DVD Videos

An all-star gala from 1975 in which the renowned baritone sings and conducts arias, songs and duets with Plácido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Julia Migenes and Peter Schreier. Burt Lancaster is your host. 55 minutes, color

The renowned Hungarian-born pianist Lili Kraus (1903-1983) is presented in television performances from the archives of Radio-Canada, Montréal (1960-1961). The bonus material on this DVD presents the televised studio performance of the American premiere of Schubert’s previously lost “Grazer Fantasy” and a discussion of the work with Lili Kraus and music critic and author Michael Steinberg . 50 minutes, black & white/color.

On 12th February, 1967, Isaac Stern visited the Montréal studios of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where he was filmed in recital accompanied by Alexander Zakin. A highlight of the program was his performance of the Bach Chaconne from the Partita in D minor for solo violin. Also included are works by Schubert, Mozart and Brahms — all Stern specialties, flavored with his spoken introductions. 57 minutes, black & white.

Anna Moffo (1932-2006) was one of the most beloved American sopranos of her time, acclaimed for a voice and style which combined beauty and glamour with compelling emotional expression. This DVD compilation includes her complete operatic performances on the Bell Telephone Hour plus excerpts from two of her operatic films, La Traviata and Lucia. She is joined in the Bell Telephone Hour selections by Richard Tucker, Nicolai Gedda, George London, and Sándor Kónya. 82 minutes, color/black&white

53 minutes, black & white.

These productions of Mozart’s The Impresario (1961) and scenes from Act I of the same composer’s Così fan tutte (1956) are precious mementos of an era when Opera in English opened a new frontier for American opera companies. In New York, the Metropolitan Opera increased their audience for classic operas, the New York City Opera took the lead in presenting American works, while the New York-based NBC Opera television series presented English-language productions of both old and new works from the international repertoire. Those three companies were the training-ground for the performers on this DVD, who uniformly exhibit a firm understanding of opera as theater.

The two best-known singers of the group are the esteemed American sopranos Eleanor Steber and Phyllis Curtin. Both sopranos favored a tightly focused vocal production which facilitated clear diction and dramatic thrust. Each was closely associated with and premiered works by important contemporary composers, most notably Samuel Barber (for Steber) and Carlisle Floyd (for Curtin). And they both sang Fiordiligi in the Metropolitan Opera’s landmark English-language production of Così fan tutte: Steber in the production’s premiere in 1951, and Curtin ten years later, making her company debut.

Original telecast March 5, 1964. Black & white, 58 minutes. Playable worldwide.

On the day of the 150th anniversary of Antonín Dvorák’s birth and in the year of the bicentenary of Mozart’s death, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra dedicated a concert to both composers in the magnificent Spanish Hall of Prague Castle in September 1991.

Color, stereo, 57 minutes. Playable in all regions.

Recorded in 1985

The uniquely beautiful and radiant voice of soprano Gundula Janowitz is heard in this 1970 live concert, featuring arias from Giulio Cesare, Don Giovanni, Der Freischütz, Attila, Tosca, and Tannhäuser.

Includes optional English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish subtitles. 54 minutes, Black & white, mono, All regions.