Dvd

An Evening with the Royal Opera

An Evening with the Royal Opera

Renée Fleming (Soprano); Joseph Calleja (Tenor); Jonas Kaufmann (Tenor); Sarah Connolly (Soprano); Simon Keenlyside (Tenor); Bryn Terfel (Bass);

"... all musically exceptional ..." (BBC Music Magazine ★★★★)

Barber: Vanessa (Glyndebourne)

Barber: Vanessa (Glyndebourne)

Emma Bell (Vanessa); Virginie Verrez (Erika); Edgaras Montvidas (Anatol); Rosalind Plowright (The Old Baroness); Donnie Ray Albert (The Old Doctor); Romanas Kudriašovas (Footman); William Thomas (Nicholas, the Major-Domo);

" ... this is intelligent music theatre that proves consistently gripping. Musically, it’s hugely impressive, too. Bell gives one of her finest performances to date, beautifully acted, her voice soaring with elation and anguish, even as Vanessa becomes increasingly deluded as to Anatol’s true nature. Montvidas is all seductive elegance, but his charm can turn to cynicism in a flash when his guard is down, and we fully understand why Verrez’s proud, sensual Erika finds him both so attractive and so suspicious. Plowright strikingly suggests a woman whose view of the present is haunted by the sadness of her own memories, while Albert convinces as a man who can mend men’s bodies, but singularly fails to understand their souls. Jakub Hrůša, conducting with tremendous passion, really opens the emotional floodgates, sweeping us away in the big set pieces, while the London Philharmonic Orchestra’s playing is at once sumptuous and superbly detailed." (The Guardian ★★★★)

Baroque Opera Classics (Various)

Baroque Opera Classics (Various)

Sally Matthews (Deidamia (Deidamia)); Veronica Cangemi (Nerea (Deidamia); Iole (Ercole Amante)); Luca Pisaroni (Ercole (Ercole Amante)); Anders J. Dahlin (Zoroastre (Zoroastre)); Marina Comparato (Adriano (Adriano in Siria)); Lucia Cirillo (Emirena (Adriano in Siria)); Anna Bonitatibus (Didone (La Didone)); Kresimir Spicer (Enea (La Didone)); Lenka Máčiková (Marquise Clarice (Dove)); Aleš Briscein (Count Orazio (Dove));

"Alden's approach is lightly ironic, matching well with a piece that treats its material with a knowing air...Ivor Bolton and Concerto Koln provide the expert musical underpinning. Sally Matthews shines as a vocally and physically poised Deidamia, Olga Pasichnyk emphasises the lusty young man hiding beneath Achille's skirts, and Silvia Tro Santafe's Ulisse presents him with a credible rival." (BBC Music Magazine - Deidamia ★★★★)

Beethoven: Fidelio (Opernhaus Zürich)

Beethoven: Fidelio (Opernhaus Zürich)

Melanie Diener (Leonore); Roberto Saccà (Florestan); Sandra Trattnigg (Marzelline); Alfred Muff (Rocco); Lucio Gallo (Don Pizarro);

Bellini: I Puritani (De Nederlandse Opera)

Bellini: I Puritani (De Nederlandse Opera)

Mariola Cantarero (Elvira); John Osborn (Lord Arturo Talbo); Scott Hendricks (Sir Riccardo Forth); Riccardo Zanellato (Sir Giorgio);

"It is rare indeed to find a performance of a Bellini opera these days, and with its vertiginous lead roles Puritani is rarer than most. But it is such a treat!...Scott Hendricks’ baritone is honeyed and mellifluous. His aria and cabaletta in the opening scene are really beautiful, and he rises to the challenge of his duet with Arturo with thrilling skill." (Seen and Heard International)

Bellini: Norma (De Nederlandse Opera)

Bellini: Norma (De Nederlandse Opera)

Hasmik Papian (Norma); Hugh Smith (Pollione); Irini Tsirakidis (Adalgisa); Giorgio Giuseppini (Oroveso); Anna Steiger (Clotilde); Carlo Bosi (Flavio);

"Norma. Diva. Callas. Three keywords that are the core of Joosten’s staging. A diva in a Callas costume who, as Norma, loses her way in the labyrinths of the opera world and who can no longer distinguish between the drama on stage and reality. Joosten’s stage interpretation offers interesting contemplations on opera business and on the role and character of a star soprano in a typical Callas situation...The story starts as an opera in an opera, but gradually the boundaries between theatre and reality become more and more ambivalent… great class!" (Trouw)