Prices shown exclude VAT. (UK tax is not payable for deliveries to United States.)
See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Recorded at the Felsenreitschule during the Salzburg Festival 2011
Patricia Petibon (Lulu), Pavol Breslik (The Painter/A Negro), Michael Volle∙(Dr. Schön/Jack the Ripper), Cora Burggraaf (Dresser/High_School Boy/Groom), Franz Grundheber (Schigolch), Thomas Piffka (Alwa), Thomas Johannes Mayer (An Animal Tamer/Rodrigo), Heinz Zednik (The Prince/The Manservant), Andreas Conrad (The Marquis), Martin Tzonev (The Theatre Manger/The Banker), Emilie Pictet (A Fifteen-year-old girl), Cornelia Wulkopf (Her Mother) Wiener Philharmoniker & Upper Austrian Jazz Orchestra, Marc Albrecht Vera Nemirova, staging Vera Nemirova’s challenging production of Berg’s operatic masterpiece Lulu won critical acclaim when first seen at the Salzburg Festival in 2010, and was successfully repeated in 2011, when the production was filmed for DVD. Supporting Nemirova’s powerful vision of corruption, decadence and death were the highly praised set designs by the young German artist Daniel Richter. Musically the production was led with style and assurance by the brilliant young German conductor Marc Albrecht, currently director of the Netherlands Opera. Singing Lulu with allure and passion was the lauded French soprano Patricia Petibon, whose charms gripped an outstanding cast of top European singers. Lulu is a very rarely performed work, which was also left unfinished by the composer. This performance includes the missing 3rd act, which was completed by Friedrich Cerha, winner of the Salzburg Music Award 2010. Picture format DVD: NTSC 16:9 Sound formats DVD: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1 Region code: 2,3,4,5,6,8 Subtitles: English, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean Booklet notes: English, German, French Runnning time: 173 mins “Musically there is plenty to admire...Ultimately, it is Volle as Dr Schon and Jack the Ripper who impresses most...Petibon's background in early music may be thought to give her an unusual degree of vulnerability...After a cautious start, her performance gains conviction as it proceeds...this is one of those recordings that takes time to reach the dark, disturbed heart of Berg's most ambivalently poised and perturbing work.” Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2012 “The singing and acting of Patricia Petibon as Lulu is magnificent. She is that rare creature, a singer with the face and figure of a model...One does not have to wonder why men fall under her spell and even die of it...Almost all of the staging and costuming is dedicated to the service of this music. It is not necessary to suspend one's disbelief as so often happens in current opera staging: here one is gripped from beginning to the disturbing and bloody end.” MusicWeb International, August 2012 “Nemirova's vibrant Salzburg production deliberately removes Berg's provocative opera from direct association with a specific time or place, placing the drama in a more mythical context...Almost all the major protagonists are powerfully drawn...But the real stars of this superb performance are undoubtedly the Vienna Philharmonic and conductor Marc Albrecht, who bring a glorious richness, warmth and emotional intensity to Berg's astonishing score.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Recorded live at the Bayreuth Festival, August 2011
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 “If the recording of the live performance had been on CD, I would have been mainly enthusiastic. Andris Nelsons is the most promising Wagner conductor I have heard for a long time, and his account of this glowing, radiant score is broad. The singing is good, too, with a lovely Elsa from Annette Dasch, and a Lohengrin who has magnificent moments.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 ** “This is a rather special Lohengrin...the spacious Bayreuth sound is moulded with exceptional tonal refinement and richness of colour...Vogt has more than enough stamina and vocal authority to sustain the role. All six solo singers are musically excellent and dramatically persuasive, with Petra Lang's excoriating Ortrud and Georg Zeppenfeld's grave yet warm-toned King Henry particularly memorable...The general air of conviction owes much to the excellent cinematography” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012 “In appearance and textual delivery Vogt is ideal, but his sweet, plaintive voice doesn't ring on top...Vogt hasn't an ideal legato style either, but his tenderness is extremely affecting...[Lang is] directed into overacting, but she sigs passionately into the text and for this role has transformed her mezzo into a bright-toned dramatic soprano. Bayreuth's incomparable chorus really deserves a medal for its performance here.” International Record Review, September 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Operetta Film from 1970
Helen Mané (Angèle), Maria Tiboldi (Marguérite), Tatjana Iwanow (Palmira), Christiane Schröder (Hortense), Harald Serafin (Paul), Maurice Besançon (Georges) & Heinz Erhardt (Caesare) Symphony Orchestra Kurt Graunke, Munich, Willy Mattes (conductor) & Eugen York (director) Richard Heuberger (1850–1914) came from a wealthy, art-loving Graz (Austria-Hungary) family. After working as an engineer, he decided to devote himself completely to music, working as choral director of the Vienna Singakademie, composer of instrumental music, ballets, cantatas and operas, music critic and music journalist. Shortly before the turn of the century, he tried his luck with operettas. Only his first work, the delicately orchestrated, splendidly hued Opernball (Opera Ball ) of 1898 – a beautiful and substantial echo of the Strauss era – has managed to maintain its position in the repertoire. In this work, Heuberger tried to create a new operetta style, the “comedy operetta”. He eschewed spectacular costumes and choruses, sentimentality and drama by picking up where Offenbach had left off in La vie parisienne and Strauss in Die Fledermaus. According to the great Viennese music critic Eduard Hanslick, he succeeded in “preserving the purity of the Viennese operetta. The Opernball was a popular, witty piece and Heuberger accordingly avoided the effects of grand opera, both noisy passion and watered-down sentimentality.” Sound Format: PCM Stereo Picture Format: 4:3 DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC Subtitle Languages: DE (Original Language), GB, FR Running Time: 100 mins FSK: 0 “All in all, the performances give a sense of the work, especially through continuity which remains an attractive element of the film The action moves smoothly between the scenes and plays well into the timing necessary for the comic twists...The timing in the film allows it to work cogently within this interpretation of the operetta.” MusicWeb International, August 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Guest Appearance of Deutsche Oper Berlin 1982. Live recorded at the Markgräfl iche Opernhaus Bayreuth
Alexandra Papadjiakou (Montezuma), Sophie Boulin (Eupaforice), Gudrun Sieber (Erissena), Catherine Gayer (Tezeuco), Barbara Vogel (Pilpatoè), Walton Grönroos (Ferdinand Cortes) & Karl-Ernst Mercker (Narvès) Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hans Hilsdor Stage Directed, Set & Costume Design by Herbert Wernicke. World Premiere Recording on DVD. Carl Heinrich Graun (1704–1759) wrote a total of 27 operas for the Berlin court and not least for Frederick II. In 1742 his Cleopatra e Cesare was performed at the opening of the “Haus Unter den Linden”, and in 1755 he wrote his most impressive work – Montezuma. The opera tells the tragic story of the last ruler of the Aztecs, who lost his power and ultimately his life to the Spanish conquistadores. The libretto, in French prose, was written by none other than the Emperor of Prussia himself – Frederick II – and translated into Italian verse by his court poet. The music, written by his kapellmeister Graun, is as virtuosic as it is expressive – highly rewarding for singers and attractive for audiences. Montezuma is an opera that points forward to the future – to Gluck and even to Mozart. In 1982, Deutsche Oper Berlin came to Bayreuth to perform Herbert Wernicke‘s impressive production in the baroque surroundings of the Markgräfliche Opernhaus (opened in 1748). Sound Format: PCM Mono Picture Format: 4:3 DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC Subtitles: DE (Original Language), GB, FR, ES, IT Running Time: 140 mins FSK: 0 “The Aztecs are sung by women; the Spaniards by men: it sounds daft, but it works, thanks to fine singing and handsome staging.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 **** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Live Recording from The Stadttheater Klagenfurt, 2010
Stefan Cerny (Fohi), Çigdem Soyarslan (Zulma), Leonardo Galeazzi (Zamti), Daniel Prohaska (Koukourgi), Peter Edelmann (Phaor), Johannes Chum (Amazan) & Daniel Belcher (Sécuro) Kärntner Sinfonieorchester, Peter Marschik (conductor) & Josef E. Köpplinger (stage director) World Premiere Recording on DVD. Thanks to the new Cherubini Edition, the composer’s unknown comic opera Koukourgi was staged for the first time in celebration of his 250th anniversary 2010. The premiere production of Luigi Cherubini‘s opera Koukourgi at the Klagenfurt Stadttheater revealed a work that combines a tale from ancient China with the sensibility of the French Revolutionary times of its composition. The three act opera sees a young Chinese man battling for the hand of his sweetheart against the Tartar mandarin Koukourgi, the not unlikeable anti-hero described as a large pumpkin. The turmoil in Paris led to Cherubini’s librettist Honoré-Nicolas-Marie Duveyrier being imprisoned in the Bastille and fleeing to Denmark. The opera was left with the finale incomplete and has remained unperformed for over two centuries. Koukourgi’s finale was completed by Heiko Cullman and the new performing edition has allowed the opera to reclaim its rightful place on the stage. Sound Format: PCM Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 9, NTSC Subtitle Languages: FR (Original Language), GB, DE, IT, ES, Korean Running Time: 115 mins FSK: 0 “[Soyarslan] gives a creditable performance vocally and visually, supplying firm tone for her entrance aria...Belcher's focused voice, free at the top, is a positive ingredient...One cannot make comparisons, for no alternative recording exists, but Peter Marschik leads a well-balanced performance, with springy rhythms or bold orchestral sound as necessary in Cherubini's varied instrumentation.” International Record Review, September 2012 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Live Recording from The Wiener Staatsoper, 1990
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 | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
|
|
| |  | Recorded at Vlaamse Opera, Antwerpen, May 2010
Christophe Dumaux (Giasone), Katarina Bradic (Medea), Robin Johannsen (Isifile), Josef Wagner (Giove/ Besso), Filippo Adami (Demo), Yaniv d’Or (Delfa / Eolo), Angélique Noldus (Amore/ Alinda), Andrew Ashwin (Ercole / Oreste) & Emilio Pons (Egeo / Sole) Symfonisch Orkest van de Vlaamse Opera, Federico Maria Sardelli Staged by Mariame Clément This is the World Première Recording on DVD of Cavalli’s opera Il Giasone. The plot is loosely based on the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece, but the opera contains many comic elements too. In the wake of Monteverdi, opera was enjoying a real boom in Europe and Francesco Cavalli was one of the most successful Venetian opera composers. Il Giasone was the single most popular opera of the 17th Century. This 2010 production from Antwerp is orchestrated and conducted by the internationally reputed baroque specialist Federico Maria Sardelli. It is directed by the young Frenchwoman Mariame Clément, who is currently making a name for herself with her infectious directing in German and French opera houses. The title role is sung by the promising French countertenor Christophe Dumaux. Blu-ray released next month. Sound Format: LPCM 2.0 / Dolby digital 5.1 Picture Format: 16:9 Subtitles: It, Eng, Ger, Fr, Sp, Kr Running Time: 198 mins + 5 min bonus (interview) Booklet Notes: It, Eng, Ger, Fr Available Worldwide Sung in Italian “Though Johannsen sings stylishly, Bradic's jolie laide Medea is slow to warm up, while Dumaux's shapely countertenor is too delicate to suggest a man of action...Orchestrally it's a delight, sensually swung on a hammock of lutes and harpsichords by conductor Federico Maria Sardelli, zestful in the Act II combattimento, bone-chilling in the sharp sforzandos of Medea's incantation.” BBC Music Magazine, September 2012 *** “A gratifyingly confident and persuasive actor, Dumaux offers velvety timbre through the whole range, terrific depth in the lower range and ornamentation applied with innate elegance.” International Record Review, June 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  |
This production of one of the late masterpieces of Massenet, 'Don Quichotte', in May 2010 from La Monnaie, was the last great role performed by the feted Belgian baritone, José van Dam. This very special context generates a real intensity, enhanced by the stage direction of Laurent Pelly and the expertise of Marc Minkowski in French opera repertoire, following numerous productions by Massenet, Debussy, Meyerbeer, Offenbach, Auber, Boieldieu, Gounod… The DVD includes a touching documentary on this production. José van Dam was born in Brussels. As a guest in the world’s leading opera houses, he has sung the title roles of countless operas but has become synonymous with Philip [Don Carlos] and Don Quichotte in particular. He has contributed to the success of many opera productions at La Monnaie, where he has also appeared in concerts and recitals. He also performs a vast concert, oratorio and song repertoire and has made many recordings. His cinema appearances include the title role in Gérard Corbiau’s 'Le Maître de musique' (The Music Teacher) and a brilliant Leporello in Joseph Losey’s 'Don Giovanni'. His interpretations have earned him numerous awards. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Montreal; the City of Berlin awarded him the honorary title of ‘Kammersänger’; the French Government has appointed him Commandeur des Arts et Lettres; and he has been ennobled by King Albert II of Belgium. “At almost 70, Van Dam's voice is not what it was, but his artistry is as consummate as ever. His relative vocal frailty only enhances a characerisation that is a masterclass in expressive understatement...this is both a profoundly moving take on Massenet's 'comedie heroique' and a treasurable souvenir of a great performer in his final role.” BBC Music Magazine, October 2012 ***** “This issue deserves particular praise because the central performance, on which so much of the opera hangs, was José van Dam’s farewell to the stage at La Monnaie...Van Dam is on very fine form here, clearly relishing the importance of the occasion. His gift for vocal flair is still there...Silvia tro Santafé is a very successful Dulcinée...Minkowski holds the whole evening together with charm, affection and his famous ear for detail” MusicWeb International, April 2013  BBC Music Magazine
DVD Choice - October 2012 |
| | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  |
Production by David McVicar David McVicar's acclaimed production employs a spectacular revolving set to bring a powerful new momentum to Verdi's dark drama of love and revenge. The opera features some of Verdi's best-loved music, including the Anvil Chorus and the heroic tenor aria Di quella pira. Often described as requiring 'the four greatest singers in the world', this performance of Il Trovatore brings together a quartet of stars who have sung their roles to great acclaim throughout the world. “Álvarez made a stalwart, passionate, masculine figure… Radvanovsky has all the technical devices necessary for Leonora, and she is, moreover, a passionate actress … Hvorostovsky sang with superb, flawless line, total control and long, flowing, high notes … Zajick held down Azucena powerfully … The opera’s end I have never seen staged or acted more convincingly” (Opera Today). Picture format: 16:9 Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish Classification: Exempt “consummate Verdians in an insightful production by David McVicar...Radvanovsky is at the top of her form vocally and dramatically, with consistently breathtaking musicality and stage presence... Zajick’s Azucena is equally strong in a role she has made her own...the visual dimensions are enhanced with shots and angles that take the viewer to the stage.” MusicWeb International, October 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |  |
Deborah Voigt (Minnie), Marcello Giordani (Dick Johnson), Tony Stevenson (Nick), Keith Miller (Ashby), Dwayne Croft (Sonora), Hugo Vera (Trin), Trevor Scheunemann (Sid), Richard Bernstein (Handsome), Adam Laurence Herskowitz (Harry), Michael Fores (Joe), David Crawford (Happy), Edward Park (Jim Larkens), Philip Cokorinos (Billy Jackrabbit), Ginger Costa-Jackson (Wowkle), Oren Gradu (Jack Wallace), Edward Mou (Pony Express rider), Jeff Mattsey (José Castro) Metropolitan Opera Chorus & Orchestra, Nicola Luisotti Deborah Voigt stars in the title role of Puccini's wild west opera - in a spectacular performance seen live in cinemas worldwide as part of the Metropolitan Opera 'Live in HD' series. Giancarlo Del Monaco's richly authentic production, with spectacular sets by Michael Scott, brings the wild west to the Met stage with a panorama of colourful characters and live horses! The opera was premiered at the Met in 1910. Picture format: 16:9 Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish Classification: Exempt | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
|
|
| |
|
BBC Music Magazine Awards 2013