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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Live from the Royal Opera House
David McVicar's spectacular 2004 production of Gounod’s Faust, featuring a divine cast of opera’s superstars: Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Bryn Terfel, Simon Keenlyside and Sophie Koch. McVicar is one of the most innovative and in-demand directors, and his lush, haunting realised vision of Faust received glorious praise. The production revels in a gothic, seamy Second French Empire setting, with the Act V ballet “haunting the imagination long after” (The Independent). “This is opera at its grandest and best” The Wall Street Journal “Alagna depicts Faust's transition from Gounod-like ancient to cartwheeling young boulevardier and drug-addled Baudelairean decadent with energy and elegant phrasing...[Terfel] suggests the constant predatory menace beneath the musketeer panache with a curious dignity...[Pappano's] theatrical vigour banishes any trace of Gallic langour, a thoroughly un-fustian Faust.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** “surely one of the finest achievements of DVD so far...Alagna dominates vocally in the name-role with a powerful heady lyricism...Gheorghiu sings gloriously as a delightful Marguerite, but the action is underlined by the splendidly bold panache of Bryn Terfel's Mephistopheles” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Live from the Royal Opera House
National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner’s new staging of Verdi’s grandest – and arguably greatest – opera, Don Carlo, was the highlight of the 2007/2008 Royal Opera House season. This new production marked Rolando Villazón’s much anticipated, triumphant return to the house. Don Carlo is Verdi’s musical retelling of Schiller’s poem Don Carlos. Set amidst the political, religious and sexual intrigue of the 16th century Spanish court, this epic work is the tragic story of the virtuous young prince, Don Carlo when he is pitted against the powers of a dominant, corrupt society. The Italian version premiered at Teatro alla Scala in Milan on 10th January, 1884, following the French premiere (Don Carlos) in 1867, at the Paris Opera. It was first staged at The Royal Opera House in 1886. This new production is the first new version of the 5-Act complete opera to be staged at Covent Garden in 50 years. With sets and costumes by Bob Crowley, direction by Nicholas Hytner and an enviable cast, this production of Don Carlo is worthy of the greatness of Verdi’s original, masterful work. “Supported by designer Bob Crowley's dazzling coups de thêatre, and by Antonio Pappano's band in scintillating form, he directs with such vivid forcefulness – and such psychological acuity – that Verdi's great rumination on theocracy, and on the battle between patriarchy and the brotherhood of man, emerges in its full beauty and menace…Ferruccio Furlanetto's King Philip, a commanding presence conveying as much by his stillness as by his gloriously resonant voice…This full five-act version is a long evening, but time flies thanks to transcendent performances by Poplavskaya and Villazón, and to the beauty emanating from the pit”. The Independent Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian “as fine an example of singing by a tenor in Verdi as we have heard in many a year: elegant in detail, movingly expressive and endowed with that special beauty of tone which was Villazon's distinctive gift...he sustained the demanding role without any sign of tiring, forcing or losing quality towards the end” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010 “the love-torn relationship of the titular prince and the fiancée stolen from him by his father the king is sensitively staged and played: Rolando Villazon (in less uncertain voice than reportedly on opening night) and Marina Poplavskaya, a regal beauty much-loved by the camera, make it all movingly fresh...Pappano's urgently impassioned conducting...lends everyone unfailing support.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 *** “Villazon's Carlo remains fully committed dramatically...Poplavskaya skilfully develops Elisabetta from coltish girl to anguished queen...[Keenlyside] blazes with conviction...[Furlanetto] shapes his Philip in tone consistently rounded, colourful and expertly controlled...This orchestra knows the piece intimately, and it shows. Pappano is a master of dramatic atmosphere throughout.” International Record Review, December 2010 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Grimes), Felicity Lott (Ellen Orford), Thomas Allen (Balstrode), Patricia Payne (Auntie), Sarah Walker (Mrs Sedley), Simon Keenlyside (Ned Keene), Stafford Dean (Swallow), David Wilson-Johnson (Hobson), Maria Bovino (First Niece), Gillian Webster (Second Niece) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Bernard Haitink The mid-price collection presents some of the most important and admired recordings of the EMI Classics and Virgin Classics catalogue which make EMI 'The Home of Opera'. This performance of Peter Grimes was recorded in 1992 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. “A wonderfully sung Peter Grimes, with superb orchestral support” BBC Music Magazine, June 2010 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Simon Keenlyside & Malcolm Martineau
Fauré: | Aubade, Op. 6 No. 1 En sourdine, Op. 58 No. 2 (Verlaine) Green, Op. 58 No. 3 (Verlaine) Notre amour Op. 23 No. 2 Fleur jetée, Op. 39 No. 2 Spleen, Op. 51 No. 3 (Verlaine) Madrigal Op. 35 Le papillon et la fleur, Op. 1 No. 1 | Poulenc: | Hotel Encore | Ravel: | Histoires naturelles (5) | Schubert: | An Sylvia, D891 Die Einsiedlei D393 (Salis-Seewis) Verklarung D59 (Herder, after Pope) Die Sterne, D939 (Leitner) Himmelsfunken, D651 Ständchen 'Leise flehen meine Lieder', D957 No. 4 | Wolf, H: | Der Knabe und das Immlein (No. 2 from Mörike-Lieder) Gesang Weylas (No. 46 from Mörike-Lieder) An die Geliebte (No. 32 from Mörike-Lieder) Auf eine Christblume II (No. 21 from Mörike-Lieder) Lied eines Verliebten (No. 43 from Mörike-Lieder) Lied vom Winde |
He was already noted as a recitalist, and “a talent to cherish” as far back as 1989. Since appearing in La Scala in 1998 he has performed recitals all over the world, his repertoire including: Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, Brahms, Fauré, Wolf and Mahler. He has also recorded many English songs. Gramophone describe him as the finest baritone singer of Lieder this country has ever produced. In Simon's own words “I've probably got around 15 years, and think I can see the end of the tunnel. I've done most of the roles that suit me and some, like Papageno, I'll never want to drop…” “In Wagner I shan't go beyond Wolfram in Tannhauser. I know there's Beckmesser, but I'm afraid it's not a role that excites or fascinates me. I'll never get tired of the stand-and-sing roles like Germont in Traviata and Posa in Don Carlos - parts where you really have to act with your voice and pin the audience to their seats with inflexion, nuance and colour. I probably shan't sing Billy Budd again… and am moving down from Pelleas to Golaud. The two new roles I'm most excited about are Wozzeck and Rigoletto, which are both great theatre and call on a huge palette of colours. Wozzeck in particular, is a mountain any baritone wants to climb…” “The opening Schubert group demonstrates the baritone's natural and unaffected delivery - an ability to hold words and notes together in one single gesture - and his finely tuned vocalism, founded on a lightly rounded but always expressive tone. He sounds equally at ease in the French half of the programme. ...'En sourdine' flows beautifully...and the light humour of 'Le Papillon et la Fleur', Fauré's Op. 1 No. 1, is flawlessly conveyed in Martineau's enchantingly lithe pianism.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2009 “Hugo Wolf is at his most welcoming in "Der Knabe und das Immelein" and Keenlyside is at his most responsive in "An die Geliebte". Keenlyside is at his best in "Notre amour" - and very French. In… Malcolm Martineau: he has a collaborator in whom the life of texts as well as the music is experienced and communicated unfailingly.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2009 “you’re being invited to step into a more gently nuanced and delicately observed world, where the expressive weight of each phrase is being judged to perfection, with not a gram of emotional excess...this is such a successful document of the occasion that you might honestly end up feeling that you were [there]… and can be again, and again.” Andrew McGregor, bbc.co.uk, 22nd December 2009 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Simon Keenlyside (Prospero), Kate Royal (Miranda), Toby Spence (Ferdinand), Ian Bostridge (Caliban), Cyndia Sieden (Ariel), Philip Langridge (Alonso), Donald Kaasch (Antonio), Jonathan Summers (Sebastian), David Condier (Trinculo), Stephen Richardson (Stefano), Graeme Danby (Gonzalo) The Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Thomas Adès 2CD Multipack with libretto and slipcase When Thomas Adès conducted his opera The Tempest at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 2007, EMI Classics microphones were on hand to record this “masterpiece of airy beauty and eerie power.” (Alex Ross, The New Yorker). The cast included Simon Keenlyside, Cynthia Sieden, Ian Bostridge, Toby Spence, Kate Royal, Philip Langridge, and Stephen Richardson, many of whom took part in the critically acclaimed world premiere three years earlier. “there are moments in all three acts which are by any standards sheerly, heartstoppingly beautiful; passages in which the music seems to be mined from an unfathomable depth of feeling …” Andrew Clements, The Guardian “It’s probably the first new opera I’ve experienced in 20 years that left me feeling not just intellectually aroused but deeply moved … A coming-of-age piece. And, yes, momentous.” Michael White, The Independent “Adès does not shirk the traditional big operatic moments. There is a thrilling and moving quintet of reconciliation and he gives each of his main characters an imposing and impressive aria…these are expressed in music of extraordinary imaginative power.” Michael Kennedy, The Sunday Telegraph "The evening deservedly belongs to Adès, who himself conducts a score as orchestrally lush and evocative as vocally varied and articulate. The cumulative effect is by turns ethereal, witty, incandescent, often ravishing". The Guardian 2004 “(Adès’s The Tempest) has the potential to be one of the most enduring new operas of the decade. (…) If you need proof that the hype surrounding Adès is more than just hope and expectation, you will find it here” The Guardian on the Royal Opera House revival in March 07. “Adès has provided Covent Garden and British opera in general with one of its great moments. The cheering from every corner of the theatre on Tuesday - orchestra pit included - felt like what it was: British opera’s equivalent of the England World Cup rugby win.” The Guardian “Out-Brittening Britten’s Grimes storm music in the prelude, and the eerily beguiling tintinnabulations of the Magic Banquet music that make the recording so rewarding” Sunday Times, 21st June 2009 “Performances are almost all first rate. It's a measure of the strength of the mostly British casting that singers of the quality of Stephen Richardson and Jonathan Summers take some of the smallest roles. Simon Keenlyside's no-nonsense Prospero, a force to be reckoned with from the very start of the opera, is outstanding, and it's hard to think of another singer who could manage the stratospheric writing for Ariel more effortlessly than Cyndia Sieden. Ian Bostridge's Caliban, Philip Langridge's King of Naples, Kate Royal's Miranda and Toby Spence's Ferdinand are excellent, too. It's a fine production, which does full justice to Adès's sometimes remarkable work.” The Guardian, 19th June 2009 **** “Simon Keenlyside makes an authoritative Prospero, Ian Bostridge’s Caliban tugs at the heartstrings in his radiant Act 2 aria and Cyndia Sieden is phenomenal as a stratospherically high coloratura soprano Ariel.” The Telegraph, 10th June 2009 **** “From the tornado-like prelude to Ariel's stratospheric yet ethereal "Five fathoms deep" the music illuminates rather than merely illustrates the drama. …Kate Royal as Miranda, is fully inside her part and sings alluringly… For many, the most memorable writing in The Tempest comes attached to Ariel's vocal high-wire act. Few coloratura sopranos are able to dispatch it like Cyndia Sieden, whose sound lends special colour to the performance... Simon Keenlyside, on the young side as Prospero, mixes brain and baritonal brawn in his characteristically charismatic way. Ian Bostridge sings unstintingly as a wonderfully weird Caliban... The playing of the Covent Garden orchestra is another luxury - no, a necessity, given the brilliantly conceived and demanding orchestral aspect of this piece.” Gramophone Magazine, August 2009 “…everyone reaches out to the purple passages when Adès touches something rich and strange. Those include the evolution of the young lovers' music from homages to midsummer Britten and Tippett to the heights of Act II, Ariel's banquet and masque in Act III, and the ensemble-passacaglia which takes the ultimate centre of gravity from Prospero's perfunctorily written farewells.” BBC Music Magazine, August 2009 **** “It may not be a flawless masterpiece ... but it is one of the most viable and stageworthy of modern British operas...The playing of the Covent Garden orchestra is another luxury no, a necessity, given the brilliantly conceived and demanding orchestral aspect of this piece.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “well constructed and dramatically effective in its clever timing and contrasted textures...The late Philip Langridge in one of his last performances at Covent Garden...makes a memorable King of Naples, while Ades's evocative orchestration with its percussion effects vividly conjures up the atmosphere of the magic island of Prospero...A strong and memorable opera” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on 8th & 12th September 2008.
Don Giovanni is one of the timeless classics of all opera. Mozart's music, and the words of his great collaborator Da Ponte, are brought to life in Francesca Zambello's engrossing production from 2002 with its rich and colourful designs by Maria Bjornson. The music is memorable, dramatic and enjoyable: from the seductive solo voices of the famous 'La ci darem la mano' to the fabulous ensemble as Don Giovanni's infatuated conquests, vengeful victims and their outraged relatives join forces for justice. And retribution does finally come to Don Giovanni, a serial womanizer and a murderer, with the searing flames of Hell ready to engulf him. Simon Keenlyside heads the outstanding cast, conducted by renowned Mozart expert Charles Mackerras. Bonus material: Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery. Into the Royal Opera House. Backstage Tour. PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: TBC
SOUND: 5.1 DTS SURROUND / PCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT
“…as flames rage over the opening cast credits, Sir Charles Mackerras conducts an incandescent Overture which kindles the brilliance, clarity and indefatigable energy of his music direction throughout. This film powerfully captures the fiery essence of Francesco Zambello's production for the Royal Opera. ...consistently strongly cast, it's as good for the ear as for the eye. Zambello makes Simon Keenlyside's harsh and diabolical Don Giovanni and Kyle Ketelsen's embittered Leporello a double-act of deadly dependency.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2009 ***** “This is eminently listenable and surprisingly viewable – 'surprisingly' because complaints were commonly heard concerning the production.
It's not particularly edifying to see so much of Simon Keenlyside's torso or to have Giovanni taking his last supper in shorts, but by modern standards it's almost tasteful. And the singing is almost uniformly fine. If one of the cast is to be named above the rest, that should be Joyce DiDonato, an outstandingly accomplished Elvira, brilliantly projected, interestingly conceived, her singing concentrated in tone. Marina Poplavskaya's Anna is both dignified and sympathetic, and she too has remarkable command of the necessary technique. Yet the voice itself doesn't serve quite as well as one might have hoped, wanting more heft in 'Or sai chi l'onore' and more ease of passage in 'Non mi dir'. Miah Persson is an adorable Zerlina, and one liked what she and others were encouraged to do by way of vocal ornamentation.
Of the men, Giovanni is the least tested vocally though it's all to the good if he can turn a serenade as ingratiatingly as Keenlyside does. Ramón Vargas hardly looks a suitable lover for this Donna Anna but he sings both arias like the admirably reliable and gifted artist he is and has been for a good many years now. The Masetto looks rather too like the Leporello but that hardly matters and both deserve their applause. The Commendatore's uneven voice production does matter in spite of his sonorous bass notes and imposing stage presence. Mackerras at the helm is such a reassuringly familiar and well loved figure that we may be tempted to take him for granted. Happily the Covent Garden audience shows every sign of appreciation and the final curtain-call is deservedly his.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 “If one of the cast it to be named above the rest, that should be Joyce DiDonato, an outstandingly accomplished Elvira, brilliantly projected, interestingly conceived, her singing concentrated in tone. Miah Persson is an adorable Zerlina, and I liked what she and others were encouraged to do by way of vocal ornamentation. Of the men, Giovanni is the least tested vocally though it's all to the good if he can turn a serenade as ingratiatingly as Keenlyside does. Mackerras at the helm is such a reassuringly familiar and well loved figure that we may be tempted to take him for granted.” Gramophone Magazine, July 2009 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | The Blu-ray Experience - Opera & Ballet Highlights
"The Blu-ray Experience" includes opera and ballet highlights from the Opus Arte catalogue, and gives everyone the opportunity to experience the stunning quality of High Definition picture and sound, at an extremely competitive price. Including world-class artists such as Bryn Terfel, Cecilia Bartoli, Anne Sofie von Otter, Jose Cura, Simon Keenlyside and Agnes Letestu, this 60-minute introduction to the world of Blu-ray is a must-have purchase this autumn. Blu-ray offers an outstanding audio and visual experience, with up to six times the resolution of standard definition DVD, and up to 7.1 channels of High Definition surround sound. Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 50 Mins
SOUND: PCM STEREO / PCM SURROUND / DTS-HD MASTER AUDIO SURROUND / DOLBY TRUEHD SURROUND
SUBTITLES: N/A
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| |  | Stage Director: David McVicar
Will Hartmann (Tamino), Dorothea Röschmann (Pamina), Diana Damrau (Königin der Nacht), Franz-Josef Selig (Sarastro), Simon Keenlyside (Papageno), Ailish Tynan (Papagena), Adrian Thompson (Monostatos), Thomas Allen (Sprecher), Gillian Webster, Christine Rice, Yvonne Howard (Drei Damen), Alan Oke, Graeme Broadbent (Zwei Geharnischten), Matthew Beale, Richard Van Allan (Zwei Preisten), Zico Shaker, Tom Chapman, John Holland-Avery (Drei Knaben) The Royal Opera Chorus & The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Sir Colin Davis This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players.
PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 182 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.1 PCM AUDIO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES
“‘Diana Damrau’s supremely sung Queen of the Night oozes class, while Simon Keenlyside’s profoundly human, touchingly sympathetic view of Papageno deserves an Olivier Award.” Classic FM Magazine | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Grimes), Felicity Lott (Ellen Orford), Thomas Allen (Balstrode), Patricia Payne (Auntie), Sarah Walker (Mrs Sedley), Simon Keenlyside (Ned Keene), Stafford Dean (Swallow), David Wilson-Johnson (Hobson), Maria Bovino (First Niece), Gillian Webster (Second Niece) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Bernard Haitink “surely the most beautifully sung and played Grimes on disc, though the excellent ensemble, thoughtfully led by Rolfe Johnson, doesn't always evoke souls in torment. Words come across very clearly in the superb recording.” BBC Music Magazine, Proms 2008 **** “Rolfe Johnson brings out the inward intensity of Grimes, singing most beautifully, hardly troubled by the high tessitura. Felicity Lott makes a tenderly sympathetic Ellen Orford, and Sarah Walker is unforgettable as Mrs Sedley...Thomas Allen is a wise and powerful Balstrode” Penguin Guide, 2010 edition *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Gramophone Awards 2011
Gramophone Magazine
