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Where Is My Beloved? / Siurina, Orbelian, Kaunas City Symphony

Delos

CD · 1 disc

$18.99 Sep 22, 2023

One of the leading sopranos of her generation, Ekaterina Siurina enjoys an international career that takes her to the top opera houses in Europe and America. Siurina’s thrilling renditions of famous arias on this recording bring new life to operatic favorites such as “Un bel di, vedremo” from Madama Butterfly, “In quelle trine morbide” from Manon Lescaut, and “Tatiana’s Letter Scene” from Eugene Onegin.

REVIEW:

She can surmount the vocal challenges of Madama Butterfly’s hopeful Un bel di, vedremo and the anguished Tu? Tu? Piccolo iddio! and she can also spin out a legato line to die for and she can cap the end of Senza Mamma with an ethereal pianissimo.

Ms. Siurina can do it all when it comes to the lyric soprano repertoire, be it the other-worldly Rusalka or the girlish Tatiana or the intact Amelia of Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra or the distraught Marguerita of Boito’s Mefistofele

It has been three years since I first heard Ekaterina Siurina in Amour Eternelle, her first album for DELOS. In this, her second album for DELOS, Siurina reinforces her great reputation, accompanied by the superb American conductor Constantine Orbelian, who leads the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra offering minute by minute support to the soloist.

-- All About the Arts

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Where Is My Beloved? / Siurina, Orbelian, Kaunas City Symphony
Delos Sep 2023

1 disc

CD
$18.99

Verdi, G.: Un ballo in maschera
Opus Arte Feb 2010

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$39.99

Un ballo in maschera

C Major Entertainment

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$45.99 Jun 06, 2025

Un ballo in maschera is a poignant love story between two complex, mature characters torn between their desires, loyalties and the inevitable consequences of their choices. In this production, stage director Vincent Boussart delves deeply into the theme of masks, revealing a rich interplay of drama and comedy, human duplicity, lies and truth. "The two male protagonists, Piotr Beczala as Riccardo and Carlos Alvarez as Renato, were the outstanding performances for the evening." (Bachtrack) "A deeply moving play of masquerade and humanity" (El Pais)

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Un ballo in maschera
C Major Entertainment Jun 2025

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$45.99

Un ballo in maschera

C Major Entertainment

DVD · 1 disc

$35.99 Jun 06, 2025

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Un ballo in maschera
C Major Entertainment Jun 2025

1 disc

DVD
$35.99

VERDI

DECCA

CD · 1 disc

$14.49 Sep 11, 2026

Lise Davidsen Edward Gardner London Philharmonic Lise Davidsen performs the arias from five of Verdi's greatest operas: MacBeth, Un ballo in Maschera, La forza del destino, Don Carlo, and Aida. Through the chronological sequencing of compositions, Davidsen explores the pinnacle of 19th-century Italian opera, leading us through the journey of Verdi's emotional and dramatic development. From the psychological intensity of MacBeth to the grandeur and tragedy of Aida, Davidsen brings her vocal power and remarkable nuance to five of Verdi's greatest masterpieces, illuminating the composer's unmatched gift for drama, passion, and human conflict. "Her dark soprano is simply outstanding, the attack on the notes so clean, rock solid, seemingly effortless," Mark Pullinger on her role as Elisabetta in Verdi's Don Carlos, 2023. This album will be released a week ahead of her opening of the Met season as Lady MacBeth in Verdi's MacBeth in 2026.

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VERDI
DECCA Sep 2026

1 disc

CD
$14.49

Mix & Match

Verdi: Un Ballo In Maschera

MYTO Historical

CD · 2 discs

$10.99 Apr 08, 2016

This new release is a live opera performance, recorded at the Bologna Teatro on November 28, 1961. Oliviero De Fabritiis conducts this outstanding performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Ballo in maschera. This performance features Leyla Gencer, Carlo Bergonzi, and Mario Zanasi.

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Verdi: Un Ballo In Maschera
MYTO Historical Apr 2016

2 discs

CD
$10.99

Verdi: Un ballo in maschera
Urania Records Mar 2014

2 discs

CD
$32.99

Verdi: I due Foscari / Arrivabeni, Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic, Teatro Regio di Parma Chorus [Blu-ray]

Dynamic

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$36.99 May 15, 2020

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

Also available on standard DVD

This opera was recorded at the 2019 Festival Verdi in a new coproduction from Teatro Regio di Parma and Teatro Comunale di Bologna. I due Foscari, a tragedia lirica in three acts based on a work by Lord Byron, was premiered in 1844. It proved quite popular for the next fifty years, thanks in part to its brevity and ease of staging; in fact it’s Verdi's shortest opera. The composer also revised the libretto by the rather inexperienced Francesco Maria Piave. From the musical point of view, this work is characterized by extreme simplicity of form and by the use of distinctive themes for each character, reminiscent of the Leitmotiv technique. The simple plot describes the mortal hatred between a Venetian gentleman, Jacopo Loredano, and two members of the Foscari family - the Doge Francesco and his son Jacopo - whom Loredano holds responsible for the deaths of his father and uncle. The effectiveness of this recording stems from both the cast of singers (notably Vladimir Stoyanov in the role of Francesco Foscari) and the orchestra under Paolo Arrivabeni's direction Paolo Arrivabeni is a highly experienced, international conductor who specializes in this repertoire.

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Verdi: I due Foscari / Arrivabeni, Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic, Teatro Regio di Parma Chorus [Blu-ray]
Dynamic May 2020

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$36.99

Verdi: Il trovatore

Dynamic

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$36.99 Jul 28, 2017

Written for exceptional singers, Il Trovatore has remained popular ever since its first performance at the Teatro Apollo in Rome on January 19, 1853, when even the toughest critics were convinced of its place in the repertoire. People are attracted to Il Trovatore because of its rousing melodies, its brutal, powerful plot, and its simple structure: elements tha tmake it one of the best examples of Verdi's theatre pieces. Recorded live at the Sferisterio theatre of Macerata in the summer of 2016, under conductor Daniel Oren's vibrant and incisive direction, this production boasts a first-rate cast and elegant direction from Francisco Negrin. The sets and costumes by Louis Desire and lightning by Bruno Poet were well received by the Sferisterio audience.

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Verdi: Il trovatore
Dynamic Jul 2017

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$36.99

Verdi: Macbeth / Sabbatini, Theodossiou, Di Vietri, Altomare [blu-ray]

Dynamic

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$36.99 Apr 28, 2015

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

Also available on standard DVD

Macbeth undoubtedly marked a turning point in Verdi’s operatic writing, i.e., the foregrounding of the characters’ introspective, psychological aspects. This DVD/Blu-ray captures the production staged at Novara’s Teatro Coccia during the 2013-14 season, with thriller/horror filmmaker Dario Argento tackling opera direction for the first time. One could only expect a direction in line with his films, and from that point of view this Macbeth meets expectations, with the visualization of the opera’s bloody, indeed gory scenes matching the dark, brutal character of Shakespeare work.

Format: 1080 60i, 16:9; PCM 2.0, DTS HD master 5.0
Region: 0 (All Region)
Subtitles: Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese

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Verdi: Macbeth / Sabbatini, Theodossiou, Di Vietri, Altomare [blu-ray]
Dynamic Apr 2015

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$36.99

Verdi: Un ballo in maschera / Mehta, Bavarian State Orchestra [Blu-ray]

C Major Entertainment

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$45.99 Mar 24, 2017

Praise for the Bayerische Staatsoper's new Ballo in Maschera: "A formidable vocal feast" (Bayerische Staatszeitung). Ten years after stepping down as music director fo the Bavarian State Opera, a "grand Zubin Mehta" (Bayerischer Rundfunk) returned to Munich in March, 2016 to celebrate his 80th birthday conducting Verdi's masterpiece for the first time in a staged production. His cast features some of today's finest Verdi singesr: soprano Anja Harteros, singing "Amelia" for the first time and "filling every note with Verdian intensity", tenor Piotr Beczala as a "visually and vocally dashing Riccardo" and George Petean as an "exemplary" Renato (Neue Musikzeitung). In director Johannes Erath's musically super-sensitive new production, this historically-based tale of illicit love, conspiracy and betrayal unfolds in a surrealistic, shadowy setting transformed by lighting and projections. Special praise was showered by the enthusiastic critics on Maestro Mehta, who "creates concetrated musical connections, miraculously guiding his orchestra and unsurpassable voices the way a thermal lifts a paraglider...Musically the performance was a dream" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). "A total triumph" (La Razon). "This production shows what a utopia opera can be" (Abendzeitung).

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Verdi: Un ballo in maschera / Mehta, Bavarian State Orchestra [Blu-ray]
C Major Entertainment Mar 2017

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$45.99

Historical - Verdi: Un Ballo In Maschera / Toscanini, Nelli
MYTO Historical Apr 2009

2 discs

CD
$10.99

Verdi: Messa da Requiem / Abbado, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma

Dynamic

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$36.99 Apr 16, 2021

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

Also available on standard DVD

Giuseppi Verdi’s Messa da Requiem arose out of the composer’s admiration for the influential poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni, and as a response to the lack of appreciation shown to the writer in the press after the his death in 1873. The extraordinary character of Verdi’s Requiem confronts us with unanswerable questions, from the stormy and terrifying Dies irae, to consolatory and touching lyrical oases in which Verdi communicates liturgical texts in the most profound and expressive ways possible. This Teatro Regio di Parma production, which was performed open-air at the Parco Ducale of Parma, was dedicated to the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic and all the health workers engaged in the emergency. The mayor of Parma introduces the performance with a brief and touching speech and a minute’s silence. Conductor Roberto Abbado declared in an interview : “I think that Verdi felt the need to compose a sacred work to deal with some themes that ,as he got older, he felt very strongly about. They are themes that every human being sooner or later asks themselves. Verdi is not afraid to show that he fears death, and therefore his approach is extremely humble and human, showing…some of the frailties we all have. How does the Messa da Requiem end? It ends, in my opinion, with a huge question mark. Basically, I believe, Verdi, like many of us, cannot answer these questions. I, myself, cannot answer them.”

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Verdi: Messa da Requiem / Abbado, Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma
Dynamic Apr 2021

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$36.99

Verdi: Attila / Catana, Cremonini, Branchini, Battistoni, Teatro Regio Di Parma [blu-ray]

C Major Entertainment

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$18.99 ~~$37.99~~ Save 50% Nov 13, 2012

VERDI Attila • Andrea Battistoni, cond; Giovanni Battista Parodi (Attila); Sebastian Catana (Ezio); Susanna Branchini (Odabella); Roberto De Biasio (Foresto); Cristiano Cremonini (Uldino); Zyian Atfeh (Leone); Teatro Regio di Parma O & Ch • C MAJOR 721608 (DVD); 721704 (Blu-ray) (118:00 + 10:00) Live: Busseto 10/2010

A life of looting and pillaging may hold certain attractions, but after ravaging the countryside for long enough most of the inhabitants are driven off and there is no one left to grow new crops and raise new livestock. In the days of yore invading armies lived off the land, be they Romans, or Macedonians, or Huns and Visigoths, and without supplies for men and horses they could not sustain themselves. Such were the conditions in most of Northern Italy when the opera Attila opens. Attila and his barbaric tribes had already sacked and razed the substantial northern city of Aquileia in 452 A.D. and driven many of its surviving inhabitants into the nearby marshes (thereby creating the conditions for the founding of Venice). The victorious Hun leader then turned his sights on the much richer plum of a not yet totally defenseless Rome, as in the opera, and held parlays with several Roman envoys seeking desperately to broker peace, including Leo I, Bishop of Rome. In Verdi’s opera Attila’s forces are then turned upon in a sneak attack of Roman legions in consort with a group of surviving fighters from Aquileia. Attila himself is slain by the warrior Princess Odabella (also from Aquileia) whom he is about to wed, in revenge for the slaying of her own father. In actuality, the wily old Hun leader recognized there was simply not enough food available in the surrounding countryside to sustain an attack on Rome and took his forces safely back home to Germany. He died a year later, reportedly from overeating or overdrinking at a wedding feast. The city of Rome wasn’t spared for long, it was sacked and burned by other Germanic tribes just two years later.

One of the problems with this early Verdi opera is there is no one to like. The so-called good guys are all busy plotting with each other and doing underhanded things. Odabella makes nice to Attila in order to further her lust for revenge and actually prevents him from being poisoned at a celebration in his camp so she can do the dirty deed herself. Her boyfriend Foresto, leader of the remaining Aquileia forces, spends most of the three acts moaning about Odabella’s unfaithfulness (not true). He plots with the Roman general Ezio to set upon Attila’s forces even though their own men have been granted safe passage by the Huns. Ezio, with the only opposing professional soldiers in the area, first tries to cut a political deal with Attila to divvy up the territory, and with that rejected, schemes with Foresto to first poison Attila and then betray his honorable truce. So, who do we root for, Attila, the scourge of God on earth? Poor Hun, everyone’s out to get him. The opera itself hangs precariously off the edge of the standard repertoire, trotted out now and then because it has such a juicy role for a star basso. This particular production is a part of the “Tutto Verdi” project sponsored by the Regio di Parma Foundation in conjunction with C Major to perform all of Verdi’s operas and record them on Blu-ray disc.

The opera house and stage in Busseto are both very small. Stage Director Pierfrancesco Maestrini must find creative ways to use the small space to advantage. He generally does very well, foregoing heavy stage scenery for a few light props and appropriate videos on the rear backdrop that set the scene then freeze-frame as the action begins on stage. It helps that there are only four principal singers who can be grouped in tight tableaus, but things get a bit crowded when the chorus of Huns or refugees from Aquileia are called upon. Attila descends from on high on a platform surrounded by skulls in the Prologue and departs dead on the same platform to end act III. Costumes are a bit campy, perhaps fantasy Hun: animal skull headpieces, fierce face paint, and plenty of robes and animal skins. The Roman soldiers appear vaguely military, but not like Roman soldiers from the classic movies of the ’50s and ’60s, Ben Hur, Cleopatra, etc. Odabella, ostensibly a warrior, looks rather sexy in her outfit but she couldn’t possibly have been fighting in it. The Huns and Visigoths seem a pretty tame bunch for pillagers and rapists. Performances are a mixed bag here. Giovanni Batista Parodi provides a good bass voice and much fine singing in the lead role, but lacks the stage presence, gravitas, and acting skills to really bring off the critical role of Attila. Soprano Susanna Branchini brings a big voice into the small house and frankly, everything she sings sounds double forte. She also has trouble modulating in her top range, approaching shriek level to hit some of the notes. She sings much better in lower registers and she handles the young Verdi’s ornamentation quite competently. The Foresto of Italian tenor Roberto De Biasio and the Ezio of baritone Sebastian Catana are both very well sung and prove to be highlights of this set. It is hard to believe the Teatro Regio Orchestra from Parma can stuff enough bodies in that small orchestra pit to produce such a full sound, but they somehow manage to do it quite well under the leadership of conductor Andrea Battistoni. The smallish chorus sounds good too.

Competing sets of this opera on video include a 1985 production from the Arena di Verona which I have not seen and a 1991 live production from La Scala in Milan that I have. The La Scala set features Samuel Ramey in the lead role when he was still singing well and the Odabella of Cheryl Studer in the midst of her very few peak seasons. Both are superior in their roles to the two on this C Major disc, Ramey bringing a major stage presence and gravity to the role of Attila that makes you really believe he is a grade-A scourge. The two Busseto singers get the nod over Giorgio Zancanaro as Ezio and Kaludi Kaludov as Foresto at La Scala, but the larger house in Milan has one of Italy’s finest orchestras and choruses. Sets and costumes are quite traditional at La Scala as well. The Blu-ray hi-def video and audio is a definite plus for this C Major production, but I would give the slight edge overall to La Scala, just for Ramey’s menacing presence and fine acting. This C Major set also provides a quite fine portrayal of Verdi’s opera and you won’t go wrong with either choice. Recommended.

FANFARE: Bill White

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Verdi: Attila / Catana, Cremonini, Branchini, Battistoni, Teatro Regio Di Parma [blu-ray]
C Major Entertainment Nov 2012

1 disc

Blu-Ray
~~$37.99~~ $18.99

Verdi: I Due Foscari / Pappano, Domingo, Meli, Agresta

Opus Arte

DVD · 1 disc

$34.99 May 27, 2016

Also available on Blu-ray

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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Verdi: I Due Foscari / Pappano, Domingo, Meli, Agresta
Opus Arte May 2016

1 disc

DVD
$34.99

Verdi: Il Trovatore / Oren, Fondazione Orchestra Regionale delle Marche

Dynamic

DVD · 1 disc

$36.99 Jul 28, 2017

Also available on Blu-ray

Taken live from the stage of the Macerata (Italy) Festival in July and August of 2016, this performance has much to recommend it despite the fact that none of the singers are familiar names. This is the kind of regional performance that the big American companies should be listening to.

Never having heard of the soprano singing Leonora, Anna Pirozzi, I checked Operabase and discovered that she sings all over Europe–plenty at Covent Garden–and that her repertoire is all of the heavy Verdi roles: Abigaille, Lady Macbeth, Aida, Amelia, and Leonora. I wouldn’t bet on her Abigaille or Lady Macbeth, but her performance here is nothing less than spectacular.

The voice is big, with a rock-solid middle register, a steely edge to the high Bs, Cs, and D-flats, and a strong bottom, which avoids chest voice for the most part. But she also can spin long, high pianissimo phrases with a Caballé-like ease. The sound is attractive (though not in the Caballé class), her Convent Scene is a model of soft, legato singing, and her entire fourth act is nothing less than magnificent. And she throws herself into the text.

Marco Caria is a very good Luna with great ease in his upper third, a fine legato, and a nice sneer. But the voice, even on a recording, sounds a bit small for the part, and when he pushes for a bigger sound the microphones catch it and he sounds a bit desperate. But for the most part, he’s a valuable addition, a true Italian voice.

Piero Pretti as Manrico is a big lyric whose schedule includes Riccardo (Ballo), Rodolfo (Bohème), and Gualtiero (Pirata), as well as more Manricos, through September 2018. The sound is appealing and well-centered, the high notes–he takes “Di quella pira” in key–admirable and solid. But he’s a size too small for the part. He’s inaudible in the stretta to the first-act finale as well as in his duets with Azucena. And in the final scene, when he should be overpowering Leonora, he simply isn’t. Try him, you’ll like him, but think of Manricos of the past and he’s a miniature.

Enkelejda Shkosa is a more internationally known singer. Her Azucena is just about perfect despite a too-quick “Stride la vampa”; Azucena’s extreme anxiety is audible throughout. Shkosa’s third act is gloriously sung, and if the conductor and recording engineers had opted for more volume it would have torn down the house. The others are all very good, paying heed to what they’re singing, and Alessandro Spina’s Ferrando is solid.

Daneil Oren’s leadership has to be judged by the fact that this was recorded over a period of a few performances, and accordingly voice/orchestra balances vary from scene to scene. And in the Tower Scene, Manrico sounds like he is standing next to Leonora. Nonetheless, Oren totally understands mid-Verdi and differentiates beautifully between the exclamatory and, for want of a better term, “post bel canto” moments in the score. He gives the singers leeway in the arias but keeps a tight rein otherwise. The sound is clear, but as mentioned, the volume levels keep changing.

In all, though–and this is the point of even reviewing this recording–aside from Netrebko’s recent outing, this is the best Trovatore to be released in quite a while. There is, by the way, a DVD and Blu-ray video of this performance. It is all in reds and blacks, with plenty of fire. The look is gothic.

– ClassicsToday (Robert Levine)

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Verdi: Il Trovatore / Oren, Fondazione Orchestra Regionale delle Marche
Dynamic Jul 2017

1 disc

DVD
$36.99

Verdi: I due Foscari

C Major Entertainment

4K ULTRA HD Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$45.99 Mar 01, 2019

In his 'new life' as a baritone, Plácido Domingo has triumphed in the role of Francesco Foscari in Los Angeles, London and Vienna. Now he takes to the role to La Scala, Milan, the theatre that is the symbol of Italian opera. I due Foscari, premiered in 1844, famously one of Verdi's darkest operas, is staged by Alvis Hermanis, who made such an impact at the Salzburg Festival with "Die Soldaten" and "Il trovatore". Domingo is joined by two of Italy's most exciting singers, the soprano Anna Pirozzi and the tenor Francesco Meli, and the acclaimed Italian conductor Michele Mariotti. The Financial Times was deeply moved by Domingo's performance, calling his interpretation of the role "sublime".

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Verdi: I due Foscari
C Major Entertainment Mar 2019

1 disc

4K ULTRA HD Blu-Ray
$45.99

Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera / Mehta, Beczala, Harteros, Bavarian State Orchestra

C Major Entertainment

4K ULTRA HD Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$45.99 Nov 30, 2018

Praise for the Bayerische Staatsoper's new Ballo in Maschera: “A formidable vocal feast” (Bayerische Staatszeitung). Ten years after stepping down as music director of the Bavarian State Opera, a “grand Zubin Mehta“ (Bayerischer Rundfunk) returned to Munich in March 2016 to celebrate his 80th birthday conducting Verdi’s masterpiece for the first time in a staged production. His cast features some of today’s finest Verdi singers: soprano Anja Harteros, singing Amelia for the first time and “filling every note with Verdian intensity”, tenor Piotr Beczala as a “visually and vocally dashing Riccardo” and George Petean as an “exemplary” Renato (Neue Musikzeitung). In director Johannes Erath’s musically super-sensitive new production, this historically-based tale of illicit love, conspiracy and betrayal unfolds in a surrealistic, shadowy setting transformed by lighting and projections. Special praise was showered by the enthusiastic critics on Maestro Mehta, who “creates concentrated musical connections, miraculously guiding his orchestra and unsurpassable voices the way a thermal lifts a paraglider ... Musically the performance was a dream” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung). “A total triumph” (La Razón). “This production shows what a utopia opera can be” (Abendzeitung).

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Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera / Mehta, Beczala, Harteros, Bavarian State Orchestra
C Major Entertainment Nov 2018

1 disc

4K ULTRA HD Blu-Ray
$45.99

Bellini: La Sonnambula / Benini, Siragusa, Gutierrez, Colecchia [blu-ray]

Dynamic

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$36.99 Jul 30, 2013

BELLINI La sonnambula • Maurizio Benini, cond; Eglise Gutiérrez (Amina); Antonio Siragusa (Elvino); Simone Alaimo (Count Rodolfo); Sandra Pastrana (Lisa); Gabriella Colecchia (Teresa); Gabriele Nani (Alessio); Teatro Lirico di Cagliari O & Ch • DYNAMIC 55616 (Blu-ray: 141:00) Live: Cagliari 2008

For those of you who may hold the opinion that Vincenzo Bellini was rather a minor composer, you need to see and hear this opera, La Sonnambula (The Sleepwalker), particularly the last 15 minutes or so. The music transcends the heavens, it surpasses anything written by Rossini, Donizetti, or even Verdi. Okay, I guess my enthusiasm is showing a bit, but I truly love this music, however it stacks up in the pantheon of consummate 19th-century Italian composers. The story is simple. The betrothed young village girl, Amina, is discovered in the bed of the local Count in his room at the village inn, he returning to his native environs for the first time in many years. Everyone is shocked, horrified, including the prospective groom, Elvino. Lisa, the young mistress of the inn, also smitten with Elvino, takes advantage to whisk the tenor hero away from his now disgraced intended. It turns out Amina sleepwalks, which the townsfolk and Elvino eventually discover, and after a ravishing double aria for the leading lady in the finale of act 2, all is set well again. The simple tale is charming and if you enjoy bel canto, it doesn’t get any better than this.

I was pleased to get this disc for review because I have been hearing the praises sung for young Cuban American coloratura Eglise Gutiérrez for a few years now, and have not had much opportunity to see or hear her. (She was the fairy godmother in Massenet’s Cendrillon, which I enjoyed, but that opera is hardly prime bel canto land.) I am here to report Gutiérrez is the real deal. Vocally she harkens back to the days of the true Bellini divas, to Giuditta Pasta and Maria Malibran. The young singer’s top range is incredible and solidly in place, everything is precisely on key, sung easily and cleanly. Vocal agility is excellent: Gutiérrez has not the slightest problem with Bellini’s pyrotechnics and she ornaments tastefully and often, like the best of bel canto songbirds. If her acting and stage presence are at times rather ordinary in this 2006 rendering, we should remember that La Sonnambula does not require the histrionics of a Tosca. The young soprano’s portrayal is very charming here, certainly a plus for the production.

Sets are kept simple and traditional, with rustic pastoral settings evoked by a grassy forestage and colorful painted backdrops. It is lovely to watch and far outshines its more famous Metropolitan Opera counterpart (to be seen again this April with Diana Damrau). The costumes, if anything, seem a bit too lavish and colorful for peasant wear, but sumptuous to the eye; I am not complaining. Staging is strictly traditional, as this little charmer of an opera almost necessarily requires. The visual realm is almost completely in service to the music here, and when La Sonnambula is performed in this fashion cannot fail to please even the most jaded opera goers.

Warning: now comes the caveat! Unfortunately, the tenor Elvino is disappointing. Antonio Siragusa sings well and with excellent pitch control, but has an annoying nasal vocal tone, especially when he pushes the voice, that quite spoils his part in the proceedings. It is something you can get used to when he sings alone, but next to the ravishing voice of Gutiérrez and the other fine voices on this set in duets and ensembles, it is continually noticeable and jarring. The Count Rodolfo is sung by veteran Simone Alaimo, who still brings plenty of rich baritone beauty to the role and just the right touch of innocent paternal concern for the beleaguered Amina. Another standout vocally is young Sandra Pastrana as Lisa, who also handles Bellini’s fioratura with delightful expertise and is a big asset to this production. Smaller roles are likewise filled with quite good singers, and the orchestra from the Teatro Lirico Cagliari gives us an impressive rendition of Bellini’s wonderful score. The chorus, a particularly integral part of La Sonnambula, also turns in a first-class performance. It really seems a shame to me that Gutiérrez could not have been paired with a tenor who could at least have gotten out of her way here, let alone the hopeless wish for a Juan Diego Flórez or Lawrence Brownlee in the role. If that had happened this would be a La Sonnambula for the ages; as it is, it’s still very good.

As is to be expected these days, the Dynamic Blu-ray is quite sharply detailed and in exceptionally vivid colors, with state of the art audio formats providing excellent sound. The only current Blu-ray competitor is a recent release to be found on the C Major label. I have not seen it, but soprano Jessica Pratt is also a rising young coloratura star and from what I have heard on YouTube, is very, very good as Amina. The tenor is also promising. Also worth your attention is the VAI DVD issue with Anna Moffo from 1956. Moffo doesn’t have a clue about bel canto style but her young voice is ravishing, the production charming, and she is very lovely to watch, even before her famous nose job. Check out what all the furor was about! The Mary Zimmerman-directed production from the Met has a great cast, but archly ridicules the original story while failing to make much sense itself. As for this disc, it could have been a world beater, but if you can get used to the nasal tenor, it is still very enjoyable. Recommended.

FANFARE: Bill White

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Bellini: La Sonnambula / Benini, Siragusa, Gutierrez, Colecchia [blu-ray]
Dynamic Jul 2013

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$36.99

VERDI, G.: Un ballo in maschera (Highlights) (Bjorling) (195
IDIS Jun 2002

1 disc

CD
$16.99

Verdi: I due Foscari
Coviello Sep 2023

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$42.99

Verdi: Il Trovatore / Morandi, Arena di Verona [Blu-ray]

C Major Entertainment

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$45.99 May 22, 2020

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

Also available on standard DVD

It's an event that draws many thousands of music lovers to one of the most beautiful cities in the world every summer: the opera season at the ancient Arena di Verona. The 2,000-year-old roman amphitheater with its gigantic stage dimensions is one of the largest and best preserved Roman construction of its kind, and with over 22,000 seats it is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular open-air venues of the world! The revered master of opera Franco Zeffirelli, who died shortly before the premiere of Il Trovatore, created a legendary scenery with groups of giant sized armored knights, a fortress turning into a luminous cathedral, an enormous choir, horses, breathtaking fights: “his perhaps best arena production” (Opernglas). It brings Anna Netrebko to the Arena of Verona where she is giving her much-anticipated debut in one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular operas. Next to Anna Netrebko as Leonora perform Verdi accomplished baritone Luca Salsi as Count di Luna and Yusif Eyvazov returns to the Arena as his powerful-voiced opponent Manrico. MET star Dolora Zajick as Azucena and young rising Italian bass Riccardo Fassi as Ferrando join the prestigious ensemble. “Zeffirelli gives to the arena what it merits: a colourful, multifaceted staging in which impressive mass scenes alternate with intimate moments [...]“ (Der Neue Merker) “Unforgettable” (Verona Settegiorni)

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Verdi: Il Trovatore / Morandi, Arena di Verona [Blu-ray]
C Major Entertainment May 2020

1 disc

Blu-Ray
$45.99

Bellini: I puritani / Damrau, Camerena

BelAir Classiques

DVD · 2 discs

$36.99 Nov 03, 2017

Also available on Blu-ray

A jewel of bel canto, and Bellini’s last masterpiece, I puritani encapsulates every major theme held dear by the Italian romantic generation: a love triangle, quid pro quos, a shattered love affair leading to madness, set in Cromwell’s England with its lot of political rivalries. It is also an ode to resistance and to freedom, echoing the political struggles that the Italian peninsula was facing in the 1830’s. But it is mainly a testament to Bellini’s unique musical brand, a genius combination of melodic brightness, post-Rossinian ornaments, and a profound and melancholic lament that owes much to traditional Neapolitan songs. It is therefore one of the most vocally demanding operas of the repertoire, and to face this challenge, the Teatro Real of Madrid called on four exceptional singers : the great diva Diana Damrau is Elvira, Javier Camarena is Arturo (both triumphed at the Metropolitan Opera of New York in the same opera in early 2017), as well as baritone Ludovic Tezier and bass-baritone Nicolas Teste. Catalan director Emilio Sagi offers a staging both elegant and simple, and bel canto expert Evelinò Pido, along with the Teatro Real Orchestra and Chorus, brings forth every nuance of this immense and unforgettable score.

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Bellini: I puritani / Damrau, Camerena
BelAir Classiques Nov 2017

2 discs

DVD
$36.99

Verdi: Messa da Requiem

C Major Entertainment

Blu-Ray · 1 disc

$22.98 ~~$45.99~~ Save 50% May 26, 2017

When the revered writer Alessandro Manzoni died in 1873, Verdi was unable to bring himself to attend the funeral. Instead he composed his monumental Messa da Requiem in Manzoni’s memory and conducted its first performance on the first anniversary of the writer’s death. In addition to its profound spirituality, the work also brings together all the finest qualities familiar from Verdi’s operas, qualities that include endless melodic lines and powerful musico-dramatic effects. The present performance was recorded in Los Angeles’s legendary Hollywood Bowl in August 2013 and brought together three superstars from the world of music: the conductor Gustavo Dudamel, the tenor Vittorio Grigolo and the bass-baritone Ildebrando D’Arcangelo, all of them at the top of their form. “It was an important and exceptional evening … That experience involved a radical and wondrous rethinking of the Requiem on Dudamel‘s part.” (Los Angeles Times)

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Verdi: Messa da Requiem
C Major Entertainment May 2017

1 disc

Blu-Ray
~~$45.99~~ $22.98

Verdi: La forza del destino

C Major Entertainment

DVD · 2 discs

$42.99 May 28, 2013

For La forza del destino, Verdi created one of his most famous melodies, the "fate" motif that permeates the whole score. Music and action alternate in masterly fashion between large-scale crowd scenes and intimate interiority, illustrating Verdi's real theme: The manner in which fallible human beings are destroyed by a cruel fate.

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Verdi: La forza del destino
C Major Entertainment May 2013

2 discs

DVD
$42.99