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Features two of opera’s biggest superstars, Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón, in the roles they have performed to live audiences all over the world. Comprehensive and successful commercial run in cinemas, screening in all major towns and cities across the UK and Ireland, and opening in London’s Barbican Centre and Apollo West End to outstanding figures. Exclusive DVD bonus features, including in-depth interviews with stars Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón and director Robert Dornhelm, behind-the-scenes of La Bohème, limited edition collector’s booklet and more. “Succulently dramatic… a tribute to the stars’ power” The Times “breathtakingly dramatic and emotional… full to the brim with some of the best vocal talents of today” Opera Now “beautifully sung all round” Philip French, The Observer “the world’s finest soprano-tenor team… Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazón don’t only sing with beauty and power; they can also act” The Evening Standard “…Bohème has attracted filmmakers since silent days, but never as convincingly as this. …Oscar-nominated director Robert Dornhelm lends the story a darker glow, with Bertrand de Billy's soft-centred but warm conducting and two superb star performances. Villazón as Rodolfo, less... sings with a focused intensity which at time recalls Caruso, and makes a scruffily credible hero... Netrebko's creamy-voiced Mimì is no naïve little seamstress; her scarlet satin and glamour-girl make-up suggests she's been around... but her anguish in Act III is no less heartfelt. Dornhelm's sombrely sumptuous images capture a credibly chilly, squalid, yet defiantly romantic milieu. ...the lovers' sheer intensity and Dornhelm's cinematic vision, expanded in the accompanying documentary, make this one of the finest opera films ever - unmissable.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2009 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Royal Concerts Volume 4: Aragall & Gonzalez
A concert given in 1991 by tenor Jaume Aragall and soprano Ana Ma Gonzalez during the Torroella de Montgri Music Festival. Aria and duets by Puccini, Verdi, Massenet and Gounod. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Production: Franco Zeffirelli Zeffirelli´s legendary 1981 Met staging with an allstar cast led by Teresa Stratas and José Carreras under the baton of Maestro James Levine “With her fragile frame, cameo face and exquisitely modulated soprano, Stratas makes an ideal Mimi.” (The New York Times) “One of the grandest, most richly textured productions of an opera to be seen anywhere”, wrote Christian Science Monitor, while New York Magazine lauded “Theresa Stratas´ potency as a dramatic presence and the sensitively refined artistry of her vocal performance…a true musician as well as an astute operatic actress.” The DVD includes two features: "Zeffirelli on La Bohème" and "Puccini in America" (documentary) “Zeffirelli's Met production is unashamedly a spectacular but in its 1982 staging the cast is a remarkable one, led by Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto and José Carreras.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2009 **** “Zeffirelli's production puts half of Paris onstage but, despite lush conducting, lacks vital intimacy and warmth. Carreras offers a subdued Rodolfo and Stratas a vocally undernourished Mimì.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2010 *** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Plácido Domingo - My Greatest Roles Volume 1 (Puccini)This first boxed set of Plácido Domingo’s greatest roles features operas by Puccini
Puccini: | La fanciulla del West Puccini's penultimate opera is set at the height of the California gold rush. In this Royal Opera recording, filmed in 1983, Carol Neblett sings the role of Minnie, ‘The Girl of the Golden West’, and Placido Domingo is as ignitable as ever in the role of Dick Johnson, alias the bandit, Ramirez. The much-admired production, still in repertory at The Royal Opera, is by Piero Faggioni, and the conductor is Nello Santi. Carol Neblett & Placido Domingo Nello Santi Manon Lescaut This famous production from The Royal Opera, filmed in 1983, features Kiri Te Kanawa in the title role and Plácido Domingo, whose performance of Des Grieux is considered to be unsurpassed. The role of Des Grieux is one of the most taxing in the tenor repertoire, and Domingo’s passionate portrayal is one of his greatest achievements. Lescaut is sung by Thomas Allen, and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House is conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli. Kiri Te Kanawa, Plácido Domingo & Thomas Allen Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Giuseppe Sinopoli Tosca For the first time, the long-awaited ‘live’, real-time Tosca, filmed in Rome in 1992, is available on DVD. For this unique and highly innovative version of Puccini’s Tosca., the acts were staggered so that they were broadcast at the very same times of day as Puccini had written into his score, and were broadcast live by satellite around the world. Tosca was also performed in the exact settings –: in the 16th-century church of Sant’Andrea della Valle, the nearby
Palazzo Farnese and finally at Castel Sant’Angelo. Plácido Domingo, Catherine Malfitano & Ruggero Raimondi Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of Rome RAI, Zubin Mehta |
Picture format: NTSC 4:3 FF Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo TOSCA: Duration: 114 mins Subtitles: Eng / Fr / Ger / It MANON LESCAUT: Duration:130mins Subtitles: Eng / Fr / Ger / Sp / It / Jp LA FAN. DEL W.: Duration: 140 mins Subtitles: Eng / Ger / Sp “Domingo stars in three roles, all filmed when his talents were at their peak. The Covent Garden Fanciulla is exceptional, Manon Lescaut generally good and the real-time Roman Tosca more than a technical feat.” BBC Music Magazine, March 2010 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, in December 2009
John Copley’s enduring production of one of the most famously melodious and popular of all operas is a classic of the Royal Opera repertory. With historically accurate designs by Julia Trevelyan Oman and an excellent cast headed by Hibla Gerzmava and Teodor Ilincai, this 2009 revival, in which conductor Andris Nelsons makes a distinguished Royal Opera House debut, does full justice to Puccini’s masterpiece. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound. "[Ilincai] gave a thoroughly assured and engaging performance. ... Sumptuously sung, Gerzmava’s portrayal was sensitive and well-rounded – timid yet warm and attractive in her first scene with Rodolfo, intimate rather than melodramatic in her final death-bed moments." Classical Source Extra features: Cast gallery Interview with Jonathan Copley Interview with Andris Nelsons Running time 121 mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS Surround Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “Gerzmava is clear in tone and clean in style, the Rodolfo (Teodor Ilincai) light and unforced but wanting richness. All act naturally and well, Jacques Imbrailo (the Schaunard) with panache.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010 “In every sense this Boheme glows...Teodor Ilincai is a splendid Rodolfo...radiating Italian lyricism and boyish good nature. Hibla Gerzmava is a gorgeous Mimi...Inna Dukach is a splendid Musetta...On DVD it looks and sounds wonderful - but on Blu-Ray it's breathtaking” BBC Music Magazine, September 2010 *****  BBC Music Magazine
DVD Choice - September 2010 |
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Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna star in the 2009 Metropolitan Opera production of Puccini’s La Rondine (The Swallow). This new production, directed by Nicholas Joël, was the company’s first staging in 70 years. This elegant romance is the least-known work of the mature Giacomo Puccini. The story concerns a kept woman who defies convention to chase a dream of romantic love with an earnest, if naïve, young man. This Met Opera production features the dynamic soprano Angela Gheorghiu and Frenchborn tenor Roberto Alagna performing the roles of Magda and Ruggero, it blooms into its rightful place in the glorious Puccini canon. La Rondine (The Swallow) was commissioned by Vienna’s Carltheater in 1913. Due to the impending outbreak of World War I, premiered in 1917, at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo with Gilda Dalla Rizza and Tito Schipa. Set in a Parisian salon, it is the story of Magda, the glamorous mistress of wealthy banker Rambaldo. Her yearning for romantic love compels her into the arms of the ardent and adoring young Ruggero. The New York Times hailed the Art-Deco set production as “as sophisticated, charming and poignant”. This DVD features the 10th January, 2009 performance of the opera, which was aired globally in HD as well as two bonus interview featurettes: the first with Gheorghiu and Alagna; the second with Lisette Oropesa and Marius Brenciu, who sing the roles Lisette and Prunier respectively. “Ms. Gheorghiu, as Magda, sings with gleaming sound and wonderfully dusky colorings…The conductor, Marco Armiliato, in what may be his best work to date at the Met, draws a nuanced and supple performance from the orchestra. I thought I knew this score quite well, but have never been so struck by the intricacies of the music”. The New York Times “Mr Alagna supplied plenty of vocal and physical glamour and equal amounts of intelligent phrasing and text-reading; his boyish Ruggero was entirely sympathetic and very moving”. Classics Today “I have never heard Alagna sing better, and Gheorghiu is at her sumptuous best. There are comparably beautiful performances by the younger couple, Marius Brenciu and Lisette Oropesa” New York Daily News Bonuses: Interview with Angela Gheorghiu & Roberto Alagna (3’35) Interview with Lisette Oropesa & Marius Brenciu (4’21) “at the centre is Angela Gheorghiu in richest, creamiest voice. At her side for most of the time is Roberto Alagna, singing with tone that is resonant if not refulgent...Marco Armiliato conducts with enthusiasm, and the glimpses of scenery-changing reveal a hinter-realm of awesome complexity under unfazed control.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010 “Armiliato's conducting...captures the right warmth, and the former Dream Team still look superb...The lyrical young Ruggero still suits Alagna...Ramey's now leathery tone embodies Ramblado's elderly urbanity, and the Met's lesser roles are typically strong. Overall, then, this is [a] fine performance that undoubtedly confirms Rondine's renewed status.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 ***** “ Joël's production...has updated the opera to the 1920s without harming the action or sensibility of the work...Armiliato leads a reading that precisely catches the bittersweet quality of the score without falling into sentimentality; indeed he almost sells it as something other than 'the day off of a genius'.” International Record Review, December 2010 “the Metropolitan Opera sets are wonderfully elegant...Consistently, Gheorghiu makes you share the courtesan's wild dream of finding her young ardent lover...Alagna winningly characterizes in his freshest voice” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Tosca, in Luc Bondy’s headline-making production, opened the New York Metropolitan’s 2009-10 season. The charismatic Karita Mattila takes the title role with Marcelo Álvarez, a classic Latin tenor, as her lover, Cavaradossi. This production of Tosca opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 2009-10 season, the first to be programmed entirely by the house’s General Manager Peter Gelb, who, as the New York Times explains “has been on a campaign to make the house a place for theatrically daring productions with dramatically compelling casts”. The work of Swiss-born Luc Bondy, named by Opera News as “one of the opera world's most respected stage directors”, this production – igniting Tosca‘s potent mix of sex, politics, music and religion – contrasts starkly with its predecessor at the Met, a traditional spectacular first staged by Franco Zeffirelli in 1985. According to the Los Angeles Times: “Bondy updated the story of a diva, her lover and the lecherous chief of the secret police from 1800 to a decadent Rome in the early 20th century. Cavaradossi paints a topless, fetching Mary Magdalene, which Tosca in a fit of jealousy slashes with a knife, in a cathedral that looks more like a grand Fascist assembly room.” The title role is taken by Karita Mattila, “an artist defined by her ability to take risks – emotionally, vocally, temperamentally” (Opera News). The striking blue-eyed blonde from Finland became a sultry dark-eyed Roman brunette and brought “shimmering power, incisive attack, pliant lyricism and emotional honesty to her performance. … In Act III, when she tells Cavaradossi of having stabbed Scarpia to death, she leapt to a high C of ferocious intensity, then plunged down two octaves, mimicking the thrust of the knife into the villain’s gut.” The New York Times went on to praise her Cavaradossi, Marcelo Álvarez as “a true Puccini tenor, with warm, throbbing, supple phrasing and some triumphant top notes, including a defiant high A sharp when he sang “Vittoria” at the news of Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Marengo”. “A very accomplished and dark Scarpia” (The Guardian), Georgian baritone George Gagnidze completed a cast which, as the New York Times reported, “received enormous ovations”. Conducting this performance, and replacing an indisposed James Levine, was American maestro Joseph Colaneri, who has regularly taken charge of Italian repertoire at the Met since 2000. As Opera News said: “The combined effect of the Met chorus and orchestra remains a thing of wonder.” The Met’s high-definition video broadcasts of opera now regularly draw audiences to more than 1000 cinemas in over 40 countries, and – beyond their compelling technical quality – capture the full drama of the performance with sophisticated shooting techniques inspired by Hollywood. “[Mattila's] extraordinary sense of theatre makes her compelling to watch, whether she's sexually teasing Marcelo Álvarez's fervent Cavaradossi in church, or attacking George Gagnidze's perverted Scarpia with a violence that borders on the pathological. Bondy keeps Puccini's specified period (1800), but also views the work as prophetic of 20th and 21st-century political violence.” The Guardian, 9th December 2010 *** “This performance is of the new production by Luc Bondy, the most striking feature of which is the austerity of the designs...the production is pretty self-explanatory: the pervasiveness of pain, primarily physical but also psychological, is underlined throughout...[Gagnidze] is an extraordinarily repulsive Scarpia, surrounded by even more repellent sidekicks” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 *** “The Finnish diva is such a 150 per cent communicator that you forget her limitations and succumb to her stage temperament: this DVD is well worth watching just for her hysterical (both senses) performance...Luc Bondy’s staging upset some New Yorkers by poking gentle fun at Tosca convention...but it gets my vote by skirting most of the clichés.” Financial Times, 7th January 2011 **** “At full force, [Gagnidze's] voice thunders out in an interpretation that shows the thuggish side of Scarpia...Alvarez brings strength of voice to his role...[Mattila] creates a multi-hued Tosca, with touches of humour displayed once or twice, and shows the vulnerability of the woman...[Levine's] replacement Joseph Colineri holds it together well” International Record Review, January 2011 “Karita Mattila makes a compelling Tosca...Marcelo Alvarez is a passionate Cavaradossi and George Gagnidze booms meatily as Scarpia.” Classic FM Magazine, February 2011 ** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Deborah Voigt (Minnie), Marcello Giordani (Dick Johnson), Tony Stevenson (Nick), Keith Miller (Ashby), Dwayne Croft (Sonora), Hugo Vera (Trin), Trevor Scheunemann (Sid), Richard Bernstein (Handsome), Adam Laurence Herskowitz (Harry), Michael Fores (Joe), David Crawford (Happy), Edward Park (Jim Larkens), Philip Cokorinos (Billy Jackrabbit), Ginger Costa-Jackson (Wowkle), Oren Gradu (Jack Wallace), Edward Mou (Pony Express rider), Jeff Mattsey (José Castro) Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra, Nicola Luisotti Deborah Voigt stars in the title role of Puccini's wild west opera - in a spectacular performance seen live in cinemas worldwide as part of the Metropolitan Opera 'Live in HD' series. Giancarlo Del Monaco's richly authentic production, with spectacular sets by Michael Scott, brings the wild west to the Met stage with a panorama of colourful characters and live horses! The opera was premiered at the Met in 1910. Picture format: 16:9 Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish Classification: Exempt | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, September 2011
Il Tabarro Lucio Gallo (Michele), Aleksandrs Antonenko (Luigi), Eva-Maria Westbroek (Giorgetta), Alan Oke (Tinca), Jeremy White (Talpa), Irina Mishura (La Frugola), Ji-Min Park (Venditore), Anna Devin, Robert Anthony Gardiner (Due Amanti) Suor Angelica Ermonela Jaho (Suor Angelica), Anna Larsson (La Zia Principessa), Eryl Royle (Suor Osmina), Anna Devin (Suor Genovieffa), Kathy Batho (Novice), Elizabeth Key (Suor Dolcina), Elizabeth Woollett (Nursing Sister), Gillian Webster, Kathleen Wilder (Due Cercatrici), Irina Mishura (La Badessa), Elizabeth Sikora (Maestra delle Novizie), Elena Zilio (La Suora Zelatrice) Gianni Schicchi Lucio Gallo (Gianni Schicchi), Ekaterina Siurina (Lauretta), Francesco Demuro (Rinuccio), Elena Zilio (Zita), Rebecca Evans (Nella), Marie McLaughlin (La Ciesca), Jeremy White (Betto di Signa), Gwynne Howell (Simone), Robert Poulton (Marco), Alan Oke (Gherardo), Filippo Turkheimer (Gherardino), Henry Waddington (Maestro Spinelloccio), Enrico Fissore (Ser Amantio di Nicolai), Daniel Grice (Pinellio), John Molloy (Guccio) Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano (conductor) & Richard Jones (director) This is The Royal Opera’s first complete presentation of Puccini’s Il trittico since 1965. Leading director Richard Jones staged his witty, darkly comic realization of Gianni Schicchi for The Royal Opera in 2007, and here he completes the trio. 3 DVDs for the price of 1 Leading director Richard Jones staged his witty, darkly comic realization of Gianni Schicchi for The Royal Opera in 2007. The production was revived in 2012 and here he completes the trio with two new productions of Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica. Antonio Pappano conducts an acclaimed cast including Eva-Maria Westbroek, Ermonela Jaho, Lucio Gallo, Elena Zilio and rising star Francesco Demuro. These three one-act works were broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and went to cinemas world-wide in February 2012. Running time: 180 minutes Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/ES Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS “a triumph...three wonderfully directed and expertly acted productions. Add in Pappano's impeccable conducting and his valuable introductions to the pieces, and you have a nigh-on ideal Trittico.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 ***** “In the theatre, Suor Angelica packed a stronger punch [than Il Tabarro]. Here, on DVD, it is little short of devastating...Jaho's youthful vulnerability is deeply moving...Gianni Schicchi is a wicked 1960s delight...Outstandingly filmed, this set marks a high point for live opera on DVD...I have no hesitation in making this new Trittico the top recommendation.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012 “Pappano draws consistently fine playing from the orchestra...Gallo is in very good from as Michele...Westbroek gives her all in Giorgetta's contrasting scenes...Jaho dominates [Suor Angelica], of course, and in a role which she had never sung before...Gallo exhibits his facility for comic roles [in Schicchi]...One will have to look far to find a better trio of performances than these” International Record Review, September 2012 BBC Music Magazine DVD Choice - September 2012 |
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It is no exaggeration to say that the two performances of Tosca at the Royal Opera House in July 2011 - with Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann and Bryn Terfel as the leads - were opera history in the making and by far the hottest tickets in town. For the majority of us who weren’t lucky enough to be there, it has been captured on this DVD, exclusively released by EMI. Subtitles in Italian, English, German, Japanese, French & Spanish “Gheorghiu makes a credible character out of Tosca...her voice keeps its beauty at all but the most high-pressure moments...Kaufmann scores a complete success as Cavaradossi...What he lacks in Italianate open tone, he makes up in brooding, dark colours...Neither of them would be likely to get the better of Bryn Terfel's bully of a Scarpia...The other dominant personality is Antonio Pappano, whose Puccini has never sounded better” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013 “Pappano's mastery of Puccinian pace and phrasing intensifies this turbulent score's onward surge, but he's also noticeable attentive to his singers...[Kaufmann's] cries of 'Vittoria!' are thrilling...and his acting never slackens...Tosca's mercurial character seems to resonate with [Gheorghiu] naturally...There are some decent Toscas on DVD already, but I'd start here.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 ***** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Gramophone Magazine
BBC Music Magazine Awards 2013