Igor Stravinsky The Rake's Progress opera to libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. Directed 2007 by Robert Lepage (assisted by Neilson Vignola) at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels. Stars Laura Claycomb (Anne Trulove), Andrew Kennedy (Tom Rakewell), William Shimell (Nick Shadow), Julianne Young (Mother Goose), Dagmar Peckova (Baba the Turk), Darren Jeffery (Trulove), Donal J. Byrne (Sellem), and Shadi Torbey (Keeper of the Madhouse). Dancers: Anne-Laure Rondel, Lies Mahy, Magali Revest, Rachel Poirier, Milan Labouiss, Erwin Wauters, Yhonny Correa, David Gellura, Werner Nigg, and Bart Walter. Kazushi Ono conducts the Orchestra  and Chorus of la Monnaie-De Munt (Chorus Master: Stephen Betteridge).  Set design by Carl Fillion; image design by Boris Firquet; costumes by François Barbeau; lighting by Etienne Boucher; choreography by Michael Keegan-Dolan; accessories by Patricia Ruel; make-up and wigs by Catherine Friedland; directed for TV by Benoît Vlietinck. Released 2009, disc has 5.0 PCM sound. Grade: A

Igor Stravinsky The Rake's Progress opera to libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. Directed 2010 by John Cox at Glyndebourne. Stars Miah Persson (Anne Trulove), Topi Lehtipuu (Tom Rakewell),Clive Bayley (Father Trulove),Matthew Rose (Nick Shadow),Susan Gorton (Mother Goose),Elena Manistina (Baba the Turk), Graham Clark (Sellem), and Duncan Rock (Keeper of the Madhouse). Vladimir Jurowski conducts  the London Philharmonic Orchestra (with leader Pieter Schoeman) and the Glyndebourne Chorus (with chorus master Jeremy Bines). Designs by David Hockney; lighting by Robert Bryan; produced by Toni Hajal; TV direction by François Roussillon. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B

Claudio Monteverdi L'Orfeo opera to a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. Directed 2009 by Robert Wilson at La Teatro alla Scala. Stars Georg Nigl (Orfeo), Roberta Invernizzi (La Musica/Euridice), Sara Mingardo (Messenger/Goddess of Hope), Luigi De Donato (Charon), Raffaella Milanesi (Persephone), Giovanni Battista Parodi (Hades), Furio Zanasi (Apollo), Eleonora Contucci, Anna Simboli, Martin Oro, Leonardo Cortellazzi, Luca Dordolo, Gianluca Ferrarini, Marco Scavazza, Matteo Bellotto, and Sergio Foresti (Chorus of Nymphs, Shepherds, and Spirits), as well as dancer Nicola Strada as a bird. Rinaldo Alessandrini conducts the Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala. Basso continuo by Concerto Italinano. Set and lighting design by Robert Wilson; costume design by Jacques Reynaud; lighting design by A J Weissbard; dramaturgy by Ellen Hammer; director's collaboration by Giuseppe Frigeni; set collaboration by Serge Von Arx. Directed for TV direction by Emanuele Garofalo; photography directed by Riccardo De Poli and edited by Carlo Bertucci; sound by Gabriele Fanchini. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+

Wagner Die Walküre opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2010 by Tankred Dorst, with assistance by Ursula Ehler, at the Bayreuth Festival. Stars Johan Botha (Siegmund), Kwangchul Youn (Hunding), Albert Dohmen (Wotan), Edith Haller (Sieglinde), Linda Watson (Brünnhilde), Mihoko Fujimura (Fricke), Sonja Mühleck (Gerhilde), Anna Gabler (Ortlinde), Martina Dike (Waltraute), Simone Schröder (Schwertleite), Miriam Gordon-Stewart (Helmwige), Wilke te Brummelstroete (Siegrune), Annette Küttenbaum (Grimgerde), and Alexandra Petersamer (Roßweiße). Christian Thielemann conducts the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. Set design by Frank Philipp Schlößmann; costume design by Bernd Ernst Skodzig; lighting design by Ulrich Niepel; dramaturgy by Norbert Abels; music supervision by Christoph Ulrich Meier. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. Sung in German. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C+