Rossini Zelmira opera to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola. Directed 2009 by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti at the Rossini Festival Pesaro. Stars Alex Esposito (Polidora), Kate Aldrich (Zelmira), Juan Diego Flórez (Ilo), Gregory Kunde (Antenore), Marianna Pizzolato (Emma), Mirco Palazzi (Leucippo), Francisco Brito (Eocide), and Sávio Sperandio (Gran Sacerdote di Giove). Roberto Abbado conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale de Bologna (Chorus Master Paolo Vero). Set design by Giorgio Barberio Corsetti and Cristian Taraborrelli; costume design by Cristian Taraborrelli and Angela Buscemi; lighting design by Gianluca Cappelletti. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+
Read MorePina dance film by Wim Wenders. (We know, the title of this is "pina," but we will still use the capital letter "P.") This is a heavy-weight documentary about the choreography of Pina Bausch. The film includes recently commissioned segments of stage performances, original shooting of dancing on locations around Wuppertal, interviews with dancers who knew and worked with Bausch, and archival footage. The package has a 2D movie, a 3D movie + a "making of" extra. There has been massive confusion over the marketing of this title. (It is being sold like a movie; not like a ballet title.) It is available in German, French, Spanish, and Italian releases, all limited to Region B. There is also a Canadian version, a 3-disc box set (2D, 3D, and DVD), limited to Region A. This may be the best option for those living in the United States with Region A players. We have also learned that the Criterion Collection is planning to release this in the American market in early 2013. By the time you read this, things may have changed further, so beware. Released 2012, discs have 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreHaydn Il mondo della luna opera to libretto by Carlo Goldoni. Directed 2009 by Tobias Moretti at the Theatre an der Wien. Stars Bernard Richter, Vivica Genaux, Dietrich Henschel, Christina Landshamer, Anja Nina Bahrmann, Maite Beaumont, Markus Schäfer, Jevgenij Sitochin, Heimo Buttinger, Christoph Wutti, Boris Lichtenberger, Alejandro Gallo, Andreas Werner, Alexander Jost, Josef Fuchs, Tomasz Kufta, and Guillermo Jorge Pereyra. Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducts the Concentus Musicus Wien. Costumes by Heidi Hackl; sets by Renate Martin & Andreas Donhauser; lighting by Olaf Winter; video by Hamid Reza Tavakoli; movement coaching by Jevgenij Sitochin; dramaturgy by Sebastian Huber; directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Released in 2010, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+
Read MoreGerhard Richter Painting documentary film. Written and directed by Corinna Belz; edited by Stephan Krumbiegel. The main film lasts 97 minutes. It was shot while Richter was preparing for an exhibition (shown late in 2009 and early 2010) at the Marian Goodman Gallery in New York. Title also includes as extras (1) a 23 minute interview with art historian Benjamin HD Buchloh, (2) 10 minutes of "fragments of a conversation" with Hans-Ulrich Obrist, and (3) a 9 minute clip showing Richter getting ready for an exhibition in Munich. Released 2012, there is a soundtrack presented in 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D+
Read MoreNutcracker ballet. Music by Tchaikovsky to libretto by Marius Petipa. Choreography by Vasily Vainonen (died 1964); production design by Simon Virsaladze (died 1989). Performed 2011 at the Mariinsky Theatre in St Peterburg. Stars Alina Somova (Masha the Princess), Vladimir Shklyarov (Nutcracker Prince), Alexandra Korshunova (Masha), Vladimir Ponomaryov (Stahlbaum), Alexandra Gronskaya (Madam Stahlbaum), Alena Mashintseva (Luisa), Pavel Miheyev (Franz), Fyodor Lopukhov (Drosselmeyer), Lira Khuslamova (Grandma), Stanislav Burov (Grandpa), and Valeria Karpina (The Nanny). Valery Gergiev conducts the Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre. No credits seem available for living persons who worked on the sets, costumes, or lighting. Directed for TV by Andreas Morell; photography directed by Axel Rothenburg. Producers were Jan Bremme and Isabel Iturriagagoitia Bueno; Executive Producers were Bernd Hellthaler and Torsten Boenoff. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts sound. Grade: D+
Read MoreLa fille du pharaon ballet. Music by Cesare Pugni. Choreographed by Pierre Lacotte after Marius Petipa. Filmed 2003 at the Bolshoi Theatre. Stars Svetlana Zakharova, Sergei Filin, Gennadiy Yanin, Maria Aleksandrova, Dimitri Gudanov, Inna Petrova, Anna Tsygankova, Anastasia Goryatcheva, Denis Medvedev, Yan Godovsky, Vladimir Moiseev, Anastasia Yatsenko, Ekaterina Shipulina, and Elena Andrienko. Alexander Sotnikov conducts the Orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre. Staging, stage design, and costumes by Pierre Lacotte. Directed for video by Denis Caïozzi. This disc, unlike all other fine-art HDVDs released to this point, has no traditional menu. Instead the show starts directly. There is a brief message displayed at the beginning telling the viewer that the pop-up menu allows the viewer to change the audio setting and to select scenes. (A note on scene selection: getting to Acts II and III is a bit counterintuitive. After selecting "Scenes" from the pop-up menu, a secondary menu with all of Act I's scenes appears. To get to Acts II and II, the viewer must first go back to the original pop up menu, and suddenly Acts II and III become selectable.) There are no extras. Released 2010, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreHandel Agrippina opera to a libretto by Vincenzo Grimani. Directed 2008 by Peter Lund at the Saarbrücken State Theatre. Stars Susanne Geb (Agrippina), Hiroshi Matsui (Claudio), Elizabeth Wiles (Poppea), Judith Braun (Nerone), David Cordier (Ottone), Steve Wächter (Narciso), and Guido Baehr (Lesbo). Konrad Junghänel conducts the Saarländisches Staatsorchester and the Cantus Cölln vocal ensemble. Released 2013, disc has surround sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreAntonín Dvořák Rusalka opera to libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil. Directed 2010 by Martin Kušej at the Nationaltheater, Munich. Stars Kristīne Opolais (Rusalka), Klaus Florian Vogt (Prince), Nadia Krasteva (Foreign Princes), Günther Groissböck (Water Goblen), Janina Baechle (Ježibaba), Ulrich Reß (Forester), Tara Erraught (Kitchen Boy), John Chest (Hunter), Evgeniya Sotnikova (1st Wood Nymph), Angela Brower (2nd Wood Nymph), and Okka von der Damerau (3rd Wood Nymph). Tomáš Hanus conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester with the Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Chorus Master Sören Eckhoff) and the Statisterie und Kinderstatisterie der Bayerischen Staatsoper. Set design by Martin Zehetgruber; costume design by Heidi Hackl; lighting design by Reinhard Traub; dramatic advisory by Olaf A. Schmitt. Directed for TV by Thomas Grimm. Released 2011, disc has has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Read MoreOndine ballet. Choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton to a score by Hans Werner Henze. Performed 2009 at the Royal Opera House. Stars Miyako Yoshida (Ondine), Edward Watson (Palemon), Genesia Rosato (Berta), Ricardo Cervera (Tirrenio), and Gary Avis with Mara Galeazzi, José Martin, Helen Crawford, Samantha Raine, Brian Maloney, Sergei Polunin (Act III Divertissement) and other artists of the Royal Ballet. Barry Wordsworth conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Peter Mannig). Solo piano by Robert Clark. Designs by Lila de Nobili; lighting by John B. Read; staging by Christopher Carr and Grant Coyle; ballet mistress Ursula Hageli; principal coach Jonathan Cope; directed for TV by Ross McGibbon. Released 2010, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreThe Little Mermaid ballet. Choreography by John Neumeier. Music by Lera Auerbach. Performed 2011 by the San Francisco Ballet (Helgi Tomasson Artistic Director) at the War Memorial Opera House. Stars Yuan Yuan Tan (The Little Mermaid), Lloyd Riggins (The Poet), Tiit Helimets (The Prince), Sarah Van Patten (The Princess), and Davit Karapetyan (The Sea Witch). Martin West conducts the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. Sets, costume design, and lighting by John Neumeier; video direction by Thomas Grimm; produced by Judy Flannery and Bernhard Fleischer. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Read MoreSiddharta ballet. Book and choreography by Angelin Preljocaj. Original music by Bruno Mantovani written especially for this production. Performed (world premiere) 2010 at the Opéra National de Paris. Stars Nicolas Le Riche (Prince Siddharta), Aurélie Dupont (L'Eveil or the Awakener), Stéphane Bullion (Ananda, Siddharta's cousin and companion), Wilfried Romoli (The King and Siddharta's father), Alice Renavand (Yasodhara, Siddharta's wife), Muriel Zusperreguy (Sujata, a village girl), and the Corps de Ballet de Opéra National de Paris. Susanna Mälkki conducts the Orchestra of the Opéra National de Paris; set design by Claude Lévêque; costumes by Olivier Bériot; dramaturgy by Eric Reinhardt; lighting by Domininue Bruguière; TV direction by Denis Caïozzi. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Read MorePaul Dukas Ariane et Barbe-bleue opera to a libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck. Directed 2011 by Claus Guth at the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Stars Jeanne-Michèle Charbonnet (Ariane), José van Dam (Barbe-bleue), Patricia Bardon (Nurse), Gemma Coma-Alabert (Sélysette), Beatriz Jiménez (Ygraine), Elena Copons (Melisande), Salomé Haller (Bellangère), Alba Valldaura (Alladine), Pierpaola Palloni (An Old Peasant), Xavier Martinez (Second Peasant), and Dimitar Darley (Third Peasant). Stéphane Denève conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu. Sets and costumes by Christian Schmidt; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann; video design by Timo Schlüssel; directed for TV by Pietro D'Agostino. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Read MoreVincent Van Gogh plastic arts title and documentary about the work and life of Vincent van Gogh. Eline Timmer directs the main film showing about 100 paintings from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam as well as images of famous paintings located in other museums around the world. The film has interviews in which art history experts discuss in detail each stage in van Gogh's life and of his development as artist. A bonus feature explains what happened to the paintings van Gogh left at his death and why some 200 of the best paintings are still in two museums in Holland. Released in 2011, disc has 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreTutto Verdi box set.Teatro Regio di Parma, the home of the Verdi Festival, has published in Blu-ray all of the Verdi operas and the Requiem plus a documentary called Verdi's Backyard. The individual titles are also available. Grade: NA
Read MoreAlonzo King LINES Ballet dance recital. Three studio recordings choreographed by Alonzo King for his LINES Ballet. Performed in 2011 in San Francisco at the Kerner Studios. Stars dancers Victor Mateos Arellano, David Harvey, Courtney Henry, Ashley Jackson, Yujin Kim, Laurel Keen, Michael Montgomery, Caroline Rocher, Zac Tang, Meredith Webster, Keelan Whitmore, Kara Wikes, and Ricardo Zayas. See keep-case booklet for identification of dancers scene-by-scene.
Works featured:
Triangle of the Squinches. Music by Mickey Hart; visual design by Christoper Haas; costumes designed by Robert Rosenwasser and constructed by Joan Raymond.
Scheherazade. Music by Zakir Hussain after Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; lighting by Axel Morgenthaler; visual design by Robert Rosenwasser; costume designs by Colleen Quen and Robert Rosenwasser; costumes constructed by Coleen Quen, Joan Raymond, and Abra Berman; production design by Robert Rosenwasser, Axel Morgenthaler, and G. Chris Griffin.
Dust and Light. Music by Arcangelo Corelli and Francis Poulenc; light design by Axel Morgenthaler; costumes designed by Robert Rosenwasser and constructed by Joan Raymond.
Also includes a documentary firm by Marita Stocker called Alonzo King--A Poet of Dance.
Other members of the artistic team receiving credits: technical direction by Tom Cloutier and G. Christopher Griffin; lighting by Meghan Beitiks, Victoria Hendrix, and Dan Kaminski; sound mixing by Claudia Wronski. Directed for TV by Andreas Morell. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
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