Great Ballets from the Bolshoi box set. This box has four ballets from the Bolshoi. All have been released individually, and we already have done reviews with screenshots and grades for all of them. Following are links to more information and our grade for each title:
1. Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker D
2. Tchaikovsky The Sleeping Beauty (La Belle au Bois dormant) A+
3. Adam Giselle C+
4. Asafiev The Flames of Paris (Les Flammes de Paris) A
Released 2014. Combined Grade: C+
Read MoreHerbert von Karajan 1965-1966 Movie Documentary. This title begins with a 1965 motion picture of Karajan conducting the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 with the Wiener Symphoniker and Yehudi Menuhin. Then comes the 1966 motion picture of Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmoniker in the Dvořák Symphony No. 9 ("New World"). Finally, there are two bonus items in which Karajan discusses the art of conducting with Menuhin and Prof. Joachim Kaiser as well as a few minutes of Karajan in rehearsal. The filming was the work of motion-picture director Henri-Georges Clouzot. Released 2010, the entire title is in 4:3 black and white. It has PCM stereo sound for the music and mono sound for the extras. Grade: X-B-
Read MoreGiselle ballet. Music by Adolphe Adam revised by Joseph Horovitz. Libretto by Théophile Gautier and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. Choreography by Marius Petipa after Jean Coralli and Jules Perrot. Directed 2014 by Sir Peter Wright at the Royal Opera House. Stars Natalia Osipova (Giselle), Carlos Acosta (Count Albrecht), Thomas Whitehead (Hilarion), Deirdre Chapman (Berthe), Johannes Stepanek (Wilfred, Albrecht's Squire), Christopher Saunders (Duke of Courland), Christina Arestes (Bathilde, Courland's daughter), Alastair Marriott (Leader of the Hunt), Hikaru Kobayashi (Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis), Elisabeth Harrod (Moyna, Myrtha's attendant), Akane Takada (Zulme, Myrtha's attendant). Pas de Six danced by Yuhui Choe, Valentino Zucchetti, Francesca Hayward, Luca Acri, Yasmine Naghdi, and Marcelino Sambé). Boris Gruzin conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Peter Manning). Designs by John Macfarlane; lighting by Jennifer Tipton recreated by David Finn; staging by Christopher Carr; directed for screen by Ross MacGibbon. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreRichard Wagner Lohengrin opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2009 by Richard Jones at the Munich Festival. Stars Jonas Kaufmann (Lohengrin), Anja Harteros (Elsa), Wolfgang Koch (Telramund), Michaela Schuster (Ortrud), Christof Fischesser (König Heinrich), and Evgeny Nikitin (Herald). Kent Nagano conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester. Set and costume design by Ultz; lighting design by Mimi Jordan Sherin; video direction by Karina Fibich. Released 2014, disc has dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRichard Strauss Tone Poems concert [our name]. Andriss Nelsons conducts the Concertgebouw Orchestra at the Royal Concertgebouw in 2013 and 2014. The program includes:
1. Also sprach Zarasthustra
2. Till Eulenspiegel
3. Macbeth
Released 2014, disc has dts 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Il trovatore opera to a libretto by Salvadore Cammarano and Leone Emanuele Bardare. Directed 2012 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at La Monnaie / De Munt. Stars Misha Didyk (Manrico), Marina Poplavskaya (Leonora), Sylvie Brunet-Grupposo (Azucena), Scott Hendricks (Il Conte di Luna), and Giovanni Furlanetto (Ferrando). Marc Minkowski conducts the Orchestre symphonique de la Monnaie and the Choeurs de la Monnaie. Set and costume design by Dmitri Tcherniakov. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer. Sung in Italian. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreGiselle ballet. Music by Adolphe Adam to libretto by Théophile Gautier and Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges. Choreography by Marius Petipa, Jean Coralli, and Jules Perrot as revived by Yuri Grigorovich. Recorded 2011 at the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow. Stars Svetlana Lunkina (Giselle), Dmitry Gudanov (Albrecht), Vitaly Biktimirov (Hans [Hilarion]), Maria Allash (Myrtha), Elena Bukanova (Berthe), Ekaterina Barykina (Bathilde), Alexay Loparevich (Duke), Vladislav Lantratov (Wilfreed), Chinara Alizade and Andrey Bolotin (Pas de deux des paysans). Pavel Klinichev directs the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. Set and costume designs by Simon Virsaladze; lighting design by Mikhail Sokolov; produced by François Duplat; directed for TV by Vincent Bataillon. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts Master Audio sound. Grade: C+
Read MoreVerdi Falstaff opera to libretto by Arrigo Boito. Directed 2013 by Damiano Michieletto at the Strasburg Festival (Haus für Mozart). Stars Ambrogio Maestri (Sir John Falstaff), Fiorenza Cedolins (Mrs. Alice Ford), Massimo Cavalletti (Ford), Eleonora Buratto (Nannetta), Javier Camarena (Fenton), Elisabeth Kulmann (Mrs. [or Mistress] Quickly), Stephanie Houtzeel (Mrs. Meg Page), Luca Casalin (Dottore Cajus), Gianluca Sorrentino (Bardolfo), and David Fersini (Pistola). Zubin Mehta conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Philharmonia Chor Wien (Chorus Master Walter Zeh). Video direction by Karina Fibich. Released in 2014, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Directed 2013 by Philipp Himmelmann at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. Stars Erwin Schrott (Don Giovanni), Luca Pisaroni (Leporello), Anna Netrebko (Donna Anna), Charles Castronovo (Don Ottavio), Malena Ernman (Donna Elvira), Katija Dragojevic (Zerlina), Jonathan Lemalu (Masetto), and Mario Luperi (Commendatore). Thomas Hengelbrock conducts the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble (Leader Riccardo Minasi) and Balthasar-Neumann-Chor (Chorus Master Frank Markowitsch). Donna Elvira's maid (acrobat role) by Susanne Preissler. Extras: Alisa Berlin, Anna Biberacher, Angela Covelli, Kristina Daniel, Marcel Fox, Jessica Hempel, Mia Hilger, Valerie Holfeld, Ferris Jung, Nino Kolicic, Lisa Koßmann, Luisa Krieser, Sophie Kuznik, Camilla Maul, Florentina Maul, Franziska Meyer, Tamima Rastätter, Tabea Schell, Markus Senger, Mario Scholz, Deniz Can Ulucan, Lisa Wehle, and Hans Zelenka. Stage design by Johannes Leiacker; costumes by Florence von Gerkan; lighting by David Cunningham; directed for video by Jérémie Cuvillier. Stereo and sound recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C+
Read MoreRomeo and Juliet ballet. Music by Prokofiev. Libretto by Leonid Lavrovsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Choreography by Leonid Lavrovsky as staged 2013 at the Mariinsky Theatre under the direction of Yuri Fateyev. Stars Diana Vishneva (Juliet), Vladimir Shklyarov (Romeo), Ilya Kuznetsov (Tybalt), Alexander Sergeyev (Mercutio), Islom Baimuradov (Benvolio), Yuri Smekalov (Paris), Valeria Karpina (Juliet's Nurse), Vladimir Ponomarev (Capulet), Elena Bazhenova (Lady Capulet), Pyotr Stasyunas (Montague and Friar Lawrence), Nikolai Naumov (Duke of Verona), Grigory Popov (Jester), Elena Firsova (Paris' Page), Yekaterina Osmolkina (Juliet's Companion), Maxim Zyuzin (Troubadour), Elena Chmil and Daria Lomako (Beggers), Yekaterina Devichinskaya, Yekaterina Mikhailovtseva, and Olga Balinskaya (Courtesans), Maria Adzhamova, Maria Lebedeva, and Nadezhda Batoeva (Tavern Girls), Mikhail Berdichevsky, Denis Zainetdinov, and Nikita Lyashchenko (Servants to Capulet), Ivan Sitnikov and Soslan Kulaev (Servants to Montague), Xenia Dubrovina, Olga Belik, Boris Zhurilov, and Anatoly Marchenko (Folk Dancers). Valery Gergiev conducts the Mariinsky Orchestra. Set and costume design by Pyotr Williams; directed for TV by Olivier Simonnet. This title includes a Blu-ray disc and a separate DVD disc in a "double play" package. Released 2014, music was recorded using 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling, but the Blu-ray disc only has PCM stereo output. Grade: C-
Read MoreWagner Parsifal opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2014 by Stephen Langridge at the Royal Opera House. Stars Simon O'Neill (Parsifal), René Pape (Gurnemanz), Angela Denoke (Kundry/Voice from Above), Gerald Finley (Amfortas), Willard W. White (Klingsor), Robert Lloyd (Titurel), David Butt Philip (First Knight), Charbel Mattar (Second Knight), Dusiča Bjeli (First Squire), Rachel Kelly (Second Squire), Sipho Fubesi (Third Squire), Luis Gomes (Fourth Squire), and Celina Byrne, Kiandra Howarth, Anna Patalong, Anna Devin, Ana James, Justina Gringyte (Flowermaidens). Antonio Pappano conducts the Royal Opera Chorus & Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Peter Manning). Designs by Alison Chitty; lighting design by Paul Pyant; movement by Dan O’Neill; video design by Thomas Bergmann and William Bramsche. Directed for TV by Jonathan Haswell. Sung in German. Released 2014, disc claims 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreChopin The Warsaw Recital. Daniel Barenboim performs the following solo Chopin pieces in 2010 at the Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall:
1. Fantasia in F minor
2. Nocturne in D flat major
3. Sonata in B flat minor
4. Barcarolle in F sharp major
5. Waltz in F major
6. Waltz in A minor
7. Waltz in C sharp minor
8. Berceuse in D flat major
9. Polonaise in A flat major
10. Mazurka in F minor
11.Waltz in D flat major
Directed for TV by Michael Beyer; Director of Photography was Nyika Jancsó; Audio Producer was Georg Obermayer. Claudia Groh and Günter Atteln were Disc Producers with Executive Producer Paul Smaczny. The music was recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling. Released 1011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreRobert 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
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