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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Recorded live at The Amsterdam Music Theatre, Nov & Dec 2009
Eva-Maria Westbroek (Minnie), Lucio Gallo (Jack Rance), Zoran Todorovich (Dick Johnson), Roman Sadnik (Nick), Diogenes Randes (Ashby), Stephen Gadd (Sonora), Tijl Faveyts (Billy Jackrabbit), Ellen Rabiner (Wowkle), André Morsch (Jake Wallace) & Roger Smeets (José Castro) Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera & Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Carlo Rizzi (conductor) & Nikolaus Lehnhoff (director) Nikolaus Lehnhoff’s Hollywood-style production updates this Wild West story to the capitalist culture of Wall Street, perfectly reflecting Puccini’s innovatory spirit. In a new angle on the age-old love triangle theme, corrupt Sheriff Jack Rance (Lucio Gallo) and charismatic criminal Dick Johnson (Zoran Todorovich) vie for the love of glamorous blonde and devout Christian Minnie (Eva-Maria Westbroek), finding her way in a man’s world. Carlo Rizzi’s idiomatic conducting draws excellent singing from the large cast and fine playing from The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound. Extra features: Cast gallery Documentary on Eva-Maria Westbroek "...a high-powered show throughout..." The Financial Times "...The Netherlands Opera’s spirited and inventive new production..." New York Times Running time 160mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS digital Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT/NL “What we see is an updated parable of the American dream...in the final scene [Minnie] appears, like Jean Harlow, at the top of a glittering staircase to be carried off to a Hollywood happy ending...Does it all make sense? Not really; but the characters are vividly portrayed and the settings look spectacular.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010 “From her first entrance...Westbroek is captivating. She boasts the wonderfully meaty instrument required for Minnie (especially in the all-important middle voice), plus the right wholesome, strawberry-blonde appearance...This endearing portrayal will surely take its place in the great line of sopranos who have excelled as Minnie...Carlo Rizzi leads a highly passionate reading” International Record Review, December 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | William Shakespeare: Love's Labour's LostRecorded live at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, in October 2009.
Philip Cumbus (King of Navarre), Trystan Gravelle (Berowne), William Mannering (Longaville), Jack Farthing (Dumaine), Michelle Terry (Princess of France), Thomasin Rand (Rosaline), Jade Anouka (Maria), Siân Robins-Grace (Katharine), Tom Stuart (Boyet), Paul Ready (Don Armado), Seroca Davis (Moth), Christopher Godwin (Holofernes), Patrick Godfrey (Sir Nathanial), Andrew Vincent (Dull), Fergal McElherron (Costard), Rhiannon Oliver (Jaquenetta) & James Lailey (Mercadé) Dominic Dromgoole (director) Designed by Jonathan Fensom When the King of Navarre and his three courtiers forswear all pleasure – particularly of the female variety – in favour of a life of study, the arrival of the Princess of France and her ladies plays havoc with their intentions. Using every kind of verbal gymnastics to poke fun, Shakespeare’s most intellectual comedy is brought to hilarious life in Dominic Dromgoole’s highly entertaining production, rich in visual humour and sexual innuendo. Jonathan Fensom’s knot garden and original music by Claire van Kampen create the framework for an engaging performance by an excellent cast. Filmed live in High Definition and true surround sound. Extra features: Cast gallery Famous Speeches “Dominic Dromgoole’s zestful production succeeds in captivating the audience to a degree that I would not have thought possible… It’s a treat” The Independent “With a delightful design and jaunty music it has abundant charm… Entirely enchanting” The Times Running time 167 mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Menu language EN Subtitles EN (in Shakespearean English) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, East Sussex, on 17th & 19th July 2009.
Lucy Crowe (Juno/Mystery), Claire Debono (Spring/First Fairy), Anna Devin (Second Fairy), Helen-Jane Howells (Eve), Carolyn Sampson (Night), Robert Burt (Mopsa), Sean Clayton (Summer), Ed Lyon (Secrecy/Adam), Adrian Ward (Autumn), Lukas Kargl (Phœbus), Desmond Barrit (Drunken Poet), Andrew Foster-Williams (Winter/Sleep/Coridon/Hymen) Actors: Sally Dexter (Titania), Joseph Millson (Oberon), Desmond Barrit (Bottom), Susannah Wise (Hermia), Oliver Le Suer (Demetrius), Oliver Kieran Jones (Lysander), Jotham Annan (Puck) The Glyndebourne Chorus & Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, William Christie (conductor) & Jonathan Kent (stage director) 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 “Jonathan Kent's joyous Glyndebourne production burst[s] with opulent stagecraft...Kent is abetted by William Christie in the pit, a man of the theatre down to his gainfully-employed fingertips...Altogether a riotously funny, ravishingly intelligent production.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2010 ***** “Kudos to director Jonathan Kent and the entire production team of Glyndebourne's fabulous 2009 reincarnation of the music and play reunited...the production is a treat to watch...this DVD conveys an exceptionally spectacular event in the theatre.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2010 “a most imaginative production from Jonathan Kent that is gorgeous visually and most entertaining to watch; and the Purcell masques fit readily with the spoken narrative. The whole presentation combines charm and period musicality (with the admirable William Christie in charge)...In most respects visually and dramatically this is a triumph.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition  BBC Music Magazine
DVD Choice - November 2010 |
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| |  | William Shakespeare: As You Like ItRecorded live at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, in October 2009.
Brendon Hughes (Duke Frederick), Jack Laskey (Orlando), Trevor Martin (Adam), Jamie Parker (Oliver), Naomi Frederick (Rosalind), Laura Rogers (Celia), Dominic Rowan (Touchstone), Gregory Gudgeon (Le Beau), Sean Kearns (Charles/Cori), Philip Bird (Duke Senior), Peter Gale (Amiens), Michael Benz (Silvius), Tim McMullan (Jaques), Sophie Duval (Audrey), Jade Williams (Phebe), Ewart James Walters (Hymen) Directed by Thea Sharrock Designed by Dick Bird Choreographed by Fin Walker Thea Sharrock’s irresistible new production of Shakespeare’s popular romantic comedy stirs wit, sentiment, intrigue and love into a charming confection which challenges the traditional rules of romance. At its heart, a feisty but feminine Rosalind (Naomi Frederick), in love with the endearingly naïve Orlando (Jack Laskey), uses her disguise as Ganymede to counsel him playfully in the art of wooing. Distraction is provided by Dominic Rowan, a remarkably funny Touchstone, and Tim McMullan, whose sonorous tones are perfectly suited to the lugubrious wit of Jaques. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound. Extra features: Cast gallery Famous Speeches “Naomi Frederick's superb Rosalind is a woman of wit and intelligence… Laskey's Orlando is equally bewitched, bothered and bewildered, and the playfulness between the two is a pleasure” The Guardian Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS digital Menu language EN Subtitles EN (in Shakespearean English) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, East Sussex, United Kingdom, in August 2009.
Acclaimed Italian conductor Maurizio Benini makes his Glyndebourne debut in Donizetti’s intoxicating and deeply touching opera, whose fast-moving comic story unfolds the romantic rivalry between penniless farmhand and bumptious soldier, both vying for the love of Adina. Will the bogus Dr Dulcamara’s potion – the elixir of love – help farmhand Nemorino win her heart? Peter Auty takes the role of Nemorino with Ekaterina Siurina as Adina. Recorded in High Definition and true surround sound. “It is a beautifully achieved piece of work. … Peter Auty’s Nemorino is world-class in his vocal accomplishment and touching presentation of the character’s plight. Alfredo Daza sounds exactly the right notes of God’s gift to women bumptiousness and fundamental decency with his good-looking, healthy sounding Sergeant Belcore. Luciano Di Pasquale hits the spot as the fake potion seller Dulcamara, bringing colour and vivacity to his every appearance. The chorus are marvellous. Maurizio Benini maintains lively music-making in the pit.” The Stage Extra features: Illustrated synopsis Cast gallery Running time 129 mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 LPCM & 5.0 DTS Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “An enchanting account. Set in Mussolini's Italy...it is wonderfully cast and a perfect team effort.” BBC Music Magazine, Christmas 2010 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | William Shakespeare: Romeo and JulietRecorded live at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, London, in August 2009.
Adetomiwa Edun (Romeo), Ellie Kendrick (Juliet), Philip Cumbus (Mercutio), Ukweli Roach (Tybalt), Rawiri Paratene (Friar Lawrence), Penny Layden (Nurse), Michael O’Hagan (Montague), Holly Atkins (Lady Montague), Ian Redford (Capulet), Miranda Foster (Lady Capulet), Jack Farthing (Benvolio), Graham Vick (Apothecary), Fergal McElherron (Balthazaar/Peter), Tom Stuart (Paris), James Lailey (Friar John/Sampson), Andrew Vincent (Prince), William Lyons, Arngeir Hauksson, Amy Kelly, Sharon Lindo & Nicholas Perry (musicians) Directed by Dominic Dromgoole Choreographed by Sian Williams Designed by Simon Daw Dominic Dromgoole’s production brings refreshing clarity to one of Shakespeare’s most famous and best-loved tragedies, drawing out the contemporary relevance of this passionate teenage love story. Ellie Kendrick, a truly youthful Juliet, and Adetomiwa Edun, a boyish Romeo, head an excellent cast whose period costumes point to the timelessness of parental disapproval, adolescent temperament, rivalry and violence. Filmed before a live audience at Shakespeare’s Globe in the heart of London, its intimate and atmospheric setting adds immediacy and vitality to the humour and passion of Shakespeare’s verse. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound. Extra features: Cast gallery Famous Speeches “Dromgoole is blessed with a smashing pair of young lovers. Adetomiwa Edun's Romeo is fresh, cheeky, light on his feet and full of the ebullience of young love... The production's secret weapon is Ellie Kendrick... delivers the jewelled verse with a lovely purity and directness. I particularly admired Rawiri Paratene's impassioned Friar Lawrence, Ian Redford as a Capulet, and Tom Stuart's hilarious performance as a socially inept Count Paris” Daily Telegraph Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 LPCM & 5.1 DTS Menu language EN Subtitles EN (in Shakespearean English) | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Zurich Opera House in October 2008.
Melanie Diener (Leonore), Roberto Saccà (Florestan), Lucio Gallo (Don Pizarro), Alfred Muff (Rocco), Sandra Trattnigg (Marzelline), Christoph Strehl (Jaquino), Krešimir Stražanac (Don Fernando), Boguslaw Bidzinski (First Prisoner), Morgan Moody (Second Prisoner) Zurich Opera Orchestra & Zurich Opera Chorus, Bernard Haitink (conductor) & Katharina Thalbach (director) Translucence, transparency – warmth’ are the qualities identified by Bernard Haitink as necessary for an ideal sound performance of Beethoven’s only opera, and all are present in this fantastic recording of Katharina Thalbach’s new production for Opernhaus Zurich. Haitink conducts the Zurich Opera Orchestra in a magnificent performance in which Leonore Overture No. 3 provides an interlude between the two scenes of the second act, following a tradition started by Gustav Mahler. German soprano Melanie Diener, in the role of Leonore, leads a brilliant cast including Alfred Muff as Rocco, Roberto Saccà as Florestan, Sandra Trattnigg as Marzelline and Christoph Strehl as Jaquino. This High Definition recording with true surround sound marks the start of an exciting new collaboration between Opus Arte and Opernhaus Zurich. Extra features: Illustrated synopsis Cast gallery Running time 149 mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 PCM & 5.0 DTS Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, East Sussex, June 2009.
Christopher Purves (Falstaff), Tassis Christoyannis (Ford), Marie-Nicole Lemieux (Mistress Quickly), Dina Kuznetsova (Alice Ford), Jennifer Holloway (Meg Page), Adriana Kucerova (Nanetta), Bulent Bezduz (Fenton), Peter Hall (Dr Caius), Alasdair Elliott (Bardolpho), Paolo Battaglia (Pistol) London Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Vladimir Jurowski (conductor) & Richard Jones (director) The inspirational Vladimir Jurowski conducts Verdi’s last opera, his only true comic opera. An international cast is led by Christopher Purves in the larger-than-life role of the corpulent Falstaff, whose profligacy both outrages and inspires the citizens of Windsor. Richard Jones’s production brings out the humour, bitterness and anger – mixed with tenderness and wisdom – embodied in the Shakespeare plays on which the libretto is based. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound. ‘In the pit, Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic hone their reflexes so that the instrumental guffaw, exclamation, explosive flourish leaps out at you. It’s exciting and detailed and rhythmically so alive.’ The Independent Extra features: Illustrated synopsis Cast gallery Running time 136mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 PCM & 5.1 DTS Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “all aspects of staging [...] work to happy effect. The updating [...] is unexpectedly refreshing...The cast is uniformly excellent, with Christopher Purves's Falstaff much funnier than most...Jurowski conducts so as to bring out all the score's energy and wit without forcing the pace or underlining the jokes.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2010 “[Purves's Falstaff is] a masterpiece of comic timing. But this performance is also beautifully sung, capturing the Italianate ardour within the bosom of Windsor's beached whale...Francois Roussillon's direction, giving a due flavour of the theatrical ambience, results in a model of filmed opera.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2010 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Brahms - Piano Concerto No. 2
Joaquín Achúcarro (piano) Robin Lough (director) This recording commemorates the 50th anniversary of Joaquín Achúcarro’s debut with the London Symphony Orchestra after winning the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic International Competition in 1959. Recorded at Jerwood Hall, St Luke’s, London, with Britain’s eminent conductor Colin Davis at the helm, Achúcarro delivers a consummate performance that brilliantly expresses his delicate and passionate style. Extra features include a substantial documentary about Achúcarro’s career and performances of solo piano pieces by Brahms, Chopin, Scriabin and Albéniz filmed in the beautiful setting of the Prado museum, Madrid. “Achúcarro’s approach is unorthodox in today’s stick-to-theletter-of-the-score, mechanically perfect musical world. His rubati seem excessive to some; to others, like a throwback to a Golden Age. For all of his reverence for the great composers whose music he plays, he maintains a healthy sense of their humanity as well. “Our duty is first of all to understand what composer does and wants, and then to try to deliver it the best we can, but also to serve the music,” he says. “And maybe sometimes the composer is wrong.” He adds, “People say you must follow the text. But if you follow the text, perhaps the music is not totally served.” … And he views what he does as a performer as an act of creation in its own right.” The Washington Post Extra features: Joaquín Achúcarro: 50 years on Documentary including interviews with Plácido Domingo, Simon Rattle and Zubin Mehta. Running time 131 mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 2.0 PCM & 5.1 DTS Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “all three sections of both versions benefit from the masterly hand of director Robin Lough who, unlike many of his peers, knows how to let the music speak for itself without the need for frantic cuts and cross-fades...The short recital filmed in the Prado captures Achúcarro at his intimate best” Gramophone Magazine, June 2010 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | Recorded live at the Teatro Real, Madrid, on the 25th & 28th September 2008.
Marcelo Álvarez (Riccardo), Violeta Urmana (Amelia), Marco Vratogna (Renato), Elena Zaremba (Ulrica), Alessandra Marianelli (Oscar), Borja Quiza (Silvano), Miguel Sola (Samuel), Scott Wilde (Tom), Orlando Niz (Judge), César San Martín (Amelia's servant) Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real (Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus), Jesús López Cobos (conductor) & Mario Martone (stage director) Passion, loyalty and political conspiracy are the three pillars of Un ballo in maschera (1859), the ‘most operatic of all operas’. Set in XIX century Boston, Mario Martone’s athmospheric production for the Teatro Real in Madrid brings out all the innate theatricality and drama of Verdi’s work. World famous Argentinean tenor Marcelo Álvarez in the role of Riccardo leads a fabulous cast including Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as his love Amelia and Elena Zaremba playing the witch Ulrica. Jesús López Cobos conducts the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance that shows the lyricism and grandeur of this beautiful work, which marries grand opera and opera comique features with Verdi's classical Italian opera tradition. Extra features: Illustrated synopsis. Cast gallery. Running time 144 mins Region code All regions Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic Sound format 5.1 Half DTS Surround / PCM Stereo Menu language EN Subtitles EN/FR/DE/ES/IT “[Renato] is given a careful, possibly subtle reading by Marco Vratogna...You won't be short-changed by this DVD” BBC Music Magazine, April 2010 *** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Gramophone Awards 2010
Gramophone Magazine
Building a Library
BBC Music Magazine Awards 2011