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This new release from Opus Arte is a live recording from the Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, taken in October of 2015, of the first ever professional UK staging of Donizetti’s Poliuto. This masterpiece is rarely performed, but is nevertheless a masterwork that shows the magnanimous genius of this bel canto opera composer. The exhilarating American tenor Michael Fabiano sings the role of Poliuto, and fellow world-class singers Ana Maria Martinez and Igor Golovatenko round out a spectacular cast. “Every now and then the world of opera unearths a forgotten masterpiece […] Poliuto needs at least three world-class singers, and Glyndebourne has them” (What’s on Stage) Extra features include “Passion & Faith: Preparing for a UK premiere” and “Love & Opression: An interview with Mariame Clement.”

Picture Format: 16:9, 1080p HD
Sound Formats: LPCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running Time: 117 mins, 15 mins (Bonus)

A successful musician in the early 19th century, Giovanni Simone Mayr composed the opera Medea in Corinto in 1813, the same year it premiered at the San Carlo theatre in Naples. The two act tragedy with libretto by Felice Romani was Mayr’s most popular theatrical work. The story is that of the Greek myth of Medea. “Michael Spyres, in the role of Jason, confirms to be one of the finest belcanto performers of the moment, endowed with a nimble voice and pure and solid high notes.” (Dynamic)

Picture Format: NTSC, 16:9
Sound Formats: Dolby Digital 5.1, PCM 2.0
Subtitles: Italian, English, French, German, Korean
Region Code: 0 (All)
Running Time: 167 mins

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Handel’s oratorio Saul is taken from the First Book of Samuel, and focuses on the first king of Israel’s relationship with David, his eventual successor, which eventually leads to his demise. The three act work with libretto by Charles Jennens premiered in January 1739, and was an immediate success. This production directed by Barrie Kosky was recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, October 2015. It was ranked by The Independent amongst five top opera and classical performances of 2015. “Musically this evening is well-nigh flawless.” (The Independent) “A theatrical and musical feast of energetic choruses, surreal choreography and gorgeous singing.” (The Guardian)

Subtitles: English, French, German, Korean
Sound Formats: 2.0 LPCM, 5.1 (5.0) DTS
Running Time 185 mins
Region Code: 0 (All)

This outstanding DVD release contains two magnificent, but rarely performed ballets: Gene Kelly’s Pas De Dieux, and Leo Staats’ Soir de Fete. Pas De Dieux tells the myth of Eros and Aphrodite who come to earth and land on the beach. The god and goddess seduce a lifeguard and his fiancée and enjoy the pleasures of their love. Just as the couples are dancing with their new suitor, Zeus comes to retrieve his wife and the deities ascend to Olympus, leaving the humans alone to their earthly loves. Pas De Dieux carefully follows George Gershwin’s Concerto in F. The ballet earned Kelly the Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur by the French Government. Leo Staats’ Soire de Fete was choreographed in 1925. The work is especially notable for its remarkable use of the male dancer, who is too frequently overshadowed by his female companion. This ballet includes the males moving freely alongside their female counterparts.

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Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) is a three act opera Singspiel by W. A. Mozart. With libretto by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner, the plot follows the attempt of Belmonte and his servant Pedrillo to rescue his Konstanze from the seraglio of Pasha Selim. This production comes from the Glyndebourne Chorus, and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenmnent conducted by Robin Ticciati. Director David McVicar has strived in this production to give an original-period version of the opera. The costuming from Vicki Mortimer and the sets add to the dazzling performance. “Mesmerising, sensitive, at times troublingly erotic, the whole thing forces us to rethink a remarkable work. Outstanding.” (The Guardian)

Herbert von Karajan broke boundaries in many aspects of conducting, among those being that he was the first conductor to become interested in filming his performances to preserve his cultural heritage. This exceptional documentary begins with his first concert productions, taken in Japan in 1957. Following those first recordings is his cooperation with director Henri-Georges Clouzot, then Karajan’s own film company Telemondial. Karajan’s language for orchestral film productions is seen here through all of its stages. This documentary also includes interviews with Karajan and his collaborators.

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Based on a play by Carlo Goldoni, Rossini’s La Gazzetta revolves around a man who strangely tries to find a husband for his daughter by placing an ad in the newspaper. The Opera Royal de Wallonie closed its 2014 season with this opera buffa. This production was directed by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera, and includes for the first time a Rossini quintet, which was discovered in 2012 and has been given its rightful place in Act One. Subtitles are available for this production in Italian, English, French, Germany, Japan, and Korea.

This outstanding collection contains 6 discs and features some of the most memorable performances by The Royal Opera. The works included in this set include Verdi’s Aida, Otello, and Stiffelio, Strauss’s Salome, Gounod’s Romeo Et Juliette, and Mozart’s Mitridate, re di Ponto. These discs bring together incredible conductors Paul Daniel, Edward Downes, Charles Mackerras, and Georg Solti with world-class stage directors Elijah Moshinsky, Nicholas Joel, Peter Hall, and Graham Vick. These recordings, all taken between 1992 and 1994, are preserved here in Standard Definition and 4/3 picture format.

Famous and controversial stage director Calixto Bieito presents this raw and evocative interpretation of Bizet’s classic opera, Carmen.; This live production at the Gran Teatre del Liceu emanates a sensual and convincing ambiance full of imagery.; The vocalists in this production are truly second-to-none, and include Beatrice Uria-Monzon as Carmen, Roberto Alagna as Don Jose, Erwin Schrott as Escamillo, and Marina Poplavskya as Micaela.

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With an outstanding cast including Daniela Dessi, Fabio Armiliato, Alessandro Luongo, and Alida Berti, this incomparable performance is Puccini at his finest. Directed by Ettore Scola, who has created a great number of award-winning films, this performance is from the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. One of the most represented operas in history, becoming the inspiration for many works to come, La Boheme is a rich, grandiose opera, which is wonderfully represented in this recording.

Picture Format: NTSC, 16:9
Sound Formats: PCM Stereo, DTS 5.1
Subtitles: Italian, German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)
Total Running Time: 123 mins

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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.

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Andris Nelsons conducted the Lucerne Festival Orchestra for the third time in August 2015, the orchestra’s second summer without founder and guiding spirit Claudio Abbado. The first half of his concert was already a highlight: the baritone Matthias Goerne seemed completely at home in a selection of songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn. His warm, dark voice allows him to capture the somber and tragic atmosphere of this music like no one else. Its shaded timbre is most perfectly suited to the work’s melancholy and nocturnal moods, where one can directly experience how an artist of this caliber can bring music to the edge of the abyss. The Lucerne Festival Orchestra, renowned for its unique Mahler sound, had last played Mahler’s Symphony No. 5 in the summer of 2004 with Abbado – a flowing, transparent, and ethereal interpretation. Nelsons finds a completely different approach to the work. His Mahler is fiery, expansive, and powerful. In spite of the introductory funeral march, his reading is more positive than tragic, radiating an intense vitality. It is breathtaking to observe the orchestra’s response to Nelsons’s energetic, physical, and emotional conducting style. The relationship between orchestra and conductor is one of giving and taking, nothing else.

Picture Format Blu?ray: NTSC 16:9, Full HD

Sound Formats Blu?ray: DTS HD Master Audio, PCM Stereo

Region Code: 0 (worldwide)

Running Time: 123:12 min

Disc Format: BD 25

Subtitles: German (Original), French, English, Japanese, Korean

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This outstanding recording features four ballet works: Liam Scarlett’s Viscera, Carlos Acosta’s Carmen, Jerome Robbins’s Afternoon of a Faun, and George Balanchine’s Tchaikovsky pas de deux. Acosta’s Carmen focuses on the dramatic essentials of revenge, jealousy, and love. Not only did Acosta choreograph the production, he also dances a lead role. When Viscera was created in 2012, Liam Scarlett was the Royal Ballet Artist In Residence. Particularly interesting is Balanchine’s Pas de Deux which was based on a newly discovered movement from Swan Lake which had not been performed since Tchaikovsky’s death.

Region Code: 0 (All)
Audio Format: PCM 2.0, DTS 5.1
Running Time: 118 mins

Heymann: Linie 1

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This outstanding live recording is the first ever collaboration between director Luc Bondy, conductor William Christie, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. This recording was taken in December of 2004 at the Opera National de Paris. Les Arts Florissants, conducted by William Christie, does a beautiful job of performing the score by G. F. Handel.

Picture Format: 16:9
Sound Formats: PCM Stereo, 5.1 DTS HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)

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After its premiere in 1859, Gounod’s Faust was an instant hit, and is still one of France’s most popular operas. Based on the play Faust et Marguerite, the work features libretto by Michel Carre. This staging is by director Stefano Poda. “A triumph that will long remain in the annals as one of the most brilliant stagings not only in this theater, but in any of today’s opera houses…” - ResMusica

Picture Format: NTSC, 16:9
Sound Format: PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1
Subtitles: E, G, F, IT, SP, CH, KO, JP
Booklet: E, G, F
Region Code: 0

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

This new production of Les Contes D’Hoffman staged by Stefan Herheim has been praised for its “thoughtfulness and creativity” (NY Times) and is vastly different from other stagings that have come before. This production was recorded at the 2015 Bregenz Festival. “The opera visit of the year—Bregenz is showing a Tales of Hoffmann that makes you forget everything you saw before.” (FAZ) The production was devised by Herheim as a search for one’s true self in a dazzling drag show.

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 5

This new DVD release celebrates one of the largest open-air theaters in the world, the Arena of Verona. This documentary contains interviews with the famous directors, conductors, and singers who appeared at the Arena in the early 1980s, including Sherrill Millnes, Rajna Kabaiwanska, Fiorenza Cossotto, and many more. Also included are excerpts from performances of Rigoletto, Aida, Traviata, and Nabucco. Subtitles are available in Italian, English, French, German, Japanese, and Korean.

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This incredible production of the ballet Don Quixote from Teatro alla Scala features the renowned choreography of Rudolf Nureyev. Don Quixote has become one of the most loved ballets, with its energy, freshness, and choreographic splendor, requiring the highest skills of dancers. Natalia Osipova, principal dancer of the Royal Ballet in London, and Leonid Sarafanov, principal dancer of the Mihaylovsky Theatre Ballet in St. Petersburg, are the stars in this dazzling performance.

Picture Format: 16:9
Sound Formats: Dolby Digital Stereo, DTS 5.1
Region Code: 0 (Worldwide)

Also available on DVD

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Also available on standard DVD
This incredible box set presents the best of Russian opera. Included in the set are Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Pique Dame, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, and Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Recorded in renowned opera houses such as Teatro Regio, Torino, and De Nederlandse Opera, these performances are not to be missed.

Sound Format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS
Subtitles: EN, FR, DE, IT, ES, NE
Running Time: 919 mins

This incredible box set presents the best of Russian opera. Included in the set are Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Pique Dame, Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, and Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Recorded in renowned opera houses such as Teatro Regio, Torino, and De Nederlandse Opera, these performances are not to be missed.

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Featuring some of the earliest operas in existence, this box set features Baroque Opera Classics. The set contains Handel’s Deidamia, Cavalli’s La Didone, and Ercole Amante,Pergolesi’s Adriano in Siria, Rameau’s Zoroastre, and Scarlatti’s Dove e Amore e Gelosia. These recordings from De Nederlandse Opera, Le Theatre de Caen, Pergolesi Spring Festival, Jesi, Ancona, and DNO are not to be missed.