Robert Schumann Genoveva opera with libretto by Robert Reinick and the composer. Directed 2008 by Martin Kušej at the Zurich Opera House. Stars Juliane Banse (Genoveva), Shawn Mathey (Golo), Martin Gantner (Siegfried), Cornelia Kallisch (Margaretha), Alfred Muff (Drago), Ruben Drole (Hidulfus), Tomasz Slawinski (Balthasar), and Matthew Leigh (Caspar). Nikolaus Harnoncourt directs the Orchestra and Chorus of the Zurich Opera House (Chorus master Ernst Raffelsberger). Set by Rolf Glittenburg; costumes by Heidi Hackl; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann; TV director was Felix Breisach. Released 2009, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: B+
Read MoreBruckner Symphony No. 5 recorded 2013 by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Although I haven't found any published verification of this, Zoltan Glied (who has always been right in the past) reports that this disc, released 2014, was recorded with 96kHz/24-bit sound sampling and has both stereo and 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio output. Grade: NA
Read MoreCoppélia modern ballet to music by Léo Delibes. New libretto and choreography by Eduardo Lao; production directed by Victor Ullate. Performed at the Opéra Royal du Château de Versailles. Stars Sophie Cassegrain (Coppélia), Yester Hulens (Doctor Coppélius), Cristian Oliveri (Franz), Zhengyia Yu (The Spectral Diva), Leyre Castresana, Albia Tapia, and Zara Calero (Betty, Rosi, and Andreina, the 3 Cleaning Ladies), and Dorian Acosta (DJ). Other dancers of the Victor Ullate Ballet Comunidad de Madrid are Ksenia Abbazova, Federica Bagnera, Marlen Fuerte, Laura Rosillo, Reika Sato, Lorenza Agramonte, Mariano Cardano, Mikael Champs, Matthew Edwardson, Oliver Edwardson, Jonatan Luján, Andrew Pontius, and Josué Ullate. Set by Carlos Pujol; lighting designed by Nicolas Fishtel and executed by Tatiana Reverto; costumes designed by Pedro Moreno. There were 3 camera operators: Gaétan Lomenech, Patrick Lauze, and Sonia Paramo; film directed by Sonia Paramo.
EuroArts PR, the keepcase, and the keepcase booklet fail to mention that this ballet was produced and performed in 2006, about 8 years before it was released as a video. It was apparently performed to a recording of the Delibes Coppélia ballet score by an uncredited orchestra. Released 2014, the disc claims its music was recorded using 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling. This suggests that the disc may have music performed more recently than 2006, but again no hint is provided as to what orchestra played. The only sound output provided on the disc is PCM stereo. Grade: D
Read MoreDvořák Rusalka opera to libretto by Jaroslav Kvapil. Directed 2012 by Stefan Herheim at De Munt/La Monnaie in Brussels. Stars Myrtò Papatanasiu (Rusalka), Pavel Černoch (Prince), Annalena Persson (Foreign Princess), Willard White (Vodnik, the Water Goblin), Renée Morlo (Jezibaba), Ekaterina Isachenko, YoungHee Kim [or Young Hee Kim], Nona Javkhidze (3 Wood Nymphs), Julian Hubbard (Hunter and Priest), André Grégoire (Butcher), and Marc Coulon (Policeman). Adam Fischer conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orcestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Richard Lewis). Sets by Heike Scheele; costumes by Gesine Völlm; lighting by Wolfgang Göbbel; videos by Fettfilm Berlin; dramaturgy by Wolfgang Willaschek. Sung in Czech and released 2014, disc has has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMenahem Pressler - Paavo Järvi Concert. Paavo Järvi conducts the Orchestre de Paris with solo pianist Menahem Pressler. They perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, Rondo in A Minor, Piano Concerto No. 27; and Debussy's Clair de lune. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read More Arrigo Boito Mefistofele opera to a libretto by the author. Revival directed 2013 by Laurie Feldman (after Robert Carsen) at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. Stars Ildar Abdrazakov (Mefistofele), Ramón Vargas (Faust), Patricia Racette (Margherita/Elena), Erin Johnson (Marta), Renée Rapier (Pantalis), and Chuanyue Wang (Wagner and Rereo). Nicola Luisotti conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Dance Corps (Chorus Director Ian Robertson). Designed by Michael Levine; lighting design by Gary Marder (based on lighting design by Duane Schuler); choreography by Alphonse Poulin; video direction by Frank Zamacona; produced by Jessica Koplos and Matthew Shilvock; executive producer was David Gockley. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreAnnette Dasch - Die Gretchenfrage (The Crucial Question) concert. In 2011, Soprano Annette Dasch sings selections on the theme of women under extreme stress. Marc Piollet conducts the Münchner Rundfunkorchester in the Herkulessaal of the Münchner Residenz. The selections are:
Schubert: excerpts from Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus, "Gretchen am Spinnrade," and "Ave Maria"
Verdi: excerpts from Composizioni da camera, from Otello: "Ave Maria, piena di grazia," and "Prayer of Desdemona"
Schumann excerpts from Genoveva: "O Du, der uber alle wacht", "Steil und steiler ragen die Felsen", and "Aria of Genoveva"
Berlioz excerpts from La Damnation de Faust: "D'amour l'ardente flamme" and "Aria of Marguerite"
Gonoud excerpts from Faust: "Concert Waltz", "Recitative", "Song of the King of Thule", and "Jewel Aria of Marguerite"
Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreR. Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos opera to libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Directed 2013 by Katharina Thoma at Glyndebourne. Prologue starsare Thomas Allen (Music Master), William Relton (The Major-Domo), Frederick Long (Lackey), Stuart Jackson (Officer), Kate Lindsey (Composer), Sergey Skorokhodov (Tenor), Michael Wallace (Wig Maker), Laura Claycomb (Zerbinetta), Soile Isokoski (Prima Donna), Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Dancing Master), Dmitri Vargin, James Kryshak, Torben Jürgens, and Andrew Stenson (Four Comedians), and Gary Mathewman at piano. Opera stars are Ana Maria Labin (Naiad), Adriana Di Paola (Dryad), Gabriela Iştoc (Echo), Soile Isokoski (Adiana), Laura Claycomb (Zerbinetta), Dmitri Vargin (Harlequin), James Kryshak (Scaramuccio), Torben Jürgens (Truffaldino), Andrew Stenson (Brighella), and Sergey Skorokhodov (Bacchus). Additional performers are Fiona Alsop, Gini Comyns, Philip Dew, Kym Giggins, Darren Harker, Gowan Hewlett, Mike Howell, Rebecca MacMillan, Patrick O'Hare, Philip Ticehurst, and Matthew Tweddle. Vladimir Jurowski conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Leader Pieter Schoeman) with 31 musicians. Set design by Julia Müer; costume design by Irina Bartels; lighting design by Olaf Winter; movement direction by Lucy Burge. TV Director was François Roussillon; Executive Producer was George Bruell; Sound Supervisor was Jen Chatauret; Music Producer was Sébastian Chonion. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Read MorePoppea // Poppea dance piece. Original choreography by Christian Spuck based on Monteverdi's opera L'Incoronazione di Poppea. Music by Martin Donner, Claudio Monteverdi, Robert Schumann, Emiliana Torrini, Cat Power, John Paul von Westhoff, and Geminiani. Performed for this video 2013 by Gauthier Dance, the dance company of Theaterhaus Stuttgart. Stars Eric Gauthier, Anneleen Dedroog, Miriam Gronwald, Anna Harms, Maria Prat Balasch, Rosario Guerra, Florian Lochner, William Moragas, David Valencia Martinez, and Tars Vondebeek. Choreographic assistance by Renato Arismendi; choreographic collaboration by Alexandra Brenk. Set design by Emma Ryott; dramaturgy by Dunja Funke; lighting by Reinhard Traub. Produced and directed for TV by Nikolai Vialkowitsch at Theaterhaus Stuttgart. The back cover shown above (provided early to the vendors by EuroArts) says nothing about 3D; the back cover on the disc we bought correctly states that the disc will play in 2D or 3D. The vendors' back cover art also says the sound is in stereo only. The back cover of our disc correctly states that the sound is in PCM stereo and 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade for both 2D and 3D: D+
Read MoreTchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 concert. Performed 2014 at the Europakonzert in Berlin. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker. Here is the program:
Nicolai, Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor
Elgar, Falstaff - Symphonic Study in C minor
Tchaikovsky, Symphony No. 5
Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRichard Strauss Elektra opera to a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Directed 2013 by Patrice Chéreau at the Aix-en-Provence Summer Festival. Stars Evelyn Herlitzius (Elektra), Waltraud Meier (Klytämnestra), Adrianne Pieczonka (Chrysothemis), Mikhail Petrenko (Orest), Tom Randle (Aegisth), Franz Mazura (Tutor of Orest), Florian Hoffmann (A Young Servant), Donald McIntyre (An Old Servant), Renate Behle (The Overseer/Confidant), Bonita Hyman (First Maid), Andrea Hill (Second Maid/Trainbearer), Silvia Hablowetz (Third Maid), Marie-Eve Munger (Fourth Maid), and Roberta Alexander (Fifth Maid). Actors are Christine Cardeur, Ana Gabriela Castro, Julie Denisse, Félix Martinez, Amandine Molla-Barré, and Marie Vires. Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Orchestre de Paris and Coro Gulbenkian. Sets by Richard Peduzzi; costumes by Caroline de Vivaise; lighting by Dominique Bruguière; wigs and makeup by Campbell Young; dramaturgy by Vincent Huguet. Film directed by Stéphane Metge and produced by François Duplat. Released 2014, music was recorded at 48kHz/24-bit and disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Read MoreMozart Operas "box" with 3 titles (5 discs total). Below are the titles. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details, including our grade, by using the links provided:
1. Le nozze di Figaro. (Grade A+)
2. Die Zauberflöte. (Grade A)
3. Don Giovanni. (Grade A-)
Released 2014, each opera has 5.0 or 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Composite Grade: A
Read More💓 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Le nozze di Figaro opera to libretto by Lorenza da Ponte. Directed 2006 by David McVicar at the Royal Opera House. Stars Erwin Schrott (Figaro), Miah Persson (Susanna), Gerald Finley (Count Almaviva), Dorothea Röschmann (Countess Almaviva), Rinat Shaham (Cherubino), Jonathan Veira (Dr. Bartolo), Graciela Araya (Marcellina), Ana James (Barbarina), Philip Langridge (Don Basilio), Jeremy White (Antonio), Francis Egerton (Don Curzio), Glenys Groves (First Bridesmaid), and Kate McCarney (Second Bridesmaid). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Associate Concert Master Sergey Levitin) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director Renato Balsadonna). Set and costumes by Tanya McCallin; lighting by Paule Constable; movement direction by Leah Hausman. Produced for TV by Sue Judd; directed for TV by Jonathan Haswell. Released 2009, 2-disc set has 5.0 PCM sound. Grade: A+
Read MoreMozart Die Zauberflöte (the Magic Flute) opera to libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Directed 2003 by David McVicar at the Royal Opera House. Stars Will Hartmann (Tamino), Dorothea Röschmann (Pamina), Diana Damrau (Queen of the Night), Franz-Josef Selig (Sarastro), Simon Keenlyside (Papageno), Ailish Tynan (Papagena), Adrian Thompson (Monostatos), Gillian Webster (First Lady), Christine Rice (Second Lady), Yvonne Howard (Third Lady), Thomas Allen (Speaker of the Temple), Matthew Beale (First Priest), Richard Van Allan (Second Priest), Alan Oke (First Man in Armour), Graeme Broadbent (Second Man in Armour), Zico Shaker (First Boy), Tom Chapman (Second Boy), and John Holland-Avery (Third Boy). Sir Colin Davis directs the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director Terry Edwards). Design by John F. Macfarlane; lighting design by Paule Constable; choreography by Leah Hausman. Directed for TV by Sue Judd; produced by Oliver Macfarlane. Sung in German. This is the Blu-ray version, released 2008, of the Zauberflöte that Opus Arte also published in HD DVD. Disc has 5.1 PCM audio. Grade: A
Read MoreWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Directed 2008 by Francesca Zambello at the Royal Opera House. Stars Simon Keenlyside (Don Giovanni), Kyle Ketelsen (Leporello), Eric Halfvarson (Commendatore), Marina Poplavskaya (Donna Anna), Ramón Vargas (Don Ottavio), Joyce DiDonato (Donna Elvira), Miah Persson (Zerlina), and Robert Gleadow (Masetto). Charles Mackerras conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Master Stephen Westrop). Continuo: harpsichord Andrew Griffiths; cello Christopher Vanderspar. Set and costume design by Maria Björnson; lighting by Paul Pyant; choreography by Stephen Mear; fight direction by William Hobbs; directed for TV by Robin Lough. Released 2009 on 2 discs, sound benefits from recording with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling; has 5.1 PCM sound output. Grade: A-
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