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See Terms & Conditions for p&p rates. | |  | Solti Centenary ConcertLive recording from Symphony Center, Chicago, 2012
Hosted by Valerie Solti The Solti Centenary Concert in Chicago celebrated Sir Georg Solti’s 100th birthday on October 21, 2012, featuring the World Orchestra for Peace. This unique ensemble owes its existence to the vision of its founder, Sir Georg Solti, who believed passionately in peace and the power of music and musicians to be ambassadors for peace. Charmingly hosted by Solti’s widow, Lady Valerie Solti, and featuring soloists such as Angela Gheorghiu and René Pape as well as members of the Georg Solti Accademia, this memorable evening presents musical highlights, all of which played a significant role in Solti’s life and career. Besides excerpts from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte and Don Giovanni or Verdi’s La Traviata and Rigoletto, this concert finds lovely musical moments in the 'Adagietto' from Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, Strauss’ Don Juan and Bartók’s masterful Concerto for Orchestra. Sousa’s Stars and Stripes Forever as the encore closes the performance with a smash. Conductor Valery Gergiev was a good friend of his advisor Georg Solti. Together with Lady Valerie Solti and the World Orchestra for Peace he carries on Solti’s vision and maintains his memory. Special Bonus Feature: “Solti’s Vision”, a film about the World Orchestra for Peace Sound Format: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 Format: DVD 9 / NTSC Subtitle Languages: DE, FR / DE (Bonus) Running Time: 112 mins + 21 mins (Bonus) FSK: 0 Worldwide available | 
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It is no exaggeration to say that the two performances of Tosca at the Royal Opera House in July 2011 - with Angela Gheorghiu, Jonas Kaufmann and Bryn Terfel as the leads - were opera history in the making and by far the hottest tickets in town. For the majority of us who weren’t lucky enough to be there, it has been captured on this DVD, exclusively released by EMI. Subtitles in Italian, English, German, Japanese, French & Spanish “Pappano's mastery of Puccinian pace and phrasing intensifies this turbulent score's onward surge, but he's also noticeable attentive to his singers...[Kaufmann's] cries of 'Vittoria!' are thrilling...and his acting never slackens...Tosca's mercurial character seems to resonate with [Gheorghiu] naturally...There are some decent Toscas on DVD already, but I'd start here.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2013 ***** “Gheorghiu makes a credible character out of Tosca...her voice keeps its beauty at all but the most high-pressure moments...Kaufmann scores a complete success as Cavaradossi...What he lacks in Italianate open tone, he makes up in brooding, dark colours...Neither of them would be likely to get the better of Bryn Terfel's bully of a Scarpia...The other dominant personality is Antonio Pappano, whose Puccini has never sounded better” Gramophone Magazine, January 2013 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Angela Gheorghiu (Adriana), Jonas Kaufmann (Maurizio), Olga Borodina (La principessa di Bouillon), Alessandro Corbelli (Michonnet), David Soar (Quinault), Iain Paton (Poisson), Janis Kelly (Mademoiselle Jouvenot), Sarah Castle (Mademoiselle Dangeville), Maurizio Muraro (Principe di Bouillon), Bonaventura Bottone (Abbé de Chazeuil) Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Sir Mark Elder (conductor) & David McVicar (stage director) Starring Angela Gheorghiu as the celebrated French actress Adriana Lecouvreur and Jonas Kaufmann as her lover Maurizio, Count of Saxony, Cilea’s verismo drama explores celebrity, romance, jealousy, and death. The trio of sublime voices is completed by Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina as Adriana’s jealous rival, the Princess de Bouillon. David McVicar’s hit production – the first performance of the opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for more than a century – presents the life of the French actress as a blurring of the distinction between fantasy and reality. The action revolves around a life-size Baroque Theatre, taking us from the bustle and colour of the first act backstage at the playhouse, to the bare final scenes as the drama reaches its fatal climax. The DVD & Blu-ray contain bonus footage featuring interviews with the principal artists, Director, Set Designer and Conductor. “Kaufmann and Gheorghiu radiate sexiness" (Financial Times) “Gheorghiu is a dream" (The Independent) “Gheorghiu is an inspired piece of casting for the heroine...There is an excitement about [Kaufmann's] voice and stage presence that is infectious, ...Borodina chews up the scenery, singing with a voice so commanding that it takes you aback...McVicar’s production is another treat, this time for the eyes...All told, then, this set is an absolute winner. It even supersedes Levine’s Sony CDs as an overall first choice for this opera in any format.” MusicWeb International, June 2012 | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna star in the 2009 Metropolitan Opera production of Puccini’s La Rondine (The Swallow). This new production, directed by Nicholas Joël, was the company’s first staging in 70 years. This elegant romance is the least-known work of the mature Giacomo Puccini. The story concerns a kept woman who defies convention to chase a dream of romantic love with an earnest, if naïve, young man. This Met Opera production features the dynamic soprano Angela Gheorghiu and Frenchborn tenor Roberto Alagna performing the roles of Magda and Ruggero, it blooms into its rightful place in the glorious Puccini canon. La Rondine (The Swallow) was commissioned by Vienna’s Carltheater in 1913. Due to the impending outbreak of World War I, premiered in 1917, at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo with Gilda Dalla Rizza and Tito Schipa. Set in a Parisian salon, it is the story of Magda, the glamorous mistress of wealthy banker Rambaldo. Her yearning for romantic love compels her into the arms of the ardent and adoring young Ruggero. The New York Times hailed the Art-Deco set production as “as sophisticated, charming and poignant”. This DVD features the 10th January, 2009 performance of the opera, which was aired globally in HD as well as two bonus interview featurettes: the first with Gheorghiu and Alagna; the second with Lisette Oropesa and Marius Brenciu, who sing the roles Lisette and Prunier respectively. “Ms. Gheorghiu, as Magda, sings with gleaming sound and wonderfully dusky colorings…The conductor, Marco Armiliato, in what may be his best work to date at the Met, draws a nuanced and supple performance from the orchestra. I thought I knew this score quite well, but have never been so struck by the intricacies of the music”. The New York Times “Mr Alagna supplied plenty of vocal and physical glamour and equal amounts of intelligent phrasing and text-reading; his boyish Ruggero was entirely sympathetic and very moving”. Classics Today “I have never heard Alagna sing better, and Gheorghiu is at her sumptuous best. There are comparably beautiful performances by the younger couple, Marius Brenciu and Lisette Oropesa” New York Daily News Bonuses: Interview with Angela Gheorghiu & Roberto Alagna (3’35) Interview with Lisette Oropesa & Marius Brenciu (4’21) “Armiliato's conducting...captures the right warmth, and the former Dream Team still look superb...The lyrical young Ruggero still suits Alagna...Ramey's now leathery tone embodies Ramblado's elderly urbanity, and the Met's lesser roles are typically strong. Overall, then, this is [a] fine performance that undoubtedly confirms Rondine's renewed status.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2010 ***** “at the centre is Angela Gheorghiu in richest, creamiest voice. At her side for most of the time is Roberto Alagna, singing with tone that is resonant if not refulgent...Marco Armiliato conducts with enthusiasm, and the glimpses of scenery-changing reveal a hinter-realm of awesome complexity under unfazed control.” Gramophone Magazine, December 2010 “ Joël's production...has updated the opera to the 1920s without harming the action or sensibility of the work...Armiliato leads a reading that precisely catches the bittersweet quality of the score without falling into sentimentality; indeed he almost sells it as something other than 'the day off of a genius'.” International Record Review, December 2010 “the Metropolitan Opera sets are wonderfully elegant...Consistently, Gheorghiu makes you share the courtesan's wild dream of finding her young ardent lover...Alagna winningly characterizes in his freshest voice” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Live from the Royal Opera House
David McVicar's spectacular 2004 production of Gounod’s Faust, featuring a divine cast of opera’s superstars: Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Bryn Terfel, Simon Keenlyside and Sophie Koch. McVicar is one of the most innovative and in-demand directors, and his lush, haunting realised vision of Faust received glorious praise. The production revels in a gothic, seamy Second French Empire setting, with the Act V ballet “haunting the imagination long after” (The Independent). “This is opera at its grandest and best” The Wall Street Journal “Alagna depicts Faust's transition from Gounod-like ancient to cartwheeling young boulevardier and drug-addled Baudelairean decadent with energy and elegant phrasing...[Terfel] suggests the constant predatory menace beneath the musketeer panache with a curious dignity...[Pappano's] theatrical vigour banishes any trace of Gallic langour, a thoroughly un-fustian Faust.” BBC Music Magazine, January 2011 ***** “surely one of the finest achievements of DVD so far...Alagna dominates vocally in the name-role with a powerful heady lyricism...Gheorghiu sings gloriously as a delightful Marguerite, but the action is underlined by the splendidly bold panache of Bryn Terfel's Mephistopheles” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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Angela Gheorghiu (Mimi), Ramón Vargas (Rodolfo), Ludovic Tézier (Marcello), Ainhoa Arteta (Musetta), Oren Gradus (Colline), Quinn Kelsey (Schaunard), Paul Plishka (Benoit/Alcindoro), Meredith Derr (Parpignol), Robert Maher (Sergente dei doganieri), Richard Pearson (Un doganiere) The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Nicola Luisotti Angela Gheorghiu leads a magnificent cast in Franco Zeffirelli’s iconic production of Puccini’s La Bohème – filmed live at the Metropolitan Opera in Hi-Definition. This grand, sumptuous production of Puccini’s timeless masterpiece is brought to you on DVD by EMI Classics, continuing its collaboration with the Metropolitan Opera and its hugely successful Metropolitan Opera : Live in High-Definition series. La bohème, set in Paris around 1830, depicts a society fraught with conflict. Amid the turmoil, it is the love that blossoms between two young artists in a time that appears both bleak and turbulent that makes this story so very special. Mimì and Rodolfo, sung by Angela Gheorghiu and Ramón Vargas respectively, charm as the young couple that fall in love while Marcello and Musetta are sung by Ludovic Tezier and Ainhoa Arteta. Gheorghiu, the leading Puccini soprano of our time, reprises the role of Mimì at the MET for the first time in twelve years. She sings the role with the beauty and perfection that is expected by an artist of her great stature and experience. Following its debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1981, Franco Zeffirelli’s stunning production is as loved and as magnificent today as the day it was first staged over 27 years ago. This live broadcast is therefore the 347th time Zeffirelli’s Bohème has been performed making this, the most performed production in the MET’s history. Conducting, Nicola Luisotti is described as “a man who knows what he is doing in this repertoire: the way he can control the orchestra to move with the singers' expressive tempo fluctuations is breathtaking, a quality which helps to show Puccini at his best.” - musicalcriticism.com Only the hardest of hearts will remain untouched by this passionate and unforgettable story depicting the joys and sorrows of love and loss Subtitles: Italian (sung), English, German, French, Spanish “…the spectacular Zeffirelli staging, now rather showing its age. It still makes a good frame… for Ramón Vargas's engaging Rodolfo, sung with ardour, and Gheorghiu's fine-toned but rather grand Mimì.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2008 **** “Zeffirelli's extraordinary set...is still unsurpassed...A triumph, and wonderfully enjoyable to watch and listen to.” Penguin Guide, 2011 edition | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Angela Gheorghiu Live from Covent Garden
One of the highlights of the 2000-2001 season at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, this recital, recorded live, features a stunning collection of Angela Gheorghiu’s favourite opera arias. Accompanied by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House under conductor Ion Marin, she sings such well-loved arias as ‘Lascia ch’io pianga’ from Handel’s Rinaldo, ‘Porgi amor’ from Le nozze di Figaro, and favourites from Puccini’s Turandot and Madama Butterfly. Of particular interest is an aria by the Romanian composer Tiberiu Brediceanu, and Angela’s rendition of Frederick Loewe’s ‘I could have danced all night’. Features bonus interview footage, picture galleries, and a video clip of Casta Diva. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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'The catastrophic storms of the Last Judgement that assault the listeners’ ears with massive weight and power in the Dies Irae sections are portrayed not just in a raw, bombastic way, but with shrewd phrasing by Claudio Abbado – ever attentive to the musical colours and preserving the tonal eloquence and the massive sounds’ Suddeutsche Zeitung | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Classics on a Summer's Evening
Filmed at a spectacular open-air gala concert at the Semper Oper, Dresden in July 1999, this is a visually exciting concert with a wonderful atmosphere. One of the few performances available on film of Angela Gheorghiu and Roberto Alagna together, this programe features them in the love duets from Otello and Madama Butterfly, as well as a number of well-loved arias such as the Flower Song from Carmen and Un bel di from Madame Butterfly. The programme includes a number of popular orchestral and choral works, highlights of which include Verdi's Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore, the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves (Nabucco) and the Triumphal Chorus and March from Aida. | | | In stock - usually despatched within 1 working day. |
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| |  | Maestro or Mephisto: The Real Georg SoltiA film by Andy King-Dabbs
This film tells the story of one of the greatest and most controversial conductors of the 20th century. The Hungarian born Georg Solti had huge drive, energy and ambition. A combination of willpower and extraordinary talent took him to the peak of musical power and prestige. It shows how Solti took music making in opera houses and orchestras to new levels, how he harnessed recording, and later television, to reach out to new audiences and how he nurtured remarkable new talent through a winning, if not always endearing, combination of ambition, technique, charm, sheer-bloody mindedness and genius. The film includes remarkably candid interviews which Solti gave just before his death, in which he talked with great honesty about his life, his challenges and achievements. It also includes new interviews with artists and musicians who worked closely with him. Sound Format: PCM Stereo Picture Format: 16:9 DVD Format: DVD 5 NTSC Audio Language: GB Subtitle Languages: DE, FR, ES, JP Running Time: 59 mins FSK: 0 “Solti himself emerges with screen-crackling vigour both justifying and rubbishing the title Maestro or Mephisto. True, those vulpine features and glittering eyes do suggest the Demon King and punches aren't pulled - his hard-driven, perfectionist methods, his flirting. But we also see his self-mocking twinkle and warmth.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2013 **** “The feature shows what can be achieved on a relatively modest budget with a judicious mix of existing footage and new interview material.” Gramophone Magazine, May 2013 |
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Gramophone Magazine
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