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

Kenneth MacMillan
MAYERLING
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Crown Prince Rudolf – Edward Watson
Baroness Mary Vetsera – Mara Galeazzi
Princess Stephanie – Iohna Loots
Emperor Franz Josef – William Tuckett
Empress Elisabeth – Cindy Jourdain
Countess Marie Larisch – Sarah Lamb
Baroness Helene Vetsera – Elizabeth McGorian

Royal Opera House Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth, conductor

Kenneth MacMillan, choreographer

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

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast Gallery
- Principles in rehearsal with Edward Watson and Mara Galeazzi
- Short feature on costumes

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: PCM 2.0 and DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles (bonus features only): French, German, Spanish
Running time: 159 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (BD 50)

A contorted Edward Watson as death-obsessed Austrian royalty leads a brilliant Royal Ballet ensemble in Opus Arte’s second DVD of Kenneth MacMillan’s stunner.
Performance: 5 (out of 5); Sound: 5 (out of 5)
-- David Nice, BBC Music Magazine

Kenneth MacMillan
MAYERLING

Crown Prince Rudolf – Edward Watson
Baroness Mary Vetsera – Mara Galeazzi
Princess Stephanie – Iohna Loots
Emperor Franz Josef – William Tuckett
Empress Elisabeth – Cindy Jourdain
Countess Marie Larisch – Sarah Lamb
Baroness Helene Vetsera – Elizabeth McGorian

Royal Opera House Orchestra
Barry Wordsworth, conductor

Kenneth MacMillan, choreographer

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

Bonus:
- Illustrated synopsis
- Cast Gallery
- Principles in rehearsal with Edward Watson and Mara Galeazzi
- Short feature on costumes

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: PCM 2.0 and DTS Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles (bonus features only): French, German, Spanish
Running time: 159 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Sung in English

Region Code: All regions
Picture format: 16/9 Anamorphic
Sound format: Dolby Digital stereo, Dolby 5.1 surround
Menu languages: English
Subtitles: French/German/Spanish
Running time: 120 minutes

"It's a wonderfully rich piece of musical theatre, of course gorgeous melodies but also the story touches on some real basic truths about human relationships" -- Director Lotfi Mansouri

BBC Opus Arte are proud to release Lotfi Mansouri's spectacular last production as General Director of The San Francisco Opera with Yvonne Kenny making her debut in the title role of the Merry Widow. To bring fresh insight into Lehár's classic operetta new dialogue was specially commissioned from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Wendy Wasserstein. Also an original ballet was composed to set the scene 'Chez Maxime.' This production also features another world premiere, Njegus's song "Quite Parisian" although Lehár in fact, wrote it later.

Extra Features:
* Illustrated Synopsis
* Cast Gallery
* "Impressions" - Lotfi Mansouri, Yvonne Kenny, Bo Skovhus, Angelika Kirchschlager and Gregory Turay discuss The Merry Widow.
* Illustrated booklet with an essay by Camille Crittenden examining what insight the Merry Widow gives into women's roles in fin-de-siecle Vienna.

Reviews

‘A production that deftly captures the sparkle and eroticism of Lehar’s music. I love it. Under Erich Kunzel, the orchestra brings out all the sparkle and eroticism of Lehár's bewitching melodies and orchestrations. Best of all, perhaps, are Michael Yeargan's sets and Thierry Bosquet's costumes. The gently varied range of colours as the curtain rises on the Widow's lamp-lit Act 2 party is quite simply breathtaking, and Act 3, too, is a riot of colour. Enjoy!’ The Gramophone

‘Mansouri’s staging, lavishly kitted out in elegant Jugendstil sets and costumes by Michael Yeargan and Thierry Bosquet, achieves the rare feat of bringing off the work’s unique mix of boulevard farce and sophisticated eroticism.’ The Independent

‘…this is about as lavish a production of Franz Lehár’s adorable operetta as you are ever likely to see…soprano Yvonne Kenny is perfectly cast in the title role.’ Classic FM Magazine

‘Michael Yeargan’s glamorous and beautifully-wrought designs and Thierry Bosquet’s extravagant costumes. We see all too little of this kind of splendour in these cash-strapped days.’ Opera

"Franz Lehar's immortal Merry Widow is presented here in a San Francisco Opera production recorded during a performance Dec. 8, 2001 at the War Memorial Opera House. New dialogue from Pulitzer Prize-winning playright Wendy Wasserstein adds to the production as does an original ballet during the 'Chez Maxim' scene. The entire cast is superb, with soprano Yvonne Kenny singing the title role for the first time and doing so brilliantly. Angelika Kirschschlager, who already has to her credit a superb SACD of Bach arias (REVIEW), is wonderful as Valencienne. In addition to fine singing throughout, all of the singers are attractive, the many stretches of dialogue spoken with style. Everything about this production is first-rate, the beautiful sets and costumes are perfect, camera work exemplary, and the Dolby digital surround sound totally natural." - CLASSICAL CD REVIEW

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

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

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

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

Lotfi Mansouri, stage director

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

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

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

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

Also available on standard DVD

Set in the exotic surroundings of the Ottoman Empire and with a narrative encompassing abduction, murder and shipwreck, LeCorsaire is a swashbuckling pirate drama that delights for its spectacular nature and which includes some of the most bravura male dancing in the ballet repertoire.The work’s evolution has been a complex one, its libretto and choreography subject to numerous revisions since its first appearance in Paris in 1856, and in this English National Ballet production – the first British staging of the work – former-ballerina-turned-choreographer Anna-Marie Holmes adapts the 1974 Petipa-Sergeyev Kirov version to create ‘brisk, stylish entertainment’ (Guardian) that is visually enhanced by Hollywood designer Bob Ringwood’s ‘superb’ (Daily Telegraph) Orientalist sets and costumes.First-rate dancing by the company and its soloists – including Alina Cojocaru’s ‘radiant performance’ as Medora (Independent), Yonah Acosta’s ‘vividly drawn and villainous’ Birbanto (Financial Times) and Vadim Muntagirov’s ‘compelling’ (Daily Telegraph) portrayal of Conrad – underscores the ‘roaring, madcap success’ (Financial Times) of this production. Anna-Marie Holmes
LE CORSAIRE

Medora - Alina Cojocaru
Conrad - Vadim Muntagirov
Gulnare - Erina Takahashi
Lankendem - Dmitri Gruzdyev
Ali - Junor Souza
Birbanto - Yonah Acosta
Pasha - Michael Coleman

English National Ballet
English National Ballet Orchestra
Gavin Sutherland, conductor

Anna-Marie Holmes, choreographer (after Marius Petipa and Konstantin Sergeyev)
Bob Ringwood, set and costume designer
Neil Austin, lighting designer

Music:
Adolphe Adam
Cesare Pugni
Léo Delibes
Riccardo Drigo
Prince Pyotr van Oldenbourg
Ludwig Minkus
Yuly Gerber
Baron Boris Fitinhof-Schnell
Albert Zabel

Recorded live at the English National Ballet, August 2014

Bonus:
- Cast Gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 100 mins
No. of Discs: 1

The Last Night of the Proms is one of the most famous musical events in the world,watched and listened to by millions. It celebrates British tradition and encapsulates the unique spirit of the BBC Proms, by featuring leading international artists in an all-embracing musical programme that introduces new works alongside much-loved classics. In 2000 Sir Andrew Davis made his final appearance at the helm of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He was joined on stage by the outstanding young American violinist Hilary Hahn, and the internationally renowned British soprano Jane Eaglen. A world premiere was also given of a recently discovered piece of Shostakovich to make this finale of the BBC Proms 2000 a memorable celebration of the world's greatest classical music festival.

‘A fulsome farewell to Andrew Davis’s 11-year tenure as the Proms conductor par excellence.’ -- Gramophone

Choreography by Angelin Preljocaj

This double bill from one of the world’s leading choreographers offers two of his major works, danced by the Ballet de l’opéra de Paris. The dreamlike Songe de Médée, with music by Mauro Lanza and freely based on the Greek myth of Medea, explores a woman’s soul, portraying her, paradoxically, as a tender loving mother and a tormented victim who sacrifices everything, including her children, for love. MC14/22 (Ceci est mon corps) is a meeting of the spiritual and the carnal, drawing on St Mark’s version of The Last Supper in the Bible: ‘Take, eat: this is my body’. Created for twelve male dancers, Preljocaj’s ‘Apostles of Movement’, and with soundscapes by Tedd Zahmal, this powerfully sensual and passionate work is a hymn to the male body, stripped down to its deepest reality, juxtaposing the glorification of strength and the condemnation of force.

LE SONGE DE MEDEE
Médée: Marie-Agnès Gillot
Créüse, fille de Créon: Eleonora Abbagnato
Jason: Wilfried Romoli
Les Enfants: Constance Nicolas & Carl Van Gotdsenhoven
Ensemble Court-Circuit
Musical Director: Pierre-André Valade
Music by: Mauro Lanza

MC 14/22 « CECI EST MON CORPS »
Soundscapes by: Tedd Zahmal
Guest dancer/singer: Sylvain Groud
Opéra national de Paris Ballet

Choreography: Angelin Preljocaj
Stage Director: Denis Caïozzi

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound formats: Dolby Digital Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.0
Region code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 155 mins

Special Features:
Interviews with Angelin Preljocaj, Mauro Lanza and Brigitte Lefèvre, director of Ballet de L’Opéra

R E V I E W S

"With Angelin Preljocaj’s work, precision is such that the outline of the bodies, inscribed on our retina, marks both the memory of and trajectory made by each gesture. A palpable memory, a memory of a gesture divided into an almost visible infinity of micro-intervals. There is no doubt that Angelin Preljocaj is one of those people who dictate an essential part of our choreographic heritage. He is unquestionably one of those artists who, mirroring the intentions of Arthur, asks the questions that need asking, and most notably the ones linked to the urgencies of life." -- montpellierdance.com

Also available on Blu-ray

La Bête et la Belle is renowned French choreographer Kader Belarbi's compelling reimagining of the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast - a psychological drama that explores the rejection or acceptance of difference, centring around Beauty's discovery of the depth of true love. First performed by the Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal in 2005. Théâtre du Capitole's reprise of Belarbi's acclaimed production has confirmed its status as among the best of modern ballets, combining stunning set and costume designs with striking choreography that reflects the unique soundscapes of the Ligeti-dominant musical score. Takafumi Watanabe and Julie Loria assume the lead roles in a production that instantly transports us into the beautiful dream world of this timeless masterpiece reinterpreted.

Famed for his sonorous tone and imposing stage presence, ‘Rigoletto du jour’ Leo Nucci is considered among today’s foremost Verdi interpreters. + In this new solo recording the venerable baritone performs some of the greatest arias by the Italian maestro, reprising together with instrumental accompaniment many of the operatic roles on which he has built his illustrious career. + Presenting the major singers of today and the stars of tomorrow, the Rosenblatt Recitals are London's only world-class season of opera recitals. + In partnership with Opus Arte, this and other CD releases will be based predominantly on studio recordings with occasional bonus live tracks.

Gregory Doran directs King and Country: Shakespeare's Great Cycle of Kings- the complete cycle of Richard II, Henry IV, Pts. 1 & 2, and Henry V. David Tennant plays the title role in Richard II, with Antony Sher and Jasper Britton as Falstaff and Henry IV respectively in Henry IV, Pts. 1 & 2. Alex Hassell follows his performance as Prince Hal in Henry IV, Pts. 1 & 2 as Henry V in the final play in the tetralogy.

"A definitive production of a great play" - Daily Mail on Richard II

"Gregory Doran's productions are a triumphant achievement." - Times on Henry IV, Pts. 1 & 2

Sound Format: 2.0LPCM, 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: EN/FR/GE (Except Henry V with EN only)
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)
Running Time: 663 mins

Gregory Doran directs King and Country: Shakespeare's Great Cycle of Kings- the complete cycle of Richard II, Henry IV, Pts. 1 & 2, and Henry V. David Tennant plays the title role in Richard II, with Antony Sher and Jasper Britton as Falstaff and Henry IV respectively in Henry IV, Pts. 1 & 2. Alex Hassell follows his performance as Prince Hal in Henry IV, Pts. 1 & 2 as Henry V in the final play in the tetralogy.

"A definitive production of a great play" - Daily Mail on Richard II

"Gregory Doran's productions are a triumphant achievement." - Times on Henry IV, Pts. 1 & 2 Sound Format: 2.0LPCM, 5.1 DTS
Subtitles: EN/FR/GE (Except Henry V with EN only)
Region: 0 (Worldwide)
Running Time: 663 mins

The fresh and vibrant style of composer Matthew Martin (b. 1976) has established him as one of today's leading sacred choral composers. Here the renowned Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford perform a selection of his works, included amongst them six World Premiere Recordings, celebrating liturgical music in all it's variety; from the reticent carol Dormi, Jesu! And the imposing St John's College Service to settings of the Mass, motets and anthems, including the award-winning Festival Anthem: In the year that King Uzziah died. Mr. Martin is closely associated with Magdalen College, Oxford, as a former organ scholar. He has held positions as organist and/or choir master at New College, Oxford, Canterbury Cathedral and Westminster Cathedral.

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



J. STRAUSS II Die Fledermaus • Vladimir Jurowski, cond; Pamela Armstrong ( Rosalinde ); Thomas Allen ( Eisenstein ); Håkan Hagegård ( Dr. Falke ); Pär Lindskog ( Alfred ); Malena Ernman ( Prince Orlovsky ); Lyubov Petrova ( Adele ); Ragnar Ulfung ( Dr. Blind ); Artur Korn ( Frank ); Udo Samel ( Frosch ); Reneé Schüttengruber ( Ida ); Glyndebourne Ch; London PO • BBC/OPUS ARTE 7004 (Blu-ray Disc: 198:00) Live: Glyndebourne 8/17/2003


& Cast & costume galleries. The Genesis of the Waltz. The Architect Returns. Interviews. Frosch interlude


This pretty-much-perfect production of Strauss’s pretty-much-perfect operetta is an ideal specimen to demonstrate the visual and sonic virtues of the Blu-ray medium. The Glyndebourne staging is a feast to watch: the sets and costumes are lavish, the dancing accomplished. Opus Arte’s 24-bit PCM sound is way better than anything you’ve ever heard on a traditional DVD, both the stereo version and the spacious multichannel that puts the listener in the middle of the appreciative audience who experienced the real thing in Sussex back in August of 2003.


Director Stephen Lawless has moved the setting of Die Fledermaus ahead a few decades to around 1910, the Vienna of Sigmund Freud and Gustav Klimt. (Eisenstein’s dressing gown, in fact, is a facsimile of Klimt’s The Kiss .) This Fledermaus is clearly viewed as a play that happens to have awfully good music, and Lawless and Daniel Dooner have created new dialogue for the production. In the hands of an ensemble of terrific singing actors, the texts never impede the headlong momentum of this comic masterpiece.


What a cast! Pamela Armstrong, as Rosalinde, handles the part vocally quite well but is equally concerned with her character’s development: when she dresses up as someone else, Eisenstein’s wife discovers her “real self” (as the soprano puts it in one of the disc’s “extras”). Thomas Allen notes that the high tessitura of his role was a bit of a challenge—it sure doesn’t sound it—but his comic timing is impeccable and the man can actually dance. As Dr. Falke, Håkan Hagegård gives his character an edge: the practical joke that Eisenstein played on him months before the curtain rises for act I has deeply wounded him, and Falke is serious about getting revenge. Singing Alfred in an appropriately seductive manner is Swedish tenor Pär Lindskog who, like Allen, is obviously quite a versatile artist. You’d never know from this performance that the guy also sings Siegfried and Parsifal.


The kudos go on. Lyubov Petrova’s rendition of Adele’s big second-act aria is a showstopper and Malena Ernman is utterly convincing as the terminally bored and sexually ambiguous Orlovsky. It’s a surprise every time Ernman starts to sing and her voice jumps up an octave or two. The smaller parts—Dr. Blind, Frank, Ida, Frosch—are all covered quite well.


Vladimir Jurowski takes the music very seriously (as, the notes remind us, did Gustav Mahler) and his leadership of the LPO is spirited and knowingly inflected. To accompany the curtain calls, Jurowski conducts a rousing “Radetzky March.” Opus Arte provides subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch. There’s a generous supply of extras, including cast and costume “galleries” and brief featurettes on the history of the waltz and the new (in 1994) opera house at Glyndebourne, as revisited by the architect who designed it. We also get observations on Fledermaus from Armstrong, Allen, Hagegård, Jurowski, and director Lawless and, to close, some shtick, mostly about champagne, by Udo Samel, the actor who has the speaking role of the jailer Frosch.


Yes, this one’s on my Want List.

FANFARE: Andrew Quint


Picture Format: 1080i High Definition, NTSC 16:9
Sound Format: 2.0 / 5.0 PCM Audio
Region Code: 0 (All Regions)
Menu Languages: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Dutch
Running Time: 198 min

Also available on Blu-ray

Jean-Christophe Maillot has re-worked Swan Lake with the writer Jean Rouaud (1990 Prix Goncourt winner) to bring a new drama to this pillar of the classic repertoire. This new adaptation, filmed in a special studio-setting at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, brings a modern-day relevance to the timeless story of Siegfried and Odette. Designed by leading visual artist Ernest Pignon-Ernest. with costumes by Philippe Guillotel, and performed to a specially conceived and mastered soundtrack of Tchaikovsky's score performed by the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, directed by Leonard Slatkin. the production has been hailed as 'outstanding' (Le Figaro), while the Jerusalem Post asserted 'Swan Lake will never be the same after the tempestous Lac'.

Jean-Christophe Maillot LAC After Swan Lake

Her Majesty The Night - Bernice Coppieters
The White Swan - Anja Behrend
The Black Swan - April Ball
The Prince - Stephan Bourgond
The King - Alvaro Prieto
The Queen - Mimoza Koike
The Prince’s Confidant - Jeroen Verbruggen
The Archangel of Darkness 1 - Asier Uriagereka
The Archangel of Darkness 2 - Asier Edeso
The Five Candidates / The Conceited Woman - Simone Webster
The Indifferent Pretender - Gaëlle Riou
The Libertine 1 - Anjara Ballesteros
The Libertine 2 - Noelani Pantastico
The Insatiable Woman - Maude Sabourin

Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra
Leonard Slatkin, conductor

Jean-Christophe Maillot, choreographer and lighting designer
Ernest Pignon-Ernest, set designer
Philippe Guillotel, costume designer
Samuel Thery, lighting designer

Music:
Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky

Recorded live at Grimaldi Forum, Monaco, 2013

Bonus:
- Cast Gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 93 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

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

Grandmother Buryja – Mette Ejsing
Laca Kleme? – Miroslav Dvorský
Števa Buryja – Nikolai Schukoff
Kostelni?ka Buryja – Deborah Polaski
Jen?fa – Amanda Roocroft
Foreman – Károly Szemerédy
Mayor – Miguel Sola
Mayor’s wife – Marta Mathéu
Karolka – Marta Ubieta
Shepherdess – María José Suárez
Barena – Sandra Ferrández
Jano – Elena Poesina
Aunt – Marina Makhmoutova

Teatro Real Chorus and Orchestra
Ivor Bolton, conductor

Stéphane Braunschweig, stage director

Recorded live at the Teatro Real, October 2009.

Bonus:
- Cast gallery
- Illustrated synopsis

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 136 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)


Review:



JANÁ?EK Jen?fa • Ivor Bolton, cond; Amanda Roocroft ( Jen?fa ); Deborah Polaski ( Kostelni?ka ); Miroslav Dvorský ( Laca ); Nikolai Schukoff ( Števa ); Teatro Real Ch & O • OPUS ARTE OA 1055 D (DVD: 128:00); OA BD 7089D (Blu-ray: 128:00) Live: Madrid 12/22/2009


The liner notes for this 2009 performance from Teatro Real Madrid remark on the verismo qualities of Jen?fa, but the conductor and singers here tap into the very Wagnerian character of the work. Like some Ring cycles of earlier eras, the booklet prints a family tree, reminding us that Jen?fa is related by blood to both of the men in her romantic life, Števa Buryja and Laca Klemen; this is a family unit worthy of comparison to the good folks of Valhalla. Kostelni?ka is a Wotan-like presence, at once arrogant (in her misguided belief that a carefully conceived plan can circumvent an unwanted outcome) and profoundly sympathetic because of her weaknesses. Deborah Polaski, who has portrayed most of the demanding Wagnerian soprano roles over her distinguished career—she was 60 when this performance was filmed—is a commanding presence in the part, which in many ways is more critical to the dramatic resonance of the opera than the title character. Her singing is powerful and expressively colored. Justifiably, Polaski receives the loudest demonstration from the audience at her curtain call.


The rest of the cast is excellent as well. The English soprano Amanda Roocroft represents Jen?fa as a naive, fragile victim—during her act I musings over the possibility that Števa won’t marry her, her distress over the potential for a lifetime of shame is palpable. Nikolai Schukoff nails Števa’s loutish cluelessness. He’s not aware of what a charmed life he leads and we can understand why his half-brother detests him for that. Miroslav Dvorský, singing Laca with a Puccinian splendor, evolves before our eyes and ears from his bitter, impulsive state in act I into an exemplar of unconditional love later on; his duet with Roocroft that closes the opera is quite moving.


Ivor Bolton leads a top-notch orchestra idiomatically, disclosing both Janá?ek’s distinctive musical syntax and the Wagnerian overtones. (Listen to the cello passage right before Laca and Jen?fa’s act II duet and just try not to think of Die Walküre ’s opening act.) The production, a cooperative effort with La Scala and based on an earlier one from Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, is spare but often visually striking. The video quality isn’t particularly high-def—there’s the feel of mid 1980s videotape, the 1080i video specification notwithstanding. The multichannel audio is very dimensional and spacious, significantly more involving than the quite respectable stereo option. The booklet lacks a track listing (of course, you can pull it up onscreen, but who wants to do this while viewing the opera?) and there are no extras other than the standard plot synopsis and “Cast Gallery.”


FANFARE: Andrew Quint