DVD Videos

The new General Music Director – Marcos Bosch discovers ‘light Wagner’ at his debut in Nuremberg. Under his direction in David Mouchtar-Samorai’s production, Wagner’s ‘Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg’ almost becomes a high-spirited, light-hearted comedy.

Andris Nelsons is one of the most sought-after young conductors on the international scene today and once again served notice of his extraordinary talent in Summer 2011 when he conducted two concerts with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam at the prestigious Lucerne Festival.

In this concert (available on DVD and Blu-ray) orchestra and conductor demonstrate their brilliance in some of the most spectacular orchestral works ever written.

Total: 100 minutes

DVD: DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo

Picture 16:9, HD

Hans Neuenfels’s striking new production of Wagner’s fairytale opera gives this medieval story of doomed love and sorcery the Bayreuth treatment. As controversial as it is stimulating, this production was the talk of the 2011 Festival, and showcases a new generation of Wagnerian singing talent including soprano Annette Dasch and tenor Klaus Florian Vogt.

Running time: 84 minutes

Subtitles: EN/FR/DE/ES

Sound format: 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

Set Design by RUDOLF and REINHARD HEINRICH

Wagner set the action of his “romantic opera” Lohengrin in the “first half of the 10th century” – an instruction which director Wolfgang Weber and his stage designers Rudolf and Reinhard Heinrich clearly took very seriously when they produced it at the Vienna State Opera in 1990. We do indeed experience the early, gloomy Middle Ages: muted colours, dark clouds, barren landscapes and simple shapes dominate the scene. Weber’s simplicity succeeds in evoking clear symbolism; his staging does not impress by means of the spectacular, but underlines the dramatic sense embodied in the music, allowing the outstanding singers full scope to express themselves in this remarkable production under Claudio Abbado. The main roles are taken by Cheryl Studer as Elsa, and Plácido Domingo as Lohengrin – which he first performed as his debut role at the Hamburg State Opera in 1968, at the age of 27.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: 1 x DVD 5 & 9, NTSC

Subtitle Languages: DE (Original Language), GB, FR, IT, ES

Running Time: 219 mins

FSK: 12

This unique film takes us deep into the artistic and musical challenges of staging Wagner’s epic Ring cycle, as a spectacular and groundbreaking new production is created for The Metropolitan Opera, New York.

The stakes could not be higher as one of the theater's finest stage directors teams up with one of the world's leading opera companies to tackle opera's most monumental challenge. Robert Lepage’s visionary production – the most ambitious in the history of The Met - features a colossal set weighing 90,000-pounds (“The Machine”), designed to meet Wagner’s extraordinary theatrical demands.

An outstanding cast of opera stars including Bryn Terfel and Deborah Voigt are joined by newcomer Jay Hunter Morris, who dramatically steps into the hugely demanding role of the hero Siegfried just days before the production’s world premiere.

An intimate look at the challenges of live opera and the risks that must be taken, the film chronicles the creativity and unflagging determination behind this daring attempt to realize Wagner’s dream of a perfect Ring.

A unique synthesis of orchestral music from Wagner's Ring cycle. Arranged by Lorin Maazel, the work was designed to be free flowing (no breaks) and chronological, beginning with the first note of Rheingold and finishing with the last chord of Goetterdaemmerung. All the music is Wagner's, and even the transitional material is drawn from the original scores. To convey the breadth and scope of the entire work, Maazel also excerpted material from each opera in proportion to the whole cycle. The result is a 75-minute symphonic journey through Wagner's four great operas.

Consisting of four monumental operas, Wagner's The Ring of Nibelung was one of the most ambitious musical projects ever composed, and has been successful in every respect. With its huge orchestras, sprawling mythological plot, and intense musical drama, the Ring changed the world of music. Orchestrally, they are probably the most complex operas in history, and only the most intrepid of orchestras are up to the challenge.

One of the world's greatest ensembles, the Berlin Philharmonic, has built an unparalleled reputation in the music of Wagner and his contemporaries. This synthesis by conductor Lorin Maazel includes all the standard Ring orchestral excerpts such as Ride of the Valkyries and Siegfried's Rhine Journey, as well as most of the leitmotifs known to exist in the score. The result is a unique and innovative symphonic suite (played without interruption) performed by one of the world's most esteemed orchestras.

Including the EuroArts & Idéale Audience Catalogue - this catalogue brings together two prestigious audio-visual production companies: EuroArts in Germany and Idéale Audience in France, including all new releases from 2012 and all available DVDs and Blu-ray Discs.

Picture format: NTSC - 16:9

Sound formats: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: All

Booklet notes: English, German, French

Bonus-Original Language: English

Bonus-Subtitles: German, French, Japanese

Running time: 88 mins (83 mins-Performance + ca. 5 mins-Bonus)

Dramaturge Hildegard De Vuyst

Musical Dramaturg Jan Vandenhouwe

Additional Music Steven Prengels

Costume Designer Dorine Demuynck

Lighting Designer Carlo Bourguignon

Sound Designer Bart Uyttersprot

Choirmaster Andrés Máspero

C(h)oeurs, a mix of Choirs (choeurs) and Hearts (coeurs) in French, is a new musical drama set against the backdrop of contemporary international economic crisis and national protests, and the ensuing changes in society.

Pursuing a reflection on the emotions felt by the individual and generated by the masses, singers from the internationally renowned Chorus of the Teatro Real perform alongside dancers of Alain Platel’s company les ballets C de la B in a spectacular presentation of excepts from Verdi’s and Wagner’s distinct works.

Many works of Giuseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner are linked to the liberal revolutions of 1848, the "Springtime of Peoples", that swept away absolutism in Europe.

Each musical piece blends seamlessly into the next, drawn by the actions of the individuals and groups through the expressiveness of their singing and movement.

Production by Robert Lepage

Production by Robert Lepage

Production by Robert Lepage