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Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71

Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker, Op. 71

Recorded live at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, California, on 19th & 20th December 2007.


Damian Smith, Elizabeth Powell, Davit Karapetyan, David Arce, Yuan Yuan Tan, Pierre-François Vilanoba & Vanessa Zahorian

San Francisco Ballet & San Francisco Ballet Orchestra, Martin West

Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson.

This visually stunning, all-new production of Nutcracker, choreographed by Helgi Tomasson (artistic director of the San Francisco Ballet) is a graceful and timeless adventure on a grand scale. The scenic design by Michael Yeargan, setting the tale at the time of the 1915 San Francisco World Fair, is sensational. From the lovely Waltz of the Flowers to the crystalline beauty of the stunning Snowflake Waltz, each scene is more breathtaking than the last, bringing to life all the wellknown and beloved characters with fresh sparkle and compelling originality. Recorded in High Definition video and true surround sound, this age-transcending production offers a dazzling magical journey which has received critical acclaim throughout the world.

BONUS MATERIAL

Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery.

Interviews with Helgi Tomasson, Michael Yeargan and Martin Pakledinaz.

Documentary: 1915 World's Fair.

‘The opulent new version of the seasonal classic, launched spectacularly by the San Francisco Ballet, is every parent’s dream of a holiday treat. It looks scrumptious, tastes delicious, offers substantial nourishment and won’t cause cavities.’ San Francisco Examiner

Picture 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound 2.0 & 5.0 PCM

Video codec AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size BD50 Menu language EN Subtitles: FR/DE/ES/IT (extras only)

Region code All regions Running time 133 mins Dimensions W135 H170 D12 (mm)

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Verdi: Otello

Verdi: Otello

Recorded live at the Gran teatre del Liceu, Barcelona on 21st & 24th February 2006.


José Cura (Otello), Krassimira Stoyanova (Desdemona), Lado Ataneli (Iago), Vittorio Grigolo (Cassio), Ketevan Kemoklidze (Emilia), Vicenç Esteve Madrid (Rodrigo), Giorgio Giuseppini (Lodovico), Francisco Santiago (Montano), Roberto Accurso (Un Araldo)

Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Antoni Ros-Marbà (musical director) & Willy Decker (stage director)

The first of Verdi’s two late Shakespearian operas stands as one of the great masterpieces of grand opera. José Cura, ranked among the world’s leading interpreters of Verdi’s music, takes the title role in Willy Decker’s profound and intense production, recorded live at the Liceu, Barcelona in 2006 in true surround sound and filmed with high definition cameras.

‘Verdi’s wise, passionate score was served with precision, gusto and a keen ear for drama by maestro Antoni Ros-Marbà and the solid, malleable Liceu orchestra.’ Opera News

BONUS MATERIAL

Introduction.

Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery.

FORMAT: All Formats

REGIONS: All Regions

PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i

LENGTH: 152 Mins

SOUND: 2.0 & 5.0 PCM

SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/CA

“José Cura… sings and acts here with an inwardness and intensity which make a profound impression. So does Krassimira Stoyanova as Desdemona, not in the first flush of youth, but heartfelt and direct; while Lado Ataneli's Jago is a brilliantly understated study in jovial malevolence. With strong conducting from Antoni Ros-Marbà, the whole cast collaborate to give us the truth of this desperately upsetting work, as no other DVD and few live performances I've seen of it ever have.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2007 ****

“Verdi’s wise, passionate score was served with precision, gusto and a keen ear for drama by maestro Antoni Ros-Marbà and the solid, malleable Liceu orchestra” Opera News

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Purcell: Dido and Aeneas

Purcell: Dido and Aeneas

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 3rd & 8th April 2009.


Sarah Connolly (Dido), Lucas Meachem (Aeneas), Lucy Crowe (Belinda), Sara Fulgoni (Sorceress), Anita Watson (Second Woman), Eri Nakamura (First Witch), Pumeza Matshikiza (Second Witch), Iestyn Davies (Spirit), Ji-Min Park (Sailor)

Dancers of The Royal Ballet, The Royal Opera Extra Chorus & Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Christopher Hogwood (conductor) & Wayne McGregor (stage director)

The Royal Ballet and The Royal Opera join forces for Wayne McGregor’s acclaimed fusion of music and movement, whose richly layered designs perfectly complement Purcell’s telling of a classical tale of love thwarted by evil powers. With Sarah Connolly and Lucas Meachem in the title roles, Christopher Hogwood conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Filmed with High Definition cameras and recorded in true surround sound.

BONUS MATERIAL

Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery.

Interview with Wayne McGregor.

‘Dido is perfectly integrated, and the expressively stylised movements that McGregor has devised for the singers make a fascinating contrast to the gyrations of the corps de ballet. …The casts were excellent. [Sarah Connolly] struck gold with a heartbreaking account of "When I am laid". The sensitivity of her acting and her intense musicality was striking throughout. Lucy Crowe made a delightful Belinda, with Lucas Meachem a quarterback hunk of an Aeneas. The young ad hoc chorus sang beautifully.’ The Telegraph

Picture 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound 2.0 & 5.1 PCM

Video codec AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size BD25 Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT

Region code All regions Running time 72 mins Dimensions W135 H170 D12 (mm)

“The wide open spaces and minimalist designs contrive a vast universe against which a very intimate human tragedy can be teased out, presented with an almost classical purity and restraint. Lucy Crowe is a seductive Belinda, with Sara Fulgoni equally compelling as the Sorceress, and under Christopher Hogwood's shapely musical direction the score engorges the amplitude of the Opera House without... any illuminating period pertinence. ...Sarah Connolly embraces the fateful trajectory towards suicide with almost unbearable intensity.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2010 ****

“thanks to the film director Jonathan Haswell it works better there than in the theatre...Belinda is unaffectedly played by Lucy Crowe, her bright tones and precise articulation all one could desire. Sarah Connolly, whether tormented by love or grief, is an equally ideal Dido...Definitely worth investigating.” Gramophone Magazine, April 2010

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Twin Spirits

Twin Spirits

Portraying the love of Robert & Clara Schumann in words & music


Robert Schumann (in words) STING, Robert Schumann (in song) SIMON KEENLYSIDE, Violin SERGEJ KRYLOV, Piano IAIN BURNSIDE, Clara Wieck (in words) TRUDIE STYLER, Clara Wieck (in song) REBECCA EVANS, Cello NATALIE CLEIN, Piano NATASHA PAREMSKI & Narrator DEREK JACOBI

Devised and directed for the stage by John Caird.

Recorded at the Royal Opera House, London, December 2007

Twin Spirits is a unique and intimate, live theatrical performance by a chamber ensemble of actors, singers and musicians, portraying the deep and ultimately tragic love between the composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife Clara Wieck. In this intensely moving performance of words, song and music, the Schumanns’ long separation, so formative an influence on their lives, is reflected in the division of the ensemble into male and female groups. Robert’s letters to Clara are read by Sting and his songs sung by Simon Keenlyside, with accompaniments and instrumental music played by Iain Burnside and Sergej Krylov. Clara’s letters to Robert are read by Trudie Styler and her songs sung by Rebecca Evans, with accompaniments and instrumental music played by Natalie Clein and Natasha Paremski. The narrator, Derek Jacobi, links together the letters and lyrics to complete the essential outline of the story. Conceived and directed by John Caird, Twin Spirits was first performed in June 2005 at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London and has since been experienced only at private performances for charity by small audiences of all ages and interests, leaving them deeply touched and inspired.

Picture 1080i High Definition / 16:9 Sound 2.0 & 5.0 PCM

Video codec AVC/MPEG-4 Disc size BD50 Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT + EN (songs only) Menu language EN

Region code All regions Running time 206 mins Dimensions W135 H170 D12 (mm)

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Delibes: Sylvia

Delibes: Sylvia

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 1st and 5th December 2005.


Darcey Bussell, Roberto Bolle, Thiago Soares, Martin Harvey & Mara Galeazzi

The Royal Ballet & The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Graham Bond

Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players

Choreographer: Frederick Ashton

Darcey Bussell and Roberto Bolle star in Frederick Ashton’s Sylvia, restored to the splendour of its elegant and opulent three-act form for the 75th anniversary celebrations of The Royal Ballet. Taken from Greek mythology, it tells the story of Sylvia, loved by Aminta, abducted by Orion and eventually rescued by Eros. Ashton was inspired by the music of Delibes to create such great choreographic sequences as the famous Act 3 pas de deux and the mischievous role of Eros, one of the delightful, darkly comic characterisations for which Ashton became known and loved. Sylvia is a wonderful showcase for virtuosity, invention and classical beauty, the epitome of Ashton style in stage settings of great detail and painterly perfection.

Bonus material:

Illustrated synopsis.

Cast gallery.

Introductions and conclusion to the ballet by Darcey Bussell.

Picture: 1080i High Definition / 16:9

Sound: 2.0 & 5.1 PCM

Video codec: AVC/MPEG-4

Disc size: 1 x BD50

Subtitles (extra features): FR/DE/ES/IT

Menu language: EN

Running time: 117 mins

“This DVD… shows the Royal Ballet at the top of its…form. …makes an imperious huntress and a commanding Bacchante” BBC Music Magazine, January 2008 ****

“[Darcey Bussell] dances with perfect precision in the pizzicato divertissement and is ravishingly radiant in the pas de deux powerfully partnered by Roberto Bolle who also displays some soaring elevation as the shepherd Aminta. Mara Galeazzi has developed into an accomplished performer and shines as Diana with Martin Harvey providing a superb and mischievous Eros. It is gorgeous - do not miss it” The Stage

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Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Recorded live at Glyndebourne, Lewes, Sussex on 1st August and 6th August 2007.


Robert Gambill (Tristan), Nina Stemme (Isolde), Katarina Karnéus (Brangäne), Bo Skovhus (Kurwenal), René Pape (König Marke), Stephen Gadd (Melot), Timothy Robinson (Hirt/Junger Seemann), Richard Mosley-Evans (Steuermann)

The Glyndebourne Chorus & London Philharmonic Orchestra, Jirí Belohlávek (conductor) & Nikolaus Lehnhoff (stage director)

Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players

Glyndebourne’s celebrated production of Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s Tristan und Isolde is a supremely intelligent achievement; gravely beautiful, haunting and meditative, it is deeply reflective rather than visceral, fortified by Roland Aeschlimann's stunningly effective set, a womb-like space through which the protagonists move like gods. Conductor Jirí Belohlávek mirrors Lehnhoff's approach in his sophisticated plumbing of the score's depths, with every shift in texture carefully laid bare by an inspired London Philharmonic Orchestra. Nina Stemme's Isolde and Robert Gambill's Tristan, both gloriously lyrical, are matched by superb performances from René Pape as the betrayed and vulnerable King Marke and Bo Skovhus as Kurwenal, deeply touching in his helpless devotion to Tristan. This High Definition recording of a production of uncommon intimacy reveals the opera's music and drama in a new light.

Picture: 1080i High Definition / 16:9

Sound: 2.0 & 5.0 Dolby TrueHD

Video codec: AVC/MPEG-4

Disc size: 2 x BD50

Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT Menu language: EN

Region code: All regions

Running time: Approx 358 mins

Bonus material:

Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery

Do I hear the light? - a film by Reiner E. Moritz

Artist biographies.

‘On the set’ - a slide show of the set being built.

‘Trimborn on Tristan’ – a talk by Richard Trimborn

‘I don’t think that I have ever witnessed a more perfect realisation of a Wagner opera than this superb Tristan und Isolde. …[Jirí Belohlávek] is scrupulous with the score, and takes his time over it: the pauses and silences are immense and there is no factitious attempt to whip up excitement by speeding. …a great and unforgettable occasion’ The Daily Telegraph

“A performance realised to Glyndebourne's highest standards - the chorus and stage brass are Bayreuth-level, the casting immaculate (they can all really sing these parts) and Belohlávek's conducting balanced with a Goodall-like attention to the filigree detail of Wagner's new-wave scoring” Gramophone Magazine, August 2008

“Stemme's fiery Irish princess is even finer than on the Domingo CD… Gambill's burly Tristan projects a darker, more resigned intensity… Pape's black-voiced Marke rightly dominates the stage… Karneus is a passionate, lusciously sung Brangäne. Lehnhoff's Glyndebourne production doesn't outclass Daniel Barenboim's magnificent video... But those looking for a Tristan with warmth and immediacy will find it certainly shares Barenboim's benchmark recommendation.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2008 *****

“I don’t think that I have ever witnessed a more perfect realisation of a Wagner opera than this superb Tristan und Isolde. …[Jirí Belohlávek] is scrupulous with the score, and takes his time over it: the pauses and silences are immense and there is no factitious attempt to whip up excitement by speeding. …a great and unforgettable occasion” The Telegraph

“a performance realised to Glyndebourne's highest standards – the chorus and stage brass are Bayreuthlevel, the casting immaculate (they can all really sing these parts), and Belohlávek's conducting balanced with a Goodall-like attention to the filigree detail of Wagner's new-wave scoring. Old-style analyses of the music used to talk about the 'glance' motif. Lehnhoff's staging deploys a series of heartbreaking glances: Stemme's Isolde when Karnéus's Brangäne tells her she's taken the love draught, Stemme again when Tristan arrives in Act 2, Pape's Marke as he sees the lovers together and, at BrokebackMountain-level, Skovhus's Kurwenal as he cradles Gambill's Tristan then breaks away, half in fear of his lord's death, half in fear of his feelings for him. In fact, has a Tristan ever been so deeply loved by his lady and squire as here, or felt so wretched at betraying his king? And is Skovhus actually the greatest Kurwenal yet recorded? Roland Aeschlimann provides a geometrically attractive whorl of a standing set, concentric wooden circles telescoping towards a constantly varied horizon: a ship, a spaceship, everywhere, nowhere – perfect. The lighting (Robin Carter and Aeschlimann) has a genuine physical presence and seems to reinvent the colour blue. At the point of Isolde's almost belated arrival in Act 3, a surreal, Ingmar Bergman-like atmosphere permeates events: she arrives from behind on high as a figure of death and wraps him in a black cloak, while Skovhus's poignant Kurwenal gets a non-realistic, Brechtian centre-stage for his fights and death” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

Building a Library

First Choice (Blu-ray) - June 2011

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Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20

Tchaikovsky: Swan Lake, Op. 20

Recorded at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, on 16th & 24th March 2009.


Marianela Nuñez, Thiago Soares, Elizabeth McGorian, Christopher Saunders, Alastair Marriott & David Pickering

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Valeriy Ovsyanikov (conductor) & Anthony Dowell (stage director)

Choreographers: Marius Petipa & Lev Ivanov

Yolanda Sonnabend's Faberge-inspired designs evoke a world of Imperial Russia in Anthony Dowell's acclaimed production for The Royal Ballet of one of the world's best-loved ballets. Marianela Nuñez as Odette/Odile and Thiago Soares as Prince Siegfried bring new vitality to a compelling story of tragic romance. The Russian conductor Valeriy Ovsyanikov directs the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in Tchaikovsky's lush romantic score. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound.

Bonus material:

Illustrated synopsis.

Cast gallery.

Interview with Anthony Dowell

Four Swan Queens - Exclusive 30-minute conversation on the demands of dancing the role of the Swan Queen with former Prima Ballerinas Dame Beryl Grey, Dame Monica Mason, Lesley Collier and current principal Marianela Nuñez.

‘Anthony Dowell’s production…offers the ultimate classical experience, with the sights and sounds of a proud 19th century tradition running at full throttle. Fancy a romantic tragedy in a tutu? Then this is the ballet for you. …The production as a whole is beautifully formed and dramatically convincing… And praise, too, for the corps, who made us feel the sorrow and anger of the swans’ collective misfortune.’ The Times

Picture: 1080i High Definition / 16:9

Sound: 2.0 & 5.1 PCM

Video codec: AVC/MPEG-4

Disc size: 1 x BD50

Subtitles (extra features): FR/DE/ES/IT

Menu language: EN

Region code: All regions

Running time: 179 mins

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Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66

Tchaikovsky: Sleeping Beauty, Op. 66

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 5th December 2006.


Alina Cojocaru, Federico Bonelli, Christopher Saunders, Elizabeth McGorian, Alastair Marriott, Genesia Rosato & Marianela Nuñez

The Royal Ballet & The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Valeriy Ovsyanikov

Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players.

Choreographer: Marius Petipa

Additional choreography: Ashton / Dowell / Wheeldon

Tchaikovsky’s The Sleeping Beauty is one of the best loved of classical ballets, combining in a single work all the enchantment and virtuosity that ballet has to offer. The royal court, the panoramic journey of the Prince to the overgrown castle, and the great celebratory dances of the happy ending (in which other famous fairytale figures appear) are all brought to life by the luscious designs of this celebrated production, created in 1946 for The Royal Ballet. The inspired performances of its revival for the 75th anniversary of the Company in 2006, together with a magnificent High Definition recording, make this a superb tribute to The Royal Ballet’s unique style and visual splendour.

Bonus material:

Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery.

‘Alina Cojocaru’s Aurora was the ballet’s radiant centrepiece, charming, in control and filled with a palpable delight in every pretty step.’ Times Online

PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 135 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.1 PCM
SUBTITLES: FR/DE/ES/IT (extra features only)

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Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress

Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress

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

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Mozart: Così fan tutte, K588

Mozart: Così fan tutte, K588

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in June & July 2006.


Miah Persson (Fiordiligi), Anke Vondung (Dorabella), Ainhoa Garmendia (Despina), Topi Lehtipuu (Ferrando), Luca Pisaroni (Guglielmo), Nicolas Rivenq (Don Alfonso)

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Ivan Fischer (conductor) & Nicholas Hytner (stage director)

Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players.

Mozart's genius in setting to music Da Ponte's comic play of love, infidelity and forgiveness marks Così fan tutte as one of the great works of art from the Age of Enlightenment. Nicholas Hytner's beautiful production for the Glyndebourne Festival in 2006, with its sure touch and theatrical know-how, lives up to its promise to be 'shockingly traditional', while Iván Fischer teases artful performances from an outstanding international cast of convincing young lovers.

Bonus material:

Illustrated synopsis & cast gallery.

Insights with Iván Fischer, Nicholas Hytner and members of the cast.

‘When I saw this production at Glyndebourne, 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.’ BBC Music Magazine

PICTURE FORMAT: 1080i
LENGTH: 210 Mins
SOUND: 2.0 & 5.0 TRUEHD
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE/ES/IT

“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

GGramophone Awards 2007

Finalist - DVD

BBC Music Magazine

DVD Choice - May 2007

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Opus Arte Glyndebourne - OABD7035D

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