Also available on Blu-ray

Shakespeare provided lifelong inspiration for the towering operatic genius that was Giuseppe Verdi, but just three of the Bard’s plays ever emerged fully-fledged from the composer’s pen. This trio of landmark productions, featuring a veritable constellation of singers, conductors and directors, are united here under the banner of Verdi’s Shakepeare Operas: Macbeth, which lifted the young composer out of his hard-working ‘galley years’, propelling him to international fame and universal acclaim, and Otello and Falstaff, his final two crowning operatic achievements. Simon Keenlyside and Liudmyla Monastyrska are imposing as the Thane and his Lady in Phyllida Lloyd’s sumptuous production of The Scottish Play for The Royal Opera, conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano, while José Cura interprets the Moor in a profound, intense staging by Willy Decker at Barcelona’s Liceu. By the end of his dramatic opera career, Verdi claimed he had ‘earned at last the right to laugh a little’, and Richard Jones’s Glyndebourne Festival production of Falstaff radiates humour, tinged with bitterness and wisdom and brought to life by an international ensemble cast with Christopher Purves in the title role under the inspiring baton of Vladimir Jurowski.

Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Catalan (Otello), Japanese (Macbeth)

Running time: 170 Minutes (Macbeth), 23 Minutes (Bonus), 151 Minutes (Otello), 136 Minutes (Falstaff)

Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

VERDI Rigoletto & • Edward Downes, cond; Christine Schäfer (Gilda); Marcelo Álvarez (Duke of Mantua); Paolo Gavanelli (Rigoletto); Eric Halfvarson (Sparafucile); Elizabeth Sikora (Giovanna); Graciela Araya (Maddalena); Peter Auty (Borsa); Giovan Battista Parodi (Monterone); Royal Op O & Ch • OPUS ARTE 6005 (DVD: 135:15 + 11:33) Live: London 9/19/2001.

& Documentary: Verdi Through the Looking Glass (17:50); Interview with David McVicar

This Rigoletto directed by David McVicar, last available on a Kultur DVD in 2009, is not to be confused with the other Marcelo Álvarez Rigoletto with soprano Inva Mula and baritone Carlos Alvarez (originally issued by TDK in 2004 and reissued by Arthaus Musik in 2010). I reviewed the latter performance in Fanfare 34:2 and found it interesting but somewhat ho-hum. This one apparently made its appearance in a boxed set from the BBC that also included productions of Falstaff and Il trovatore. Unless the Fanfare Archive is incorrect (I checked under “Singers” for Paolo Gavanelli as well as under “Composers & Works” for “Verdi Rigoletto”), this one seems to have somehow escaped being previously reviewed in Fanfare.

McVicar, in his brief interview, describes Rigoletto as “a scream of rage” against social inequality. He’s probably right. He also brings up the Communist Manifesto and relates Verdi to it. He’s probably wrong. Rigoletto was just good old Victor Hugo, and Hugo had a lifelong fascination with hunchbacks and other physically deformed humans. That’s all it is. It’s not a Communist plot. “It deals with questions of what is beautiful, what is ugly,” he continues, and in that he is 100 percent correct. That was, indeed, Hugo’s focal point. Neither Tribolet (Rigoletto) nor Quasimodo (the hunchback of Notre Dame) are bad people, just unfortunate in the way they were born. “This [opera] is about things that are darker, things that are more unpalatable,” McVicar continues, and this, indeed, is the focus of his production.

An interesting point of dramatic relationship between the two DVD Rigolettos: in neither one does the title character have a real “hunchback” as one would imagine, for instance, from seeing either the Lon Chaney or Charles Laughton films of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. They have, rather, a sort of bulging shark fin growing out of their shoulders. One of the most impressive characterizations of the title role (and I’ve mentioned this before) was a 1970s filmed performance in which Rolando Panerai, his back bulging and deformed, scampered across the stage like some sort of huge and unsettling spider. I don’t demand that every Rigoletto act that way, but Panerai’s conception was uncomfortable to watch in a bizarre, black humor concept.

Thus, in McVicar’s mind, the opening “grand ballroom scene” has no splendor whatsoever. It is a dark, almost forbidding atmosphere in which topless women carouse like whores with the courtiers. The Duke of Mantua’s court has nothing festive, celebratory, or grand about it; it is seamy and disgusting, like the Duke himself. Yet the Duke is handsome and looks (relatively) innocent; it is his twisted jester who personifies all the ugliness inside of him, though Rigoletto is actually the most acutely self-aware person up there. He knows exactly what’s going on, what his function is within the court, and so is able to play up to the Duke’s depravity in a black-humor sort of way and thus win his favor.

Marcelo Álvarez, though a very accomplished tenor, is not one of the world’s great stage actors, thus he follows McVicar’s stage directions—looking rather blasé, jaded, and bored with the many topless beauties in his court—without really getting into the character the way a Jon Vickers, for instance, would have, yet he is certainly good enough to fit into the overall concept. “Questa o quella” sounds almost more brutal than jolly; this is no devil-may-care flirt, but a lecherous Don Juan with no pretense at looking or acting like a gentleman—except when he is play-acting with Gilda. In a way, however, I found the overwhelming number of topless women carousing around like whores to be too much of a bad thing. OK, fine, you made your point. Do you have to keep drumming it over our head like Gene Krupa’s tom-toms? Enough already. I mean, why would they even bother getting dressed in the first place if all they’re going to do is run around laughing and having their dresses pulled down and their knickers pulled up? Yet vocally and dramatically, this performance really takes off. Downes drives his orchestra, chorus, and soloists like a man possessed—I haven’t heard such a well-conducted Rigoletto since the old Bonynge recording—and all the solo voices are good in the first scene, even the dark sound of Parodi as Monterone. Gavanelli not only has a first-class voice, he knows how to use it for both musical and dramatic effect and is a fine stage actor as well. Vocally, the one fly in the ointment is Halfvarson as Sparafucile. His voice has a squally sound, which is exacerbated by an uneven flutter bordering on wobble, but he is a good stage actor, so that’s half the battle won.

I’ve long felt that Edward Downes was one of the more underrated opera conductors in the world. For whatever reason, he always seemed to be overshadowed by other British opera conductors: John Barbirolli when he was younger, John Pritchard when he was older, and later by Antonio Pappano; yet though I am also a big fan of Pappano, there has never been any question in my mind that Downes was always better than Barbirolli or Pritchard, and his work here is splendid. He takes slightly more relaxed tempos than you might be familiar with from the Richard Bonynge or Francesco Molinari-Pradelli recordings, and certainly more relaxed than Arturo Toscanini took act III back in 1944, yet as always his conducting has real “bite.” Not only the brass and winds, but also the strings, speak to you as the drama unfolds on stage, and that, to me, is definitely the mark of a great conductor. Here, too, he uses rubato, rallentandos, and other rhythmic devices to occasionally elongate the musical line without distorting it, as well as a wide range of dynamics and accents to make the music “speak.” A sterling example of how he works may be heard in “Pari siamo,” that difficult quasi-parlando aria in which the title character vacillates between self-reflection and loathing of the court and those he must serve and make laugh. This has always been, for me, one of the supreme highlights of this opera, yet too many baritones run through it as if it were a bel canto exercise. Gavanelli and Downes know exactly how to play it, and it comes off beautifully. The baritone here reveals as great a command of soft singing and half-shades as of ringing, forte high notes.

There’s a bit of luxury casting here in having Christine Schäfer, the world’s most famous exponent of Berg’s Lulu, singing Gilda. She is in superb voice and, more importantly, is a fine stage actress. Moreover, she is able to bring the voice “down” enough from its usual stratospheric heights to give the middle and lower ranges some richness and depth, something I would not have expected of her prior to hearing this. Toscanini, defying operatic conventions of his day and long afterward, insisted that Gilda be sung by a strong lyric soprano voice of the sort that could conceivably also sing Aida and Leonora. For generations, collectors have been enamored of the 1944 performance he gave of act III with Zinka Milanov as Gilda, but although Milanov sang very well her basic timbre was wrong for the part. It was simply too dark and matronly-sounding, more like a 40-year-old Gilda. Toscanini had a much better soprano in his 1943 broadcast, Gertrude Ribla. My other favorite Gildas in the lyric soprano mold are Maria Callas, Cristina Deutekom (only in the first duet with Rigoletto; I don’t think she ever sang the complete role on stage) and Margarita Rinaldi in the aforementioned performance with Panerai, but to this very short list I now add Schäfer. She not only sings it well but brings an entirely new dimension to Gilda that only Ribla and Callas came close to. I was also delightfully surprised to hear that many of the normal cuts in the music were opened up here. In “E il sol dell’anima,” Álvarez sings some of the phrases with something close to the melting legato and sensual phrasing of Tito Schipa—another pleasant surprise. Both soprano and tenor hit the high D? at the end of “Addio, addio,” yet both cut it off short as the score prescribes. Verdi would have been very pleased by this, yet perhaps more so by Schäfer’s near miraculous performance of “Caro nome.” She is even better, musically and dramatically, in this worn-out set piece than Callas or Rinaldi, binding the phrases beautifully yet still “clipping” the descending eighth notes as the score demands, limning every trill, however short, with dramatic meaning. This is surely the work of a great singing actress, and Schäfer does herself proud. Unlike so many practitioners of this role over the decades, Schäfer doesn’t “give them what they want to hear” but what the score dictates, and the aria is all the stronger for it.

One of the more brilliant moments in this production comes when the Duke sings “Ella mi fu rapita … Parmi veder le lagrime.” You finally understand the words. You’re not necessarily supposed to feel sorry for the Duke, but you are supposed to understand that Gilda’s purity of character made him come close to mending his ways. Would he have? Probably not, and that is the dramatic irony of the aria. Also interestingly, vocal delicacy and dramatic subtlety crown the second half of Rigoletto’s “Cortigianni” aria, with Gavanelli singing as tenderly in this section as Giuseppe de Luca once did, albeit with greater dramatic meaning in his delivery.

Wonder of wonders, Álvarez sings “La donna è mobile” with lightness and delicacy—again, à la Schipa—though he does not resist the temptation to sing the unwritten high B at the end. Yet he does also, even more surprisingly, sing the opening solo lines of “Bella figlia dell’amore” with equal delicacy, at once bringing the voice down to a mere thread of sound, a fil da voce, which makes a much greater dramatic impact than shouting it out. Graciela Araya is an excellent Maddalena, both vocally and histrionically, and the quartet ends quietly with no one banging out a high note—again, as the score directs—and Downes’s conducting of the storm scene is just as powerful as Toscanini’s. The final scene is touchingly sung and acted. All in all, a splendid performance.

The mini-documentary Verdi Through the Looking-Glass features one of the strangest and most exclusive clubs in the world: a group of old men in Parma who are named after each of Verdi’s operas! So you get to meet Macbeth, Il giorno di regno, I masnadieri, Rigoletto, Otello, Aida, Falstaff, La forza del destino, I due Foscari, etc. in the flesh. (They don’t mention whether or not one of them is named Messa da Requiem!) And they sit around and drink green-colored alcoholic beverages (the color comes from kiwi juice) at nine in the morning!

FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Giuseppe Verdi - OTELLO
Verdi's Shakespearian masterpiece: an opera in four acts

Otello: José Cura
Desdemona: Krassimira Stoyanova
Iago: Lado Ataneli
Cassio: Vittorio Grigolo
Emilia: Ketevan Kemoklidze
Roderigo: Vicenç Esteve Madrid
Lodovico: Giorgio Giuseppini
Montano: Francisco Santiago
Herald: Roberto Accurso

Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu
Antoni Ros-Marbà, Musical Director

Willy Decker, Stage Director

Recorded live at the Gran teatre del Liceu, Barcelona in February 2006

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic
Sound format: DTS Surround / LPCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Catalan
Running time: 151 minutes
Bonus Material: Introduction / Illustrated Synopsis / Cast Gallery

* The first of Verdi's two late Shakespearian operas stands as one of the great masterpieces of grand opera. José Cura, ranked among the world's leading interpreters of Verdi's music, takes the title role in Willy Decker's profound and intense production, recorded live at the Liceu, Barcelona in 2006 in true surround sound and filmed with high definition cameras.
* This is Willy Decker's acclaimed minimalist and symbolic production originally created for La Monnaie.

R E V I E W S

"Verdi's wise, passionate score was served with precision, gusto and a keen ear for drama by maestro Antoni Ros-Marbà and the solid, malleable Liceu orchestra." -- Opera News

"José Cura has the vocal colouring, the power and strength, but above all the dramatic temperament that this colossal Verdi character demands." -- El Pais

"…the Bulgarian soprano Krassimira Stoyanova captivated with her sensational Desdemona. Hers is a lyrical voice of great beauty, with sufficient volume used with taste and transmitted with both sweetness and firmness." -- El Pais

The curtain rises and we see practically nothing--minimalism at its most minimalist. With direction by Willy Decker, sets and costumes by John Macfarlane, and lighting by David Finn, this Otello is a masterpiece of internalization. The severely raked playing space narrows as it reaches the back of the stage, where it occasionally opens to reveal the sky--star-filled, or cloudy and treacherous looking. There is a 12-or-so-foot omnipresent wooden cross and a skewed half mirror, stage rear, for the scene in which Otello attacks Desdemona (the first scene of Act 3). Otherwise, no props, no furniture.

The opera is performed in two parts, with the break coming after the second act, and there is no pause in the action at all between Acts 1 and 2--or 3 and 4. The cross is broken by Otello for the Oath scene and Desdemona uses it as her deathbed in the last scene. The only times the narrow playing area gets in the way is in the first act's celebrations and the scene with the Venetian ambassador--chorus and dancers could use some more room. But the first scene in particular is incidental to Otello's character; the effect gives the opera the feeling of claustrophobia--and no escape--that is clearly Otello's mind. And Willy Decker has his characters moving naturally and often--this is anything but a stand-and-deliver performance. The Cassio/Rodrigo duel is action-packed and takes up the entire playing area; Otello's stalking of Desdemona is frightening. Torment reigns supreme.

If you're over 30 it is probably impossible to see this opera without comparing the singer in the title role with Placido Domingo or Jon Vickers. José Cura remains a somewhat frustrating singer--he strains, sings at half voice more often than he ought to (he seems to be saving his voice rather than obeying dynamic markings), and occasionally makes truly unappealing sounds. But when he opts for sheer power or emotional truth, he is breathtaking--more Vickers than Domingo in his raw brutality and equally raw fragility. I can honestly say that before seeing this performance I had never been even remotely moved by a performance of Cura's, either live or recorded, but this is a deeply thought-out, thrilling performance you won't soon forget.

At his side are the Iago of Lado Atanelli and the Desdemona of Krassimira Stoyanova. Atanelli is a smooth actor and therefore a dangerous Iago. His voice is a good size and has true bite to it; his Credo is grand and his sly insinuations cruel. The Oath Duet is terrifying in its intensity. Stoyanova, an unusual dark-haired Desdemona (most directors make her blond for the contrast), has a full, rich sound and she has no fear of letting it out. Her acting is dignified and focused and she moves with grace. Decker's decision to have her on stage from the opening moments of the opera is a mistake; her appearance after the duel and fracas is, as Verdi realized, far more effectual. She delivers a lovely, nervous Willow Song but the Ave Maria disappoints somewhat--an odd flutter enters her voice at piano and it sounds unfinished. Still, there's little to complain about.

A fine young, handsome tenor named Vittorio Grigolo sings and acts Cassio with clear tone and dramatic purpose; Ketevan Kemoklidze's Emilia is young and helpful and she holds up her end of the ensembles handsomely. The same might be said of the Rodrigo, Lodovico, and Montano.

Conductor Antoni Ros-Marbà at first seems to be on the verge of losing control of the pit/stage relationship but quickly takes over and delivers a fervent, disturbing, large-scale reading of the score, with the Liceu Orchestra and Chorus performing splendidly. This is not a perfect show--the crowd scenes are awkward, there are small vocal and dramatic mis-steps along the way--but it packs a considerable punch and serves Verdi's drama as successfully as I've seen in years.

The performance dates from two evenings in late February, 2006 at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. Extras are a six-minute introduction to the opera with brief interviews and a five-minute synopsis. Picture, in high definition, is superb, as is the sound--surround or stereo. Subtitles are in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and German.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com [reviewing the standard DVD version]

The curtain rises and we see practically nothing--minimalism at its most minimalist. With direction by Willy Decker, sets and costumes by John Macfarlane, and lighting by David Finn, this Otello is a masterpiece of internalization. The severely raked playing space narrows as it reaches the back of the stage, where it occasionally opens to reveal the sky--star-filled, or cloudy and treacherous looking. There is a 12-or-so-foot omnipresent wooden cross and a skewed half mirror, stage rear, for the scene in which Otello attacks Desdemona (the first scene of Act 3). Otherwise, no props, no furniture.

The opera is performed in two parts, with the break coming after the second act, and there is no pause in the action at all between Acts 1 and 2--or 3 and 4. The cross is broken by Otello for the Oath scene and Desdemona uses it as her deathbed in the last scene. The only times the narrow playing area gets in the way is in the first act's celebrations and the scene with the Venetian ambassador--chorus and dancers could use some more room. But the first scene in particular is incidental to Otello's character; the effect gives the opera the feeling of claustrophobia--and no escape--that is clearly Otello's mind. And Willy Decker has his characters moving naturally and often--this is anything but a stand-and-deliver performance. The Cassio/Rodrigo duel is action-packed and takes up the entire playing area; Otello's stalking of Desdemona is frightening. Torment reigns supreme.

If you're over 30 it is probably impossible to see this opera without comparing the singer in the title role with Placido Domingo or Jon Vickers. José Cura remains a somewhat frustrating singer--he strains, sings at half voice more often than he ought to (he seems to be saving his voice rather than obeying dynamic markings), and occasionally makes truly unappealing sounds. But when he opts for sheer power or emotional truth, he is breathtaking--more Vickers than Domingo in his raw brutality and equally raw fragility. I can honestly say that before seeing this performance I had never been even remotely moved by a performance of Cura's, either live or recorded, but this is a deeply thought-out, thrilling performance you won't soon forget.

At his side are the Iago of Lado Atanelli and the Desdemona of Krassimira Stoyanova. Atanelli is a smooth actor and therefore a dangerous Iago. His voice is a good size and has true bite to it; his Credo is grand and his sly insinuations cruel. The Oath Duet is terrifying in its intensity. Stoyanova, an unusual dark-haired Desdemona (most directors make her blond for the contrast), has a full, rich sound and she has no fear of letting it out. Her acting is dignified and focused and she moves with grace. Decker's decision to have her on stage from the opening moments of the opera is a mistake; her appearance after the duel and fracas is, as Verdi realized, far more effectual. She delivers a lovely, nervous Willow Song but the Ave Maria disappoints somewhat--an odd flutter enters her voice at piano and it sounds unfinished. Still, there's little to complain about.

A fine young, handsome tenor named Vittorio Grigolo sings and acts Cassio with clear tone and dramatic purpose; Ketevan Kemoklidze's Emilia is young and helpful and she holds up her end of the ensembles handsomely. The same might be said of the Rodrigo, Lodovico, and Montano.

Conductor Antoni Ros-Marbà at first seems to be on the verge of losing control of the pit/stage relationship but quickly takes over and delivers a fervent, disturbing, large-scale reading of the score, with the Liceu Orchestra and Chorus performing splendidly. This is not a perfect show--the crowd scenes are awkward, there are small vocal and dramatic mis-steps along the way--but it packs a considerable punch and serves Verdi's drama as successfully as I've seen in years.

The performance dates from two evenings in late February, 2006 at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. Extras are a six-minute introduction to the opera with brief interviews and a five-minute synopsis. Picture, in high definition, is superb, as is the sound--surround or stereo. Subtitles are in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and German.

--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com

This trio of unforgettable Royal Opera productions feature some of the most cherished and admired examples of Verdi’s operatic genius. The composer returned to his early masterpiece Macbeth after the great successes Il trovatore and La traviata had propelled him to universal fame, and his 1865 revision – today the most popular version of the work – shares the marks of dramatic and musical innovation that enshrine all three operas as undying classics. Phyllida Lloyd stages Verdi’s setting of the Scottish play, featuring Simon Keenlyside’s athletic, brooding Thane opposite Liudmyla Monastyrska’s imperious Lady. Rivalry blazes between José Cura’s troubadour and Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s Count in an Elijah Moshinsky production with sets by noted film designer Dante Ferretti. Starring as the illfated courtesan Violetta in Richard Eyre’s classic production is Renée Fleming, loved by Joseph Calleja as Alfredo against the wishes of his unyielding father, played by Thomas Hampson. Verdi’s best-loved works brought vividly to life.

An excellent release, altogether, and something that any fan of the opera would enjoy.

Theatrical events in the cinema have become one of the cultural phenomena of the last decade, and opera has led the way. The New York Met went first with their live HD relays, and others like Glyndebourne have followed. It’s exciting to see the Royal Opera House doing the same thing. This is a DVD release of their Macbeth that was relayed into cinemas in 2011. It’s very good all-round, well filmed and well captured in excellent sound but, as it should be, it’s the performances of the two leads that will capture the attention.
 
Simon Keenlyside and Liudmyla Monastyrska give one of the finest portrayals of the couple that I have come across. In both cases what lifts them into the category of the very special is the way they manage to chart the character’s development. Macbeth is a role that Keenlyside has grown into. He has the depth, the charisma and the energy that make the role complex and interesting; more than a great soldier laid low. His baritone is rounded and complex, just right to capture the many facets of the character’s journey. In the opening scene with the witches he comes across as vulnerable and impressionable into the bargain. However, he noticeably hardens in the second scene, and the dagger soliloquy finds him tougher and less humane. Even in the great duet after the murder his voice has more steel than remorse. This trajectory continues right to his final aria, Mal per me, which is extraordinary in its power and its sense of a life wasted. Perhaps he goes a little too far into snarling in the “sound and fury” sequence, but this remains an extraordinary interpretation of the character that I would love to have heard live. He is partnered by an equally exciting soprano in Liudmyla Monastyrska, a new name to me. She, too, charts the character’s development brilliantly, but she does so with quite extraordinary vocal tools. Her opening salvo, Ambizioso spirto, is exhilarating in its gleam, but cold with a palpable edge of steel which she maintains throughout the scene. Her vocal equipment is thrilling to listen to, however, not least in the coloratura of her cabaletta and the Brindisi of the second act. However, she undergoes the opposite journey to her husband so that, by the sleepwalking scene, she has shaded down her vocal colour to be a shadow of what it was. It’s a remarkable transition, and it makes the sleepwalking scene so much more effective, not least when she rises to a remarkable pianissimo in her final phrase. For these two alone this DVD would be required viewing. The others are fine, if not exceptional. Aceto sings Banquo’s aria very well but the character is rather uninvolving. The same is true of Macduff, though he isn’t quite as interesting to listen to. Malcolm’s few stage moments go off well, but there’s no doubt that it’s the Macbeths themselves who are the main draw here.
 
The production is fine too, stark in its contrasts of black, red and gold. Lloyd adopts a fairly minimalist approach, relying on lots of squares and cubes, most notably as an open cage where Duncan is murdered and the Macbeths plot the future. It’s her use of the witches that is most interesting. For her they are not restricted to the scenes on the heath; they invisibly orchestrate much of the action, most notably assisting the escape of Fleance after Banquo’s murder. The third act begins with a fantastic image of the great cube spinning around, controlled by the witches, with Macbeth and his wife inside. The direction of the two leads is very good and, while there isn’t much to say about the other characters, there is nothing in the production to insult or distract.
 
The chorus, so important in this opera, are very good indeed, whether playing witches, murderers, soldiers or refugees. The orchestra are fantastic too. Pappano’s direction is thrilling throughout. In one of the short extra films - all fine if unremarkable - he says that Macbeth is one of his favourite operas and you can tell in the way he screws up the tension to a thrilling climax in the chorus following Duncan’s murder. He shapes a compelling, dark vision of the score and has a whale of a time while doing so. The camera direction is always appropriate and the DTS sound comes through very well.
 
An excellent release, altogether, and something that any fan of the opera would enjoy.
 
-- Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

Macbeth – Simon Keenlyside
Banquo – Raymond Aceto
Lady Macbeth – Liudmyla Monastryrska
Servant – Nigel Cliffe
Malcolm – Steven Ebel
Lady – Elisabeth Meister
Macduff – Dmitri Pittas

Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra
Antonio Pappano, conductor

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, 13 June 2011

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Interviews with Simon Keenlyside, Raymond Aceto and Liudmyla Monastryrska
- Rehearsing Macbeth with Antonio Pappano

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, Italian, Spanish
Running time: 170 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

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

Also available on standard DVD

Black, red, cream and gold are the colours that define Phyllida Lloyd’s Royal Opera House staging of Verdi’s robust, yet penetrating setting of Shakespeare’s Scottish play. Manipulated by a whole coven of cunning, scarlet-turbanned witches, the characters often evoke figures in a splendid Gothic fresco. With Simon Keenlyside as an athletic, brooding Macbeth and Liudmyla Monastyrska as his Lady, both imperious and subtle, this performance, masterfully conducted by Antonio Pappano, goes far beyond mere sound and fury.

‘…an impressive company showcase, full of moments when chorus and orchestra are at full throttle. Whipped up by Antonio Pappano's baton, they sound truly thrilling.’ – The Guardian

Giuseppe Verdi
MACBETH
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Macbeth – Simon Keenlyside
Banquo – Raymond Aceto
Lady Macbeth – Liudmyla Monastryrska
Servant – Nigel Cliffe
Malcolm – Steven Ebel
Lady – Elisabeth Meister
Macduff – Dmitri Pittas

Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra
Antonio Pappano, conductor

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, 13 June 2011

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Interviews with Simon Keenlyside, Raymond Aceto and Liudmyla Monastryrska
- Rehearsing Macbeth with Antonio Pappano

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Running time: 170 mins
No. of Discs: 1

Also available on Blu-ray

This 2014 Glyndebourne production of Giuseppi Verdi’s masterpiece La Traviata stars soprano Venera Gimadieva, whose ‘huge presence, compelling to watch’, is ‘thrilling’ (Guardian) in her company debut as the doomed courtesan, well matched by Michael Fabiano’s sharply suited and ‘robustly-sung’ Alfredo (Financial Times), with Tassis Christoyannis delivering an imposing performance as the formidable Germont père. ‘‘... there can be no doubt of his [Mark Elder's] mastery of the opera’s dramatic shape and instrumental palette, flawlessly rendered by the LPO.’’ (The Daily Telegraph)

"The transfer to the small screen enhances some subtleties (especially of the stronger first half) and lets Venera Gimadieva’s Violetta feel like a Gheorgiu-like success of a star on the cusp. The Russian soprano has, and shows skillfully, a grasp of the situation in which the character finds herself that is not only telegraphically clear but most un-prima donna-ish. She is backed up at every stage by Sir Mark Elder’s fresh beating, pacing and balancing of the score – a result the suggests his recent years of work with bel canto repertoire and early-instrument ensembles have taken his Verdi a further stage even beyond his achievements for ENO."
– Mike Ashman, Gramophone

LA TRAVIATA

Violetta Valéry - Venera Gimadieva
Alfredo Germont - Michael Fabiano
Giorgio Germont - Tassis Christoyannis
Flora Bervoix - Hanna Hipp
Gastone / Viscount de Letorières - Emanuele D’Aguanno
Annina - Magdalena Molendowska
Baron Douphol - Eddie Wade
Marchese D’Obigny - Oliver Dunn
Doctor Grenvil - Graeme Broadbent

Glyndebourne Chorus
(chorus master: Jeremy Bines)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Mark Elder, conductor

Tom Cairns, stage director
Hildegard Bechtler, setand costume designer
Peter Mumford, lighting designer
Aletta Collins, choreographer

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, July 2014.

Bonus:
- Verdi’s La traviata, “Once heard, never forgotten”
- “An opera for all times”
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1 NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 132 mins (opera) + 16 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 1

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 2014 Glyndebourne production of Giuseppi Verdi’s masterpiece La Traviata stars soprano Venera Gimadieva, whose ‘huge presence, compelling to watch’, is ‘thrilling’ (Guardian) in her company debut as the doomed courtesan, well matched by Michael Fabiano’s sharply suited and ‘robustly-sung’ Alfredo (Financial Times), with Tassis Christoyannis delivering an imposing performance as the formidable Germont père. ‘‘... there can be no doubt of his [Mark Elder's] mastery of the opera’s dramatic shape and instrumental palette, flawlessly rendered by the LPO.’’ (The Daily Telegraph)

"The transfer to the small screen enhances some subtleties (especially of the stronger first half) and lets Venera Gimadieva’s Violetta feel like a Gheorgiu-like success of a star on the cusp. The Russian soprano has, and shows skillfully, a grasp of the situation in which the character finds herself that is not only telegraphically clear but most un-prima donna-ish. She is backed up at every stage by Sir Mark Elder’s fresh beating, pacing and balancing of the score – a result the suggests his recent years of work with bel canto repertoire and early-instrument ensembles have taken his Verdi a further stage even beyond his achievements for ENO." – Mike Ashman, Gramophone

Giuseppe Verdi
LA TRAVIATA
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Violetta Valéry - Venera Gimadieva
Alfredo Germont - Michael Fabiano
Giorgio Germont - Tassis Christoyannis
Flora Bervoix - Hanna Hipp
Gastone / Viscount de Letorières - Emanuele D’Aguanno
Annina - Magdalena Molendowska
Baron Douphol - Eddie Wade
Marchese D’Obigny - Oliver Dunn
Doctor Grenvil - Graeme Broadbent

Glyndebourne Chorus
(chorus master: Jeremy Bines)
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Mark Elder, conductor

Tom Cairns, stage director
Hildegard Bechtler, setand costume designer
Peter Mumford, lighting designer
Aletta Collins, choreographer

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, July 2014.

Bonus:
- Verdi’s La traviata, “Once heard, never forgotten”
- “An opera for all times”
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 132 mins (opera) + 16 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)

Verdi’s 1855 Paris opera which followed Rigoletto, Il trovatore and La Traviata is treated to a performance of blazing energy and intimate refinement with a superb cast which includes Cheryl Studer and Chris Merritt.

The rarely-seen third act ballet is included complete, with the internationally-acclaimed dancers Carla Fracci and Wayne Eagling.

Sung in Italian with English subtitles. Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
ALL REGIONS
Running time: 211 mins
Picture format: 4:3 Sound format: Dolby Stereo

*** 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)

"Elijah Moshinsky's production is surely as lively and moving as Verdi's intricate masterpiece deserves. Jose Cura sizzles.''-- San Francisco Chronicle

Giuseppe Verdi IL TROVATORE

Manrico – José Cura
Count di Luna – Dmitri Hvorostovsky
Leonora – Verónica Villarroel
Azucena – Yvonne Naef
Ferrando – Tomas Tomasson
Ines – Gweneth-Ann Jeffers
Old gypsy – Thomas Barnard
Messenger – Douglas Telfer
Ruiz – Edgaras Montvidas

Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra
(chorus master: Vasko Vassilev)
Carlo Rizzi, conductor

Elijah Moshinsky, stage director
Dante Ferretti, set designer
Anne Tilby, costume designer
Howard Harrison, lighting designer
William Hobbs, fight arranger

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 3 May 2002

Bonus:
- Meet the cast and their characters
- All about Schläger – preparations for the fight scenes
- Designing Il Trovatore – behind-the-scenes with the director and the costume and set designers
- Illustrated synopsis Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: Dolby Digital 5.0 / 2.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English
Running time: 172 mins
No. of DVDs. 1 (DVD 9)

Also available on Blu-ray

This rendition of Verdi’s opera I Due Foscari was recorded live at the Royal Opera House in September 2015. Directed by Thaddeus Strassberger, these powerful settings delve deeply into the corruption of the Venetian Court. Starring Placido Domingo, this work is an exciting forerunner to the classics of Verdi’s later style.

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 rendition of Verdi’s opera I Due Foscari was recorded live at the Royal Opera House in September 2015. Directed by Thaddeus Strassberger, these powerful settings delve deeply into the corruption of the Venetian Court. Starring Placido Domingo, this work is an exciting forerunner to the classics of Verdi’s later style.

Also available on Blu-ray

Verdi’s late historical masterpiece never saw a more lavish staging than in Hugo de Ana’s monumental production shared between the Teatro Real (Madrid) and Turin Opera. Filmed in high-definition by RAI in April 2013 to mark the 40th anniversary of the rebuilding of the Teatro Regio, the visual spectacle was complemented by an all-star international cast that was led by the great Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas in the title role. Widely-accepted as the top Italian opera ensemble, the Teatro Regio Orchestra, under its distinguished maestro Gianandrea Noseda, gave the production faultless musical support.