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Verdi: Le Trouvère

Dynamic

$24.99 Sep 27, 2019

After the great success that Il Trovatore received in Paris, Verdi was proposed to compose a French version of the opera to suit the tastes of the local public. The original work, based on the Spanish play El trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez, had a libretto by Cammarano, which was translated into French by Émilien Pacini. Le Trouvère was first staged in Brussels in 1856 and premiered at the Paris Opera in 1857. In this new version the composer added some music in act 3 for the gypsie ballet scene, extended the finale of act 4 and made several other revisions. The plot is highly dramatic and captivating: Verdi portrays strong characters who deal with war, obsession and revenge. To use director Robert Wilson's words "this is a family tragedy, and in many ways, it is a very contemporary story." Wilson's approach to the opera aims at preserving it's emotional strength by using a very essential décor, whose main element is light: "As a director, when I design the stage and lighting, I think about if what I see can help me hear better. Le Trouvère requires a tremendous amount of concentration, so the set I designed is abstract in order to create a space for the music in the Farnese. I have designed an environment in concrete, creating a juxtaposition to the theatre's ornate interior. [...] Light in my work functions as part of the architectural whole. It is an element which helps us hear and see. Without light there is no space. To light a world that Verdi has described as so dark, one needs light to make the space darker." In the set's background the director also uses some photos by American photographer Robert Rosenkranz. This production was staged in the splendid Teatro Farnese of Parma, which was built in 1628 and belongs to the Complesso Monumentale della Pilotta, one of the oldest museums in Italy. Extra content: Interview with the curator of the Museum subtitled in all languages.

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Verdi: Le Trouvère
Dynamic Sep 2019
CD
$24.99

Meyerbeer: Semiramide / Calderon, Et Al
Dynamic Jan 2007
CD
$24.99

Siegfried und Violetta oder List, Last, Lust und Lunge

Genuin

$32.99 May 28, 2013

Opera fragment so far unpublished, hypothetically bringing Verdi and Wagner together in Venice. It is the last work of the author Herbert Rosendorfer before his death in 2012. This final work of the wonderful Herbert Rosendorfer brings these two great composers together in a fictitiously meditative dialogue, the virtuoso hornist Christoph Eƒ (Bamberg Symphony Orchestra) and his German Hornsound contribute the entertaining, "shaken not stirred" musical cocktail.

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Siegfried und Violetta oder List, Last, Lust und Lunge
Genuin May 2013
CD
$32.99

FRANCHETTI, A.: Germania (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2006) (NTSC)
Phoenix Edition Aug 2008
DVD
$32.99

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde / Stemme, Seiffert, Welser-Möst, Vienna State Opera Orchestra

Orfeo

$37.99 May 06, 2022

Although the premiere in 1865 was not to be at Vienna State Opera but at Munich’s court theatre (June 10th), Wagner’s Tristan and Isolde was performed more than 400 times at the House on the Ring since its premier in 1883. This live recording from June 2013 under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst presents Nina Stemme as Isolde – her debut in that role at Vienna State Opera –, Peter Seiffert as Tristan (who was honoured Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera the same month the recording was made), Jochen Schmeckenbecher as Kurwenal, Stephen Milling as König Marke and Janina Baechle as Brangäne. The 3 album set was first released in 2019 in the sold out 150 Years Wiener Staastoper – The Anniversary Edition (C980120).

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Wagner: Tristan und Isolde / Stemme, Seiffert, Welser-Möst, Vienna State Opera Orchestra
Orfeo May 2022
CD
$37.99

V 3: Opernarien 1961-1982
Orfeo Jul 1995
CD
$16.99

Spontini: Fernand Cortez ou la conquete du Mexique / Tingaud, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino

Dynamic

$29.99 Apr 17, 2020

After his Neapolitan training Gaspare Spontini settled in Paris for a few years, where he was nominated “compositeur particulier de la chambre” of Empress Josephine, Napoleon’s wife. It was indeed Napoleon who, in 1808, commissioned him the opera, Fernand Cortez, ou La conquete du Mexique, of which he attended the 28th November 1809 premiere. The strongly idealized figure of Cortez, presented as a brave, wise and merciful general, predestined to victory, was to be an image of Napoleon. His fight against Spanish “obscurantism” was Cortez’s fight against the cruelty, superstition and dark power intrigues of the Aztec sacerdotal class. Cortez frees the Mexicans from their “evil god”, and only the High Priest refuses his clemency. Like in a piece a sauvetage, at the last moment Montezuma’s niece, Amazily, who had offered her life in exchange of that of her beloved Cortez’s brother Alvar, is rescued. The Mexican chief Telasco promotes the cessation of hostilities: the marriage between Cortez and Amazily sanctions the peace between two peoples. In Spain, the French troops met a very different fate than Cortez’s men in the happy ending of Spontini’s opera and it has been suggested that the disastrous outcome of the Spanish campaign was responsible for the limited number of performances run by Fernand Cortez in Paris between the end of 1809 and January 1812. This production is a world premiere recording of the first modern times performance of the original 1809 version. It was recorded in October 2019, exactly 500 years after Cortez’s first arrival in Mexico. Director Cecilia Ligorio drew inspiration from a murales painted by Orozco inside a building in Mexico city, where Cortez is depicted in a shiny, silver armor and Malinche – the historical figure who inspired the character of Amazily – wears no clothes and is painted with the color of Earth.

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Spontini: Fernand Cortez ou la conquete du Mexique / Tingaud, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino
Dynamic Apr 2020
CD
$29.99

DECCA OPERA: MOZART DIE ENTFUHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL
DECCA Sep 2012
CD
$20.49

ANDREA CHENIER
Relief Feb 2008
CD
$32.99

OPERATIC EXCERPTS & LIEDER
Urania Records Jan 2008
CD
$18.99

Schumann: Carnaval & Fantasie / Wu

Musica Omnia

$14.99 Sep 01, 2017

A revolution in art and literature swept through Europe and by the early 1800s Romanticism dominated the musical landscape. Such figures as Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and Brahms exemplified the ideals yet maintained highly individual approaches. Now, our finest historically-informed musicians and scholars present this incomparable repertoire in a series destined by become an essential part of every serious music lover’s collection. Robert Schumann, the “herald of a new poetic age”, in the words of his biographer, John Daverio, carved out a unique position for himself in the world of German Romanticism, especially in the creation of a new genre of solo piano music, which consisted of a cycle of miniatures, often provided with evocatively poetic titles. The present recording features Schumann’s three-movement Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 and the playfully mysterious and kaleidoscopic Carnaval, Op. 9, a series of miniature character portraits with a wide range of moods and textures. Chi-Chen Wu performs these works on a copy of a 19thcentury Viennese fortepiano by Rodney Regier.

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Schumann: Carnaval & Fantasie / Wu
Musica Omnia Sep 2017
CD
$14.99

Lehar: Schon ist die Welt

CPO

$36.99 Aug 16, 2024

In his later stage works, Franz Lehar replaced the happy ending usual for the genre with a bittersweet conclusion filled with painful doubts. In contrast, the ending of the operetta Schon ist die Welt, premiered in 1930, is unsurpassed in it's clarity. Crown Prince Georg and Princess Elisabeth, who were arranged to be married by his father and her aunt respectively, do not want to go through with the arrangement, but end up together in a mountain hut without having met before. They fall in love and realise in the end that the world is quite beautiful after all. Lehar pulls out all the stops of his artistry in this piece. The modern dances and inextinguishable melodies are surprising and he again proves himself to be a master of skilful recycling by bringing the second act of a once dismal story to a new, brilliant life. A highlight of the 2023 Bad Ischl Lehar Festival!

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Lehar: Schon ist die Welt
CPO Aug 2024
CD
$36.99

Sale

Beethoven: Fidelio, Op. 72
MYTO Historical Jun 2014
CD
~~$13.99~~ $6.99

Wagner: Operatic Chamber Music
Ars Produktion Jan 2013
SACD
$21.99

Holten: Schlagt sie tot! / Ringborg, Malmö Opera Orchestra, Malmö Opera Chorus

Dacapo Classical

$25.98 ~~$51.99~~ Save 50% Aug 27, 2021

Schlagt sie tot! is an opera about radical change and religious fanaticism. It paints a multifaceted portrait of a complex figure who transformed the world, namely the controversial catalyst of the Reformation, Martin Luther. He was a charismatic, uncompromising artistic personality, at times hateful and in constant struggle with his inner demons. Five hundred year old events, not unlike the politics of our own age, are brought to life in Bo Holten’s and Eva Sommestad Holten’s music drama, which reflects human emotion in a society set ablaze by the fire of change.

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Sale

Holten: Schlagt sie tot! / Ringborg, Malmö Opera Orchestra, Malmö Opera Chorus
Dacapo Classical Aug 2021
CD
~~$51.99~~ $25.98

Cilea: L'Arlesiana / Cilluffo, Sicilia, Caradja, Vestri, Antonucci

Dynamic

DVD

$36.99 Jul 31, 2015

Also available on Blu-ray

An insane passion for a mysterious woman who, in the opera, is never shown. Federico wants her desperately, dreams of her, suffers for her, and step by step his mind begins to waver. The people around him try in vain to prevent this love from becoming a damning obsession. A rare opera by the great Italian composer Francesco Cilea. Its famous aria “Il lamento di Federico” has always been a favorite with tenors of all times. This recording also features the aria for tenor, “Una mattina”, written by Cilea for the opera’s first version and then lost, here in world première recording. A co-production Teatro Pergolesi and Wexford Festival Opera.

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Cilea: L'Arlesiana / Cilluffo, Sicilia, Caradja, Vestri, Antonucci
Dynamic Jul 2015
DVD
$36.99

FALSTAFF

Dynamic

DVD

$36.99 Jan 01, 2011

Ruggero Raimondi takes the lead role in this performance of Verdi's comic opera recorded at the Opera Royal de Wallonie in Liege, Belgium in 2009. Paolo Arrivabeni conducts. Falstaff, the lyric comedy was Giuseppe Verdi’s last opera. It is an operatic favorite, long admired by critics and opera goers alike because of its brilliant orchestration, scintillating libretto and refined melodies. This production recorded at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium was staged by Stefano Poda and features the well known Italian Bass Ruggero Raimondi as the title-role. Directed by Stefano Poda. Starring Sabina Pu rtolas, Luca Salsi, Cinzia de Mola. Language: Italian Subtitles: English, French, Italian, German

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FALSTAFF
Dynamic Jan 2011
DVD
$36.99

Donizetti: Rosmonda d'Inghilterra / Rolli, Donizetti Opera [Blu-ray]

Dynamic

Blu-Ray

$36.99 May 19, 2017

Revived after 171 years in oblivion, the staging of Rosmonda d’Inghilterra at Bergamo’s Teatro Donizetti proved fascinating for the Italian public. From the excellent cast of singers, Jessica Pratt and Eva Mei gave standout performances. The opera revolves around a tale of love and intrigue surrounding the main protagonists- the famous Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine, her husband Henry II of England, and the fair Rosamund de Clifford. Rosmonda is the quintessential innocent, unaware that the man she loves is the King of England and that she has unwittingly become a rival to the much-feared Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. Eleanor, having already had her first marriage annulled for reasons of consanguinity, is unwilling to se her second marriage also fail. Only the faithful page Arturo, secretly in love with Rosmonda, knows that the Queen is aware of her husband’s betrayal; but he too is embroiled in this game of deceit hoping that he will end up winning the girl. The emotional and dramatic development is very effective. There is not a page in this score without some example of brilliant writing, a captivating theme, a moving passage. It all goes to prove how deeply original Donizetti was and how much there is still to be discovered about this underappreciated composer.

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Donizetti: Rosmonda d'Inghilterra / Rolli, Donizetti Opera [Blu-ray]
Dynamic May 2017
Blu-Ray
$36.99

Donizetti: Rita, Ou Le Mari Battu / Scimone, Opera Royal De Wallonie

Dynamic

DVD

$36.99 Jan 29, 2013

The thorny subject of marital violence is set against a hilarious backdrop in this one-act farce where, contrary to what we are used to seeing in opera, tenor and baritone do their best to free themselves of the female protagonist, to whom both are married. No doubt, Gaspar's aria on the joys of chastising one's wife in the way she deserves causes a few raised eyebrows nowadays, but the funny side is genuine and the music brilliant, making of this forgotten little opera a true gem. Donizetti composed Rita, ou Le mari battu, which would be staged posthumously at the Opera-comique on 7th May 1860, with Caroline Lefebvre as protagonist. The concise story of the waspish innkeeper Rita, her husband Peppe and first husband Gaspare, the latter believed dead in a shipwreck, unrolls in a single act, effectively divided into eight closed numbers: one aria for each singer, three duets, one trio and the finale. The apex of this delightful divertissement, both from the point of view of the action and the music, is the duet where the two men rival each other, albeit in a way that is diametrically opposed to what we are used to seeing on an operatic stage: instead of contending for the female protagonist, like all respectable tenors and baritones in love, they gamble her away, both desperately trying to lose. The writing is that of a consummate composer, flowing and refined. Characters are portrayed with terse effectiveness, situations never trespass into the grotesque. The result is a perfect balance of all elements, which makes of Rita a small but significant example of Donizetti's musical experience in the 1840s, an experience that can truly be called European.

Featuring:
Conductor: Claudio Scimone
Orchestre de l'Opera de Wallonie
Stage Director: Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera
Scenes: Jean-Guy Lecat
Costume Designer: Fernand Ruiz
Choreographer: Antonaeta Alexieva
Rita - Priscille Laplace
Peppe - Aldo Caputo
Gaspar - Alberto Rinaldi
Opera Royal de Wallonie, 2010

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Donizetti: Rita, Ou Le Mari Battu / Scimone, Opera Royal De Wallonie
Dynamic Jan 2013
DVD
$36.99

MAGISCHE TONE

MASTERWORKS

$15.99 May 29, 2026

With Magische Tone, Jonas Kaufmann returns to the world of operetta and late Romantic opera, presenting a collection of some of the genre's most beautiful and beloved melodies. Recorded in Budapest with the Hungarian State Opera Orchestra under the baton of Dirk Kaftan, the album celebrates the rich musical heritage of the Austro Hungarian Empire (1867-1918). The new recording brings together perennial favourites by Emmerich Kalman, Franz Lehar, and Paul Abraham, alongside lesser known treasures such as Bob's entrance aria from Jeno Huszka's (Bob Herceg). Several duets enrich the programme further, including the sparkling "Komm mit nach Varasdin" from Grafin Mariza, performed with soprano Nikola Hillebrand, one of today's most sought after voices. Among the collection's highlights are the two opera arias "Hazam, hazam" from Ferenc Erkel's Bank ban and the album's title track, "Magische Tone" from Karl Goldmark's Die Konigin von Saba. These works demonstrate Kaufmann's versatility across contrasting styles and vocal demands, resulting in a glowing tribute to a cosmopolitan era of European music.

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MAGISCHE TONE
MASTERWORKS May 2026
CD
$15.99

Mix & Match

The Wagner Edition

Opus Arte

DVD

$266.99 Nov 13, 2012

Presented here are all of Wagner's mature operas from seven leading European opera houses recorded during the last decade. Featuring many acclaimed Wagner singers of our age these productions exult in the force of Ezra Pound's dictum 'Great art is news that stays news'. The directors Harry Kupfer Nikolaus Lehnhoff David McVicar and others heed Wagner's own persuasive plea 'Children make it new' in staging's employing modern technology within grand designs that face up to the breadth of Wagner's dramatic genius and the social and political implications.

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The Wagner Edition
Opus Arte Nov 2012
DVD
$266.99

Das Land Des Lachelns

Accentus Music

Blu-Ray

$53.99 Jul 13, 2018

Always smile and always be cheerful, always satisfied, no matter what happens, smile in spite of your sorrows and a thousand aches and pains, sings Prince Sou-Chong, thus introducing the fundamentally melancholic tone of Das Land des Lachelns (The Land of Smiles), which has a tragic ending in store. For the new production of this operetta, world-class tenor Piotr Beczala returned to the Opernhaus Zurich as Sou-Chong. He has an equal partner in Julia Kleiter, who plays the role of Lisa. Fabio Luisi and Andreas Homoki also know that the genre of operetta requires particular care- which is why they have assumed personal responsibility for this production. Homoki let's the plot take place in a Paris Variete theater from the 1920s, complete with show staircase and heavy curtains. To emphasize the operatic elements, he condensed the piece, cutting several secondary roles and shortening dialogues. This production was recorded at the Opernhaus Zurich in June 2017.

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Das Land Des Lachelns
Accentus Music Jul 2018
Blu-Ray
$53.99

Haydn, F.J.: Philemon Und Baucis [Opera]
BIS Aug 2009
SACD
$21.99

Donizetti: Belisario / Frizza, Orchestra Donizetti Opera, Coro Donizetti Opera [Blu-ray]

Dynamic

Blu-Ray

$26.99 Nov 19, 2021

Donizetti's three-act tragic opera Belisario was a resounding success in its day, driven by its composer’s superlative theatrical instinct and his skillful interweaving of intense tragic narrative and emotional pathos. Belisario is betrayed by his wife Antonina, who falsely accuses him of high treason. Belisario is blinded and exiled, with proof of his innocence coming too late, and is mortally wounded during a final military victory. This production was performed and recorded without an audience in Bergamo during the Covid-19 lockdown in November 2020 – a moving performance reflecting a spirit of defiance amidst ruin and darkness.

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Donizetti: Belisario / Frizza, Orchestra Donizetti Opera, Coro Donizetti Opera [Blu-ray]
Dynamic Nov 2021
Blu-Ray
$26.99

Brockes-Passion

CPO

$36.99 May 16, 2025

Jesus, tortured and dying for the sins of the world: This is how the Hamburg librettist and senator Barthold Heinrich Brockes (1680-1747) titled his dramatic adaptation of the Passion narrative-a text so popular that it was set to music nearly a dozen times in Hamburg alone. Composers included Reinhard Keiser, Johann Mattheson, George Frideric Handel, and Georg Philipp Telemann, among others. The jurist and diplomat Jacob Schuback (1726-1784) also composed his version of this so-called Brockes-Passion. And one must not assume that he, the son of a highly respected family, was merely a dilettante in the art of music. What Schuback created around the age of 30 during his musical "leisure hours" is, in the truest sense of the word, a gripping work. Choruses, recitatives, and arias follow one another with an almost operatic intensity, while characters imbued with vivid reality come to life with striking immediacy. Unsurprisingly, this Passion acquires a more profound, secondary significance

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Brockes-Passion
CPO May 2025
CD
$36.99