The Golden Age ballet. Music by Dmitri Shostakovich. Choreography by Yuri Grigorovich to libretto by Isaak Glikman and Yuri Grigorovich. Staged 2016 at the Bolshoi Ballet. Stars Nina Kaptsova (Rita, a young girl), Ruslan Skvortsov (Boris, a young fisherman), Mikhail Lobukhin (Yashka, gang leader), Ekaterina Krysanova (Lyuska, Yashka’s accomplice), and Vyachslav Lopatin (night club compere). Pavel Klinichev conducts the Corps de Ballet and Orchestra of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. Lighting design by Mikhail Sokolov; sets and costumes by Simon Virsaladze; choreography assistants Regina Nikiforova and Andrey Melanin. Produced by François Duplat; filmed by Vincent Bataillon. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+
Read MorePuccini Tosca opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Directed 2001 as a 35mm celluloid film opera movie by Benoît Jacquot at a movie studio in Germany. Stars Angela Gheorghiu [when she was young] (Floria Tosca), Roberto Alagna [then he was hot] (Mario Cavaradossi), Ruggero Raimondi [when he still looked scary] (Baron Scarpia), Maurizio Muraro (Cesare Angelotti), Enrico Fissore (Sacristan), David Cangelosi (Spoletta), and Sorin Coliban (Sciarrone). Antonio Pappano [when he was just getting started with the Royal Opera] conducts the Royal Opera House Orchestra, the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director Terry Edwards), and The Tiffin Boys Choir (Chorus Master Simon Toyne). Set design by Sylvain Chauvelot; costume design by Christian Gasc. Released 2017, package includes 2 discs: a 2K (old fashioned) Blu-ray and a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. Please note this title does not have the High Dynamic Range (HDR) feature or any of the advanced sound technology available with the new 4K films. Sung in Italian. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Jacquot is a major French movie director (some 40 films) who also loves opera. He did the mildly controversial Werther HDVD which we graded A+. Subject Tosca is the only movie shot on 35 mm film before 2008 (the advent of HD TV generally) that is good enough to benefit from Blu-ray presentation
Read MoreMozart Le nozze di Figaro opera to libretto by Lorenza da Ponte. New production directed 2016 by Frederic Wake-Walker at the Teatro alla Scala. Stars Carlos Álvarez (Il Conte d'Almaviva), Diana Damrau (La Contessa d'Almaviva), Golda Schultz (Susanna), Markus Werba (Figaro), Marianne Crebassa (Cherubino), Anna Maria Chiuri (Marcellina), Andrea Concetti (Bartolo / Antonio), Kresimir Spicer (Basilio / Don Curzio), Theresa Zisser (Barbarina), Francesca Manzo (Prima contadina), and Kristín Sveinsdóttir (Seconda Contadina). Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro alla Scala (Chorus Master Bruno Casoni). Basso continuo: James Vaughan (piano) and Simone Groppo (cello). Stage and costume design by Antony McDonald; lighting design by Fabiana Piccioli. Directed for video by Patrizia Carmine. Released 2017, has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWagner Die Walküre to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2017 by Vera Nemirova at the Großes Festpielhaus as part of the Easter Salzburg Festival. Stars Peter Seiffert (Siegmund), Georg Zeppenfeld (Hunding), Vitalij Kowaljow (Wotan), Anja Harteros (Sieglinde), Anja Kampe (Brünnhilde), Christa Mayer (Fricka), Johanna Winkel (Gerhilde), Brit-tone Müllertz (Ortlinde), Christina Bock (Waltraude), Katharina Magiera (Schwertleite), Alexandra Petersamer (Helmwige), Stepanka Pucalkova (Siegrune), Katrin Wundsam (Grimgerde), and Simone Schröder (Roßweiße). Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden. Set design by Günter Schneider-Siemssen; reconstruction of 1967 set and costume design by Jens Kilian; lighting design by Olaf Freese; video by rocafilm. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in German. Released 2017 in 2K and in 2018 in 4K, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio. Grade: NA
Read MoreHeinrich Ignaz Franz von Biber Missa Salisburgensis concert. Václav Luks conducts Collegium 1704 and Collegium Vocale 1704 at the Salburg Cathedral. The concert also includes other sacred works by Monteverdi. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMonteverdi Two Classic Operas Box Set released 2017. Below are the discs. Both already have been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
- L'Orfeo. 2011. (Grade: B+)
- L'incoronazione di Poppea.2012. (Grade: NA)
Read MoreShakespeare Three Tragedies Box Set. This box set includes the Royal Shakespeare Company productions of Hamlet, King Lear and Othello. All three are available individually on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
- Hamlet. 2016. (No grade yet)
- King Lear. 2017. (No grade yet)
- Othello. 2016. (No grade yet)
Released 2017, both discs have 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBach Mass in B minor concert. Herbert Blomstedt conducts the Dresdner Kammerchor and the Gewandhouser Leipzig at Bachfest Leipzig, 2017. Soloists are Christina Landshamer (soprano), Elisabeth Kulman (alto), Wolfram Lattke (tenor), and Günter Atteln (bass). Directed by Ute Feudel; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreClaudio Monteverdi L'Orfeo opera to a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. Directed 2017 by Paul Agnew at the Théâtre de Caen. Stars Cyril Auvity (Orfeo), Hannah Morrison (Euridice/La Musica), Paul Agnew (Apollo/Eco), Miriam Allan (Proserpina/Ninfa), Lea Desandre (Messaggiera/Speranza) Carlo Vistoli (Spirito infernale/Pastore), Sean Clayton (Pastore), Zachary Wilder (Spirito infernale/Pastore), Antonio Abete (Plutone/Spirito infernale/Pastore), and Cyril Costanzo (Caronte/Spirito infernale). Paul Agnew conducts Les Arts Florissants as well as serving as director and having two roles! Costumes by Alain Blanchot; sets and lights by Christophe Naillet. Directed for TV by Isabelle Soulard. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreLuigi Rossi L'Orfeo opera to a libretto by Francesco Buti. Directed 2016 by Stéphane Vérité at l'Opéra national de Lorraine (Nancy). Stars Judith van Wanroij (Orfeo), Francesca Aspromonte (La Musica/Euridice), Giuseppina Bridelli (Aristeo), Giulia Semenzato (Venere, Proserpina), Luigi de Donato (Augure, Plutone), Ray Chenez (Nutrice, Amore), Renato Dolcini (Satiro), Dominique Visse (Vecchia), Victor Torres (Endimione, Caronte), Marc Mauillon (Momo), and David Tricou (Apollo). Raphaël Pichon conducts Pygmalion (a combination of orchestra and choir). Staging by Jetske Mijnsseni. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Requiem Mass performed 2017 at the Herkulessaal in Munich. Mariss Jansons conducts the Chor und Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks (Bavarian Radio Orchestra and Choir). Singers are Genia Kühmeier (soprano), Elisabeth Kulman (mezzo soprano), Mark Padmore (tenor), and Adam Plachetka (bass). Released 2017, disc has 5.0 Dolby Digital sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBellini Norma opera to libretto by Felice Romani. Directed 2016 by Àlex Ollé at the Royal Opera House. Stars Sonya Yoncheva (Norma), Joseph Calleja (Pollione), Sonia Ganassi (Adalgisa), Brindley Sherratt (Oroveso), David Junghoon Kim (Flavio), and Vlada Borovko (Clotilde). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus (Concert Master Peter Manning). Set design by Alfons Flores; costume design by Lluc Castells; lighting design by Marco Filibeck. Directed for screen by Jonathan Haswell. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreElbphilharmonie Hamburg: Grand Opening Concert. This unique title celebrates the opening of the new über-world-class concert hall in Hamburg, Germany---the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg---with a challenging musical evening and a documentary about the amazing building. In early 2017, Thomas Hengelbrock conducts the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, the Ensemble Praetorius, the NDR Choir (chorus master Philipp Ahmann), and the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks (chorus master Howard Arman). The Ensemble Praetorius includes: sopranos Ágnes Kovács and Alice Borciani, tenors Mirko Ludwig and Jakob Pilgram, bass-baritone Thilo Dahlmann, and Michele Pasotti on theorbo. They are supported (from the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra) by Roland Greutter and Stefan Pintev on violin as well as Stepan Geiger, Uwe Schrodi, and Uwe Leonbacher on trombone (playing early instruments).
The concert runs 112 minutes and is directed for video by Henning Kasten. There is also a 53-minute documentary by Thorsten Mack and Annette Schmaltz about the architecture of the new hall. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Read MoreSeiji Ozawa conducts the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Beethoven Symphony No. 2 and Beethoven Symphony No. 7 at the Ozawa Matsumoto Festival. Symphony No. 2 was performed 2015 and directed for TV by Mari Inamasu. Symphony No. 7 was performed 2016 and directed for TV by Yo Asari. The Beethoven Choral Fantasy is a bonus extra with the Saito Kinen Orchestra, the Matsumoto Festival Chorus, Martha Argerich (piano), Lydia Teuscher and Rie Miyake (sopranos), Nathalie Stutzmann (alto), Kei Fukui and Jean-Paul Fouchécourt (tenors), and Matthias Goerne (baritone). Only the 2 symphonies are reviewed here. Reviewed music was recorded with 48kHz/24-bit sound sampling. Released in 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B+ blended grade.
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