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Purcell’s much-loved tragic masterpiece is an intense tale of heroism, passion, betrayal and ultimate tragedy, played out against a backdrop of fiery rituals, evil spells and pageantry. This film was first shown on television in 1995 to celebrate the tercentenary of Purcell’s death. The American soprano Maria Ewing stars as Dido, with Karl Daymond as Aeneas. They head an excellent British cast including Rebecca Evans as Belinda, Sally Burgess as the Sorceress, Patricia Rozario as the First Enchantress and James Bowman as the Voice of Mercury. The Collegium Musicum 90 is conducted by Richard Hickox, and the film was directed by Peter Maniura.

This production of Dido & Aeneas was filmed entirely on location at Hampton Court House in 1995, where spectacular settings were created in the house and grounds by the Dutch designer Niek Kortekaas.

Director Peter Maniura said of the production, “Purcell’s masterpiece is a miracle of dramatic compression. Inspired by the paintings of the 17th Century, I have tried to recreate a rich filmic world which places a classical love story with its heroes and heroines, magic and intrigue, in a Baroque setting”.

Tony Palmer directs this prize-winning film about the great English composer Henry Purcell. Very little is known about his life, but the script - by Charles Wood and the late John Osborne - solves this problem by launching a group of actors in the 1960s on a voyage of discovery into the 1660s & late-17th century England, the extraordinary period in which Purcell lived. But it is Purcell’s music which is the driving force of the drama, with a stunning soundtrack conducted by John Eliot Gardiner.

Features an all-star cast with Simon Callow as Charles, Michael Ball as Henry Purcell, Letitia Dean as Barbara, Nina Young as Mrs Purcell, Corin Redgrave as William III, Lucy Speed as Nell, John Shrapnel as Pepys, Robert Stephens as Dryden, Murray Melvin as Shaftesbury, Terence Rigby as Cooke, Peter Woodthorpe as Kiffen, John Fortune as Clarendon, Edward Michie as young Harry and Bill Kenwright as Bill.

Subtitles included: English, German, Spanish and Italian

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

Running time 72 mins Region code All regions

Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 5.1 Half DTS / PCM Stereo

Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT Dimensions (mm) W135 H190 D15

Adaptation, conception & stage direction: Corinne & Gilles Benizio (alias Shirley & Dino)

And now for something completely different ...

For its first DVD release Glossa has chosen a veritable spectacular, combining the strong creative ideas represented by one of its established artistic teams in Hervé Niquet and Le Concert Spirituel, the hugely successful French comedy duo of Shirley and Dino (Corinne and Gilles Benizio in real life), a film director in Olivier Simonnet with proven experience in the music of the Baroque and a masterpiece of a dramatic operatic score in Henry Purcell's King Arthur. The production got firmly into gear after Hervé Niquet had parked himself in front of the motorbike of Gilles Benizio, just as the comedian was about to speed off at the end of a 'Shirley et Dino' show, and had requested that the Benizios should become the stage directors for King Arthur in Montpellier. Soon, apparently the music and stage directors found that they held shared tastes in humour, even unto the nonsensical and surrealist elements of Monty Python and its Flying Circus. The new plot with its series of individual scenes even now allows for the role of King Arthur himself (assumed here by João Fernandes) as well as the comic sketches starring Shirley et Dino and other members of the cast - even the musical director gets his turn on the stage, rather than in the pit. The production was staged and recorded last year at the Opéra de Montpellier in France where Le Concert Spirituel has been in residence since 2006.

“Early music conductor Hervé Niquet and his musically ultra chic Concert Spirituel were drawn into the fray, hapless, helpless and superfluous as orchestras so often are in operatic organization, with conductor Niquet taking full advantage of the rare opportunity to take himself center stage, making himself the star of the show as best he could - holding forth with vaudeville songs and schtick. The venerable maestro was upstaged only by Dino's mute rendition of the famed French chanson "Mexico," and Shirley and Dino's skiing across the stage uttering nonsensical German sounding sounds.” Musicweb on the Montpellier production.

Format: NTSC colour, 16:9

Sound: PCM stereo, DTS 5.0

Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish

Rec. 2009, Runtime: 1:52

Format: digipack + slipcase

Booklet: 32 pages in 5 languages

Timing : 66'14''

+ interview with William Christie & Deborah Warner (23')

Libretto by Nahum Tate based on a story by Virgile

Sets and Costumes Chloé Obolensky

Lighting Jean Kalman

Coproduction with Netherlands Opera,Amsterdam, Production adapted for Vienna Festival May 2006

A genius with the ability to combine French and Italian influences in an art that transported the English language, Purcell may be William Christie's favourite composer.This production of Dido and Aeneas, directed by Deborah Warner and interpreted by Les Arts Florissants, was overwhelmingly acclaimed when created at the Vienna Festival in 2006 and again when repeated at the Opéra Comique in 2008.This short opera, one of the earliest, is particularly dear to William Christie who has recorded and directed it on several occasions.

Brilliant stage direction by Deborah Warner combines various time spaces in the 17th century with the present day, enhanced by the subtle lighting schemes of Jean Kalman.The elegant, production for television by François Roussillon entirely sustains the stage direction and music bringing to life the performance recorded in December 2008 at the Opéra Comique.

Jonathan Kent’s spectacular production of Purcell’s huge semi-opera is joyous, imaginative and witty. Glyndebourne, with its intimate auditorium, provides the perfect setting for a drama which is partly spoken and partly sung. Based on an adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the story is lavished with a brilliance that justifies this production’s acclaim. Paul Brown’s inventive designs, Kim Brandstrup’s exquisite choreography, an excellent cast of actors and singers and outstanding playing by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under William Christie combine to make a seamless theatrical experience, here recorded in High Definition and true surround sound.

“There are too many highlights to mention in this varied and infinitely delightful entertainment. Glyndebourne has a triumph on its hands.” The Stage

Extra features:

Interview with William Christie

Interview with Jonathan Kent

Running time 3 hours 41 mins

Region code All regions

Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic

Sound format 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS digital

Menu language EN

Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES

Directed by Reiner E. Moritz

Commentary in English with French and German subtitles

The playing of the young pianist Hélène Grimaud has been described as “fire and ice, passion and reason all in one” (Le Monde de la Musique); “coiled energy eventuating in unbridled excitement” (NewYork Times);“superlative technique.. .she unfailingly delivers original inflected conceptions of the music” (Financial Times). But she is not only an extraordinary pianist, she is also an extraordinary woman, consumed by two loves in life -music and wolves. With her partner, photographer J. Henry Fair, she has founded a Wolf Conservation Centre at her home in South Salem, New York.

Grimaud came to music because it was the last resort of her parents, university professors in the South of France. “I was so easily bored. I was a distraction in the classroom. They tried martial arts, they tried sports. Then someone suggested music.” Music cured her boredom and her facility for playing the piano proved to be astonishing. By the age of thirteen she was accepted by a unanimous vote into the Paris Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique. In 1985 she was awarded first prize in Jacques Rouvier’s class and was invited to participate in masterclasses given by Gyorgy Sander, Leon Fleisher and Jorge Bolet, who said of her, “It has been a long time, a very long time, since I have met a natural talent of such quality and musical sensibility.” Her concert career took off in 1987 and now she performs with major orchestras around the world as well as being in demand for recital appearances. In February 2000 she was named ‘Soloist of the Year’ by ‘Les Victoires de la musique’. Still in her early thirties, she is arguably one of the very top pianists of her generation. To be spontaneous, not to be afiaid of taking risks and always to play as though it is the first time is Helene Grimaud’s maxim.

This encounter with Grimaud captures the essence of a musician and woman who is full of surprises. Refi-eshingly open and engaging, she gives an insight into her life and her music and is seen at work in Europe, performing, rehearsing and recording. At home in upstate New York her passion for wolves and her concern to educate people about these top predators is evident as she introduces her charges.

There are extensive performance extracts featuring Helene Grimaud as a concert soloist, a chamber musician and in recital, playing music by Rachmaninov, Bach/Busoni, Beethoven Brahms and Schumann.

Steven Isserlis, one of the world's outstanding cellists, is a musician known for his strong ideas and passionate convictions about music. A champion of the works of Schumann, he also gets satisfaction in discovering and introducing into the repertoire works by lesser known composers which he considers deserve a wider audience. As well as giving concerts and recitals throughout the world, he is much sought after as a teacher. He is Artistic Director of the International Musicians' Seminar at Prussia Cove in Cornwall UK, the world-renowned residential workshop for talented young musicians, started by Hilary Behrens and the legendary Sandor Vegh.

In this masterclass, he works with Guy Johnston, former winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition, on the first movement of Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata. The sonata has a history in Isserlis' family - his grandfather, a pianist, performed the sonata with Anatoly Brandukhov, the cellist for whom Rachmaninov wrote the sonata.

André Previn (b.1929) is often hailed as one of the world’s most versatile musicians. The recipient of ten Grammy awards for his recordings, he has conducted many of the world’s top orchestras, both in concert performances and in the studio.

All three of the performances on this DVD took place during Previn’s tenure as Principal Conductor of the LSO – the Prokofiev was filmed as part of the popular BBC television

series ‘André Previn’s Music Night’. This footage of Rachmaninov’s ‘The Bells’ documents the first Proms performance of this work in 1973, featuring three stellar British singers, Sheila Armstrong, Robert Tear and John Shirley-Quirk and a precise and energetic London Symphony Chorus.

The Penguin Guide describes Previn’s performance of ‘The Bells’ on EMI, recorded just two years after the performance on this DVD, as ‘powerful’ due to his ‘concentration on purely musical values [which] adds much as on the evocation of atmosphere’. Previn used the same three soloists.

This is the first DVD release of this material.

1DVD

Sound format: Ambient Mastering

Picture format: 4:3

Running time: 62’

Subtitles: n/a

Menu languages: English

Booklet languages: E/F/G

Region code: 0

Territory Restrictions: None