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María Bayo (Adina), Rolando Villazón (Nemorino), Jean-Luc Chaignaud (Belcore), Bruno Praticò (Dulcamara), Cristina Obregón (Giannetta) Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Daniele Callegari (musical director) & Mario Gas (stage director) Set & Costume Design Marcelo Grande Lighting Design Quico Gutiérrez (A.A.I.) Assistant Stage Director José Antonio Gutiérrez Chorus Master José Luis Basso TV Director Xavi Bové Rolando Villazón brings both comedy and pathos to the role of Nemorino, the naïve hero of Donizetti’s comedy L’elisir d’amore in a 2005 production from Barcelona’s Liceu When Donizetti’s comedy, updated to the mid-20th century by the Uruguayan-born director Mario Gas, was mounted at Barcelona’s magnificent Liceu opera house in 2005, Opera News wrote that: “The absolute hit of the production was … Rolando Villazón, a commanding, vulnerable and hilarious Nemorino. His stage presence dominated every scene he was in …[and] his lovable innocence was a joy to behold. Villazón’s perfect technique and creamy, malleable voice conquered the audience … His athletic and expressive body language — midway between Cantinflas and Mr. Bean — fits this role and this production perfectly.” The Mexican tenor, making his debut at the Liceu, was called upon the encore the opera’s most famous aria, the plaintive ‘Una furtiva lagrima’. Rolando Villazón can already be seen and heard as Nemorino on another Virgin Classics DVD, released in 2006. His partners in that more traditionally rustic production from Vienna were Anna Netrebko, Leo Nucci and Ildebrando d’Arcangelo; here they are Spanish soprano Maria Bayo as the wealthy and capricious Adina, Italian baritone Bruno Praticò as Dulcamara, the pedlar of the so-called elixir of love -- in fact just red wine in disguise -- and French baritone Jean-Luc Chaignaud as the swaggering sergeant Belcore. ConcertoNet judged that: “This production illuminates the work and gives it meaning … Maria Bayo is a refined, subtle Adina whose voice serves the music wonderfully … Rolando Villazón is the ideal Nemorino, succeeding in presenting a young man who is somewhat clueless, but also formidably intelligent … The voice, of course, is exceptional ... Jean-Luc Chaignaud, with his splendid stage presence, is ideally suited to the character of Belcore, making his entrance through the Liceu’s auditorium and saluting the audience, while his singing gives the officer a real stature with its power and authority … Bruno Praticò savours every moment as a comical and fundamentally good-natured Dulcamara … Daniele Callegari’s conducting is excellent, bringing an animation and electricity that makes the whole opera even more delicious … All in all, a great evening.” Villazón also stars in another Virgin Classics DVD recorded at the Liceu, Manon in David McVicar’s production of Massenet’s opera, released in 2007. The titular soprano was, of course, Natalie Dessay, lynchpin of the multi-award-winning DVD of Laurent Pelly’s production of La Fille du Régiment recorded at London’s Royal Opera House: it was named DVD of the Year by the BBC Music Magazine, ‘Choc de l'Année’ by Le Monde de la Musique and awarded the equally prestigious Diapason d'Or and Opera News Award. Other major DVD releases in the Virgin Classics catalogue include the world-premiere recording of Landi’s Sant’Alessio by William Christie and les Arts Florissants and Tristan und Isolde conducted by Daniel Barenboim and directed by Patrice Chéreau, the opening production of the 2007-2008 season at La Scala, Milan. Running time 152 minutes / colour NTSC system 16.9 / DVD Format: 1 DVD (DVD-9) Sound Format LPCM Stereo Dolby 5.0 Surround DTS 5.1 surround Menu screens: English Subtitles English, Français, Deutsch, Español, Catalan, Italiano “Rolando Villazón is here on top form, fleshing out the notes with alternate delicacy and vehemence and personifying the shy, frustrated hero with a Chaplinesque range of gesture and mannerism...María Bayo is equally accomplished, her voice dancing gracefully around Donizetti's score” BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 **** “[Villazon] is in glorious voice, often singing (as in 'Adina, credimi') with vocal finesse and musical imagination...He presents a slight, nimble, excitable young fellow, quite willing to use his "little-boy lost" look and to cut comic capers; equally capable of acting with dignity and restraint...Daniele Callegari conducts sympathetically” Gramophone Magazine, August 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Caro AmorDas Schonste aus Handels Opern
Nuria Rial, Annette Dasch, Maria Bayo (sopranos), Angelika Kirchschlager, Vesselina Kasarova, Marjana Mijanovic (mezzo), Lawrence Zazzo (countertenor), Ian Bostridge (tenor), Byrn Terfel (bass-baritone) Il Complesso Barocco, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Kammerorchester Basel | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Nebra - Arias de Zarzuelas
includes Bonus DVD “…Nebra's… arias… they are delightfully sung by María Bayo, whose light and precise vocalism suits this music exactly, and played by Banzo's ensemble Al Ayre Español, who produce entirely delectable sounds. Nebra's arias… full of ingenious harmonic and instrumental touches... prove well worth exploring, and are nicely complemented here by a symphony by Boccherini that borrows ideas from Gluck's Don Juan.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2006 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Filmed in 1996 at the Théâtre Royal de La Monnaie, Brussels by Jacques BourtonHerbert Wernicke (director)
Maria Bayo (Calisto), Marcello Lippi (Giove), Hans Peter Kammerer (Mercurio), Graham Pushee (Endymion), Louise Winter (Diana), Alexander Oliver (Linfea), Dominique Visse (Satirino, une furie); Barry Banks (Pan, Natura), Reinhardt Dorn (Silvano), Sonia Theodoridou (Giunone) & Robin Tyson (furie) Concerto Vocale, René Jacobs Subtitles : French, Dutch, English, German “Jacobs’s direction gave Cavalli’s excavated jewel a new lease of life. Maria Bayo, as Calisto, has a big, warm, rich soprano that won her an explosion of cheers.” International Herald Tribune “Though the fun is extreme, it can be argued that it follows period practice, and the sets with their elaborate trapdoors and gods descending from the heavens have a seveneeenth-century flavour...The sets dotted with nymphs are pretty and atmospheric.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Elena de la Merced, Paula Rasmussen, Mariola Cantarero, María Bayo, Josep Bros, Kenneth Tarver, Simón Orfila Symphony Orchestra & Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Jesús López Cobos, stage direction by Sergi Belbel | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Canteloube, J.: Chants Du Pays Basque / Chants D'Auvergne, Vol. 1 (Excerpts)
Maria Bayo (soprano) Tenerife Symphony Orchestra, Victor Pablo Perez | |
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| |  | Royal Handel
Sandrine Piau, Topi Lehtipuu, Patricia Petibon, Robert Expert, Bernarda Fink, Maria Bayo, Lucy Crowe, Richard Croft, Karina Gauvin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Deborah York & Sara Mingardo ‘Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon King. And all the people rejoiced and said: God save the King! Long live the King! May the King live for ever! Alleluia! Amen.’ These words were sung by the combined choirs of the Chapel Royal and Westminster Abbey at the coronation of King George II of England on 11 October 1727. The impact of the first choral entry after a long instrumental introduction is so unforgettable that since then the anthem 'Zadok the Priest' has been sung at the Unction of each new British sovereign. The event thus marked a consecration of sorts for its composer, born Georg Friedrich Händel in 1685 at Halle in Saxony and transformed into George Frideric Handel, British subject, by Act of Parliament dated 20 February of that same year 1727. He was to enjoy his most lasting success with a work devoid of action and dramatic protagonists, which set out the very basis of Christian doctrine in words drawn entirely from the Bible: 'Messiah', given its first performance in Dublin in 1742.The grandeur and sublime simplicity of the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ so moved King George II that he rose from his seat; ever since then, it has been the tradition in Britain for the audience to stand for this movement. Handel's 'Largo' is now synonymous with Harrods' adverts, 'Zadok' has prefaced many a Royal or sporting ceremony and, most recently, millions watched the Royal Jubilee Pageant flotilla sail down the Thames to the 'Water Music' in an inglorious downpour. “From a flute sonata movement to Mozart's respray of Messiah, Naive's Royal Handel anthology is eclectically sourced and regally dispatched.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2012 **** “suitably majestic renditions of classic pieces by first-rate performers from across Europe” The Independent, 1st September 2012 **** | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Teatro Real, Madrid, on 8th, 10th and 12th October 2005.
Carlos Álvarez (Don Giovanni), Lorenzo Regazzo (Leporello), María Bayo (Donna Anna), José Bros (Don Ottavio), Sonia Ganassi (Donna Elvira), José Antonio López (Masetto), María José Moreno (Zerlina), Alfred Reiter (Commendatore) Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real (Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus), Víctor Pablo Pérez (conductor) & Lluis Pasqual (stage director) Lluis Pasqual's powerful production for the Spanish capital sets Da Ponte's timeless story of sleaze and seduction into the dark world of 1940s Spain. Carlos Álvarez, in the title role, toys with the affections of Donna Anna, Zerlina and the Spanish lady Donna Elvira, before his overpowering methods finally bring his own destruction. Extra features: Illustrated synopsis. Cast gallery. Interviews with Lluis Pasqual, Carlos Álvarez and Víctor Pablo Pérez. Running time 208 mins Region code All regions Video codec: AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size: BD50 Picture format 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound format 2.0 & 5.1 PCM (TBC) Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “The cast set to with a will vocally and dramatically...Víctor Pablo Pérez accompanies accommodatingly in a performance of appropriate but not over-grand scale...The Blu-ray pictures convey well the perspective depth of Frigerio's set and Wolfgang von Zoubek's atmospheric lighting of the fairground sequences.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2010 “Updating is more or less de rigueur in today's operatic circles and Madrid once again comes up with the goods in a wholly plausible re-siting of Giovanni to 1940s Spain. The transfer of the various scenes is by and large convincing and Lluis Pasquel's perceptive ideas about the characters illuminate afresh the familiar story, with the opera's saturnine side very much to the fore.
Carlos Álvarez, a Giovanni recalling in voice George London in the part, wholly dominates this opera with a nasty, driven reading of the lecher and bully. Like London, he sings with dark-hued intensity throughout. His must be the best Don about today. By his side is Lorenzo Regazzo as Leporello: he proves a wonderfully resourceful actor and singer, and a proper alter ego to his master. Their enactment of the cemetery scene is masterly in all respects.
José Bros is a concerned Ottavio, whose longbreathed 'Il mio tesoro' is a wonder. Much the most exciting of the female singers is Sonia Ganassi's deeply felt, urgently sung Elvira, her 'Mi tradì' a bravura performance. María Bayo seems over-parted and uninteresting as Anna, and the Zerlina is ordinary, as is her Masetto.
Underlining the whole venture is the keenly shaped, fast-moving musical direction of Victor Pablo Pérez, a conductor obviously worth watching. Speeds are on the fast side, welcome in this long work and well tailored to the cast.
The Madrid Symphony is its customary alert self. The same can be said for Robin Lough's video direction.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Les Musiques de Picasso
Rafael Orozco, Alfred Cortot (piano), Shlomo Mintz (violin), Paco Cortés, Montoyita, José Antonio Rodriguez, Moraito, Pedro Bacan (guitar), Pascal Moragues (clarinet), Sergio Azzolini (bassoon), Lluis Claret (violin-cello), Enrique Morente, Ines Bacan, Ian Bostridge, Maria Lluisa Muntada & Maria Bayo (voice) Orchestre de la Société du Conservatoire de Paris & Joven Orquesta Nacional de España, Edmon Colomer & Charles Munch ‘The music of Picasso’ takes us on a wonderful journey illustrating the influence of music upon Picasso’s life and career. From Flamenco to Satie, from Stravinsky to Granados, the music of Picasso are those he liked to hear and sing, those for which he conceived sets and texts, and finally those which directly evoke an aspect of his imaginative universe. They are gathered in this set, to give a new light on the work of this immense artist. | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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| |  | Palomo - My Secluded Garden
Acclaimed for her “beautifully clear, warm and intelligent coloratura” (Gramophone) and “naturally bright, vernal timbre” (BBC Music Magazine), Spanish soprano María Bayo has shone as a prima donna internationally, yet reserves a special place for the music of her native country. With legendary guitarist Pepe Romero, she is an ideal interpreter of the heartfelt songs of Lorenzo Palomo, one of Spain’s most successful contemporary composers. The Romero Guitar Quartet premièred Palomo’s beguiling Concierto de Cienfuegos. His equally appealing Andalusian Nocturnes and Spanish Songs are also available (8557135). “All in all, this release is a winner. If you’re a fan of Rodrigo’s ubiquitous Concierto de Aranjuez, give Palomo a try” Fanfare | | | (also available to download from $6.00) | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. (Available now to download.) |
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