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Angela Gheorghiu (Adriana), Jonas Kaufmann (Maurizio), Olga Borodina (La principessa di Bouillon), Alessandro Corbelli (Michonnet), David Soar (Quinault), Iain Paton (Poisson), Janis Kelly (Mademoiselle Jouvenot), Sarah Castle (Mademoiselle Dangeville), Maurizio Muraro (Principe di Bouillon), Bonaventura Bottone (Abbé de Chazeuil) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Mark Elder (conductor) & David McVicar (stage director) Starring Angela Gheorghiu as the celebrated French actress Adriana Lecouvreur and Jonas Kaufmann as her lover Maurizio, Count of Saxony, Cilea’s verismo drama explores celebrity, romance, jealousy, and death. The trio of sublime voices is completed by Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina as Adriana’s jealous rival, the Princess de Bouillon. David McVicar’s hit production – the first performance of the opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for more than a century – presents the life of the French actress as a blurring of the distinction between fantasy and reality. The action revolves around a life-size Baroque Theatre, taking us from the bustle and colour of the first act backstage at the playhouse, to the bare final scenes as the drama reaches its fatal climax. The DVD & Blu-ray contain bonus footage featuring interviews with the principal artists, Director, Set Designer and Conductor. “Kaufmann and Gheorghiu radiate sexiness" (Financial Times) “Gheorghiu is a dream" (The Independent) “Gheorghiu is an inspired piece of casting for the heroine...There is an excitement about [Kaufmann's] voice and stage presence that is infectious, ...Borodina chews up the scenery, singing with a voice so commanding that it takes you aback...McVicar’s production is another treat, this time for the eyes...All told, then, this set is an absolute winner. It even supersedes Levine’s Sony CDs as an overall first choice for this opera in any format.” MusicWeb International, June 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Live Recording from The Teatro Regio Di Torino, 2009
Micaela Carosi (Adriana), Marcelo Álvarez (Maurizio), Marianne Cornetti (Principessa de Bouillon), Alfonso Antoniozzi (Michonnet) Teatro Regio Torino, Renato Palumbo (conductor) & Lorenzo Mariani (director) Set Design by Nicola Rubertelli It is said even Giuseppe Verdi briefly gave consideration to writing an opera based on this whodunit, when Cilea decided to set the material to music in 1899. The opera’s world premiere in Milan in 1902 was a triumph, due in no small measure to a stellar cast of singers that included Enrico Caruso as Maurizio. For a decade the work was performed regularly throughout Europe and America; thereafter it increasingly disappeared from the repertoire. After revisions to the score and plot and the introduction of significant cuts, Adriana Lecouvreur made a successful comeback and established a presence once again on the international stage. The premiere of the defi nitive version took place in Naples in 1930. Since this time the three main roles of Arturo Colautti’s libretto have regularly been filmed by great artists. In the present stylised production by Lorenzo Mariani, which features reduced décor but magnifi cent rococo costumes, the “violet-perfumed murderess” is taken by mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti, one of the most in-demand representatives of her vocal category. Opposite her, in the role of Adriana, is a soprano who as a Verdi and verismo specialist also appears regularly at all the major international opera houses, Micaela Carosi. The “cock-of-the-walk” role is sung by the world-class tenor Marcelo Álvarez. His timbre, velvety smooth yet robustly virile, is ideally suited to a vocal characterisation of the idolised Maurizio. Conductor Renato Palumbo is very much at home with Cilea’s operatic masterpiece, since the Italian Romantic and verismo periods are at the core of his extensive repertoire. Sound Format: PCM Stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 7.1 Picture Format: 16:9 Resolution: 1080i FULL HD Subtitle Languages: IT, GB, DE, FR, ES, JP Running Time: 151 mins Blu-ray Disc: 25 GB (Single Layer) FSK: 0 “Carosi may lack some smoothness of line in her arias but she delivers them with fervour and strong tone and does not hold back in the Phaedra monologue, so the character which she projects is well drawn...Marianne Cornetti blazes forth in an unbridled release of big, powerful vocalism” International Record Review, September 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Gala Concert: 300 Years of St. Petersburg
This festive gala concert was held to mark the city's 300th anniversary, bringing together some of the greatest Russian artists: young soprano Anna Netrebko, baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, such great instrumentalists as cellist Mischa Maisky and violinist Viktor Tretyakov. World-famous St Petersburg Philharmonic under Yuri Temirkanov in repertoire of fascinating variety. Available for the first time on Blu-ray Disc. NTSC · 16:9, PCM 2.0 · PCM 5.1 Region Code:All Booklet Notes: English, German, French Languages: Spanish, Italian, Russian Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian Running Time: 112 mins Audiences: all | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | The Berlin Concert
“For all the reek of marketing hype, there's a real sense of occasion, our greatest living tenor benignly crowning superstar successors who promise comparable art and intelligence.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2007 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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