DVD & Blu-Ray Sale
917 products
Bizet: Carmen / Rice, Hymel, Carydis [Blu-ray]
Also available on standard DVD
This production of one of the world’s most popular operas, directed by Francesca Zambello, is a live performance from the Royal Opera House, June 2011. The Royal Opera Chorus and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, conducted by Constantinos Carydis, are joined by Christine Rice as Carmen, Bryan Hymel as Don Jose, Aris Argiris as Escamillo, and Maija Kovalevska as Micaela.
Verdi: Giovanna d'Arco
Merchant of Venice / Royal Shakespeare Company
In the melting pot of Venice, trade is God. With its ships plying the globe, the city opens its arms to all – as long as they come prepared to do business and there is profit to be made. When the gold is flowing, all is well – but when a contract between Bassanio and Shylock is broken, simmering racial tensions boil over. A wronged father, and despised outsider, Shylock looks to exact the ultimate price for a deal sealed in blood.
Running time: 152 minutes
Subtitles: EN
Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS
We Want the Light
Mozart: Piano Concertos 20, 21 & 27 / Buchbinder, Staatskapelle Dresden [blu-ray]
Also available on standard DVD
The Austrian piano virtuoso Rudolf Buchbinder, a known expert of Mozart plays and conducts three of Mozart’s most beloved piano concertos together with the Staatskapelle Dresden, where he was the first pianist to hold the title of “Capell-Virtous”. In advance to an extensive tour to Germany, Europe and Asia the concert was recorded in Dresden in an unique setting, being the first ultra-high definition recording of this work: especially for this purpose a stage was set up right inside the Gläserne Manufaktur, a luxury car manufacturer in the heart of the city of Dresden.
No. of Discs: 1
Run time: 93 minutes
Disc Format: BD 50
Picture: 16:9, HD
Audio: PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
Rossini: Mose / Quattrocchi, Raimondi, Kabatu, Mihai
For the first time the opera “Mosè” by Gioachino Rossini is on stage inside a Cathedral in a semi-scenic performance at the Duomo di Milano. The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano, in the wake of a centuries-old tradition of dialogue with the contemporary, chooses the most advanced technology to open up to the world and the public with an immediacy never achieved until now, including lights and colors effects that characterize the scenes of the show, with an evocative video mapping technique.
No. of Discs: 1
Run time: 102 minutes
Disc Format: DVD 9
Picture: NTSC, 16:9
Audio: PCM Stereo, PCM 5.1
Bonus Material: A documentary revealing the secrets of Milan Cathedral
Subtitles Bonus: Italian, English
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
Verdi & Shakespeare
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 & Shakespeare [Blu-ray]
Also available on standard DVD
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
Wagner: Tannhauser / Pape, Seiffert, Prudenskaya, Barenboim, Staatskapelle Berlin
A brand new production of ‘Tannhäuser’ from the Staatsoper Berlin, conducted by Daniel Barenboim, staged and choreographed by Sasha Waltz, who has brought to the stage this Romantic Wagner opera with a star cast of some of today's best Wagnerian singers: Peter Seiffert in the title role, Réne Pape as Landgraf and Peter Mattei as Wolfram, Ann Petersen sings Elisabeth and Marina Prudenskaya is Venus.
HD recording: Staatsoper im Schiller Theater, Berlin – 04/2014
DVD Running time: 192 min.
Booklet: French / English / German, Subtitles: French / English / German
16/9, NTSC, Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1
DON QUIXOTE AT THE DUCHESS
Ricci: Crispino e la Comare
Reich: Rain, Music for 18 Musicians / Opera National de Paris [Blu-ray]
A Blu-ray video of a stunning 2014 performance choreographed by Belgian modern great Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, performed by members of the Paris Opera Ballet and set to Music for Eighteen Musicians, Steve Reich's major score composed in 1976. In tandem with the score rendered here by Ensemble Ictus and the Synergy Vocals ensemble, ‘Rain’ draws its spatial polyphony which manifests on the stage in a glorious pastiche of dancers and rhythm. Created by De Keersmaeker’s company, Rosas in 2001, “Rain” entered the Paris Opera Ballet's repertoire ten years later and reinforces her key role not just in the world of modern dance but in the worlds of contemporary art.
Puccini: Turandot / Dessi, Malagnini, Chikviladze, Renzetti, Teatro Carlo Felice
Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker / Salenko, Walter, Berlin Staatsballet (Blu-ray)
The “Nutcracker” remains one of the most popular ballets ever with Tchaikovsky’s luscious score annotating the fantasy and enchantment of the tale. Vasily Medvedev and Yuri Burlaka, two Russian choreographers have developed a version for the Staatsballett Berlin which is based on the historic stage designs and choreography from the original of 1892. This glittering production was designed as a reproduction of the great ballet féerie, an older form of French theater which includes opulent scenery and mechanically worked stage effects. With the Orchestra of the Deutsch Opera, Berlin conducted by Robert Reimer.
Iana Salenko (Clara & the Sugar Plum Fairy), Marian Walter (Nutcracker & Prince Coqueluche), Michael Banzhaf (Drosselmayer), Arshak Ghalumyan (Mouse King), Elena Iseki (Young Clara) & Linus Schmidt (Fritz)
Soloists & corps de ballet of the Staatsballett Berlin, Students of the Ballettschule Berlin & Children’s Choir & Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Robert Reimer.
ZEMENT
Contemporary American Operas
The Fairytale Ballets
A Britten Collection
Outstanding singers, conductors and directors come together in five diverse but compelling operas by Benjamin Britten. The turbulent, inward fishing community of Peter Grimes is transposed to a merciless 1980s society in Richard Jones' production. An 'outstanding' Sarah Connolly (Guardian) stars in The Rape of Lucretia, navigating the difficult tale with superb poise. Billy Budd is grippingly staged aboard the claustrophobic MS Indomitable, with Jacques Imbrailo portraying the troubled sailor in the 2010 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production by Michael Grandage. More light-hearted is the Royal Opera House staging of Gloriana, penned by Britten to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and featuring Susan Bullock as the monarch. Finally, Edward Gardner conducts the English National Opera in Deborah Warner's highly acclaimed production of Death in Venice, In which John Graham-Hall stars as the ageing Gustav von Aschenbach. These productions from some of the world's best opera houses offer five masterful performances that are an ideal way to experience Benjamin Britten's music. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.
A BRITTEN COLLECTION
(7-DVD Box Set)
PETER GRIMES
Peter Grimes - John Graham Hall
Boy - Francesco Malvuccio
Ellen Orford - Susan Gritton
Captain Balstrode - Christopher Purves
Auntie - Felicity Palmer
First Niece - Ida Falk Winland
Second Niece - Simona Mihai
Bob Boles - Peter Hoare
Swallow - Daniel Okulitch
Mrs. Sedley - Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Rev. Horace Adams - Christopher Gillett
Ned Keene - George von Bergen
Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Robin Ticciati, conductor
Richard Jones, stage director
Recorded live at the Teatro alla Scala, June 2012
THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA
Lucretia - Sarah Connolly
Tarquinius - Christopher Maltman
Bianca - Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Lucia - Mary Nelson
Junius - Leigh Melrose
Collatinus - Clive Bayley
Female Chorus - Orla Boylan
Male Chorus - John Mark Ainsley
English National Opera Orchestra
Paul Daniel, conductor
David McVicar, stage director
Recorded live at the Aldeburgh Festival, The Maltings, Snape, 2001
BILLY BUDD
Captain Vere - John Mark Ainsley
Billy Budd - Jacques Imbrailo
Claggart - Phillip Ens
Mr. Redburn - Iain Paterson
Mr. Flint - Matthew Rose
Lieutenant Ratcliffe - Darren Jeffery
Red Whiskers - Alasdair Elliott
Donald - John Moore
Dansker - Jeremy White
Novice - Ben Johnson
Squeak - Colin Judson
Bosun - Richard Mosley-Evans
Glyndebourne Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Mark Elder, conductor
Michael Grandage, stage director
Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, 8 and 11 June 2010
GLORIANA
Queen Elizabeth I - Susan Bullock
Earl of Essex - Toby Spence
Countess of Essex - Patricia Bardon
Lord Mountjoy - Mark Stone
Lady Rich - Kate Royal
Sir Robert Cecil - Jeremy Carpenter
Sir Walter Raleigh - Clive Bayley
Ballad Singer - Brindley Sherratt
Royal Opera Chorus
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Paul Daniel, conductor
Richard Jones, stage director
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, June 2013
DEATH IN VENICE
Gustav von Aschenbach - John Graham Hall
Traveller / Elderly Fop / Gondolier / Barber / Hotel Manger / Player / Dionysus - Andrew Shore
Apollo - Tim Mead
Tadzio - Sam Zaldivar
The Polish Mother - Laura Caldow
Two Daughters - Mia Angelina Mather / Xhuliana Shehu
The Governess - Joyce Henderson
Jaschiu - Marcio Teixeira
English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor
Deborah Warner, stage director
Recorded live at the London Coliseum, June 2013
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Bonus:
- Cast gallery (all)
- Introduction to the opera (Billy Budd, Gloriana)
- Introduction to the designs (Billy Budd)
- Interviews with the cast and crew (Peter Grimes)
- Comments from the director (The Rape of Lucretia)
- Britten’s Aldeburgh (Gloriana)
Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: DTS 5.1 (all) / + LPCM 2.0 (The Rape of Lucretia, Billy Budd, Gloriana) / + Dolby Digital 2.0 (Peter Grimes, Death in Venice)
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Audio Language: English
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German (all) + Japanese (Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, Gloriana) + Korean (Death in Venice) / + Spanish (Billy Budd)
Running time: 13 hrs 10 mins (opera) + 27 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 7 (DVD 9)
Bruckner: The Mature Symphonies - Symphonies Nos. 4,5,6,7,8,9 / Barenboim
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Anton Bruckner expanded the concept of the symphonic form in ways that have never been witnessed before or since. Daniel Barenboim and the Staatskapelle Berlin follow the harmonic development of Bruckner’s Symphonies Nos. 4-9, revealing the breathtaking musical panorama of these exceptional masterpieces. According to Der Tagesspiegel, this unforgettable Bruckner cycle sets new standards and guarantees the Staatskapelle Berlin and their principal conductor “a place in the Bruckner pantheon.”
Anton Bruckner
THE MATURE SYMPHONIES
(6-DVD Box Set)
Symphony No. 4 in E-Flat Major, WAB 104, “Romantic” (1881 version, ed. R. Haas)
Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, WAB 105 (1878 version, ed. L. Nowak)
Symphony No. 6 in A Major, WAB 106 (ed. L. Nowak)
Symphony No. 7 in E Major, WAB 107 (1885 version, ed. L. Nowak)
Symphony No. 8 in C Minor, WAB 108 (ed. R. Haas from 1887 and 1890 versions)
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, WAB 109
Berlin Staatskapelle
Daniel Barenboim, conductor
Recorded live at the Berlin Philharmonie, 20–27 June 2010
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / Dolby Digital 5.1 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 7 hrs 8 mins
No. of DVDs: 6 (DVD 9)
Puccini: Turandot / Carignani, Khudoley, Von Senden, Ryssov, Massi
Performed on the Bregenz Festival's vast lakeside stage, this production of Turandot is captivating and spectacular. Giacomo Puccini's final opera is set in China and is an interesting love story that is sure to enrapture audiences. Puccini died before he completed the opera left instructions that Riccardo Zandonai should finish the work but Franco Alfano was the one to complete the third act. Paolo Carignani conducts the Wiener Symphoniker with the staging done by Marco Arturo Marelli. Leading the cast are Mlada Khudoley, Riccardo Massi, Guanqun Yu, and Michael Ryssov.
Giacomo Puccini
TURANDOT
Turandot - Mlada Khudoley
Altoum - Manuel von Senden
Timur - Michail Ryssov
Calaf - Riccardo Massi
Liù - Guanqun Yu
Ping - Andrè Schuen
Pang - Taylan Reinhard
Pong - Cosmin Ifrim
Un mandarino - Yasushi Hirano
Prague Philharmonic Chorus
(chorus master: Lukáš Vasilek)
Bregenz Festival Chorus
(chorus master: Benjamin Lack)
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Paolo Carignani, conductor
Marco Arturo Marelli, stage director and set designer
Constance Hoffman, costume designer
Davy Cunningham, lighting designer
Recorded live at the Bregenz Festival, July 2015
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.0
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Japanese
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 125 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)
Teatro Alla Scala - The Golden Years Vol 3
This is the third volume in the documentary series of Milan's La Scala theatre's "golden years." Renowned Italian journalist Enzo Biagi conducted these interviews that were originally produced on 16mm film. This installment documents La Scala's 1981 tour of Japan. It includes an inteviews with Claudio Abbado, Piero Cappuccilli, and Mirella Freni. There are also clips of Verdi's "Otello" conducted by Carlos Kleiber with performances by Placido Domingo, excerpts from "Simon Boccanegra," and Verdi's "Messa da Requiem."
Bournonville: Napoli
Mahler: Complete Symphonies / Paavo Jarvi, Frankfurt Radio Symphony [blu-ray]
Also available on standard DVD
The hr-Sinfonieorchester has for decades been numbered among the world's leading Mahler orchestras. Between 2008 and 2013 it gave its most recent Mahler cycle as part of the Rheingau Music Festival under principal conductor Paavo Järvi. The recordings were made in the unique space of the Basilica of Eberbach Monastery, in the magnificent ambiance of the Friedrich von Thiersch Hall at the Wiesbaden Kurhaus and in the outstanding acoustics of the Great Hall of the Alte Oper in Frankfurt. In all of these venues Mahler's symphonies left a particularly fascinating impression.
Gustav Mahler
THE COMPLETE SYMPHONIES
Symphony No. 1 in D Major, “Titan”
Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, “Resurrection”
Symphony No. 3 in D Minor
Symphony No. 4 in G Major
Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor
Symphony No. 6 in A Minor, “Tragic”
Symphony No. 7 in E Minor
Symphony No. 8 in E-Flat Major, “Symphony of a Thousand”
Symphony No. 9 in D Major
Symphony No. 10 in F-Sharp Minor: I. Adagio
Camilla Tilling, soprano
Genia Kühmeier, soprano
Erin Wall, soprano
Ailish Tynan, soprano
Anna Lucia Richter, soprano
Lilli Paasikivi, mezzo-soprano
Waltraud Meier, mezzo-soprano
Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano
Charlotte Hellekant, mezzo-soprano
Nikolai Schukoff, tenor
Michael Nagy, baritone
Ain Anger, bass
Bavarian Radio Chorus
North German Radio Chorus
Limburger Cathedral Boys Choir
Leipzig MDR Radio Choir
Czech Philharmonic Choir, Brno
Europa Chor Akademie
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra
Paavo Järvi, conductor
Recorded at Rheingau Musik Festival, 2003–2013
Bonus:
- Introductions to the Symphonies by Paavo Järvi
- Paavo’s Mahler: The Project
Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Audio Language (bonus): English
Subtitles: German, English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese (Symphonies Nos. 2, 3, 4, 8) / German, Korean, Japanese (bonus)
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 12 hrs 35 mins (concert) + 96 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 5 (BD 50)
Carlos Acosta – Dances Royal Ballet Classics [blu-ray]
Also available on standard DVD
So memorably described as ‘a dancer who slashes across space faster than anyone else, who lacerates the air with shapes so clear and sharp they seem to throw off sparks’ (Independent), Carlos Acosta has been at the forefront of contemporary ballet since his arrival at the Royal Ballet in 1998. Here he sparkles in three of his most celebrated roles: the young lover Colas in the joyfully bucolic La Fille mal gardée, which received five stars from the Guardian, Times and Mail on Sunday; the innocent but doomed Romeo in Prokofiev’s sumptuously-scored adaptation of Shakespeare’s famous play; and, acting as producer and choreographer for the first time, as Basilio in Don Quixote, a production that wowed audiences thanks to its ‘intelligent’ choreography and Acosta’s ‘titanic determination, bullet-proof charisma [and] delectably trusting and playful rapport’ with co-star Marianela Núñez (Daily Telegraph). These three compelling ballets showcase Carlos Acosta’s world-class reputation as a dancer and choreographer, bolstered by outstanding co-stars and artists of the Royal Ballet. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.
CARLOS ACOSTA – Dances Royal Ballet Classics
(3 Blu-ray Disc Box Set)
Ferdinand Hérold
LA FILLE MAL GARDÉE
Lise - Marianela Nuñez
Colas - Carlos Acosta
Widow Simone - William Tuckett
Alain - Jonathan Howells
Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Anthony Twiner, conductor
Frederick Ashton, choreographer
Osbert Lancaster, set designer
Sergey Prokofiev
ROMEO AND JULIET
Romeo - Carlos Acosta
Juliet - Tamara Rojo
Mercutio - José Martin
Tybalt - Thiago Soares
Nurse - Sandra Conley
Lord Capulet - Christopher Saunders
Lady Capulet - Elizabeth McGorian
Paris - David Pickering
Benvolio - Yohei Sasaki
Royal Ballet
Royal Ballet Sinfonia
Boris Gruzin, conductor
Kenneth MacMillan, choreographer
Nicholas Georgiadis, costume designer
John B. Read, lighting designer
Ludwig Minkus
DON QUIXOTE
Kitri - Marianela Nuñez
Basilio - Carlos Acosta
Don Quixote - Christopher Saunders
Sancho Panza - Philip Mosley
Lorenzo - Gary Avis
Gamache - Bennet Gartside
Espada - Ryoichi Hirano
Mercedes - Laura Morera
Royal Ballet
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Martin Yates, conductor
Carlos Acosta, choreographer (after M
arius Petipa)
Tim Hatley, set and costume designer Hugh Vanstone, lighting designer
Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, 2 February 2005 (La fille mal gardée), 2007 (Romeo and Juliet) and October 2013 (Don Quixote)
Bonus:
- Cast gallery and illustrated synopsis (La fille mal gardée)
- Interviews with cast and crew (Don Quixote)
- Introductions to Acts II and III (Don Quixote)
Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 (all) / DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Romeo and Juliet, Don Quixote) / Dolby Digital 5.1 (La fille mal gardée)
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: French, German, Spanish, Italian (La fille mal gardée)
Running time: 6 hrs 15 mins (ballet) + 12 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 3 (BD 50)
