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With her sensational role debut at the Vienna State Opera, superstar diva Anna Netrebko displays a performance of rare vocal and dramatic power. The Russian soprano sings the role of the unjustly accused second wife of British King Henry VIII, ‘veering between indignant fury and tender righteousness’ and demonstrating a new level of confidence in her technique with excellent ‘passagework, particularly in trills, and seamless runs even to the lowest notes’ (Opera News). The performance also stars DG mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, in ‘a fantastic display of bel canto’ (Opera News) as Anna's rival Giovanna Seymour. Ildebrando D’Arcangelo brings his beautifully dark tone to the role of Enrico and young Italian tenor Francesco Meli sings the demanding role of Lord Percy with a ‘youthful virility’ (Agence France Press), promising great things for the future. On the podium Evelino Pidò 'drew playing of unusual precision and refinement...making every note matter' (Financial Times) Subtitles: Italian (Orig. language), English, German, French, Spanish “It's no accident that Netrebko's better forays into bel canto have come with Garanca by her side, inspiring her to some lovely singing. Their voices blend beautifully...I find her a welcome counterpoint to Netrebko's passionate queen...Netrebko emerges from the challenge triumphantly. The sincerity in her performance is admirable, while the darker vocal qualities she possesses suit the character well.” International Record Review, May 2012 “[Netrebko] gives a demonstration of characterisation and bel canto vocal virtuosity that is second to none, Callas included...Garanca’s is a consummate interpretation by an artist at the top of her game...D'Arcangelo is a tall, handsome and seductive Enrico whose smooth singing only lacks a little lower extension... Pidò adds to his reputation in this music with a well-paced and phrased interpretation” MusicWeb International, May 2012 | | | DG - 0734728 (Blu-ray) Normally: $27.25 Special: $20.43 |
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A red hot ticket at the Metropolitan Opera in 2010/2011 was Donizetti’s comic gem, Don Pasquale, with Anna Netrebko reviving Norina, the part that made her a star in New York. Opera summed up the simple truth: “. . . everyone adored her”. John Del Carlo’s impressive singing and acting chops as the Don are given every boost by Otto Schenk’s hilarious staging and James Levine’s witty conducting. Leading this opera for the first time at the Met, the renowned maestro demonstrates that his gifts suit Donizetti as perfectly as Wagner. Mariusz Kwiecień and Matthew Polenzani scintillate as Malatesta and Ernesto. When Norina slaps Pasquale, the old man sees how deluded he has been to believe that the young beauty loves him. The San Francisco Chronicle paid homage to this turning point thus: “Netrebko captures the moment that gives the opera a heart it otherwise would lack”. Filmed in November 2010, the DVD features backstage intermission interviews caught during the hubbub of performance. “Donizetti's modest little domestic comedy almost sinks under the weight of such production values. That is stays afloat is a tribute to Netrebko who unleashes some fearsome coloratura; and to John de Carlo and Marius Kwiecien, who deliver 'Cheti, cheti, immantinente' with the speed of a Bugatti at full throttle” BBC Music Magazine, October 2011 **** “With its huge sets and period costumes, Otto Schenk's 2006 production looks like a good old-fashioned Met warhorse, but it still has enough amusing choreography and dramatic truth to keep things ticking along nicely. Anna Netrebko steals the show both vocally and theatrically...but tenor Matthew Polenzani is also terrific as her lover...Levine's conducting is spirited.” Classic FM Magazine, September 2011 *** “[Netrebko] is alert to every note and movement, the voice bigger than the usual soubrette we get in this part, and her top notes gleam...Kwiecien is the ideal playmate for Netrebko: their sounds and styles blend perfectly; both ooze charm...Polenzani's smooth delivery, sweet tone and utter sincerity make him a valuable asset...it's clear that James Levine has the measure of this often witty, occasionally ravishing score.” International Record Review, July/August 2011 | | | DG - 0734645 (Blu-ray) Normally: $27.25 Special: $20.43 |
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| |  | Live Recording from The Ravenna Festival, 2006
Claudio Desderi (Don Pasquale), Mario Cassi (Malatesta), Francisco Gatell (Ernesto), Laura Giordano (Norina) Orchestra Giovanile Luigi Cherubini, Riccardo Muti (conductor) & Andrea De Rosa (director) Set Design by Italo Grassi. “…Riccardo Muti conducts Don Pasquale in Ravenna - a great celebration for everyone.” This press quote from the Italian music magazine Il giornale della musica hit the mark exactly. Watching this realistic, young and vital production, directed by the young Andrea da Rosa and listening to a high potential and unspent young cast, you feel how powerful, charming and timeless this score by Gaetano Donizetti is. This production was recorded during the Ravenna Festival in the gorgeous and patriarchal Teatro Dante Alighieri. Maestro Riccardo Muti shows one more time, what it means to perform an Italian opera with a young and professional Italian cast – an outstanding and breathtaking performance and really, „a great celebration for everyone“: the audience, the cast and now also for the costumer’s home. 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: 124 mins Blu-ray Disc: 25 GB (Single Layer) FSK: 0 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, East Sussex, United Kingdom, in August 2009.
Acclaimed Italian conductor Maurizio Benini makes his Glyndebourne debut in Donizetti’s intoxicating and deeply touching opera, whose fast-moving comic story unfolds the romantic rivalry between penniless farmhand and bumptious soldier, both vying for the love of Adina. Will the bogus Dr Dulcamara’s potion – the elixir of love – help farmhand Nemorino win her heart? Peter Auty takes the role of Nemorino with Ekaterina Siurina as Adina. Recorded in High Definition and true surround sound. “It is a beautifully achieved piece of work. … Peter Auty’s Nemorino is world-class in his vocal accomplishment and touching presentation of the character’s plight. Alfredo Daza sounds exactly the right notes of God’s gift to women bumptiousness and fundamental decency with his good-looking, healthy sounding Sergeant Belcore. Luciano Di Pasquale hits the spot as the fake potion seller Dulcamara, bringing colour and vivacity to his every appearance. The chorus are marvellous. Maurizio Benini maintains lively music-making in the pit.” The Stage Extra features: Illustrated synopsis Cast gallery Running time 129 mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 LPCM & 5.0 DTS Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “An enchanting account. Set in Mussolini's Italy...it is wonderfully cast and a perfect team effort.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2010 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Released in 2009, this DVD of Anna Netrebko´s internationally acclaimed, first performance of Lucia at the Met has since shipped nearly 35,000 units. Now it is coming to Blu-Ray for the first time. Having dazzled opera audiences as Lucia from St. Petersburg to Los Angeles, in 2009 Anna Netrebko returned to the Met in Mary Zimmerman´s “imaginative staging” (The New York Times) of Donizetti´s bel canto masterpiece. Extras include interviews by Nathalie Dessay with singers Anna Netrebko, Piotr Beczala, Mariusz Kwiecien, Ildar Abdrazakov. Conductor Marco Armiliato and director Mary Zimmerman. | 
| | | DG - 0734545 (Blu-ray) Normally: $29.25 Special: $24.86 |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Nationaltheater, Munich, July 2007
Edita Gruberova (Lucrezia), Pavol Breslik (Gennaro), Franco Vassallo (Don Alfonso), Alice Coote (Maffio Orsini), Bruno Ribeiro (Jeppo Liverotto), Christian Rieger (Don Aposto Gazella), Christopher Magiera (Ascanio Petrucci), Erik Årman (Oloferno Vitellozzo), Steven Humes (Gubetta), Emanuele D'Aguanno (Rustighello), Christian Van Horn (Astolfo) Chor und Extrachor der Bayerischen Staatsoper & Bayerisches Staatsorchester, Bertrand de Billy Featuring Edita Gruberova as prima donna assoluta. A new standard recording! A scandalous tale of murder, torture, incest, homosexuality, drunkenness and orgies, Donizetti's opera is one of the great masterpieces of Italian bel canto repertoire. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after the play by Victor Hugo, after the legend of Lucrezia Borgia. Lucrezia Borgia was first performed on December 26, 1833 at La Scala, Milan with Lelande and Pedrazzi. Enjoy the all-time favorites: Lucrezia's aria Com'è bello, Orsino's Brindisi Il segreto per esser felice, the tenor's Di pescator ignobile, and the bass aria Vieni, la mia vendetta!. Including the 54 mins. documentary The art of bel canto - Edita Gruberova – an empathic portrait of the Queen of coloratura. Picture format BD: 1080i Full HD - 16:9 Sounds formats BD: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: All (worldwide) Original language: Italian Subtitles: English, German, French, Italian Booklet Notes: English, German, French Running Time: 133 mins + 54 mins Documentary “Christof Loy's serious contemporary production has simple modern clothes… and little scenery… Entries, exits and who is onstage are treated in deconstructionist fashion. This is exciting in Act 2 where the constant presence of the Duca (Alfonso) and his oily henchman Rustighello at Princess Negroni's party is not realistic but hugely underlines the threat to Gennaro, Maffio Orsini and their friends visiting Ferrara. The Slovak soprano legend Edita Gruberová... produces a dramatic performance of concentration, at its most convincing in Act 2 where her age meshes well with the character of distraught mother. The handsome Slovakian tenor Pavol Breslik is a star Gennaro of passion and agility, and Alice Coote is a convincingly butch Maffio. The orchestra play richly for de Billy who sounds at home in this repertoire.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2010 “the major vocal honours of the evening belong to Pavol Breslik as Gennaro. He sings with excellent diction, variety of tone and good characterisation whilst acting with conviction...If the production and staging lacks cohesion and conviction, thankfully those convictions are present in the pit under the direction of Bertrand de Billy.” MusicWeb International, June 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Sonia Ganassi (Elisabetta), Fiorenza Cedolins (Maria Stuarda), Jose Bros (Leicester), Mirco Palazzi (Talbot), Pervin Chakar (Anna), Marco Caria (Cecil) Orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice, Fabrizo Maria Carminati Stage Director Denis Krief First time on Blu-ray! The recording was made at Venice's beautiful Teatro La Fenice. With his sharp and lively conducting, Fabrizio Maria Carminati puts the Orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice entirely at the service of three exceptional singers, Sonia Ganassi ("an extraordinary performance," Opera Today) as Elisabetta, Fiorenza Cedolins ("colorful, nuanced, highly dramatic heroine," Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) as Maria Stuarda, and José Bros as a passionate Leicester. "Maria Stuarda" is the most popular work in Donizetti's trilogy of bel canto operas on Tudor queens. Running Time Opera: 140 minutes Picture 16:9, HD BD: DTS-HD MA 5.1, PCM Stereo “Maestro Carminati looks an amiable, gentle soul as he enters the pit but he unleashes a firestorm of tension and passion in the big duets and his judicious tempi bind Donizetti's not-so-easy recitatives into flowing music-drama. Ganassi is in superb fettle throughout, encompassing both power and agility...An outstanding release, and a great relief to be removed from the static period costume displays normally inflicted on this drama.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2011 “Carminati leads La Fenice's orchestra in a powerful reading yet with a supportive flow of sound in more reflective passages. All the acrimony, antagonism and enmity can be felt...Ganassi makes a strong figure, strongly sung, her voice full toned as she encompasses the scalework of her opening aria...[Cedolins] brings a dramatic intensity to her performance.” International Record Review, April 2011 “the musical performance, starting in the pit with a vivid, dynamic and elegant performance conducted by Fabrizio Maria Carminati...Sonia Ganassi and Fiorenza Cedolins spit marvellous poison...Donizetti's surprising efficiency in conveying conflicted motives is really well caught in the ensembles, and Mirco Palazzi is a really powerful Talbot.” Opera Now, Summer 2011 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Cecilia & Bryn at GlyndebourneRecorded live in Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, Sussex, 24th April 1999.
Note: This Blu-ray Disc (BD) is not compatible with standard DVD players.
PICTURE FORMAT: 16:9
LENGTH: 90 Mins
SOUND: DOLBY SURROUND / LPCM STEREO
SUBTITLES: EN/FR/DE
“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 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Gran Teatro La Fenice New Year’s Concert 2012Live Recording From The Gran Teatro La Fenice, 2012
Jessica Pratt (soprano), Walter Fraccaro (tenor) & Alex Esposito (bass) Orchestra and Chorus of The Gran Teatro La Fenice, Diego Matheuz As is now customary, the first part of the 2012 New Year‘s Concert from Teatro La Fenice is exclusively orchestral, with Symphony No.5 by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The second part, with soloists Jessica Pratt, Walter Fraccaro and Alex Esposito as well as the choir, is dedicated to melodrama, ending with the traditional chorus “Va pensiero” from Nabucco and the toast “Libiam ne lieti calici” from La Traviata by Giuseppe Verdi. The twenty-seven year old conductor and violinist Diego Matheuz is a graduate of the internationally known Venezuelan Sistema and is already widely known as one of the most promising developing talents from the Americas. In 2005 he began studying conducting and soon attracted the attention of Sir Simon Rattle and Claudio Abbado, with whom he worked in Caracas, Lucerne and Bologna. In September 2011 he was appointed as Principal Conductor of the Teatro La Fenice. Sound Format: PCM Stereo, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 (Blu-ray) Picture Format: 16:9, 1080i High Definition Format: DVD 9, NTSC, 25 GB (Single Layer) Running Time: 108 mins + 27 mins (bonus) FSK: 0 Region Code: Worldwide Worldwide available | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | The Opera Gala - Live from Baden-Baden
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