DVD Videos

Creon, new ruler of Thebes, issues a burial ban for Polyneices, Oedipus’ son. Antigonae disobeys Creon’s orders and buries her brother, so as to abide by the laws of the Gods. Despite the warnings of the citizens and the seer Tiresias, Creon sentences Antigonae to death by walling her in. However, by annihilating Antigonae, Creon also destroys his very own existence: in quick succession, his son, who is engaged to Antigonae, and his spouse commit suicide.

German /English Dolby Stereo , 16:9, DVD 9 , (0) PAL

139+10 min

According to the Delphic Oracle, Oedipus, ruler of Thebes, can only save his city from doom if he solves the murder of his predecessor Laius. In the course of the investigation, Oedipus himself is accused of regicide and realises that several years earlier, he unwittingly killed Laius, his own father, and married Jocasta, his mother. Thereupon, Oedipus blinds himself.

German /English Dolby Stereo , 16:9, DVD 9 , (0) PAL

126+10 min

Paderewski always dreamed of composing an opera. He could not have anticipated, however, that the realization of his dream – the opera Manru – would be the crowning achievement of his compositional career. It is the first Polish music drama, undoubtedly inspired by Wagner’s music (which Paderewski himself admitted) and yet thoroughly original. Based on Polish folklore it tells the story of love, in which the gypsy (Manru) runs of with the peasant girl (Ulana).

“Christopher Nupen: King of the music documentary” Gramophone Magazine

and winner of the Documentary DVD of the Year 2005, 2006 and 2008, 2010.

“The master of the music doc.” Norman Lebrecht, The Evening Standard

A Christopher Nupen DVD about Niccolo Paganini: the most charismatic figure in the entire history of Western music — also the most talked about, the most controversial, the most famous and the most successful classical soloist that the world of music has ever known.

The story is astonishing, exciting, wildly unusual and, at the end, deeply touching. It is one of the most extraordinary tales in the history of music and it is told with all the Nupen finesse and commitment that have won him DVD of the Year Award four times in the past six years.

Paganini made use of his astonishing gifts, and the gullibility of the world, to create the most elaborate and enduring legend of all instrumental soloists in Western classical music. But, as so often with legends, the excitement and the chatter obscured the true figure of both the man and the artist.

In the film on this DVD, Christopher Nupen looks at the legend and the strange man who created it with his dazzling combination of technical brilliance, supreme showmanship, Italian melody and unbridled manipulative skill — a man whose extraordinary personality unsettled even the most sophisticated and educated minds and provoked wildly contradictory opinions.

The film presents Paganini’s music, shot and edited in the style developed by Christopher Nupen and his colleagues for their prize winning DVDs about Sibelius, Schubert and Tchaikovsky and combines it with extracts from Paganini's letters and quotations from both his admirers and his many detractors. While being hailed as the greatest performing musician of his time, Paganini was denounced again and again by knowledgeable critics as a charlatan in league with the devil and an avaricious man with scant respect for those who responded so enthusiastically to his unforgettable gift — and contributed so readily to his vast personal fortune.

Paganini exploited it all and used the legends to make himself not only the most famous performer of his time, but also the wealthiest by a long, long way. In time this provoked envy and resentment and, finally, a pitiable isolation.

Recording Date: 2002

Place of recording: Recorded Live at the Opernhaus Zürich 2002

Running Time: Opera: 120 min, Documentary: 46 min

Picture Format: 16:9

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DTS 5.1

Menu Languages PAL: D, F, GB, SP

Subtitle Languages PAL: D, F, GB, I, SP

Menu Languages NTSC: F, GB, JP, SP

Subtitle Languages NTSC: F, GB, I, JP, SP

Recorded live at the Teatro Orfeo, Taranto, Italy in November 2005. Sung in Italian, with subtitles in Italian and English.

Recording Date: 2002

Place of recording: Recorded Live at the Opernhaus Zürich 2002

Running Time: Opera: 120 min, Documentary: 46 min

Picture Format: 16:9

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DTS 5.1

Menu Languages PAL: D, F, GB, SP

Subtitle Languages PAL: D, F, GB, I, SP

Menu Languages NTSC: F, GB, JP, SP

Subtitle Languages NTSC: F, GB, I, JP, SP

The Tallis Scholars celebrate Palestrina’s 400th anniversary with a unique concert in the Roman Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore where the composer sang as a choirboy and later became maestro di cappella.

There are two presentations of the same concert, an illustrated performance featuring the priceless artworks in the Basilica which are used to illuminate the sung texts, and a pure performance that is 100% Tallis Scholars. Optional captions name the artworks and describe the context in which they are used and sub-titles provide translations of the sung Latin into English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese.