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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Don Giovanni (Juan): A Film by Kaspar Holten
A truly unique filmed version of Mozart’s famous opera - an intense, vibrant and energetic take on a timeless drama, shot on location in Budapest, Hungary. Every scene and every single detail has been adapted so that it fully exploits the film media’s great power to create emotional presence, making use of the full visual vocabulary of modern cinema, following such unorthodox inspirational sources as The Bourne Trilogy and Traffic, while at the same time maintaining the exceptional live experience of opera, since the actors really sing on set. Juan is a famous artist and notorious playboy, thanks to his ability to become just what any woman dreams of. He turns his own life into a megalomanic work of art, playing the game of seduction like no other, driven by a manic restlessness that pushes him forward through an endless stream of conquests, betrayals, sex and eventually murder, with death lurking as the only possible outcome. A portrayal of male sexuality in the 21st century, taken to the extreme, DON GIOVANNI reveals how the blessing of an endless appetite for life and a will to conquer the world, might in reality turn out to be the path to ruthless destruction and eventually self-destruction. Audio: Dolby Stereo & Optional 5.1 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Feature Running Time: 102 mins Region: 2, PAL Contains sex and nudity “here are sex and violence, speeding cars, and plenty of rough language. Maltman himself supplied the translation, which fits the updated setting supremely well but won’t appeal to maiden aunts...Holten has created a film that treats the opera with the respectful kind of disrespect that leaves the work’s core intact. And the performances are mostly riveting...Go on, be brave, give this adventurous Giovanni a whirl.” The Times, 29th September 2012 **** “a pacey (if slightly cheesy) drama complete with sexy escapades, a car chase, and hospital scenes...Funnily enough, it all sort of works. This is partly because the singers are not only musically good, they can also carry the close scrutiny of the camera lens...Holten gives a lucid account of his motivations for the film in the 'Extras' section.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2012 **** “Holten trades too knowingly, at times, on the narrative disparities between the opera and his film. But this is much more erotic than many stagings of the piece, and by the end we really do understand the nature of Juan's unsettling sexual hold...That's ultimately due to Maltman's charismatic artistry and Holten's filming of it, both of which are sensational.” The Guardian, 13th December 2012 **** “The well-chosen cast, led by Maltman's assured, sexy Juan, truly look and sound great...But perhaps the ultimate achievement of the Roal Opera House's Kasper Holten in his first feature film...is to make an 'opera film' that really doesn't look like singers standing around a street in costumer wondering why they're not in a theatre. Even if you're phobic about 'modern' productions, give this a go.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013 “It’s all rather ingenious, and will no doubt launch a thousand undergraduate musicology essays...There’s a lot to admire in the technical achievement the film represents, and, as an exploration of the possibilities of opera as film, it’s undoubtedly fascinating; but it is so, one feels, precisely because it demonstrates the limits of that hybrid genre.” Opera, December 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | From the Felsenreitschule, Salzburg Festival 2008
Staged by Bartlett Sher Video Director: Brian Large Rolando Villazón’s Roméo wins Juliette’s heart, with impassioned, refined singing of an emotionally and vocally demanding role. Directed by Bartlett Sher, who telegenically captures the fantastic natural scenery of the famous Felsenreitschule, this first ever production of Gounod ‘s Roméo at the Salzburg Festival benefits from Québecois conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s innate understanding. Only 25 and film star beautiful, soprano Nino Machaidze embodies Juliette with unforced girlish charm, gorgeous tone and emotional heat Bonus features: Villazón relates the Roméo story in his own words; a behind the scenes documentary; and a documentary on the traces of Romeo and Juliet in Italy | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded live at De Nederlandse Opera, June & July, 2011
Olga Savova (Madame Larina), Krassimira Stoyanova (Tatjana), Elena Maximova (Olga), Nina Romanova (Filipjevna), Bo Skovhus (Jevgeni Onjegin), Andrej Dunaev (Vladimir Ljenski), Mikhail Petrenko (Vorst Gremin), Peter Arink (Petrovitsj), Roger Smeets (Zaretski), Guy de Mey (Monsieur Triquet) & Richard Prada (Zapevalo) The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons (conductor) & Stefan Herheim (stage director) Described by Tchaikovsky as ‘lyric scenes’, Eugene Onegin receives a spectacular reinterpretation from the Norwegian director Stefan Herheim. His productions create controversy and excitement around Europe, and here he takes Pushkin’s story of illusion, disaffection and frustrated love, and places the protagonists – world-weary Onegin and naïve, passionate Tatyana – in a triple temporal perspective, referencing the theatrical present, the period of the work’s composition, and the pageant of Russia’s history. Mariss Jansons, renowned for his mastery of Tchaikovsky’s symphonies, conducts this performance from Amsterdam’s Muziektheater. ‘Put too much steam into Tchaikovsky’s score and it wilts. Be too shy and retiring, on the other hand, and the tragic momentum evaporates. Jansons sets us on a simmer and gradually turns the heat to boiling. It is magisterially paced, stunningly played and, seemingly effortlessly, Jansons captures every aching nuance. […] Herheim’s innovations are often throbbingly acute (and sometimes wickedly funny).’ The Times Extra features: Cast gallery 30-Minute Documentary Film Running time 151mins Region Code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS Menu languages EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/IT/ES “Forget any sense of intimacy in Tchaikovsky's lyrical scenes in this Eugene Onegin; director Stefan Herheim's approach is one of kaleidoscopic excess...No doubt about it, though, this is musically world-class. Mariss Janson's conducting, very imposing in the big moments...accords with the broad brushstrokes of Herheim's production. But the singers are vocally near ideal. Krassimira Stoyanova's Tatyana is thrillingly secure as well as vulnerable” BBC Music Magazine, May 2012 *** “Characters not only invade each other's memories but appear in fantasy form...Still, this isn't a Regie-Theater free for all...Herheim directs so many keen moments of character interactions that there's no danger of the opera lapsing into simplistic cliches...what a treat to hear an appealing, soft-grained version of [Skovhus's] voice in the title-role...what linguistic authority and depth of soul [Stoyanova] brings to the character!” Gramophone Magazine, July 2012 “Herheim sees the opera as a representation of memories...I suspect that this would be impossible to follow if you didn't know the opera beforehand...it's hard not to get caught up in the sheer chutzpah of the production...[Stoyanova] sails through the Letter Scene with plenty of fire...Star of the evening is the conductor Mariss Jansons. It's clear from the documentary that he loves the work..and he plays it with a rhythmic vitality” International Record Review, May 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Filmed at the Grosses Festspielhaus, Salzburg August 2007
Director and Stage Designer: Philipp Stöltz ‘A mixture of futurism à la Metropolis, fantasy à la Batman and quotes from Piranesi’s Carceri, juxtaposed in the form of photo montages, enhanced with . . . robots, a helicopter, a shark and the winged vehicle of a pop star Pope’ Neue Zürcher Zeitung A high-calibre cast, headed by Burkhard Fritz as the temperamental Renaissance artist and the 26-year-old Latvian soprano Maija Kovalevska as Teresa, the woman with whom he tries to elope. “[Conductor Valery Gergiev] pulled out all the stops. He whips the Vienna Philharmonic into a delirium similar to that which possibly took hold of the composer.” Der Standard Total Running Time: 163:35 NTSC: No Region Coding Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Dual Layer Disc • Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo • Dolby Surround 5.0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Wagner - Die Walküre (DVD)
Robert Gambill (Siegmund), Mikhail Petrenko (Hunding), Willard White (Wotan), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Sieglinde), Eva Johansson (Brünnhilde), Lilli Paasikivi (Fricka), Joanna Porackova (Gerhilde), Elaine McKrill (Ortlinde), Julianne Young (Waltraute), Andrea Baker (Schwertleite), Erika Sunnegårdh (Helmwige), Heike Grötzinger (Siegrune), Eva Vogel (Grimgerde) & Annette Bod (Rossweisse) Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle (conductor) & Stéphane Braunschweig (director) In a career spanning more than 30 years, Sir Simon Rattle has distinguished himself through his long-term relationships with a number of orchestras, wide-ranging repertoire and innovative educational and audiencebuilding activities. He is currently Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Berliner Philharmoniker and Principal Artist with the OAE. Sir Simon first conducted the Berlin Philharmonic in 1987 and appeared regularly with the orchestra in subsequent years.The summer of 2006 saw the first instalment of their Wagner Ring Cycle at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Sir Simon's most recent appearance at the Proms in Wagner brought forth ecstatic reviews, which bodes well for possible future installments of the Aix /Salzburg Ring on Bel Air Classiques. "In what is both Mr. Rattle's and Aix's first Ring Cycle, "Die Walküre," the Ring's second chapter, was magically transformed by the enclosed space and lively acoustics of the Grand Théâtre de Provence. But where the new theater makes another significant difference is in Mr. Braunschweig's staging of the opera. Far more than in last year's "Rheingold," even the gods, notably Wotan and his twin children, Siegmund and Sieglinde, can now be felt to experience deeply human emotions. The final curtain brought a standing ovation for both orchestra and singers, with Ms.Westbroek singled out for her "extraordinary power and lyricism," as Jean-Louis Validire, Le Figaro's music critic, put it… The Ring Cycle continues here with "Siegfried" in 2008 and "Götterdammerüng" in 2009 and, as with "Das Rheingold" and "Die Walküre," they will be presented afresh at the Salzburg Easter Festival the following year." The New York Times, July 5, 2007 “Sir Willard White's patriarchal Wotan seems subtler on screen, more smouldering than stiff, and sings richly… Eva Johansson's… makes a fiery, youthful Brünnhilde, more at one with her fellow Valkyries - a fine bunch - than usual. Rattle's conducting… is easy enough to enjoy - fluent, often sweeping - and, of course, beautifully played by the Berliners...” BBC Music Magazine, December 2008 **** “Wind and brass detail, the accuracy and blending of the chording and that rhythmic precision which is a Rattle speciality lift the final colloquy between Wotan and Brünnhilde to Olympian heights.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009 | | | Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days. |
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| |  | Tutto VerdiThe Complete Operas, Requiem and Documentary
Verdi: | Requiem Dimitra Theodossiou (soprano), Sonia Ganassi (mezzo), Francesco Meli (tenor), Riccardo Zanellato (bass) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Yuri Temirkanov Oberto Mariana Pentcheva (Cuniza), Fabio Sartori (Riccardo), Giovanni Battista Parodi (Oberto), Francesca Sassu (Leonora), Giorgia Bertagni (Imelda) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Antonello Allemandi Un giorno di regno Guido Loconsolo (Il Cavaliere di Belfiore), Andrea Porta (Il Barone di Kelbar), Anna Caterina Antonacci (La Marchesa del Poggio), Alessandra Marianelli (Giulietta di Kelbar), Ivan Magri (Edoardo di Sanval), Paolo Bordogna (Il Signore la Rocca), Ricardo Mirabelli (Il Conte Ivrea), Seung Hwa Paek (Delmonte/Un servo) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Donato Renzetti Nabucco Leo Nucci (Nabucco), Bruno Ribiero (Ismale), Riccardo Zanellato (Zaccaria), Dimitra Theodossiou (Abigaille), Anna Maria Chiuri (Fenena), Alessandro Spina (Il Gran Sacerdote di Belo), Mauro Buffoli (Abdallo), Cristina Giannelli (Anna) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Michele Marioti I Lombardi alla prima crociata Roberto de Biasio (Arvino), Michele Pertusi (Pagano), Cristina Giannelli (Viclinda), Dimitra Theodossiou (Giselda), Roberto Tagliavini (Pirro), Gregory Bondatti (Un priore), Jansons Valdis (Acciano), Francesco Meli (Oronte), Daniela Pini (Sofia) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Daniele Callegari Ernani Marco Berti (Ernani), Carlo Guelfi (Don Carlo), Giacomo Prestia (Don Ruy Gomez de Silva), Susan Neves (Elvira), Nicoletta Zanini (Giovanna), Samuele Simoncini (Don Riccardo), Alessandro Svab (Jago) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Antonello Allemandi I Due Foscari Leo Nucci (Francesco Foscari), Roberto de Biasio (Jacopo Foscari), Tatiana Serjan (Lucrezia Contarini), Gregory Bonfatti (Barbarigo), Marcella Buffoli (Fante), Alessandro Bianchini (Servo del Doge) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Donato Renzetti Giovanna d'Arco Evan Bowers (Carlo VII), Renato Bruson (Giacomo), Svetla Vassileva (Giovanna), Luigi Petroni (Delil), Maurizio lo Piccolo (Talbot) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Bruno Bartoletti Alzira Junko Saito (Alzira), Francesco Facini (Alvaro), Thomas Gazheli (Gusmano), Joshua Lindsay (Ovando), Ferdinand von Bothmer (Zamoro), Yasushi Hirano (Ataliba), Anna Lucia Nardi (Zuma), Joe Tsuchizaki (Otumbo) Orchestra di Bolzano e Trento, Istituto Corale ed Orchestrale di Dobbiaco, Gustav Kuhn Attila Giovanni Battista Parodi (Attila), Sebastian Catana (Ezio), Susanna Branchini (Odabella), Roberto de Biasio (Foresto), Cristiano Cremonini (Aldino), Zyian Atfeh (Leone) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Pierfrancesco Maestrini Macbeth Leo Nucci (Macbeth), Sylvie Valayre (Lady Macbeth), Enrico Iori (Banco), Roberto Iuliano (Macduff), Tiziana Tramonti (Dama), Nicola Pascoli (Malcolm), Enrico Turco (Il Medico), Davide Ronzoni (L'araldo), Riccardo di Stefani (Un Domestico), Noris Borgogelli (Il Sicario) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Bruno Bartoletti I Masnadieri Giacomo Prestia (Massimiliano), Aquiles Machado (Carlo), Artur Rucinski (Francesco), Lucrecia Garcia (Amalia), Walter Omaggio (Arminio), Dario Russo (Moser), Massimiliano Chiarolla (Rolla) Teatro de San Carlo, Nicola Luisotti Il Corsaro Bruno Ribeiro (Corrado), Andrea Papi (Giovanni), Irina Lungo (Medora), Luca Salsi (Seid), Silvia dalla Benetta (Gulnara), Gregory Bonfatti (Selimo), Angelo Villari (Un eunoco/Uno schiavo) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Carlo Montanaro La Battaglia di Legnano Enrico Giuseppe Iori (Federico Barbarossa), Francesco Musini (Primo Console di Milano), Federico Benetti (Secondo Consolo di Milano), Gabriele Sagona (Il Podesta di Como), Leonardo Lopez Linares (Rolando), Dimitra Theodossiou (Lida), Andrew Richards (Arrigo), Giovanni Guagliardo (Marcovaldo), Sharon Pierfederici (Imelda), Alessandro de Angelis (Un Araldo), Nicola Pascoli (Uno Scudiero di Arrigo) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Lirico 'Giuseppe Verdi' di Trieste, Boris Brott Luisa Miller Giorgio Surjan (Il Conte di Walter), Marcelo Alvarez (Rodolfo), Francesca Franci (Federica), Rafal Siwek (Wurm), Leo Nucci (Miller), Fiorenza Cedolins (Luisa), Katarina Nikolic (Laura), Angelo Villari (Un Contadino) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Donato Renzetti Stiffelio Roberto Aronica (Stiffelio), Yu Guanqun (Lina), Roberto Frontali (Stankar), Gabriele Magnione (Raffaele), George Andguladze (Jorg), Cosimo Vassallo (Federico), Lorelay Solis (Dorotea) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Andrea Battistoni Rigoletto Francesco Demuro (Il Duca), Leo Nucci (Rigoletto), Nino Machaidze (Gilda), Marco Potti (Sparafucile), Stefanie Iranyi (Maddalena), Katarina Nikolic (Giovanna), Roberto Tagliavini (Monterone), Orazio Mori (Marullo), Mauro Buffoli (Borsa), Ezio Maria Tisi (Il Conte di Ceprano), Scilla Cristiano (La Contessa di Ceprano) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Massimo Zanetti Il Trovatore Claudio Sgura (Il Conte di Luna), Teresa Romano (Leonora), Mzia Nioradze (Azucena), Marcelo Alvarez (Manrico), Deyan Vatchkov (Ferrando), Cristina Giannelli (Ines), Roberto Jachini Virgili (Ruiz), Enrico Rinaldo (Un vecchio zingaro), Seung Hwa Peak (Un messo) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Yuri Temirkanov La Traviata Svetla Vassileva (Violetta), Massimo Giordano (Alfredo), Vladimir Stoyano (Germont), Daniela Pini (Flora), Gianlua Floris (Gastone), Roberto Tagliavini (Dottore Grenvil), Armando Gabba (Barone Douphol), Filippo Polinelli (Marchese d'Obigny) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Yuri Temirkanov I Vespri Siciliani Leo Nucci (Guide di Monforte), Dario Russo (Il Sire di Bethune), Andrea Mastroni (Il Conte Vaudemont), Fabio Armiliato (Arrigo), Giacomo Prestia (Giovanni da Procida), Daniela Dessi (Elena), Adriana di Paola (Ninetta), Raoul d'Eramo (Danieli), Roberto Jachini Virgili (Tebaldo), Alessandro Battiato (Roberto), Camillo Facchino (Manfredo) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Massimo Zanetti Simon Boccanegra Leo Nucci (Simon Boccanegra), Robert Scandiuzzi (Jacopo Fiesco), Simone Piazzola (Paolo Albiani), Paolo Pecchioli (Pietro), Tamar Iveri (Amelia/Maria), Francesco Meli (Gabriele Adorno) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Daniele Callegari Un ballo in maschera Francesco Meli (Riccardo), Vladimir Stoyanov (Renato), Kristin Lewis (Amelia), Elisabetta Fiorillo (Ulrica), Serena Gamberoni (Oscar), Filippo Polinelli (Silvano), Antonio Barbargallo (Samuel), Enrico Rinaldo (Tom), Cosimo Vassallo (Un giudice), Enrico Paolillo (Un servo) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Gianluigi Gelmetti La forza del destino Dimitra Theodossiou (Leonora), Vladimir Stoyanov (Don Carlo), Aquiles Machado (Don Alvaro), Mariana Pentcheva (Preziosilla), Roberto Scanduzzi (Padre Guardiano), Carlo Lepore (Fra Melitone), Ziyan Afteh (Il Marchese di Calatrava), Adriana di Paola (Curra), Hyung Ho Kim (Mastro Trabucco) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Gianluigi Gelmetti Don Carlo Giacomo Prestia (Filippo II), Mario Malagnini (Don Carlo), Simone Piazzola (Rodrigo), Luciano Montanaro (Il Grande Inquisitore), Cellia Costea (Elisabetta di Valois), Alla Pozniak (Eboli), Irene Candelier (Tebaldo/Una Voce dal Cielo), Antonio Feltracco (Il Conte di Lerma/Un Araldo Reale) Orchestral Regionale dell'Emilia-Romagna, Coro Lirico Amadeus, Fabrizio Ventura Aida Susanna Brachini (Aida), Mariana Pentcheva (Amneris), Walter Fraccaro (Radames), Alberto Gazale (Amonasro), Carlo Malinverno (Il Re di Egitto), George Andguladze (Ramfis), Cosimo Vassallo (Un messaggiero), Yu Guanqun (Una sacerdotessa) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Antonino Fogliani Otello Aleksandrs Antonenko (Otello), Marina Poplavskaya (Desdemona), Carlos Àlvarez (Iago), Barbara Di Castri (Emilia), Stephen Costello (Cassio), Antonello Ceron (Roderigo), Mikhail Petrenko (Lodovico), Simone del Savio (Montano), Andrea Porta (Un araldo) Wiener Philharmoniker, Wiener Staatsopernchor, Riccardo Muti Falstaff Ambrogio Maestri (Falstaff), Luca Salsi (Ford), Antonio Gandia (Fenton), Svetla Vassileva (Alice Ford), Romina Tomasoni (Mistress Quickly), Daniela Pini (Meg Page), Barbara Bargnesi (Nannetta), Luca Casalin (Dr. Cajus), Patrizio Saudelli (Bardolfo), Mattia Denti (Pistole) Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma, Andrea Battistoni |
30 DVDs or 27 Blu-rays in case bound book, (black linen with gold lettering) LP format. All 26 operas [NB this set does not include Aroldo or Jérusalem - Presto] in HD and Surround Sound. Box also includes the Verdi Requiem and Tutto Verdi documentary “Verdi’s Backyard” (52 mins). Includes 124 page booklet. Contains c.40 colour photos. Texts by Philip Gossett (Grove) and Roger Parker. Each opera includes a 10 minute introduction. The case bound book will be in a hard cover slipcase. NTSC Region Code 0 Picture Format: 16:9, HD Sound Format DVD: DTS 5.1, PCM 2.0 Running Time: TBC Booklet: English, German, French Subtitles: Italian (original language), English, German, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Japanese AVAILABLE WORLDWIDE
Extra postage costs:
As this set is very heavy (3.5kg) we unfortunately need to charge some extra postage costs to certain countries.
UK and most of Western Europe: No extra charges - Normal rates apply.
Rest of World: Varies by country. Please contact us for further details. | 
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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