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“it is obvious that [Barenboim] is fully immersed in this music. The (all-male) Berlin Philharmonic goes all out, providing some thrilling moments when the entire orchestra is playing. It also has the subtlety to make the more intimate parts of these works sound like chamber symphonies...With more than four hours of music, and with some wonderful performances of Mozart's last 8 piano concertos, this is a real bargain.” MusicWeb International, July 2012

“Sparkling harmony …the combined talents of Bryn Terfel and Cecilia Bartoli… raise the temperature… Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro… is charged with intrigue and sexual tension and they captured the mood with pinpoint vocal interplay and assured comic acting…a formidable display of coloratura technique and lasersharp intonation.” The Guardian *****

“captures the sense of music-making on the wing...rarely has the final coda erupted with such overwhelming joy. The same electrifying concentration informs performances of Schoenberg's Variations and Tchaikovsky's Pathetique Symphony, which find Barenboim so emotionally involved that at times he gently coaxes the sounds from the orchestra rather than directing them imperiously.” International Record Review, January 2012

“At Glyndebourne, both Despina and Alfonso are played traditionally and with notable brio by Garmendia and Rivenq… the delightful Persson and Vondung make a wholly believable and vocally attractive Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and deliver their music in ideal Mozartian tone and style. ...Fischer conducts with an unassumingly correct sense of timing: brio nicely matched to loving attention to detail.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2007

“When I saw this production at Glyndebourne last May, I thought that it was one of the three perfect operatic performances that I have ever been to. That view is only strengthened by seeing this marvellous DVD, which does the fullest justice to the brilliance of Nicholas Hytner's production, and the glorious orchestral playing and the magnificent singing under Iván Fischer. ..the whole opera is both more funny and more painful, much more painful, than it usually is. We are left at the end bewildered by the treachery of the human heart and delighted by the beauty in the music with which Mozart brings this home to us.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2007 *****

“Dressed in shades of sand and stone by Vicki Mortimer, and bathed in summer light by Paule Constable, Hytner’s period production marries elegance, farce and psychological acuity.” The Independent

“Hytner on Opus Arte succeeded on every front, bringing out the fine qualities of the whole cast, both vocally and dramatically, brilliantly supported by Ivan Fischer...Starriest of all is Miah Persson as Fiordiligi, singing gloriously with pure, even tone...The teamwork as ever at Glyndebourne is superb” Penguin Guide, 2010 ****

“Since 1934 when Glyndebourne revived this then-neglected work and began its run of success it has presented a succession of exemplary stagings all within the parameters of da Ponte's libretto. When this, the latest, was produced it was universally hailed: as faithful a representation of the equivocal comedy as one could wish. That's confirmed by this DVD. Both Despina and Alfonso are played traditionally and with notable brio by Garmendia and Rivenq. The delightful Persson and Vondung make a wholly believable and vocally attractive Fiordiligi and Dorabella, and deliver their music in ideal Mozartian tone and style. Similarly Lehtipuu is a charming and wide-eyed Ferrando and Pisaroni a warm-voiced and personal Guglielmo. They both woo with seductive charm. As reviews at the time reported, Fischer conducts with an unassumingly correct sense of timing and has the inestimable advantage of the OAE's period instruments.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Bechtholf understands the virtues of stillness and simplicity in the more heartfelt numbers...All the singers respond well to the camera, not least Martina Janková's sexy, hyperactive, often very funny Despina...[Camarena] sings 'Ah, lo veggio' with a fine Italianate ring.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010

“superbly cast, with not a weak link. Bo Skovhus, as a central Mephistophelian operator de nos jours, plays a savage dance-driven double-act with Patricia Petibon's red-haired biker of a Despina...Within a single, minimalist duplex apartment interior, illusion and disillusion constantly shift.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 ****

“Guth is deft at choreographing the pain and the embarrassment of "wrong" couples getting together...this is already a mighty contribution to the otherwise rather naturalistic Così filmography. Its musical performances are solid...its acting ones much more than that.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“Guth has drawn marvellously natural acting from this cast (the hammy Despina excepted)...this opera's sisters have never been more gorgeous to behold...The ultra-suave Skovhus's Don Alfonso is a very cool customer indeed, full of cynicism and self-satisfaction...Playing with extreme beauty and technical mastery but not without incisiveness, the Vienna Philharmonic responds aptly to every dramatic nuance.” International Record Review, November 2010

“Director Johan Simons's take on Die Entführung is summed up by a remark in one of the accompanying interviews: 'At the end people see that the Pasha is a much better match for Konstanze than Belmonte is.' Other productions have suggested a mutual attraction between the heroine and her oriental captor. Simons carries this to extremes. His staging is dominated by Konstanze's inner struggle between her loyalty to her betrothed and her disturbing feelings for the man who, we sense, has awakened her sexually. Far from resisting his advances, she and the youthful, half-westernised Pasha, subtly and believably portrayed by Steven van Watermeulen, can hardly keep their hands off each other during her opening aria; and the longing she sings of in 'Traurigkeit' here takes on a very different meaning. Yet even in the final vaudeville, exchanged glances with the Pasha suggest an undertow of regret for romantic passion and exotic adventure sacrificed in the cause of duty. While there are irritating details in Simons's modern-dress production, it is psychologically credible, often compelling. Laura Aikin vividly portrays Konstanze's fluctuating emotions in dialogue and aria. If 'Traurigkeit' ideally needs a softer, more plangent colour, she makes 'Martern aller Arten' a graphic embodiment of her conflicting feelings of desire and guilt, charging the stratospheric coloratura with a sense of neurotic desperation. In Simons's conception Belmonte is an anxious, self-absorbed ditherer, understandably fazed by Konstanze's initial coolness towards him. Wearing a more-or-less permanently bemused air, Edgaras Montvidas sings his four arias with firm, sappy tone, if no special grace of phrasing. Michael Smallwood makes a likeable, resourceful Pedrillo, cheerfully enduring Osmin's sadistic hair-pulling and nose-tweaking; and Mojca Erdmann, clad in mini-skirt and high-heeled patent leather boots, is a delightful, thoroughly selfassured Blonde, impatient with Konstanze's soulsearching, and using her sexual power to reduce Kurt Rydl's formidable, orotund Osmin to a doeeyed baby. In keeping with the whole production, comic gags are largely eschewed. Constantinos Carydis conducts the excellent Netherlands CO with zest and a fair sense of period style. While many will prefer a more comically straightforward staging, Simons's production certainly makes you think afresh about Mozart's ostensibly innocent, happily-ever-after harem Singspiel.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Other productions have suggested a mutual attraction between the heroine and her oriental captor. Simons carries this to extremes. His staging is dominated by Konstanze's inner struggle between her loyalty to her betrothed and her disturbing feelings for the man who, we sense, has awakened her sexually. While there are irritating details in Simon's modern-dress production, I found it psychologically credible, often compelling. Laura Aikin vividly portrays Konstanze's fluctuating emotions in dialogue and aria. ...she makes "Marten aller Arten" a graphic embodiment of her conflicting feelings of desire and guilt, charging the stratospheric coloratura with a sense of neurotic desperation. Constantinos Carydis conducts the excellent Netherlands CO with zest and a fair sense of period style.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2009

“in this Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail everything is germane to the text that Mozart set, and Loy makes work of depth and strong emotion from what can seem like an overlong comedy...every singer acts with the intensity and conviction of a 'straight' actor. Ivor Bolton's conducting is relaxed and affectionate, and really there is no respect in which this performance falls short of being a triumph” BBC Music Magazine, June 2012 *****

“Christof Loy's minimalist staging works well, and an impressive cast creates a great deal of intensity nicely caught by the cameras...Damrau is a superb Konstanze, secure and consistently beautiful.” Classical Music, 24th March 2012 ****

“This is to be a serious psychological drama and the pace is punishingly slow...Damrau scored a notable success as Konstanze and her accomplished singing of a difficult role (she sings the extended version of 'Marten aller Arten') is the main highlight of the performance. Christoph Strehl's Belmonte is stylish and sensitive...Ivor Bolton gets lively playing at uncontroversial speeds” Gramophone Magazine, May 2012

“‘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