Marc Minkowski in 2015 conducts Les Musiciens du Louvre during the Salzburg Mozart Week (Mozartwoche). The concertos are Piano Concerto No. 23with Francesco Corti and Violin Concerto No. 5 "Turkish" with Thibault Noally. Both concertos are played on instruments once "possessed" by Mozart. Also has bonus performances of the 2nd movement of Mozart's Violin Sonata No. 21 and the 4th movement of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 "The Great". Directed for video by Oliver Becker. Music was recorded with 96kHz/24-bit sound sampling (per report from Wonk Bryan Balmer); released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini Festival Collection of 4 operas performed at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. Below are the titles. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Mosè in Egitto. 2012. (Grade: B+)
Ciro in Babilonia. 2013. (Grade: NA)
Il signor Bruschino. 2015. (Grade: NA)
.L’italiana in Algeri. 2014. (Grade: NA)
Read MoreBeethoven Fidelio opera (1814 version) to libretto by Joseph Ferdinand von Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuning, and Georg Friedrich Treitschke. Directed 2015 by Claus Guth at the Salzburg Festival. Stars Adrianne Pieczonka (Leonore), Jonas Kaufmann (Florestan), Tomasz Konieczny (Don Pizarro), Hans-Peter König (Rocco), Olga Bezsmertina (Marzelline), Norbert Ernst (Jaquino), and Sebastian Holecek (Don Fernando). Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Konztertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Ernst Raffelsberger). Set and costume design by Christian Schmidt; dramatic advisory by Ronny Dietrich; lighting design Olaf Freese; sound design by Torsten Ottersberg; video design by Andi A. Müller; video direction by Michael Beyer. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts Digital Surround sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreDonizetti Poliuto opera to libretto by Salvadore Cammarano. Directed 2015 by Mariame Clément at Glyndebourne. Stars Michael Fabiano (Poliuto), Ana Maria Martinez (Paolina), Igor Golovatenko (Severo), Matthew Rose (Callistene), Timothy Robinson (Felice), Emanuele D'Aguanno (Nearco), Gyula Rab (Christian), and Adam Marsden (Christian). Enrique Mazzola conducts the London Philharmonic Orchestra (Leader Pieter Schoeman) and the Glyndebourne Chorus (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines). Designed by Julia Hansen; lighting design by Bernd Purkrabek; video design by fettFilm; produced by George Bruell; film direction by François Roussillon. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMahler Symphony No. 9 concert. Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin. Video direction by Andreas Morell. Also features The Mahler Project documentary. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
This was recorded in 2009 and first came out in DVD in 2011. A review on the Arkivmusic website states, "The video production is evenly divided between orchestra and conductor with a few distant shots of the entire stage." This is exactly how a good DVD of a symphony was made in 2009. It's also the most succinct description of DVDitis that I read. Caution advised as this DVD now receives a new Blu-ray cloak.
Read MoreWagner Tristan und Isolde opera to libretto by the composer. Directed 2015 by Katharina Wagner at the Bayreuth Festival. Stars Stephen Gould (Tristan), Evelyn Herlitzius (Isolde), Georg Zeppenfelds (König Marke), Iain Paterson (Kurwenal), Raimund Nolte (Melot), Christa Mayer (Brangäne), Tansel Akzeybek (Ein Hirt), Kay Stiefermann (Ein Steuermann), and Tansel Akzeybek (Junger Seemann). Christian Thielemann conducts Orchester der Bayreuther Festpiele and the Chor der Bayreuther Frestpiele (Chorus Master Eberhard Friedrich). Set design by Frank Philipp Schlößmann and Matthias Lippert; costume design by Thomas Kaiser; dramaturgy by Daniel Weber; lighting design by Reinhard Traub; video design by Marco Kies and Markus Spona. Directed for TV by Michael Beyer. Sung in German. Released 2016, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MorePuccini Gianni Schicchi to libretto by Giovacchino Forzano. Directed 2015 by Kathleen Smith Belcher (as a revival of the 2008 Woody Allen production) at the LA Opera. Stars Plácido Domingo (Gianni Schicchi), Andriana Chuchman (Lauretta), Arturo Chacón-Cruz (Rinuccio), Philip Cokorinos (Betto di Signa), Meredith Arwady (Zita), Craig Colclough (Simone), Greg Fedderly (Gherardo), Stacey Tappan (Nella), Liam Bonner (Marco), and Peabody Southwell (La Ciesca) [Caution: several roles are missing here and preliminary information needs to be confirmed]. Grant Gershon conducts the LA Opera Orchestra. Set and costume design by Santo Loquasto; lighting by York Kennedy; video direction by Matthew Diamond. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini La Gazzetta opera to libretto by Giuseppe Palomba. Directed 2014 by Stefano Mazzonis di Pralafera at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium. Stars Cinzia Forte (Lisetta), Enrico Marabelli (Don Pomponio), Edgardo Rocha (Alberto), Laurent Kubla (Filippo), Julie Bailly (Doralice), Monica Minarelli (Madama La Rose), Jacques Catalayud (Anselmo), and Roger Joakim (Monsù Traversen). Jan Schultsz conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Opéra Royal de Wallonie (Chorus Master Marcel Seminara). Set designs by Jean-Guy Lecat; lighting by Franco Marri; costume design by Fernand Ruiz; choreography by Luciana Fumarola; video direction by Frédéric Caillierez. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Die Entführung aus dem Serail opera to libretto by Johann Gottlieb Stephanie (from Christoph Friedrich Bretzner). Directed 2015 by David McVicar at Glyndebourne. Stars Sally Matthews (Konstanze), Edgaras Montvidas (Belmonte), Tobias Kehrer (Osmin), Mari Eriksmoen (Blonde), Brenden Gunnell (Pedrillo), Franck Saurel (Pasha Selim), and Jonas Cradock (Klaas). Other actors are Theo Affail, Stéphanie Bergé, Gemma McFarlane-Edmond, Xavier Monreal, Alexander Morelli, Adrian Richards, Sirena Tocco, and Daniel Vernan. Children are Kitty Horsman, Mia McGeorge, Jack McWilliams, Megan Morgan, Poppy-May Murfin, Thomas Stronghill, Brandon Lee Wilson, and Richart Van Zyl. Robin Ticciati conducts the Glyndebourne Chorus (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines) and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Leader Kati Debretzeni). Designs by Vicki Mortimer; choreography by Andrew George, lighting by Paule Constable. Film directed by François Roussillon; sound supervised by Jean Chatauret; Executive Producer was George Bruell. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
This title seems to be a winner. Richard Lawrence tries to be critical at pages 89-91 of the August 2016 Gramophone, but after I finished his review, I put it on my "must buy" list.
Read MoreGiacomo Puccini La rondine opera to libretto by Giuseppe Adami. Directed 2015 by Rolando Villazón. Stars Dinara Alieva (Magda de Civry), Charles Castronovo (Ruggero Lastouc), Alexandra Hutton (Lisette), Alvaro Zambrano (Prunier), Stephen Bronk (Rambaldo), Noel Bouley (Périchaud), Matthew Newlin (Gobin), Thomas Lehmann (Crébillon), Siobhan Stagg (Yvette), Elbenita Kajtazi (Bianca), Stephanie Lauricella (Suzy), and Carlton Ford (Maggiordomo). Roberto Rizzi Brignoli conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Chorus Master William Spaulding). Set design by Johannes Leiacker; costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel; lighting by Davy Cunningham; choreography by Silke Sense. Released 2016, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: NA
Gramophone awarded this an "Editor's Choice" in the August 2016 book (page 27).
Read MoreDon Quixote ballet. Music by Ludwig Minkus arranged and orchestrated by John Lanchbery. Choreographed 2014 by Maina Gielgud after Rudolf Nureyev at the Ballet Company of Teatro alla Scala (Ballet Director Makhar Vaziev). Stars Giuseppe Conte (Don Quixote), Gianluca Schiavoni (Sancho Panza), Natalia Osipova (Kitri/Dulcinea), Leonid Sarafanov (Basilio), Matthew Endicott (Lorenzo), Riccardo Massimi (Gamache), Lusymay Di Stefano and Denise Gazzo (Two friends of Kitri), Vittoria Valerio (Street dancer), Christian Fegetti (Espada), Nicoletta Manni (Queen of the Dryads), Serena Sarnataro (Cupid), Antonino Sutera (Gypsy), Deborah Gismondi and Emanuela Montanari (Two Gypsies), Luigi Saruggia and Caroline Westcombe (King and Queen of the Gypsies), Vittoria Valerio and Christian Fagetti (Fandango soloists), and Virna Toppi (Bridesmaid). In addition, students of the Ballet Academy of Teatro alla Scala were directed by Frédéric Olivieri. Alexander Titov conducts the Orchestra of the Teatro alla Scala. Set design by Raffaelle del Savio; costume design by Anna Anni; costume design supervised by Irene Moti; lighting design by Marco Filibeck; video director was Patrizia Carmine. Released 2016, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D+
Read MoreBeethoven Symphonies 1-9 (or Complete Beethoven Symphonies) box set. Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in all nine Beethoven symphonies. Other performers featured in Symphony No. 9 are Annette Dasch (Soprano), Eva Vogel (Mezzo-Soprano), Christian Elsner (Tenor), Dimitry Ivashchenko (Bass), and the Rundfunkchor Berlin (Simon Halsey, Chorus Master). Grade: C+ (average for the 9 symphonies, based on specific grades for 6 titles and other general observations)
Read MoreLiszt A Faust Symphony and Wagner A Faust Overture. Chrstian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden and Sächsischer Staatsopernchor Dresden (Chorus Master Pablo Assante). Endrik Wottrich is tenor soloist in A Faust Symphony. Recorded live 2011 at the Semperoper, Dresden. Produced by Günter Atteln at Accentus Music; directed for TV by Tilo Krause. Released 2011, music was recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling, and disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: D+
Read MoreSibelius Symphonies 1-7 (or Complete Sibelius Symphonies) box set. Sir Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in all seven Sibelius symphonies. This review applies only to the Blu-ray video and not to the CDs or Blu-ray audio disc included in the box. Grade: C (average for the 7 symphonies).
Read MoreBeethoven Violin Concerto and Symphony No. 6 "Pastoral" concert. Bernard Haitink conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2015 at the Baden-Baden Festspielhaus. Features violinist Isabelle Faust. Has the cheapest and least helpful keepcase booklet ever. Audio producer was Michael Sandner; sound engineer was Hendrik Rahn; video directed by Torben Schmidt Jacobson. Released 2016, music was recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sampling, and disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound output. Grade: C+ for the symphony and B for the concerto
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