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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Tony Palmer’s Film About Benjamin Britten: A Time There Was…
Benjamin Britten, Peter Pears, Leonard Bernstein, Sviatoslav Richter, Janet Baker, Julian Bream, Heather Harper, Imogen Holst, John Shirley-Quirk, Rudolf Bing & Henry Moore English Chamber Orchestra, Steuart Bedford This definitive portrait of the great composer Benjamin Britten from director Tony Palmer has been newly re-mastered in wide-screen stereo. It tells of one of the most profound love affairs of the 20th Century, between Britten and his lover and life-long companion and inspiration, Peter Pears. At a time when it was illegal to be openly homosexual, Britten and Pears faced up to a hostile world with unflinching dignity, producing a string of masterpieces that, together with the works of Vaughan Williams, established English music as internationally preeminent in the middle years of the 20th century. Among the music featured is extracts from: ‘Peter Grimes’, ‘Billy Budd’, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘ War Requiem’, ‘Curlew River’, ‘Death in Venice’, ‘Nocturne’ and ‘The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra’. “This multi-award winning documentary, made in 1979 at the invitation of Sir Peter Pears, is quite simply the best film that will ever be made about the composer.” Simon Heffer Region: 0 (All Regions) Rating: E (Exempt from Certification) Duration: 101 mins Picture Format: NTSC (all regions) | 
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| |  | The Little Drummer Boy - DocumentaryAn essay on Gustav Mahler by and with Leonard Bernstein
This television essay from 1985 was written by Leonard Bernstein to commemorate the 125th anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s birth. “Bernstein's 1985 BBC 'essay' THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY, contends that Mahler's music often sounds Jewish and, less convincingly, that his guilt at abandoning Judaism led to his obsession with death. Overall, this is still a fascinating introduction to Mahler, with Bernstein's analysis of the Mahler 2 Scherzo as detailed and absorbing as anything he ever did.” BBC Music Magazine, November 2007 **** | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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(directed by Humphrey Burton) | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Sung in English
“John Copley's direction… tells the compulsive farrago of unhistorical history with pace and clarity. It allows Baker's Queen of Scots to face off Rosalind Plowright's fearless Queen of England with a subtle mix of dignity, fear and bravado. …Alan Opie and John Tomlinson tease out every opportunity from the opposing Ministers; Sir Charles Mackerras gives the music unsentimentalised dramatic identity.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2005 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Britten - Conductor, Composer & Pianist
Britten: | Peter Grimes Peter Pears (Peter Grimes), Heather Harper (Ellen Orford), Bryan Drake (Balstrode), Elizabeth Bainbridge (Auntie), Gregory Dempsey (Bob Boles), Owen Brannigan (Swallow), Ann Robson (Mrs Sedley), David Bowman (Ned Keene), Robert Tear (Horace Adams), Michael Rippon (Hobson), Jill Gomez (First Niece), Anne Pashley (Second Niece) London Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Britten Billy Budd Peter Glossop (Billy Budd), Peter Pears (Captain Vere), Michael Langdon (Claggart), John Shirley-Quirk (Mr Redburn), Bryan Drake (Mr Flint), David Kelly (Mr Ratcliffe), Kenneth MacDonald (Red Whiskers), David Bowman (Donald), Dennis Wicks (Dansker), Robert Tear (Novice), Robert Bowman (Squeak), Benjamin Luxon (Novice's Friend) London Symphony Orchestra, Charles Mackerras Owen Wingrave Benjamin Luxon (Owen Wingrave), John Shirley-Quirk (Spencer Coyle), Sylvia Fisher (Miss Wingrave), Heather Harper (Mrs Coyle), Jennifer Vyvyan (Mrs. Julien), Peter Pears (Sir Philip Wingrave/Narrator), Janet Baker (Kate), Nigel Douglas (Lechmere) English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten | Dibdin: | Tom Bowling | Gay: | The Beggar's Opera realised by Benjamin Britten English Chamber Orchestra, Meredith Davies | Mozart: | Idomeneo, K366 English Version Peter Pears (Idomeneo), Anne Pashley (Idamante), Heather Harper (Ilia), Rae Woodland (Elettra), Robert Tear (Arbace), Andrew Williams (High Priest), Paul Nemeer (Voice of Neptune) English Chamber Orchestra, Benjamin Britten | Purcell: | Man is for the woman made (from The Mock Marriage, Z605) arr. Britten | Schubert: | Winterreise D911 Peter Pears & Benjamin Britten | trad.: | The Foggy, Foggy Dew O Waly, Waly ('The Water is Wide') Sweet Polly Oliver Sally In Our Alley The Lincolnshire Poacher The Plough Boy Oliver Cromwell |
plus Peter Pears & Benjamin Britten discuss Winterreise 36. Frühlingstraum 4:50 37. Im Dorfe 5:28 38. Der Leiermann 2:27 Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten
These are historic 60s & 70s BBC films, long locked away in the BBC archive. When released on DVD in 2008 and 2009, this was their very first availability to the consumer. They have been carefully restored by the BBC Restoration Unit, so are in the best possible visual and audio condition. They include several key and unique performances of Peter Pears, which were not filmed anywhere else (notably as Grimes, and also as Captain Vere in Billy Budd). The Owen Wingrave was the original version of this 'written for TV' opera, and so definitive in respecting the composer's wishes. The legendary black-and-white film of Billy Budd was long thought to be lost, until Decca unearthed an error in the BBC Tape Library entry. The Billy Budd was one of the three Gramophone DVD nominations in 2009. | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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| |  | A musical version realised from the original airs by Benjamin Britten
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| |  | Glyndebourne DiamondsFive Great Opera Productions from the Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Beethoven: | Fidelio, Op. 72 (1979) Elisabeth Söderström (Leonore), Anton de Ridder (Florestan), Curt Applegren (Rocco), Robert Allman (Pizarro), Elizabeth Gale (Marzelline), Ian Caley (Jaquino), Michael Langdon (Fernando), David Johnston (First Prisoner), Roger Bryson (Second Prisoner) Bernard Haitink | Monteverdi: | Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (1973) Benjamin Luxon (Ulisse), Janet Baker (Penelope), Ian Caley (Telemaco), Robert Lloyd (Nettuno), Anne Howells (Minerva), Rae Woodland (Giunone), Brian Burrows (Giove) Raymond Leppard | Stravinsky: | The Rake's Progress (1975) Leo Goeke (Tom Rakewell), Felicity Lott (Anne Trulove), Samuel Ramey (Nick Shadow), Richard Van Allan (Trulove), Rosalind Elias (Baba the Turk) Bernard Haitink | Verdi: | Falstaff (1976) Donald Gramm (Falstaff), Benjamin Luxon (Ford), Kay Griffel (Alice Ford), Elizabeth Gale (Nannetta), Max René Cosotti (Fenton), Nucci Condò (Mistress Quickly), Reni Penkova (Meg Page), Bernard Dickerson (Bardolfo), Ugo Trama (Pistola), John Fryatt (Dr Cajus) John Pritchard Macbeth (1972) Kostas Paskalis (Macbeth), Josephine Barstow (Lady Macbeth), James Morris (Banco), Keith Erwen (Macduff), Ian Caley (Malcolm), Rae Woodland (Dama), Brian Donlan (Medico), Ian Caddy (Domestico), John Tomlinson (Sicaro) John Pritchard |
Recording Date: 2007
Place of recording: From the Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Running Time: 681 min
Picture Format: 4:3
Sound Format: PCM Stereo
Menu Languages NTSC: D, F, GB, SP
Subtitle Languages NTSC: D, F, GB, I, SP
“[On Falstaff] This performance is typical of the high standards of ensemble playing pertaining at Glyndebourne in the 1970s.” Gramophone Magazine | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Recording Date: 1973
Place of recording: Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Running Time: 176 min
Picture Format: 4:3
Sound Format: PCM Stereo
Language: I
Menu Languages NTSC: D, F, GB, SP
Subtitle Languages NTSC: D, F, GB, I, SP
“Janet Baker's searing Penelope and Luxon's noble wanderer, in keen rapport with Howells' delightful Minerva, head a magnificent cast. The recording has aged, but acceptably.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2006 ***** | | | Usually despatched in 2 - 3 working days. |
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Recorded: 1982 Glynbourne | | | Usually despatched in 4 - 5 working days. |
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