live in High Definition and true surround sound.

King of Navarre: Philip Cumbus
Berowne: Trystan Gravelle
Longaville: William Mannering
Dumaine: Jack Farthing
Princess of France: Michelle Terry
Rosaline: Thomasin Rand
Maria: Jade Anouka
Katharine: Siân Robins-Grace
Boyet: Tom Stuart
Don Armado: Paul Ready
Moth: Seroca Davis
Holofernes: Christopher Godwin
Sir Nathanial: Patrick Godfrey
Dull: Andrew Vincent
Costard: Fergal McElherron
Jaquenetta: Rhiannon Oliver
Mercadé: James Lailey

Directed by Dominic Dromgoole
Designed by Jonathan Fensom
Composed by Claire van Kampen

Recorded live at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, in October 2009.

Extra features:
Cast gallery
Famous Speeches

Format: dvd
Duration: 167 mins
Catalog Number: OA 1035 D
Regions: All regions
Picture Format: 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Type: 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround
Subtitles: EN (in Shakespearean English)

"Dominic Dromgoole’s zestful production succeeds in captivating the audience to a degree that I would not have thought possible… It’s a treat." -- The Independent

"With a delightful design and jaunty music it has abundant charm… Entirely enchanting." -- The Times

Berg's masterful and thought-provoking opera tells the gripping story of the rise and fall of an alluring, destructive but vulnerable woman, culminating in her death at the hands of Jack the Ripper. Christof Loy's austere, minimalist production allows the complexities of the drama to unfold through the sumptuous, taut beauty of the score. Agneta Eichenholz and Michael Volle lead an all-star cast under Antonio Pappano. Recorded in High Definition and true surround sound.

Lulu : Agneta Eichenholz
Dr Schön/Jack the Ripper: Michael Volle
Alwa: Klaus Florian Vogt
Countess Geschwitz: Jennifer Larmore
Prince/Manservant/Marquis: Philip Langridge
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: Antonio Pappano
Director: Christof Loy
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in June 2009

Extra features:
Cast gallery
Interview with Antonio Pappano
Interview with Agneta Eichenholz

“It is immaculately rehearsed and executed – one doesn't often see opera acted with such freedom and honesty and absence of flummery. And its unsparing analytic clarity forces one to confront the bitter truth about Lulu's inner life and the corruption and idiocy of the men who are infatuated by her. … Antonio Pappano's electrifying conducting is razor-sharp in the manner of Pierre Boulez, and the orchestral playing is magnificent. … Singing with an extraordinary grace and insouciance, Eichenholz manages to make this monster chillingly real and hauntingly beautiful.”
The Telegraph

Regions: All Regions
Picture Format: R 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound Type: 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS Digital

Classical Music

Hans Werner Henze
ONDINE

Ondine – Miyako Yoshida
Palemon – Edward Watson
Berta – Genesia Rosato
Tirrenio – Ricardo Cervera
A Hermit – Gary Avis

Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth, conductor

Frederick Ashton, choreographer

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

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast gallery
- The Making of Ondine – an interview with Hans Werner Henze

Picture format: 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish (bonus only)
Running time: 114 mins
No. of Discs: 1

Miyako Yoshida dances the title role originally created for Margot Fonteyn in the hauntingly beautiful underwater world of Ondine, vividly brought to life by The Royal Ballet. Frederick Ashton’s shimmering choreography, Lila de Nobili’s impressionistic designs and Hans Werner Henze’s specially commissioned, vibrant and inventive score, memorably combine to evoke the many moods and colours of the sea. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound.

William Shakespeare
ROMEO AND JULIET
(Standard DVD in NTSC Version)

Prince Escalus – Andrew Vincent
Mercutio – Philip Cumbus
Paris – Tom Stuart
Montague – Michael O'Hagan
Lady Montague – Holly Atkins
Romeo – Adetomiwa Edun
Benvolio – Jack Farthing
Abraham / Apothecary – Graham Vick
Balthazar / Peter / Gregory – Fergal McElherron
Capulet – Ian Redford
Lady Capulet – Miranda Foster
Juliet – Ellie Kendrick
Tybalt – Ukweli Roach
Nurse – Penny Layden
Friar John / Sampson – James Lailey
Friar Lawrence – Rawiri Paratene

Dominic Dromgoole, director
Simon Daw, design
Sian Williams, choreographer
Music composed by Nigel Hess

Recorded live at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London, August 2009.

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Famous speeches

Picture format: Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English
Running time: 171 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)

Dominic Dromgoole’s production brings refreshing clarity to one of Shakespeare’s most famous and best-loved tragedies, drawing out the contemporary relevance of this passionate teenage love story. Ellie Kendrick, a truly youthful Juliet, and Adetomiwa Edun, a boyish Romeo, head an excellent cast whose period costumes point to the timelessness of parental disapproval, adolescent temperament, rivalry and violence. Filmed before a live audience at Shakespeare’s Globe in the heart of London, its intimate and atmospheric setting adds immediacy and vitality to the humour and passion of Shakespeare’s verse. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound.

R E V I E W:

Romeo and Juliet is possibly Shakespeare’s most famous play, particularly outside Britain. Ask most people to name a play by William Shakespeare and the vast majority will say Romeo and Juliet. The play’s enduring appeal is such that every year in Verona hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to a little house in the city, which is said to have been Juliet’s home. Incredibly, it is one of the most visited sites in Verona! The house features the famous balcony; there’s a small courtyard with a bronze statue of the heroine, whose metallic chest is worn out due to a belief that if one strokes the breast of the statue, one will have good luck for the rest of one’s life! This is only one aspect! Another is that many people write their names and the names of the ones whom they love on the walls of the entrance because they believe that if they write on that particular place, their love will last forever! But to me, the craziest thing of all is that since the 1930s, letters addressed to Juliet keep arriving in Verona! Apparently, more than five thousand letters are received annually. The letters are read and replied to by local volunteers, organised since the 1980s in the Club di Giulietta (Juliet’s Club), which is financed by the City of Verona. Strangely enough, as Romeo and Juliet are fictitious characters even though historically there are records that the families (both the Capulets and the Montagues) did actually exist; however, only the Montagues (Romeo’s family) are said to have lived in Verona; the Capulets were probably from Cremona.

So, why do people adore Romeo and Juliet so much? It is one of Shakespeare’s earlier plays - probably written between 1591 and 1595 - but definitely not one of his best or with the most intriguing plot! After all, the end with the two lovers committing suicide is a result of a series of implausible circumstances and the manner, in which they fall in love so hopelessly after having looked at each other in a ball, is not exactly believable! To my mind, the probable reason for the play’s appeal lies in the idea of youthful, pure love and the concept of fate - no matter what the two lovers do, they are doomed to die. Generally people like the idea that their lives have been “written” somewhere and they have no control over them hence such popular expressions as “it wasn’t meant to be”! Then, there is the tragic element: it is only when confronted with the deaths of Romeo and Juliet that the two feuding families find reconciliation. Whatever the reason, the truth is that Romeo and Juliet remains one of Shakespeare’s most performed plays and one that has been adapted countless times into other art forms: there are various operas, tone poems and ballets, films, television adaptations, paintings and many more!

The current offer on DVD, from the Opus Arte label, was filmed live at the Shakespeare’s Globe in the summer of 2009. It was a production that drew an array of opposite reviews, ranging from the ecstatic to the banal and mediocre. It is a production that rests on the shoulders of youth, as the two leads are both extremely young, which is to my mind absolutely right. After all, this is how they are described in the play. Romeo is here portrayed by the pleasantly athletic and extremely handsome Adetomiwa Edun, making it plainly obvious why Juliet falls for Romeo, the moment she first lays eyes on him. Edun’s acting though is a bit of a mix! He is at times outstanding, particularly in the scenes with his mates, then during the ball at the Capulets and in the conversations with Friar Lawrence where I found him quite moving. However, he is not passionate enough in the scenes with Juliet, particularly in the end when he believes her dead and takes his own life. It is a very poignant, touching moment if the actor is capable of conveying all the love, passion and larger-than-life emotions tearing his heart apart at that moment in time; unfortunately, Edun does not quite achieve that, although he is more convincing during the ball and the famous balcony scene. At times, I also had the impression that he struggled with Shakespeare’s verse; he looks strained, perspiring profusely in a couple of scenes and occasionally, the text comes out a little muddled. In spite of these slightly less positive aspects, Edun makes a plausible and very attractive Romeo.

As for Ellie Kendrick as Juliet, I had difficulty believing that such a Romeo, as portrayed by Edun, would have fallen for this particular Juliet! Kendrick, like Edun, is a very young actress - she was only eighteen when she played the part and actually appears younger - and although she is pretty enough, she looks too pale and her stage presence is quite subdued, at times a little dull. She was very effective as Anne Frank in the 2009 BBC mini-series The Diary of Anne Frank but, as Juliet, she fails to convince. Although she speaks the verse intelligently, generally more clearly than Edun, and is rather good in the scenes when she defies her parents, I could not for one moment believe that there was a passionate woman's heart pulsating inside this teenage girl’s body.

The performances that I most enjoyed were actually not from the two leading characters. New Zealand-Maori actor, Rawiri Paratene is simply excellent as a strong-minded, kind and robust Friar Lawrence instead of the over-pious priest, as he is often portrayed. His diction is very clear too and he projects his voice extremely well, making Shakespeare’s verse positively glow. Ian Redford as the patriarch of the Capulet house is convincing and particularly Miranda Foster, as Lady Capulet is very believable and moving. One of the best performances on the DVD is actually from Penny Layden as Juliet’s nurse. Unlike many productions where she is more of a caricature than a real person, here she is a truly moving and dignified middle-aged woman, totally believable as the nurse who cares deeply for her charge, the young Juliet. Philip Cumbus makes a convincing melancholic Mercutio; Jack Farthing, as Benvolio, and Ukweli Roach, as the angry Tybalt, give exceptionally fine performances and deliver their lines very effectively.

This production of Romeo and Juliet by director Dominic Dromgoole is an excellent effort even though I thought that Juliet was miscast. Dromgoole is very successful with the street scenes, as the fights, choreographed by Malcolm Ranson, have great intensity and a plausible brawling aspect to them. The music by Nigel Hess is used very effectively, often sustaining the action and carrying it over. The ball scene is possibly one of the most attractive I have seen both in musical terms and in the graceful choreography by Siân Williams. The costumes are Elizabethan and the settings are minimal, as was the case in Shakespeare’s time.

The production was specifically created for the Shakespeare’s Globe, in London, which is a replica of the real one, where many of his plays were brought to life. This fact enhances the beauty of the verse and makes modern audiences understand why the language needed to be often elaborate and why many features were described by words whilst today, we would probably have a lot of special effects. In Shakespeare’s day, the special effects were the words: the passing of time was given through the text, the difference between night and day would have been expressed through speech, and the actions, emotions and behaviour were carried through the sheer beauty and expression of the verse. Let us not forget that, in Shakespeare’s time, the plays would have been performed in broad daylight and the theatre did not have a roof; neither does the present replica of the Globe. The audience stood very close to the action and to the actors, on stage, and these often addressed the public directly by making comments about the action or asking rhetorical questions, which were designed to help audiences the better to understand the plot and the message.

I found this filmed version of the live Globe production very enjoyable although it may be a good idea to watch one or two acts at a time rather than all five in one go, as it can otherwise prove a little overwhelming. However, it is worth sticking with it until the end. It is probably the closest you will ever get to experiencing a “real” performance, as it would have been when Shakespeare was alive; except if you travel to the new Globe Theatre and watch it there live on stage!

-- Margarida Mota-Bull, MusicWeb International

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

William Shakespeare
ROMEO AND JULIET
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Prince Escalus – Andrew Vincent
Mercutio – Philip Cumbus
Paris – Tom Stuart
Montague – Michael O'Hagan
Lady Montague – Holly Atkins
Romeo – Adetomiwa Edun
Benvolio – Jack Farthing
Abraham / Apothecary – Graham Vick
Balthazar / Peter / Gregory – Fergal McElherron
Capulet – Ian Redford
Lady Capulet – Miranda Foster
Juliet – Ellie Kendrick
Tybalt – Ukweli Roach
Nurse – Penny Layden
Friar John / Sampson – James Lailey
Friar Lawrence – Rawiri Paratene

Dominic Dromgoole, director
Simon Daw, design
Sian Williams, choreographer
Music composed by Nigel Hess

Recorded live at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London, August 2009.

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Famous speeches

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English
Running time: 171 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)

Dominic Dromgoole’s production brings refreshing clarity to one of Shakespeare’s most famous and best-loved tragedies, drawing out the contemporary relevance of this passionate teenage love story. Ellie Kendrick, a truly youthful Juliet, and Adetomiwa Edun, a boyish Romeo, head an excellent cast whose period costumes point to the timelessness of parental disapproval, adolescent temperament, rivalry and violence. Filmed before a live audience at Shakespeare’s Globe in the heart of London, its intimate and atmospheric setting adds immediacy and vitality to the humour and passion of Shakespeare’s verse. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound.

Ekaterina Siurina, Peter Auty, Alfredo Daza, Luciano Di Pasquale, and Eliana Pretorian star in this Glyndebourne production of the Donizetti opera with Maurizio Benini conducting the London Philharmonic.

Melanie Diener, Roberto Sacca, Kresimir Strazanac, Lucio Gallo, Alfred Mugg, Sandra Trattnigg, and Christoph Strehl star in this Zurich Opera production of the Beethoven opera conducted by Bernard Haitink.

Nicholas Maw
SOPHIE'S CHOICE


 


Narrator – Dale Duesing
Stingo – Gordon Gietz
Sophie – Angelika Kirchschlager
Nathan – Rod Gilfry
Librarian – Adrian Clarke
Yetta Zimmerman – Frances McCafferty
Zbigniew Bieganski – Stafford Dean
Wanda – Stephanie Friede
Eva – Abigail Browne
Jan – Billy Clerkin
Old woman on train – Gillian Knight
Young man on train – Neil Gillespie
Rudolph Franz Höss – Jorma Silvasti
Doctor – Alan Opie
Bartender – Darren Jeffery
Larry Landau – Quentin Hayes


Royal Opera House Chorus
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Simon Rattle, conductor


Trevor Nunn, stage director


Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, 21 December 2002.


 


Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast gallery
- Interview with Simon Rattle


 


Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: PCM 2.0 and 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch
Running time: 223 mins
No. of DVDs: 2

Chirstopher Purves, Tassis Christovannis, Dina Kuznetsova, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, and Adriana Kucerova star in this Glyndebourne production of the Verdi opera conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

Joaquin Achucarro performs with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Colin Davis. Extras include documentary footage about Achucarro's 50th anniversary of his debut with the London Symphony featuring interviews.

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

Also available on standard DVD

CAVALLI, F.: Ercole amante (DNO, 2009) (Blu-ray, HD)

Francesco Cavalli
ERCOLE AMANTE
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

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: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS Surround 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)

--------------------------------------------------



CAVALLI Ercole amante • Ivor Bolton, cond; Luca Pisaroni ( Ercole ); Veronica Cangemi ( Iole ); Jeremy Ovenden ( Hyllo ); Tim Mead ( Paggio/Bussiride ); Anna Maria Panzarella ( Deianira ); Anna Bonitatibus ( Giunone ); Marlin Miller ( Licco ); Concerto Köln; Netherlands Op Ch • OPUS ARTE OA1020D (2 DVDs: 261:00); OA BD7050D (2 Blu-rays: 261:00) Live: Amsterdam 1/2009


Francesco Cavalli lives pretty much in the shadow of his teacher, Monteverdi, whose three operas are frequently performed. Not so with most of Cavalli’s extant works. When you watch the Netherlands Opera production of Ercole amante it becomes clear why performances of this very large work are few and far between. It is a long opera that requires a large cast of singers and dancers. The Netherlands Opera production is truly a labor of love and daring venture.


The basic plot is simple: Hercules wants to bed his son’s girlfriend. His wife, their son, and the girlfriend are not pleased by this. For three hours an assortment of deities and the girlfriend’s deceased father are outraged and conspire against Hercules. Only a few of these ancillary characters support Hercules in his amorous endeavor.


Ercole amante was written to celebrate the marriage of King Louis XIV of France to Marie-Thérèse of Spain. The opera was intended to be a lavish court entertainment; a new theater was built for the occasion. Unfortunately the theater was not completed on time, so the premiere was delayed a year and Cavalli’s opera Xerse was performed instead. The French composer Lully composed dances that were inserted into both of these Cavalli operas. King Louis danced in the opera to the great delight of the audience (did they have a choice?). It is unknown if Louis was aware that the opera was about the abuse of power and that Hercules was a thinly disguised depiction of the King.


The Netherlands Ercole amante is a big-budget production. It employs a large cast, magnificent costuming that is colorful and often whimsical, elaborate scenic effects, and some ingenious motorized props. The staging is very imaginative and cleverly gives the feeling of Baroque opera even when modern elements are incongruously added to the mix. I wasn’t quite as smitten with the scenery. The stage appears to be quite large, a huge expanse to fill. A few of the set pieces are brilliantly colorful with large bold patterns like wallpaper patterns blown up to gigantic proportions. On video they often overwhelm and detract from the performers. This perhaps was caused by the lighting, which I find harsh and too white. Huge shadows are cast on the scenery and occasionally over the performers. This might have been effective in the theater, but with the tight focus of home video it is distracting and sometimes annoying.


Don’t let these quibbles dissuade you from watching this video. The performance is three hours 18 minutes long (plus five minutes of curtain calls) and is never boring. David Aldin’s creative direction and the talented cast bring this very old opera to life with vivid characterizations and ingenious business. There is not a weak or second-rate voice in the cast; everyone (chorus included) is consistently engaged in the drama. A few performers play multiple roles and create individual characterizations for each. Luca Pisaroni is outstanding as King Louis/Hercules. Pisaroni is a slender man who transforms himself into a muscle-bound Hercules by donning a plastic costume piece by piece. Perhaps aided by the limitations of the costume, he struts and swaggers as a bully, but is strangely likable.


Bonus material is available on both discs. On disc 1 is a synopsis of the plot and “cast gallery.” The synopsis runs for 10 minutes; a voice-over narrator tells the story while pictures from the production are shown. It is well worth your time to watch this before watching the opera.


There are three bonus features on the second disc. Singers Johannette Zomer, who plays three comprimario roles, and bass Luca Pisaroni are the subject of bio-pics that run about 10 minutes each. Much longer, and perhaps more interesting, is the 30-minute feature The Making of Ercole amante.


The opera spans both discs: acts I through III on disc 1, acts IV and V on the second. The picture is 16:9 widescreen. There are two sound formats: LPCM stereo and digital surround. Subtitles are available in English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, and Dutch. The subtitles (at least in English) alternate between the top and bottom of the screen. The lack of punctuation and splitting sentences into phrases occasionally makes making sense of what is being sung tricky.


If you like Baroque opera, or are looking for an introduction to Cavalli’s under-appreciated works, or just want to see a classy and imaginative opera production, this Netherlands Ercole amante is recommended.


FANFARE: David L. Kirk

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

MOZART, W.A.: Don Giovanni (Teatro Real, 2005) (Blu-ray, HD)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
DON GIOVANNI
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Don Giovanni – Carlos Álvarez
Commendatore – Alfred Reiter
Donna Anna – María Bayo
Don Ottavio – José Bros
Donna Elvira – Sonia Ganassi
Leporello – Lorenzo Regazzo
Masetto – José Antonio López
Zerlina – María José Moreno

Chorus and Orchestra of Teatro Real, Madrid
Víctor Pablo Pérez, conductor

Lluis Pasqual, stage director

Recorded live at the Teatro Real, Madrid, on 8, 10 and 12 October 2005.

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis.
- Cast gallery.
- Interviews with Lluis Pasqual, Carlos Álvarez and Víctor Pablo Pérez.

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: PCM 2.0 and 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 208 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)

Marcelo Alvarez, Violeta Urmana, Marco Vratogna, and Elena Zaremba star in this Teatro Real de Madrid/Royal Opera co-production of the Verdi opera conducted by Jesus Lopez Cobos.

Marcelo Alvarez, Violeta Urmana, Marco Vratogna, and Elena Zaremba star in this Teatro Real de Madrid/Royal Opera co-production of the Verdi opera conducted by Jesus Lopez Cobos.