Dvd
The Last Night of the Proms (BBC)
Hilary Hahn (Violin); Jane Eaglen (Soprano);
"A fulsome farewell to Andrew Daviss 11-year tenure as the Proms conductor par excellence." (Gramophone)
The Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare's Globe)
Christopher Benjamin (Sir John Falstaff); Philip Bird (Dr. Caius); Sue Wallace (Mistress Quickly); Gregory Gudgeon (Nym); Michael Garner (George Page); Serena Evans (Meg Page);
"This revival of Christopher Luscombes lively 2008 production is the perfect addition to the Globes 2010 Kings and Rogues season and is arguably the most accessible to a contemporary audience." (The Stage)
The Metamorphosis (The Royal Opera)
Edward Watson (Gregor Samsa); Laura Day (Grete Samsa); Nina Goldman (Mrs Samsa); Neil Reynolds (Mr Samsa); Bettina Carpi (Maid/Coffee Lady); Greig Cooke (Dream Figure/Bearded Man); Amir Giles (Clerk/Dream Figure/Bearded Man/Train Conductor/Dream Figure); Arthur Pita (Choreography/Director); Frank Moon (Music); Simon Daw (Designs);
"It is the remarkable quality of Edward Watson as a dancer that he can convey, with subtlest yet most penetrating effects, the inner life of those characters whom he portrays on stage. I have been fortunate to see every great male dancer of my time: such stars of the Ballets Russes as Massine, Lifar and Dolin, and leading danseurs of the companies in St Petersburg and Moscow and of western ballet during the past half century. None, with the exception of Nicolas Le Riche, has rivalled Watson in the ability to strip character of its externals and find the real man beneath the emotional subterfuges and the caparisons of social manners." (The Financial Times)
The Royal Ballet - The Collection
Marianela Nuñez (Odette/Odile); Thiago Soares (Prince Siegfried); Alina Cojocaru (Princess Aurora); Federico Bonelli (Prince Florimund); Miyako Yoshida (The Sugar Plum Fairy); Steven McRae (The Prince); Natalia Osipova (Giselle); Carlos Acosta (Count Albrecht); Lauren Cuthbertson (Juliet); Federico Bonelli (Romeo); Natalia Osipova (Lise); Edward Watson (Leontes);
"Anthony Dowell’s production...offers the ultimate classical experience, with the sights and sounds of a proud 19th century tradition running at full throttle. Fancy a romantic tragedy in a tutu? Then this is the ballet for you...The production as a whole is beautifully formed and dramatically convincing...And praise, too, for the corps, who made us feel the sorrow and anger of the swans’ collective misfortune." (The Times - Swan Lake)
The Royal Opera - A Collection
Plácido Domingo (Otello (Otello)); Kiri Te Kanawa (Desdemona (Otello)); Sergei Leiferkus (Iago (Otello)); José Carreras (Stiffelio (Stiffelio)); Cheryl Studer (Aida (Aida)); Dennis O’Neill (Radamès (Aida)); Roberto Alagna (Romeo (Romeo et Juliette)); Maria Ewing (Salome (Salome)); Bruce Ford (Mitridate (Mitridate)); Jochen Kowalski (Farnace (Mitridate)); Ann Murray (Sifare (Mitridate));
"Pure gold from the top team...Here was an evening to cherish, one to go straight into the memory in firmest indelible ink...The combination of Domingo and Solti promised gold and delivered every ounce expected." (The Times - Otello)
The Royal Opera Collection
Renée Fleming (Violetta Valéry (La Traviata)); Jonas Kaufmann (Don José (Carmen)); Diana Damrau (Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte)); Simon Keenlyside (Papageno (Die Zauberflöte); Macbeth (Macbeth)); Anna Caterina Antonacci (Carmen (Carmen)); Joseph Calleja (Alfredo Germont (La Traviata)); Dorothea Röschmann (Pamina (Die Zauberflöte)); Mariusz Kwiecien (Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni); Król Roger (Król Roger)); Angela Denoke (Kundry (Parsifal)); René Pape (Gurnemanz (Parsifal)); Eva-Maria Westbroek (Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana); Giorgetta (Il tabarro)); Aleksandrs Antonenko (Turiddu/Canio (Cavalleria Rusticana; I Pagliacci); Luigi (Il tabarro));
"This production’s slow journey from darkness into the light…works well on the small screen, not least thanks to high-definition camera work and Sue Judd’s inspired direction for television. The real magic, though, is supplied by the onstage cast...In Dorothea Röschmann’s hands, Pamina emerges not so much a powerless victim of Fate but more as a passionate woman prepared to suffer in the nameof love. Her natural command of the stage is sagely employed by McVicar...Diana Damrau’s supremely sung Queen of the Night oozes class, while Simon Keenlyside’s profoundly human, touchingly sympathetic view of Papageno deserves an Olivier Award." (Die Zauberflöte - Classic FM)