HDVD Arts

This website is about high-definition video recordings of opera, ballet, classical music, plays, fine-art documentaries, painting, and sculpture. We call these recordings "HDVDs." Below this welcome are hundreds of stories about HDVDs. But first check out the Index of Titles/Alphalist to the left, which is the best thing about this site.

With the help of confrere William Alexander Huang, we have set out standards for grading HDVDs of symphonic orchestra recordings. We just applied those standards to a re-review and re-grading of the three New Year's Concert discs we now have. (Check the Alphalist for the new grades, etc.)

At long last, we now have two HDVDs about fine-art paintings; both dealing with the art and life of Vincent van Gogh. The better title is called simply Vincent Van Gogh. It offers 2 and 1/2 hours of wonderful images of paintings and drawings with expert discussion from art historians at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

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Entries in harmonia mundi (2)

Monday

Sep122011

Don Giovanni

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Directed 2006 by Vincent Boussard at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. Stars Johanes Weisser, Marcos Fink, Alexandrina Pendatchanska, Werner Güra, Malin Byström, Sundae Im, Nikolay Borchev, and Alessandro Guerzoni. René Jacobs conducts the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Insbruck Festival Chorus. Designs by Vincent Lemaire; costumes by Christian Lacroix; lighting by Alain Poisson; directed for TV by Georg Wübbolt. Released 2008, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

This title from harmonia mundi is a controversial show that presents Don John as a big kid in a candy store. The young attractive cast is refreshing. It takes a long time for a singer to develop the stamina to safely sing in a big opera house. HDVD makes it possible for a young singer to be competitive working in a studio or small venue. So this title, produced without the sponsorship of a major opera house, may point us down new paths.

We think Don Giovanni should be jolly. This version gets more laughs by far than any other Don Giovanni in HDVD, so we will spring for an "A."

Please help us by writing a comment that we can place here as a more detailed mini-review of this title.

Henry McFadyen Jr.

Belshazzar

Handel Belshazzar opera to a libretto by Charles Jennens. Directed 2008 by Christof Nel with Martina Jochem at the Aix Festival. Stars Kenneth Tarver, Rosemary Joshua, Bejun Mehta, Kristina Hammarström, Neal Davies, Christina Sampson, Lucy Taylor, Andrew Radley, Richard Wilberforce, Vernon Kirk, and Andrew Davies. René Jacobs conducts the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and the RIAS Kammerchor (Chorus Master Tim Brown). Sets by Roland Aeschlimann; costumes by Bettina Walter; lighting by Olaf Freese; filmed Don Kent. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: Help!

Please help us by writing a comment that we can place here as a mini-review of this title.

Henry McFadyen Jr.

Entries in harmonia mundi (2)

Don Giovanni

Belshazzar