DVD Videos

“This opera, premiered at the Royal Opera last April, seems to me to be a masterpiece, of the kind that one feels the greatness of before one has a complete understanding of it. …the Minotaur is a terrifying and pained figure. This performance is the climax of John Tomlinson's career, in a part written with his huge, gravelly voice in mind. The other compelling figure is Ariadne... Christine Rice, bearing the weight of exposition and of suffering, uses her wonderfully rich mezzo to stunning effect.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2008 *****

“The filming reinforces the strengths of Stephen Langridge's tightly controlled, potently expressive production in an economical yet atmospheric setting, with the whole ensemble totally engaged in the drama's dark enterprise. Repeated hearings underline that, in the end, this tragedy is the more convincing for the way its turn towards pathos does not involve any false consolation.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2009

“Birtwistle's latest large-scale music drama, written for Covent Garden, is a quite different experience on DVD: what might have been planned by composer and stage director to be witnessed from a distance is shown in unsparing close-up.
But this seething, monumental reinvention of one of the most disquieting Greek myths – with a pithy libretto by David Harsent – is neither betrayed nor diminished by this excellent film.
Only in its final stages does the opera's focus shift decisively to the doomed Minotaur from the scheming Ariadne, and the drama's most essential point is that this Ariadne – as different from Strauss's as Birtwistle's Orpheus is different from Gluck's – is in her own way as much of a monster as the half-man/half-bull. These demanding roles are projected with maximum musical eloquence by Christine Rice and Sir John Tomlinson, no doubt because – as Rice makes clear in the absorbing 30-minute documentary that accompanies the performance – what is demanding is also intensely rewarding to singers prepared to commit themselves to a steep learning curve. Equal commitment is evident in Johan Reuter's Theseus, the conventions of heroic posturing given new depth and relevance in text, music and vocal acting alike. We see little of Antonio Pappano and his orchestra, but the excellent sound never lets us escape the inexorable magnetism of the instrumental continuum.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Birtwistle's idiom, always abrasive, has developed here a more lyrical strain...The impact of the opera is greatly heightened not just by the casting but by staging by Stephen Langridge...[Pappano] excels himself, conducting an electrifying performance with orchestra and chorus finely coordinated.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition

“The work’s transition to high-definition video is marvellously achieved...the opera’s incarnation on DVD never appears stilted or ‘stagey...The sound qualities of the recording are also outstanding, capable of revealing—in all its shocking majesty—the detail, subtlety and visceral power of Birtwistle’s extraordinary score.” Opera

“...everyone on stage, from stars to comprimarios and children (authentically underfoot), crackles with individual life, ideal on video... Garanča's clean-cut Baltic mezzo and fresh good looks suggest not the stereotypical gypsy wench, but a free spirit, intelligent and wilful” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 *****

“Here is an opera DVD where, rare in my experience, each individual element matches the excellence of the others: production, cast, performance, film direction and use of the medium....Garanča has a fine sparring partner in Alagna - both roles are as well acted as they are sung...Halvorson's fluent direction conveys a real sense of occasion to the whole evening.” Gramophone Magazine, November 2010

“Elina Garanca's striking Carmen and Barbara Frittoli's Micaela stand out, with Alagna unexpectedly affecting as Don Jose.” The Observer, 19th December 2010

“This is a calculating Carmen, who knows the worth of her assets. Some of her wily intelligence is reflected in the voice — strong in all reaches, flaming at the top...[Tahu Rhodes] prov[es] himself to be an ideal toreador, virile of voice, and very tall. All in all, a Carmen well worth seeing and hearing.” The Times, 28th August 2010

“Domingo stops the show in Carmen, in a performance wonderfully conducted by Carlos Kleiber. The Samson and Hoffmann (both 1981) are seriously good.” BBC Music Magazine, April 2011 *****

“the orchestral playing [in Trovatore] is absolutely superb - positively incendiary in places...Domingo's ardent and gloriously sung Don Jose is a marvel...[He] is absorbing in the title-role [of Lohengrin]...This box of four discs costs little more than one full-price opera on DVD: it's an amazing bargain.” International Record Review, October 2011

“If a Barcelona Carmen suggests authentic atmosphere, forget it. It's staged by Calixto Bieito, notorious for shock-effect productions...On home ground, though, he's comparatively restrained, although he does update the opera to the 1970s...Beatrice Uria-Monzon's veteran Carmen is compelling. Roberto Alagna equals his Met video, fluently lyrical while indicating the hair-trigger violence beneath.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2011 **

“Updating rarely makes such a seamless case for itself as in this modern production of Carmen...Alagna has always had a certain Mad Max side to his temperament that, combined with his Italianate lyric tenor, has made him one of the best Don Joses in the business.” Gramophone Magazine, January 2012

“Piollet launches the opera thrillingly; however exhilarating the energy, the playing remains disciplined, with mingled grace and fire. Conductor and orchestra sustain that level throughout, with well-judged rubato and frequently an unerring light touch.” International Record Review, December 2011