DVD Videos

Staged by Christof Loy at Gran Teatre de Liceu, 2011

Barcelona’s prestigious Gran Teatre del Liceu presents Mozart’s beloved singspiel in an elegant, dramaturgically twisted production with a sparkling cast of top-rank international stars headed by coloratura soprano Diana Damrau as Konstanze and rising opera star Olga Peretyatko as Blonde.

German soprano Diana Damrau achieved a huge success and was hailed by critics as a thrilling Konstanze. Christoph Strehl, a tall and aristocratic tenor of important means and burnished technique, made Belmonte’s difficult music sound easy. Franz Josef Selig was celebrated by critics as one the best Osmins that had ever performed in that role.

Christoph Loy has conjured up a thought-provoking and strikingly original scenario in which both Konstanze and Blonde are feeling respect, admiration and even profound love for their captors. The result is a tantalising approach that overturns the traditional patterns of good and evil.

Running Time Total: 188 minutes

DVD: DTS 5.1, PCM 2.0

Subtitles English, German, French, Spanish, Catalan, Chinese, Korean

From the opening notes of the overture to the final curtain, Emilio Sagi’s classic, triumphant production fully brings to life all the elegant wit and theatricality of Mozart’s comic masterpiece.

Leading baritone Ludovic Tézier shines as the lustful Count Almaviva who attempts to obtain the favours of Figaro’s bride-to-be, Susanna (Isabel Rey), while Luca Pisaroni gives a feisty performance as Figaro. Conductor Jesús López Cobos masterfully captures the enchanting score. A witty yet profound tale of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.

Audio DVD/2.0 LPCM/5.1 DTS

Picture format NTSC

Audio BD LPCM stereo and 5.0 DTS-HD Master Audio

The moving text of the “Stabat Mater” has been an inspiration to many composers from the Renaissance onwards. Luigi Boccherini, a virtuoso cellist and master of chamber music, composed this religious work with profound respect for the text and it’s identity.

The quintet Ensemble Aurora that accompanies the solo soprano possesses all the qualities of balance and homogeneity common to the best chamber music works at the end of the Classical period – with an astonishing blend between voice and instruments.

Featuring internationally renowned soprano and baroque music specialist Gemma Bertagnolli.

This DVD is the first part of a series of sacred music from Italian Basilicas – with attractive pricing.

From the Queen of the Night's vocal pyrotechnics to Papageno's chirpy birdsongs, The Magic Flute is one of Mozart's most charming and engaging operas. However, its fairytale surface conceals the mysteries of an initiation ritual and a multi-layered plot, packed with allegories to fire up the imagination.

This celebrated production by artist William Kentridge joyfully bursts onto the stage of Teatro alla Scala in Milan, featuring the dazzling Russian coloratura Albina Shagimuratova as the Queen of the Night, and Italian bass Alex Esposito as Papageno, one of the most sought-after artists of his generation.

Extra features:

Overview of the Magic Flute

Running time 150 mins

Region Code All regions

Picture format 16:9 Anamorphic

Sound format 2.0LPCM + 5.1(5.0) DTS

Menu languages EN

Subtitles EN/FR/DE/IT

The Places • The visit to the Czech Republic starts with Hluboká Castle, a massive building that for over three hundred years belonged to the Schwarzenberg family. The present building is modelled in part on England’s Windsor Castle. Other sites visited include Konopiště Castle, the picturesque town of Telč, and Vranov Castle.

The Music • Music for the visit is by Mozart and consists of his four Horn Concertos, written during the last decade of his life, when he was in Vienna. They were intended for his old Salzburg friend Ignaz Leutgeb, who had also settled in Vienna, prudently married there, and, in tandem with his musical activities, had become the owner of a small cheese-shop. The concertos, one of them unfinished at the time of Mozart’s death, represent his work at its height.

Video Format • NTSC / Colour / 4:3

Audio Format • DTS 5.1 / Dolby Digital 5.1 / PCM Stereo 2.0

Region Coding • No Region Coding

Venice‘s Teatro La Fenice welcomed 2006 with a celebration of dance and music. After the first full season at the restored Fenice there was ample reason to celebrate the three pillars of the house: symphonic music, opera and dance.

Kurt Masur chose works by three of Italy‘s leading 19th century operatic composers, Verdi, Donizetti and Puccini and - in the year that sees the 250th anniversary of Mozart‘s birth - excerpts from two of his operas with libretti by the Venetian poet Lorenzo Da Ponte. So the live recording of the gala concert features highlights from the world’s most beloved operas, among them an extract from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and the duet, „Là ci darem la mano“, from his Don Giovanni, the sinfonia from Verdi‘s La forza del destino and the famous „Libiamo ne‘ lieti calici“ from La Traviata and two of his most popular choruses: „O signore, dal tetto natio“ from I lombardi alla prima crociata and „Va, pensiero“ from Nabucco. Donizetti‘s sinfonia from Don Pasquale and the tenor aria „Una furtiva lacrima“ from his L‘elisir d‘amore are featured along with the legendary “Vissi d’arte” from Puccini’s Tosca.

The outstandingly well-prepared choir of the Fenice opera house perform alongside three international opera stars: Italian dramatic soprano Fiorenza Cedolins, young tenor Joseph Calleja and longstanding Italian bass Roberto Scandiuzzi.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 5, NTSC

Running Time: 55 mins

FSK: 0

Recorded live at the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Lisbon, 1 May 2003

Maria João Pires is one of the most sought-after Mozart pianists.

Berliner Philharmoniker – one of the best orchestras in the world.

Pierre Boulez enjoys excellent reputation as one of the greatest Bartók conductors ever.

Spectacular location – World Heritage Site ‘Mosteiro dos Jerónimos’ – an impressive monastery built in the early 16th century

Bonus: A Portrait of Lisbon • Behind-the-Scenes Picture Gallery

Including the EuroArts & Idéale Audience Catalogue - this catalogue brings together two prestigious audio-visual production companies: EuroArts in Germany and Idéale Audience in France. We are proud to present over 350 DVDs and Blu-ray Discs and look forward to up to 50 new releases in 2012.

Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9

Sounds formats DVD: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1

Region code: 0

Languages: English, German, French

Running time: 120 mins (Performance & Bonus)

German FSK: 0

Set and Costume Design by LUDWIG HEINRICH

No other work written for the music theatre has been performed at the Salzburg Festival as often as Le Nozze di Figaro. Mozart’s opera buffa, this work of genius, was included in the programme of forty-six out of more than eighty festival summers; the more than 200 performances included at least twelve different Figaro productions, and on every occasion only the best Mozart singers of the time were engaged for Salzburg. Mozart’s Figaro performances in Salzburg were above all a task for great conductors, from Franz Schalk and Bruno Walter, Josef Krigs, Herbert von Karajan and Wilhelm Furtwängler to Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Muti and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. It is, however, Karl Böhm above all others who deserves to be singled out, who over many years has had a formative influence on the musical image of this opera from Vienna and Salzburg to Munich and New York. To this day Karl Böhm’s performances of Figaro and Cosi fan tutte remain a vivid memory, and his recordings have set a standard.

Sound Format: PCM Mono

Picture Format: 4:3

DVD Format: 2 x DVD 9, NTSC

Menu Language: GB

Subtitle Languages: IT, GB, DE, FR, ES, Chinese

Running Time: 180 mins

FSK: 0

Directed, Set & Costume Design by JEAN-PIERRE PONNELLE

This production of Mozart’s Magic Flute received enormous and unanimous approval, when it was premiered in Salzburg. Endless applause on the night and an unusual state of accord from the international press where enthusiastic reviews soon gave this staging the status of a legend.

Of course, none of that would have had the same appeal if it had not been in accord with Mozart’s music, performed quite un-theoretically, with perfect blend of lightness and pathos, humour and profundity, by James Levine and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; nor would it all have worked without a truly Festival-worthy cast of singers whose strengths were perfectly balanced and every single one of whom – right down to the members of the chorus – was totally committed to the work.

Sound Format: PCM Stereo

Format: 4:3

DVD Format: DVD 5 & DVD 9 / NTSC

Subtitle Languages: DE, GB, FR, ES, IT

Running Time: 189 mins

FSK: 0

At the Villa Viardot, in France, Teresa Berganza, herself an unforgettable Cherubino, gave 2 masterclasses based on the 'Marriage of Figaro' (2009) and 'Don Giovanni' (2010).

Young singers from all over the world reveal their talent in two exceptional singing lessons, now open to all musicians.