Teeming with comedy, wit and an abundance of bravura choreography, Carlos Acosta's production brings the Spanish heat and romance of Miguel de Cervantes' classic novel Don Quixote to life. Often regarded as the first modern novel, Cervantes' epic regales the chivalrous adventures of the eccentric nobleman Don Quixote (Gary Avis) and his faithful squire Sancho Panza (Liam Boswell). The ballet focuses on one of their adventures, where they help to bring a vivacious young couple, Kitri (Mayara Magri) and Basilio (Matthew Ball), together.

Using the latest high definition and audio technology to produce exceptional images and sound, the pieces included on this disc are timeless treasures. Included are works by Davis, Holst, Chopin, Britten, Rachmaninov, Puccini, Wagner, Monteverdi, Schubert, Elgar, Haydn, Verdi, Handel, and Rameau.

A classic in the Royal Ballet repertory, the Frederick Ashton choreographed La Fille Mal Gard�e (The Wayward Daughter) was an immediate hit with the British public at it's 1960 premiere and garnered renewed praise during this 2015 revival, declared by the Independent to be a "company triumph". With principals Natalia Osipova and Steven McRae and their memorable onstage chemistry displaying on point and outstanding solo performances, this charming tale that pivots on the concept of love conquering all is presented with the effusive backing of the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House conducted by Barry Wordsworth. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.

When young Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San marries American naval officer Pinkerton, she believes she is entering a marriage for life. Forsaking her religion and community, she dreams of a future with her new husband, only to learn that for Pinkerton, their marriage is merely an illusion - one with tragic consequences. With it's exquisite score, Giacomo Puccini's poignant 1904 opera is as beautiful as it is shattering. Drawing inspiration from 19th-century European images of Japan, Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier's production stars Asmik Grigorian with Kevin John Edusei conducting.

Also available on Blu-ray

Mozart’s trilogy of operas composed to librettos by Lorenzo Da Ponte delight and entertain audiences with their combination of sublime music and their mix of humor, romance and drama.

Cosi Fan Tutte, also known as ‘the school for lovers,’ stars a cast of young rising stars, conducted by Semyon Bychkov, in this 2016 production playfully set in a theatre. Kasper Holten’s production of Don Giovanni reveals the inner turmoil of the eponymous antihero, sung by Mariusz Kwiecien.

Erwin Schrott, Miah Persson and Gerald Finley star in David McVicar’s production of Le nozze di Figaro, one of the world’s most beloved operas."Kwiecien’s eloquently sung Giovanni heads a strong cast. Particularly impressive is Malin Byström’s Donna Anna, whose moving Non mi dir is addressed not to Don Ottavio but first to her dead father (via his bust) and then to Giovanni himself. Véronique Gens offers a sympathetic Donna Elvira, impassioned rather than hysterical in her inability to give up on Giovanni. Even in Leporello’s Catalogue Aria she embraces Giovanni, willing it not to be true. Alex Esposito’s resourceful Leporello also seems to be smitten by Giovanni, as is Elizabeth Watts’s lively, engaging Zerlina. Nicola Luisotti draws sensuous playing from the ROH orchestra, he and Paul Wingfield generating daring and witty dissonances in their keyboard continuo." (The Evening Standard - Giovanni) "…This success is no doubt also down to a shining cast: Corinne Winters’s rich-toned Fiordiligi contrasts with Angela Brower’s lighter lyrical Dorabella; Daniel Behle fetchingly adopts gentle head-tone colouring in Un Aura Amorosa and Alessio Arduini is a virile Guglielmo. Sabina Puertolas exudes street-smart confidence as Despina and Johannes Martin Kranzle delights in his role as social architect. Semyon Bychkov draws richly varied colours from the Royal Opera Orchestra, though occasionally favours slow tempos." (The Stage)

In the prologue to Wagner's giant masterpiece, Der Ring de Nibelungen, the beginnings of an epic journey unfold when Alberich seizes the ring of gold, it's awesome power unleashing an unstoppable story of deceit, destruction, death and transfiguring love.

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.

When young Japanese geisha Cio-Cio-San marries American naval officer Pinkerton, she believes she is entering a marriage for life. Forsaking her religion and community, she dreams of a future with her new husband, only to learn that for Pinkerton, their marriage is merely an illusion - one with tragic consequences. With it's exquisite score, Giacomo Puccini's poignant 1904 opera is as beautiful as it is shattering. Drawing inspiration from 19th-century European images of Japan, Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier's production stars Asmik Grigorian with Kevin John Edusei conducting.

Fantastic storylines abound in opera, but these grand musical settings of much-loved fairytales embrace the imaginary, giving free rein to dreams. The Royal Opera's acclaimed Hansel and Gretel combines the directors' characteristic wit and knack for dark comedy with the story's enduring charm. Glyndebourne's recounting of the quick-witted fox's escape into nature balances the opera's whimsy and mysticism. Opera North's enchanting staging of Jonathan Dove's 21st opera is a wittily inventive feast for the eyes and ears, shining new light on Collodi's original tale, by turns magical and dark. "What an inspired and exciting opera this is. Gorgeous characters, a busy story rich in incident and an exhilarating mix of music. Delight follows delight." (The Stage - The Adventures of Pinocchio) "Not only was the production a great one to attend as a first opera, but the [video] is perhaps as good an introduction to opera as one could hope for, a success on almost every front." (Musicweb International - Hansel und Gretel) "Lucy Crowe's glowingly sung Vixen... Tom Pye's Hockneyish designs are evocative of a world of childish wonder, with animal costumes which cleverly suggest human characteristic." (The Daily Telegraph - The Cunning Little Vixen)

With the magnificent sets of the Quartier Latin in Giancarlo del Monaco's La Boheme as a backdrop, the Teatro Real presents an invigorating Latin Jazz cross-pollination, featuring some of the world's greatest Jazz fusionists: Paquito d'Rivera and Chano Dominguez. Recorded live in high Definition video and true surround sound, this concert fires up the screen with virtuosic and electrifying performances of truly multi-dimensional Jazz, colored with Salsa, Flamenco, Tango, Bolero, African, and other Latin music elements.

Begun in the year 1900, amidst the art nouveau curlicues of Klmt and the Jugendstil, Schoberg's grand cantata is wrtten in a lush, late-romantic style indebted to Wagner and Mahler and pre-dating his pioneering atonal works. This setting of the medieval Danish legend of Gurre Castle - a love triangle between King Waldemar, his mistress Tove and a jealous Queen - gains an innovative new dimension in this first-ever staging of the work, directed by Pierre Audi. This album marks the first ever collaboration between DNO Artistic Director Pierre Audi and Music Director Marc Albrecht. This production was the first staging of Schonberg's mammoth cantata with gargantuan orchestra, five soloists, speaker and multiple choruses.

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

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.

George Benjamin and Martin Crimp's second full-length opera - following the acclaimed Written on Skin - draws on the real-life relationship between Edward II and Piers Gaveston to explore how personal relationships can have fatal political consequences. The King lives in a close but uneasy relationship with his wife Isabel, their two children and his lover Gaveston. When the King banishes his military advisor Mortimer, he sets off a chain of devastating events. Benjamin's richly-orchestrated score perfectly captures the drama's intense emotions, while director Katie Mitchell provides a visually stunning contemporary staging, highlighting the timelessness of the opera's main themes. The composer himself conducts a superb international cast. "... The music, written and compellingly conducted by Mr. Benjamin, is unapologetically modernist, while the libretto, by Mr. Crimp, is often cryptic. Without pandering, they've made another significant contribution to the art form. In the queen, Mr. Benjamin has created another remarkable role for Ms. Hannigan's immense vocal gifts and comprehensive musicianship. He writes lines that shift from earthy emotionalism to angelic purity, knowing that this artist can handle those pivots. He takes advantage of her focused intonation and rhythmic precision to lend even anguished passages structural strength. But it's Mr. Benjamin's remarkable music that gives the work it's charge: The writing is so lush, haunting and detailed - radiant one moment, piercingly dissonant the next - that you are continuously enveloped by the raucous beauty of the sounds." (New York Times)

Blu-ray. Cecilia Bartoli as mezzo-soprano, Bryn Terfel as bass-baritone with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Myung-Whun Chung, conductor. Recorded live in Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, Sussex, on 24 April 1999. Picture Format: 1080i High Definition / NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic Sound Format: 2.0 and 5.1 PCM audio, Region Code: 0 (All Regions) Menu Languages: English, Subtitles: English, French, German. Programme: Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 Overture/Cinque dieci/ Si a casa madonna / Se vuol ballare. Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621 Act I: Parto, parto. G. Rossini: Il Barbieri di Siviglia Overture / Dunque io son. Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 Act I: Madamina, il catalogo e questo. Haydn: L'anima del filosofo, Hob. XXVIII:13 Act III: Al tuo seno fortunato. G. Donizetti: L'elisir d'Amore Act II: Quanto amore! Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 Act I: La ci darem la mano. Handel: Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 Part I: Arm, arm ye brave. Gioachino Rossini: Semiramide Act I: Bel raggio lusinghier. Mozart: Die Zauberflote, K. 620 Act II: Pa-pa-pa-pa.