Mark Morris L'Allegro, il Penseroso, ed il Moderato dance work. In 2014, the Mark Morris Dance Group performs, at the Teatro Real in Madrid, the above-named work to Handel's musical ode of the same name, i.e., L'Allegro, il Penseroso, ed il Moderato. Choreography by Mark Morris. Dancers (alphabetical by last names) are Chelsea Lynn Acree, Sam Black, Max Cappelli-King, Brandon Cournay, Rita Donahue, Domingo Estrada, Jr., Jusie Fiorenza, Benjamin Freedman, Lesley Garrison, Lauren Grant, Brian Lawson, Aaron Loux, Laurel Lynch, Stacy Martorana, Claudia Macpherson, Dallas McMurray, Maile Okamura, Brandon Randolph, Billy Smith, Utafumi Takemura, Noah Vinson, Nicholas Wagner, Jenn Weddel, and Michelle Yard. Jane Glover conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real Madrid (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Solo singers are Sarah-Jane Brandon and Elizabeth Watts (sopranos), James Gilchrist (tenor), and Andrew Foster-Williams (baritone). Set design by Adrianne Lobel; costume design by Christine van Loon; lighting design by James F. Ingalls; directed for TV and video by Vincent Bataillon; produced by François Duplat, Joan Hershey, John Walker, and David Horn. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreGiuseppi Verdi Un ballo in maschera opera to libretto by Antonio Somma. Directed 2005 by Ermanno Olmi at the Leipzig Oper. Stars Massimiliano Pisapia (Riccardo), Franco Vassalio (Renato), Chiara Taigi (Amelia), Annamaria Chiuri (Ulrica), Eun Yee You (Oscar), Herman Wallén (Silvano), Tuomas Pursio (Enemy of Riccardo), Metodie Bujor (Enemy of Riccardo), and Seung-Hyun Kim (Judge). Ricardo Chailly conducts (1) the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, (2) the Chorus of the Leipzig Opera (Chorus Masters Romano Gandolfi and Sören Eckhof), (3) members of the Orchester der Musikalischen Komödie, and (4) the Leipzig Ballet. Sets and costumes Arnaldo Pomodoro; choreography by Paul Chalmer; directed for TV by Don Kent; Günter Atteln was TV producer; Paul Smaczny was producer. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreGiuseppi Verdi Un ballo in maschera opera to libretto by Antonio Somma. Directed 2008 by Mario Martone at the Teatro Real de Madrid. Stars Marcelo Álvarez (Riccardo), Marco Vratogna (Renato), Violeta Urmana (Amelia), Elena Zaremba (Ulrica), Alessandra Marianelli (Oscar), Borja Quiza (Silvano), Miguel Sola (Samuel, enemy of Riccardo), Scott Wilde (Tom, enemy of Riccardo), Orlando Niz (A Judge), and César San Martín (Amelia's servant). Jesús López Cobos conducts the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Peter Burian). Set design by Sergio Tramonti; costume design by Bruno Schwengl; choreography by Duncan Macfarland; lighting design by David Harney; film direction by Ángel Luis Ramírez. Released 2010, disc has 5.1 PCM sound. Grade: C+
Read MoreDonizetti La Favorite opera to a libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz. Directed 2014 by Vincent Boussard at the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse. Stars Kate Aldrich (Léonor de Guzmán), Yijie Shi (Fernand), Ludovic Tézier (Alphonse XI, King of Castile), Giovanni Furlanetto (Balthazar), Marie-Bénédicte Souquet (Inès), Alain Gabriel (Don Gaspar), and Dongjin Ahn (A Lord). Extras: Éric Afergan, Margo Becz, Evelyne Capot, Joël Capot, Céline Chemin, Sylvie Clanet, Yannick Dubuisson, Valérie Habermann, Patrick Joseph, Antonio Scarano, Joël Sitbon, and Corinne Vrignon. Antonello Allemandi conducts the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and the Choeur du Capitole de Toulouse (Chorus Master Alfonso Caiani). Set design by Vincent Lemaire; costume design by Christian Lacroix; lighting design by Guido Levi. Directed for TV by Olivier Simonnet. Audio Producer was Philippe Engel; TV Producer was Pierre Moitron; Executive Producers were Sabrina Azoulay and Jean-François Boyer. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreRossini Guillaume Tell opera to a libretto by Étienne de Jouy and Hippolyte Bis. Directed 2013 by Graham Vick at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Stars Nicola Alaimo (Guillaume Tell), Juan Diego Flórez (Arnold Melcthal), Marina Rebeka (Mathide), Amanda Forsythe (Jemmy), Veronica Simeoni (Hedwige) Simon Orfila (Walter Furst), Simone Alberghini (Melcthal, Arnold's father), Luca Tittoto (Gesler), Alessandro Luciano, (Rodolphe), Celso Albulo (Ruodi), and Wojtek Gierlach (Leuthold/Hunter). Michele Mariotti conducts the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Chorus Master Andrea Faidutti). Set and costume designs by Paul Brown; choreography by Ron Howell; lighting design by Giuseppe Di Iorio; directed for screen by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: A-
Read MoreDonizetti Lucrezia Borgia opera to a libretto by Felice Romani. Directed 2012 by John Pascoe at the War Memorial Opera House in San Fransisco. Stars Renée Fleming (Borgia), Michael Fabiano (Gennaro), Elizabeth DeShong (Maffio Orsini), Vitalij Kowaljow (Duca Alfonso), Christopher Jackson (Jeppo Liverotto), Brian Jagde (Oloferno Vitellozzo), Austin Kness (Apostolo Gazella), Ao Li (Ascanio Petrucci), Daniel Montenegro (Rustighello), Igor Vieira (Gubetta), Ryan Kuster (Astolfo), Blanche Hampton (Princess Negroni), Jere Torkelsen (A Voice) as well as Mary Finch, Claire Kelm, Sally Mouzon, and Sally Monro (Ladies of the Court). Riccardo Frizza conducts the San Francisco Opera Orchestra (Acting Concertmaster Laura Albers) and Chorus (Chorus Master Ian Robertson). Production designs by John Pascoe; lighting by Jeff Bruckerhoff; choreography by Lawrence Pech; directed for TV by Frank Zamacona. Producers were Jessica Koplos and Matthew Shilvock; David Gockley was Executive Producer. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreDonizetti Lucrezia Borgia opera to libretto by Felice Romani. Directed 2009 by Chistof Loy at the Bayrische Staatsoper. Stars Edita Gruberova (Donna Lucrezia Borgia), Franco Vassallo (Don Alfonzo), Pavol Breslik (Gennaro), Alice Coote (Maffio Orsini), Bruno Ribeiro (Jeppo Liverotto) , Christian Rieger (Don Apostolo Gazella), Christopher Magiera (Ascanio Petrucci), Erik Årman (Oloferno Vitellozzo), Steven Humes (Gubetta), Emanuele D'Aguanno (Rustighello), Christian van Horn (Astolfo), and Elisabeth Haag (Principessa Negroni). Bertrand de Billy conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and the Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Stage Music Director: Gregor Raquet. Sets by Henrik Ahr; costumes by Barbara Drosihn; lighting by Joachim Klein; director of photography was Gerald Schäfer; audio engineer was Stefan Kröhn; sound engineer was Jakob Palfrader; video direction by Brian Large; produced by Magdalena Herbst. Disc also includes a 54 minutes documentary "The Art of Bel Canto---Edita Gruberova" by Claus Wischmann and Stefan Pannen. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreRossini Il signor Bruschino opera to a libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa. Performed 2012 by the Teatro Sotterraneo collective at the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro. Stars Roberto De Candia (Bruschino Senior), Francisco Brito (Bruschino Junior/Police Officer), Carlo Lepore, (Gaudenzio), Maria Aleida (Sofia), David Alegret (Florville), Andrea Vincenzo Bonsignore (Filiberto), and Chiara Amarù (Marianna). Daniele Rustioni conducts the Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini (Répétitieur and Fortepiano by Carmen Santoro). Set and costume designs by the Accademia di Belle Arti di Urbino; lighting by Roberto Cafaggini; directed for video and TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2015, Blu-ray disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi La Traviata opera to a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed 2014 by Tom Cairns at Glyndebourne. Stars Venera Gimadieva (Violetta Valéry), Michael Fabiano (Alfredo Germont), Tassis Christoyannis (Giorgio Germont), Emanuele D’Aguanno (Gastone de Letorières), Magdalena Molendowska (Annina), Hanna Hipp (Flora Bervoix), Eddie Wade (Baron Douphol), Oliver Dunn (Marquis d'Orbigny) , and Graeme Broadbent (Doctor Grenvil). Mark Elder conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Glyndebourne Chorus. Lighting by Peter Mumford. Directed for TV by François Roussillon. Sung in Italian. Released 2015, Blu-ray disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWagner Tannhäuser opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2014 by Sebastian Baumgarten at the Bayreuth Festspiele. Stars Torsten Kerl (Tannhäuser), Camilla Nylund (Elisabeth, Nichte des Landgrafen), Michelle Breedt (Venus), Markus Eiche (Wolfram von Eschenbach), Kwangchul Youn (Landgraf Hermann), Lothar Odinius (Walther von der Vogelweide), Thomas Jesatko (Biterolf), Stefan Heibach (Heinrich der Schreiber), and Rainer Zaun (Reinmar von Zweter). Axel Kober conducts the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Eberhard Friedrich). Stage design by Joep van Lieshout; costume design by Nina von Mechow; lighting design by Frank Evin; video by Christopher Kondek; dramaturgy by Carl Hegemann. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer; produced by Katharina Wagner. Sung in German. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVivaldi Il Farnace opera to a libretto by Antonio Maria Lucchini. Directed by Marco Gandini at the Teatro Lirico di Calgliari. Stars Mary-Ellen Nesi (Farnace), Delphine Galou (Berenice), Sonia Prina (Tamiri), Loriana Castellano, (Selinda), Emanuele D’Aguanno, (Pompeo), Roberta Mameli (Gilade), and Magnus Staveland (Aquilio). Actors are Carmelo Galati and Carlo Riccioli. Features Giulia Nuti on harpsichord, Simone Vallerotonda on theorbo and baroque guitar, and Michele Tazzari on basso continuo. Federico Maria Sardelli conducts the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. Chorus directed by Dario Shikhmiri. Set design by Italo Grassi; costume design by Italo Grassi and Simona Morresi; light design by Valerio Tiberi; video design by Virginio Levrio. Directed for video and TV by Matteo Ricchetti. Released 2015, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreLang Lang - The Chopin Dance Project, is a piano recital by Lang Lang supporting a ballet performance for 16 dancers of the Houston Ballet, all live. Choreographed by Stanton Welch, the Dance Project was filmed 2013 at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées. Dancers are Ian Casady, Jessica Collado, Derek Dunn, Karina Gonzalez, James Gotesky, Oliver Halkowich, Nozomi Iijima, Melody Mennite, Allison Miller, Jim Nowakowski, Katharine Precourt, Lauren Strongin, Brian Waldrep, Connor Walsh, Joseph Walsh, and Charles-Louis Yoshiyama. Detailed notes in the keepcase booklet list the dancers on stage for each of the following Chopin works:
1. Ballade No.1 in G minor op. 23
2. Etude No. 7 in C-sharp minor op. 25
3. Ballade No. 2 in F major op. 38
4. Ballade No. 4 in F minor op. 52
5. Waltz No. 1 in E-flat major op. 18 "Grande Valse brillante"
6. Nocturne No. 1 in F major op. 15
7. Waltz No. 19 in A minor op. posth.
8. Andante spianato op. 22
9. Etude No. 3 in E major opus 10 "Tristesse"
10. Nocturne No. 2 in E-flat major op. 55
11. Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major op. 22
12. Nocturne in C-sharp minor, op. posth. No. 16
Stage Director was Michelle Elliott; Lighting Designer was Lisa J. Pinkham; Video Director was Olivier Simonnet. Produced by Jean-Stéphane Michaux and François Bertrand. Music recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A
Read MoreSwan Lake ballet. Music by Tchaikovsky. Book by V. P. Begitchev and Vasily Geltzer. Choreography by Marius Petipa, Lev Ivanov, Frederick Ashton, and David Bintley. Danced 2015 in the Anthony Dowell production at the Royal Opera House. Stars Natalie Osipova (Odette/Odile), Matthew Golding (Prince Siegfried), Gary Avis (Rothbart), Elizabeth McGorian (Queen), Alastair Marriott (Tutor), Ryoichi Hirano (Benno), and Erico Montes (Lord Chamberlain). Other dancers include Francesca Hayward, Yuhui Choe, and Alekander Campbell (Pas de trois); Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani and Nathalie Harrison (Chaperones); Erico Montes (A General); Manon Forssell Pyk and Emily-Rose Holland (Young Girls); Christina Arestis, Fumi Kaneko, Kristen McNally, Beatriz Stix-Brunell, Sander Blommaert, Tristan Dyer, Ryoichi Hirano, Fernando Montaño, Emma Maguire, and Paul Kay (Waltz); Francesca Hayward, Meaghan Grace Hinkis, Emma Maguire, and Yasmine Naghdi (Cygnets); Melissa Hamilton and Itziar Mendizabal (Two Swans); Tara-Brigitte Bhavnani, Olivia Cowley, Nathalie Harrison, Mayara Magri, Yasmine Naghdi, and Beatriz Stix-Brunell (Six Princesses); Christina Arestis, Kristen McNally, Kevin Emerton, and Thomas Whitehead (Spanish Dance); Claire Calvert and Bennet Gartside (Czárdás); Laura Morera and Ricardo Cervera (Neapolitan Dance); Jacqueline Clark, Sian Murphy, Demelza Parish, Lara Turk, Sander Blommaert, Nicol Edmond, Fernando Montaño, and Donald Thom (Mazurka). Boris Gruzin conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev). Designs by Yolanda Sonnabend; lighting by Mark Henderson; production research by Roland John Wiley; staging by Christopher Carr; ballet mistress was Samantha Raine; principal coaching by Alexander Agadzhanov; Benesh notation by Anna Trevien and Gregory Mislin; directed for TV by Ross MacGibbon. Released 2015, disc has 5.0 (package says 4.1) dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B-
Read MoreMozart Così fan tutte opera to libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Directed 2013 by Sven-Eric Bechtolf at the Salzburg Festival. Stars Malin Hartelius (Fiordiligi), Luca Pisaroni (Guglielmo), Marie-Claude Chappuls (Dorabella), Martin Mitterrutzner (Ferrando), Martina Janková (Despina), and Gerald Finley (Don Alfonso). Christoph Eschenbach conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Ernst Raffelsberger). Set design by Rolf Glittenberg; costume design by Marianne Glittenberg; lighting design by Jurgen Hoffman; directed for video by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini Aureliano in Palmira opera to a libretto by G. F. R. (generally attributed to Giuseppe Felice Romani). Directed 2014 by Mario Martone at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Stars Michael Spyres (Aureliano), Jessica Pratt (Zenobia), Lena Belkina (Arsace), Raffaella Lupinacci (Publia), Dempsey Rivera (Oraspe), Sergio Vitale (Licinio), Dimitri Pkhaladze (Gran Sacerdote), and Raffaele Constantini (Un Pastore). Will Crutchfield completed a new critical edition of the score and conducts the Orchestra Sinfonica G. Rossini and the Chorus of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Chorus Master Andrea Faidutti). Set design by Sergio Tramonti; costume designs by Ursula Patzak; directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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