Blu-ray
Bernstein Celebration (The Royal Ballet)
Federico Bonelli (Yugen); Sarah Lamb (Yugen; The Age of Anxiety); Calvin Richardson (Yugen); Alexander Campbell (The Age of Anxiety); Bennet Gartside (The Age of Anxiety); Tristan Dyer (The Age of Anxiety); Lauren Cuthbertson (Corybantic Games); Matthew Ball (Corybantic Games); Yasmine Naghdi (Corybantic Games);
"…one of the most beautifully achieved dances of his career." (The Guardian - Yugen)
Birtwistle: The Minotaur (The Royal Opera)
John Tomlinson (The Minotaur); Johan Reuter (Theseus); Christine Rice (Ariadne); Andrew Watts (Snake Priestess); Philip Langridge (Hiereus);
"The impact of the opera is greatly heightened not just by the casting but by the staging by Stephen Langridge at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, very well filled on this DVD, with simple yet vividly atmospheric designs by Alison Chitty. The role of The Minotaur as a sort of Jekyll and Hyde figure was expressly designed for John Tomlinson, the famed Wotan from Bayreuth and centrally cast too in Birtwistle's earlier Gawain. His voice may no longer be as steady as it was, but his singing could not be more moving." (The Penguin Guide)
Bizet: Carmen (Glyndebounre)
Anne Sofie von Otter (Carmen); Marcus Haddock (Don José); Laurent Naouri (Escamillo); Lisa Milne (Micaëla);
"Under the shrewd direction of McVicar, Anne Sofie von Otter gave us a gypsy of mercurial temperament..." (The Daily Telegraph)
Bizet: Carmen (The Royal Opera)
Christine Rice (Carmen ); Bryan Hymel (Don José ); Aris Argiris (Escamillo); Maija Kovalevska (Micaëla);
"This staging lends itself specially well to film in many ways. It’s as colourful as the music...Rice’s dark good looks make her a good choice for the part. Her singing is precise and attractive ... Argiris’s Escamillo is much deeper than the usual flashy image ... Kovalevska’s Micaëla on the other hand was superb from beginning to end." (Opera Today)
Bizet: Carmen in 3D (The Royal Opera)
Christine Rice (Carmen); Bryan Hymel (Don José); Aris Argiris (Escamillo); Maija Kovalevska (Micaëla); Elena Xanthoudakis (Frasquita); Paula Murrihy (Mercedes); Harry Nicoll (Le Remendado); Adrian Clarke (Le Dancaine); Nicolas Courjal (Zuniga); Dawid Kimberg (Morales);
"This staging lends itself specially well to film in many ways. It’s as colourful as the music ... Rice’s dark good looks make her a good choice for the part. Her singing is precise and attractive ... Argiris’s Escamillo is much deeper than the usual flashy image...Kovalevska’s Micaëla on the other hand was superb from beginning to end." (Opera Today)
Bournonville: Napoli (Royal Danish Ballet)
Alban Lendorf (Gennaro); Alexandra Lo Sardo (Teresina); Benjamin Buza (Golfo ); Lis Jeppesen (Veronica); Alba Nadal (Giovanina); Mette Bodtcher (Flora); Jean-Lucien Massot (Peppo); Fernando Mora (Giacomo); Poul Erik Hesselkilde (Pascarillo); Josephine Berggreen (A Pilgrim);
"Long the signature work of the Royal Danish Ballet, Napoli gets a modern makeover here, with the action updated to the 1950s and a newly-commissioned second Act. Superbly performed, it's irresistible foot-tapping fun. It has been brilliantly filmed too, especially in the very busy finale that brings the house down. Undoubtedly the best ballet release of the year." (Musicweb International - Critic's choices for Pick of 2016)