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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Recorded live at Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels on 26th & 28th April 2007.
Andrew Kennedy (Tom Rakewell), Laura Claycomb (Anne Trulove), William Shimell (Nick Shadow), Julianne Young (Mother Goose), Dagmar Peckova (Baba the Turk), Darren Jeffery (Trulove), Donal J. Byrne (Sellem) Symphony Orchestra & Chorus of la Monnaie de Munt, Kazushi Ono (conductor) & Robert Lepage (stage director) Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players. Stravinsky’s masterwork The Rake’s Progress, created for La Fenice in Venice in 1951, is based on a libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, inspired by a series of 18th century prints by William Hogarth. This amazing production from La Monnaie–De Munt ‘jazzifies’ the setting by replacing Hogarth’s sin city, London, with 1950s Las Vegas, turning it into a glittering, cinematic gallery of tableaux vivants inspired by the early days of television. Staged by one of the most visionary theatre directors of our age, the Québécois Robert Lepage, the neo-classical morality tale truly becomes a grand spectacle. Lepage’s visual imagination works its magic superbly, while Kazushi Ono’s energetic musical direction drives the sparkling ensemble to exhilarating heights. Bonus material: Interview with stage director Robert Lepage Behind the scenes & rehearsal footage Photo gallery Cast gallery & illustrated synopsis ‘Lepage has forged a reputation as one of the most visionary theatre directors of our age… The Rake’s Progress is heading our way, and it promises to be a highlight of the 2007/8 season.’ Sunday Times PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 74 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.0 PCM
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/NL
“It seems perverse to place it in Las Vegas in the 1950s, as Robert Lepage has done, with stetsons, risqué revue turns and black-and-white TV … Yet when we arrive at the graveyard scene, and then the incredibly moving mad scene in Bedlam, it is all so wonderful that I felt it had been worth persevering. Musically, it is first-rate.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2008 **** “This is a show to be seen - Covent Garden is staging it in July - and, down to the witty, period and silent menu screens, a model of its kind.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2008 “Lepage has forged a reputation as one of the most visionary theatre directors of our age… The Rake’s Progress is heading our way, and it promises to be a highlight of the 2007/8 season.” Sunday Times “Auden first met Stravinsky to discuss the libretto of The Rake's Progress in Hollywood in 1947, and Robert Lepage winds forward his 'clock of fashion' to the time and place of the opera's composition.
Hogarth's Gin Alley runs into Easy Street, populated by Vegas hookers, dancers and chancers. The composer-sanctioned division into two halves rather than three acts is a complementary move from the conventions of the opera house to the theater, and what a show we have. Madam, or rather Mother Goose (Julianne Young, bearing a disconcerting resemblance to Julianne Moore), lures the naive Tom onto a heart-shaped satin bed, and the pair literally sink into its folds – before our hero re-emerges, worldly wise and weary, in front of a blow-up Winnebago, and banishes ennui not with mother's ruin but a line or two of Colombia's finest.
Andrew Kennedy takes all this in his stride, and his always fresh, appealing tenor ensures we retain our sympathy through Tom's piteous downfall from indolence to insanity, far more so than we are likely to for his operatic model, Ferrando.
From Nick Shadow's first entrance under the shade of a Dallas derrick to his flame-capped Broadway nemesis, the parallels are not with Dons Alfonso or Giovanni but rather Alberich.
This is largely thanks to William Shimell's ironblack baritone and rasping wit, though lines such as 'That man alone is free who chooses what to will and wills his choice as destiny' certainly strike a Wagnerian ring of mania.
The recorded balance is slightly unfavourable to Laura Claycomb in 'I go to him': this is her 'Abscheulicher', but she is no Leonora, and is happiest vocally when she is dramatically downcast.
The two crucial scenes, either side of the interval, between her, Tom and Dagmar Pecková's show-stealing Baba are models of ensemble writing and direction, pulling between operatic naturalism and Stravinsky's preferred realism just as Tom is torn between one woman and the other – and all in front of a chorus who change from waltz-time party guests to painfully well observed inhabitants of Bedlam with phenomenal assurance.
Doubtless Kazushi Ono must take credit for some slickly cinematic pacing. This is a show to be seen and, down to the witty, period and silent menu screens, a model of its kind.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, 18 & 19 December, 2010
In this celebrated Glyndebourne Festival production, David Hockney’s designs for director John Cox reinterpret the Hogarth etchings that inspired the opera’s libretto, written for Stravinsky by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman. In 2010, this revival under Glyndebourne’s Music Director, Vladimir Jurowski, captured the opera’s neo-classical spirit and its juxtaposition of whimsy, cynicism and compassion, prompting the Financial Times to call it, ‘‘as enjoyable a performance of Stravinsky’s opera as any that has come along". Extra features: Documentary includes interview with David Hockney Introduction to the Rakes’s Progress Running time 150 mins Region Code All regions Picture format 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS Menu languages EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES “Full of colour and light, and brimming with wit, this is a production that lifts the performers...Lehtipuu conveys [Tom's] fresh-faced innocence, making his gradual demise all the more heart-breaking. Bass Matthew Rose is not the most chilling Nick Shadow, but is all the more believable as an apparently supportive, and likeable, friend to Tom, until the veil drops...[Persson] underpins [Anne's] heartfelt love with a steely determination...An absolute triumph.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2012 ***** “It is hard to imagine a Tom Rakewell who looks the part better than the lanky, almost adolescent Topi Lehtipuu, his wide-eyed innocence an open invitation to corruption, and he sings the role with elegance. Miah Persson is almost his equal...The combination of Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra ensures crisp ensemble of the highest quality.”” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012 “Star of the show - as she is so often - is Miah Persson, who turns out to be a radiant and steadfast Anne...[Lehtipuu] manages to give us a Tom whoe fundamentally endearing qualities shine through, even when he's at his most cocky...Matthew Rose's portrayal of Nick Shadow has been criticized in some quarters for its lack of venom, but I find that the mellifluous coating to his malevolence only adds to the effect.” International Record Review, February 2012  BBC Music Magazine
DVD/Blu-ray Choice - January 2012 |
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Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony present a special Bluray re-issue of their groundbreaking episode of Rite of Spring from the Keeping Score series, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Stravinsky's revolutionary ballet score, presented in stunning Dolby TrueHD 96k upsampled audio. “Funny thing about revolutions, you never know when or where they’re gonna start. They can be social or political or artistic, and very often it's these artistic or cultural revolutions, revolutions in taste, really, that seem to predict other violent changes in society. That's exactly the case with the Rite of Spring.” With these words Michael Tilson Thomas opens the groundbreaking episode from the San Francisco Symphony’s Keeping Score series. In 1913, with Europe on the brink of war, a fashionable Parisian audience reacted with hostile frenzy to the premiere of Igor Stravinsky’s new work. The ballet’s shocking music and dance provoked a riot that evening and was soon recognised as perhaps the most revolutionary piece of the 20th century, a reputation it maintains to this day. In this Blu-ray, MTT and SFS take you from the salons of St. Petersburg to the villages where Stravinsky found inspiration in the earthy power of Russian folk music and dance. MTT then retraces Stravinsky's journey to the cultural crossroads of pre-war Paris. There, in collaboration with the great impresario Diaghilev and his star dancer Nijinsky, Stravinsky developed the shocking, erotic, and violent evocation of pagan Russia that became Rite of Spring. Presented for the first time on Blu-ray disc, Keeping Score: Stravinsky features a thought provoking documentary and a brilliant live concert performance of Rite of Spring along with music from The Firebird. The documentary is filmed in standard-definition 16:9 widescreen, with concert performances filmed in high-definition 16:9 widescreen, and presented in optional 5.1 surround sound with Dolby TrueHD 96k upsampling. | 
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| |  | Tchaikovsky Iolanta & Stravinsky Persephone2012 Teatro Real, Madrid
Amrita, Pequeños Cantores & Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Teodor Currentzis (Musical Director) & Peter Sellars (Stage Director) Set Designer George Tsypin Costume Designers Martin Pakledinaz & Helen Siebrits Lighting Designer James F. Ingalls Iolanta is a one act lyric opera, sung in Russian, by Tchaikovsky. Performed in the style of a nineteenth-century Italian melodrama, the scenes have a recitative introduction followed by a single arioso, aria, duet or chorus. Persephone is a three act melodrama, sung in French, by Stravinsky. It is a story of regeneration, symbolised in Sellars use of dancers from the Cambodian dance company, Amrita Performing Arts. Peter Sellars, one of the most innovative creators on today's stage, has linked these two productions by using the same stage setting, instantly archaic yet modern, and lit by rich colours to define the journey from darkness to light. “It would be hard to find a more committed, vocally assured pair than Ekaterina Scherbachenko and Pavel Cernoch” BBC Music Magazine, March 2013 **** “There are fine performances from Dominique Blanc in the title role and Paul Groves as Eumolpe. The real touch of genius, though, is Sellars' decision to reimagine the piece in terms of eastern dance rather than ballet, and the choreography, by Cambodia's Amrita Performing Arts, is exquisite.” The Guardian, 13th December 2012 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded 2011 The Arts Centre, Melbourne
Richard Alexander (The Mikado), Kanen Breen (Nanki-Poo), Taryn Fiebig (Yum-Yum), Mitchell Butel (Ko-Ko), Warwick Fyfe (Pooh-Bah) & Jacqueline Dark (Katisha) Opera Australia Chorus & Orchestra Victoria, Brian Castles-Onion (conductor) & Stuart Maunder (director) Designer: Tim Goodchild Choreographer: Carole Todd Lighting Designer: Derek Coutts Perhaps the most widely-loved and hilarious of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Savoy Operas, this classic production by Opera Australia creates a fantastical, imaginary Japan. With amazingly detailed sets, lavish costumes and a fabulous cast astutely directed by Stuart Maunder, this comic operetta sparkles from beginning to end. The music is pure joy, with an amazing performance drawn from Orchestra Victoria by the superb conductor Brian Castles-Onion. “If it's colour you want, Opera Australia's 1985 production of The Mikado, revamped in 2004, has it in spades...But if you're after reasonable taste and G&S traditions subtly tweaked, look away...Goodchild's designs scream for attention, especially in the Blu-ray edition (very crisp and bouncy).” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 ** “Stuart Maunder’s production is fast-paced and much detailed carefully planned stage business holds the audience’s attention...All characters sing superbly and the vocal numbers are a joy to listen to...The contribution by the musical director and the orchestra was first class. A new and fresh version of the overture has been substituted for the traditional one.” MusicWeb International, June 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Scott Hendricks (König Roger), Olga Pasychnik (Roxane), John Graham-Hall (Edrisi), Hartmann (Der Hirte) Wiener Symphoniker, The Katowice City Singers’ Ensemble– Camerata Silesia, Polish Radio Choir Krakow & Childrens Chorus Musikhauptschule Bregenz, Sir Mark Elder (conductor) & David Pountnay (stage director) The first King Roger on DVD and Blu-ray! Rediscovery of Szymanovski´s masterpiece from 1926. The opera resonates Late- Romanticism and Expressionism, Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner. Recorded at the Bregenz Festival, 2009 “I cannot imagine a better performance than Bregenz's new version.” The Telegraph Running Time Opera: 89 min BD: DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo Subtitles English, French, German, Spanish, Katalan Booklet English, German, French “Pountney ditches the original Palermo setting in favour of severe abstraction, but fills the stage with unusually detailed and gripping action...Boasting a rich baritone, Scott Hendricks is a magnificent Roger, played as if on the verge of a nervous breakdown...Under Mark Elder, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra's playing is taut yet richly-charged.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 ***** “as vividly evocative as any traditional production might be...The sturdy baritone of Scott Hendricks suits the title-tole well, and Will Hartmann sings strongly as the Shepherd...In Szymanowski's mystical and exotic score Mark Elder gets good playing from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2010 “Unleashing Mark Elder on Szymanowski's score, which takes opulence to the brink of hyperventilation, is taking the horse to water...[The choirs] deliver their considerable role with authentic vernacular and sustained power. Their idiomatic prowess extends to the Wiener Symphoniker...[Elder] guides them intuitively to the lush high points but doesn't oversaturate textures elsewhere.” International Record Review, November 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Berliner Philharmoniker: Yutaka SadoRecorded live from the Philharmonie, Berlin, May, 20th 2011
This production is a Charity Concert for the victims of the Earthquake and Tsunami Disaster from March 11th 2011. The profit generated will be donated to a special section of the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS), which was especially founded for earthquake victims: “Japan: Earthquake and Tsunami”, and will therefore be distributed directly among the population affected. Immediate help for the Japanese people in need is thus guaranteed. With this concert Yutaka Sado makes his Philharmonic debut and will be the first Japanese to conduct the renowned orchestra since Seiji Ozawa several years ago. Critics have unanimously hailed Yutaka Sado as one of the most enthralling and charismatic conductors of the new generation. The long-time assistant of Leonard Bernstein and Seiji Ozawa was awarded the most important conductor’s prizes, e.g. the Premier Grand Prix at the 39th International Conducting Competition and the Grand Prix du Concours International L. Bernstein Jerusalem. Picture format: 1080i Full HD 16:9 Sounds formats: PCM 2.0, DTS-HD Master Audio Surround Region code: All (worldwide) Subtitles: English Booklet notes: English, German, French Running time: 107 mins (91 mins concert + 16 mins bonus) “I like Takemitsu best when there's rigorous tension put between his soft-focus, stylised figurations...Here the balance is perfect...After Takemitsu, Shostakovich's urgent 'listen to this' message, each harmonic sidestep loaded with interference, is a shock. I like the dynamic detail Sado lavishes on the first movement...And another sound reason to buy this DVD: all proceeds will be donated to the Japanese Red Cross to help victims of the 2011 tsunami.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012 “[Sado] digs unostentatiously deep in both the fluid and monumental aspects of this concert, given to raise funds for the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster. Much in the two chosen works is both complementary and appropriate...A short interview with Sado tells us little; but what he achieves in performance is unquestionably beyond words.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 “a performance of alluring poise. Some may find the seamless tonal blend and peerless technical accomplishment over-manicured (even counter-productive) bearing in mind the music's historical context, but taken on its own terms one can hardly help but be galvanized by its supreme expertise.” International Record Review, June 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | McGregor: Three Ballets
Richter, Max: | Infra Leanne Benjamin, Ricardo Cervera, Yuhui Choe, Lauren Cuthbertson, Mara Galeazzi, Melissa Hamilton, Ryoichi Hirano, Paul Kay, Marianela Nuñez, Eric Underwood, Jonathan Watkins & Edward Watson The Max Richter Quintet, Jonathan Haswell | Saariaho: | Limen Leanne Benjamin, Yuhui Choe, Mara Galeazzi, Melissa Hamilton, Sarah Lamb, Marianela Nuñez, Leticia Stock, Akane Takada, Tristan Dyer, Paul Kay, Brian Maloney, Steven Mcrae, Ludovic Ondiviela, Eric Underwood & Edward Watson Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Barry Wordsworth | Talbot, J: | Chroma Music: Joby Talbot , Jack White III Federico Bonelli, Ricardo Cervera, Tamara Rojo, Mara GaleazzI, Sarah Lamb, Steven Mcrae, Laura Morera, Ludovic Ondiviela, Eric Underwood, Jonathan Watkins & Edward Watson Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Daniel Capps |
The diversity of Wayne McGregor’s astonishing talent is demonstrated through Chroma, Infra and Limen, each created for The Royal Ballet, for whom he is resident choreographer. Intimate yet universal, light yet dark, frenetic yet lyrical, McGregor pursues his passion for exploring the inner workings of the human body and mind, his many-layered and beautiful dances providing visual, sensual and kinaesthetic stimulus for the viewer. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound. ‘…Wayne McGregor's Infra: sumptuous beauty and shimmering possibility’ The Telegraph Recorded live from the Royal Opera House Infra: 13th & 14th November 2008 Chroma: 10th & 11th June 2010 Limen: 13th & 17th November 2009 Extra features: Introductions by Wayne McGregor Running time 98 mins Region Code All regionsPicture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS Menu languages EN Subtitles FR/DE/ES | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, 9th March, 2011
Choreography Christopher Wheeldon. Lewis Carroll’s ever-popular story provides the basis for Christopher Wheeldon’s spectacular new work, starring Royal Ballet Principal Lauren Cuthbertson. Captivating designs by Bob Crowley, an engaging and passionate score by Joby Talbot, and Wheeldon’s breathtaking choreography combine to produce in the words of The Times “spectacular family entertainment brought to life with enormous theatrical verve.’’ It was broadcast on the BBC over the Easter period. The production will be revived at the Royal Opera House in Spring 2012. Extra features: Documentary about ‘Being Alice’ Running time 120 mins approx Region Code All regions Picture format 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS Menu languages EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES “What a treat this is - such an imaginative treatment of a favourite story. There are extraordinary, eccentric sets and special effects; colourful, larger-than-life, argumentative characters and extraordinary costumes. Lauren Cuthbertson, as Alice, is excellent, her every movement suggesting the actions and emotions of this curious, spirited pre-adolescent... Christopher Wheeldon’s choreography is very imaginative and fitting for every character” MusicWeb International, August 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam, on 13th and 18th November 2008.
Charles Workman, Sarah Castle, Stephen Richardson, Nancy Allen Lundy, Zhang Jun, Tania Kross, Stephen Bryant & Mu Na Netherlands Chamber Orchestra & Cappella Amsterdam, Tan Dun (musical director) & Pierre Audi (stage director) Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players In ‘Marco Polo, an opera within an opera’, composer Tan Dun portrays the Venetian explorer’s travels to the Far East as a journey of both inner and physical discovery, a voyage depicting spiritual experiences as well as a geographical expedition. At the same time the work, on a libretto by Paul Griffiths, can be seen as a compositional adventure of the composer himself, unifying the various cultural worlds he occupies: a blend of Western avant garde and Oriental traditions. Pierre Audi’s mythical staging and Jean Kalman’s fabulous set design complement the composer’s own musical direction, forging the dazzlingly versatile soloists, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Capella Amsterdam to a stunning symbiosis of elements across time and space, a true testimony to cultures intertwined in globalisation. Tan Dun’s Marco Polo was, for me, a multi-dimensional experience which went beyond my expectations and indeed overwhelmed my senses… Here was an opera of our generation: a fusion of elements across time and space, a true testimony to the way our worlds have become intertwined in the globalisation process.’ Anne Ku, Bonjournal.com Bonus material: Illustrated synopsis. Cast gallery. Documentary: The Music of Tomorrow – includes interviews with the creative team and principle cast members. PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i LENGTH: Approx 156 Mins SOUND: 2.0 & 5.0 PCM SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/NL | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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