Puccini Turandot opera to a libretto by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni and as completed by Lucio Berio. Directed 2016 by Enrico Stinchelli at the Torre del Lago Puccini Festival. Stars Rebeka Lokar (Turandot), Rudy Park (Calaf), Franceska Cappelletti (Liù), Vladimir Reutov (Old Emperor), Ernesto Morillo (Timur), Mauro Buda (Ping), Ugo Tarquini (Pang), Tiziano Baroncini (Pong), Claudio Ottino (The Mandarin), and Alberto Petricca (Prince of Persia), Anna Poala Troiano (First Handmaid), and Donatella De Caro (Second Handmaid). Jacopo Sipari di Pescasseroli conducts the Orchestra, Chorus, and Boy Soprano Chorus of the Puccini Festival (Chorus Master Viviana Apicella). Sets by Ezio Frigerio; costumes by Franca Squarciapino; lighting by Enrico Stinchelli; directed for TV by Chris Boula. Sung in Italian. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. Grade: B-
Read MoreLa Voix humaine (English: The Human Voice) and Le Château de Barbe-Bleue (Hungraian: A kékszakállú herceg vára; English: Bluebeard's Castle) double bill directed 2015 by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Palais Garnier:
Francis Poulenc La Voix humaine one-act opera to a libretto by Jean Cocteau. Stars Barbara Hannigan (Her) and Claude Bardouil (Him, a silent role).
Béla Bartók Le Château de Barbe-Bleue one-act opera to a libretto by Béla Balázs. Stars John Relyea (Duc) and Ekaterina Gubanova (Judith). Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Paris Opera Orchestra.
Set and costume design by Małgorzaty Szczęśniak; lighting design by Felice Ross; video by Denis Guéguin; choreography by Claude Bardouil; dramaturgy by Christian Longchamp; sound recording and mixing by Radio France. Directed for TV by Stéphane Metge; produced by Antoine Perset, Denis Morlière, and Laurent Métivier. Sung in French (La Voix humaine) and Hungarian (Le Château de Barbe-Bleue). Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreOttorino Respighi La Campana Sommersa opera to a libretto by Claudio Guastella. Directed by Pier Francesco Maestrini in 2016 at the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. Stars Valentina Farcas (Rautendelein), Maria Luigia Borsi (Magda), Agostina Smimmero (An Old Witch), Angelo Villari (Enrico), Thomas Gazheli (The Ondino), Filippo Adami (A Faun), Dario Russo (A Priest), Nicola Ebau (A Schoolmaster), and Mauro Secci (A Barber). Donato Renzetti conducts the Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, the Coro del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (Chorus Master Gaetano Mastroiaco), and the Coro di Voci Bianche del Conservatorio 'G. P. da Palestrina' di Cagliari (Chorus Master Enrico di Maira). Set design and projections by Juan Guillermo Nova; costume design by Marco Nateri; lighting design by Pascal Mérat. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart Lucio Silla opera to libretto by Giovanni de Gamerra. Directed 2017 by Claus Guth at the Teatro Real. Stars Kurt Streit (Lucio Silla), Patricia Petibon (Giunia), Silvia Tro Santafé (Cecilio), Inga Kalna (Lucio Cinna), María José Moreno (Celia), and Kenneth Tarver (Aufidio). Ivor Bolton conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real de Madrid (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Assistant stage direction by Tine Buyse; set and costume design by Christian Schmidt; original lighting design by Manfred Voss; revival lighting design by Jürgen Hoffman; dramaturgy by Ronny Dietrich; directed for TV by Jérémie Cuvillier; produced by Xavier Dubois & Natalia Camacho. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMozart La Clemenza di Tito opera to a libretto by Pietro Metastasio adapted by Caterino Mazzolà. Directed 2017 by Claus Guth at Glyndebourne. Stars Richard Croft (Tito), Anna Stéphany (Sesto), Alice Coote (Vitellia), Clive Bayley (Publio), Michèle Losier (Annio), and Joélle Harvey (Servilia). Robin Ticciati conducts the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (Leader Matthew Truscott) and the Glyndebourne Chorus (Chorus Master Jeremy Bines). Designed by Christian Schmidt; movement direction by Ramses Sigl; lighting design by Olaf Winter; production design by Arian Andiel; dramaturgy by Ronny Dietrich. Directed for TV by François Roussillon; Executive Producer George Bruell. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreHector Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini opera to a libretto by Léon de Wailly and Henri Auguste Barbier. Directed 2015 by Terry Gilliam. Stars John Osborn (Benvenuto Cellini), Maurizio Muraro (Gicacomo Balducci), Laurent Naouri (Fieramosca), Orlin Anastassov (Le Pape Clément VII), Nicky Spence (Francesco), Scott Conner (Bernardino), André Morsch (Pompeo), Marcel Beekman (Le Cabaretier), Mariangela Sicilia (Teresa), and Michèle Losier (Ascanio). Sir Mark Elder conducts the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and the Chorus of the Dutch National Opera (Chorus Master Ching-Lien Wu).
Read MoreRossini Mosè in Egitto opera to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola. Directed 2017 by Lotte de Beer at the Bregenz Festival. Stars Andrew Foster-Williams (Faraone), Mandy Fredrich (Amaltea), Sunnyboy Dladla (Osiride), Clarissa Costanzo (Elcia), Taylan Reinhard (Mambre), Goran Jurić (Mosè), Matteo Macchioni (Aronne), and Dara Savinova (Amenofi). Enrique Mazzola conducts the Wiener Symphoniker and the Prague Philharmonic Choir (Chorus Master Lukáš Vasilek). Set and costume design by Christof Hetzer; lighting design by Alex Brok; dramaturgy by Peter Te Nuyl and Olaf A. Schmitt. Special video projections using puppets and models by Herman Helle, Arlène Hoornweg, and Pauline Kalker of Theatre Company Hotel Modern. Directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Released 2018, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreDonizetti Il Borgomastro di Saardam opera to libretto by Domenico Gilardoni. World première video recording directed by Davide Ferrario in 2017 at the Fondazione Donizetti Festival in Bergamo, Italy. Stars Giorgio Caoduro (The Tsar), Juan Francisco Gatell (Pietro Flimann), Andrea Concetti (Wambett), Irina Dubrovskaya (Marietta), Aya Wakizono (Carlotta), Pietro Di Bianco (Leforte), Pasquale Scircoli (Alì Mahmed), and Alessandro Ravasio (An Officer). Roberto Rizzi Brignoli (with Assistant Conductor Roberto Frattini) conducts the Orchestra Donizetti Opera and the Coro Donizetti Opera (Chorus Master Fabio Tartari).
Read MoreMozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Directed 2017 by Jiří Nekvasil at the Estates Theatre in Prague. Stars Simone Alberghini (Don Giovanni), Jan Šťáva (Commhendatore), Adrian Sampetrean (Leporello), Irina Lungu (Donna Anna), Katerina Knežíková (Donna Elvira), Julia Novikova (Zerlina), Dmitry Korchak (Don Ottavio), and Jiří Brückler (Masetto). Plácido Domingo conducts the National Theatre Orchestra (Chorus Master Pavel Vaněk). Set designs by Josef Svoboda; costumes by Theodor Pištěk; lighting by Daniel Dvořák. Directed for TV by Brian Large. Produced by Bernhard Fleischer and Plácido Domingo. Released 2018, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreVerdi Otello opera to libretto by Arrigo Boito. Directed 2017 by Keith Warner at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. Stars Jonas Kaufmann (Otello), Marco Vratogna (Iago), and Maria Agresta (Desdemona). Sir Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus. Released 2018. Grade: NA
Read MoreHandel Arminio opera to a libretto by Antonio Salvi. Directed 2017 by Max Emanuel Cencic at the International Handel Festival Karlsruhe. Stars Max Emanuel Cencic (Arminio), Gaia Petrone (Ramise), Lauren Snouffer (Tusnelda), Aleksandra Kubas-Kruk (Sigismondo), Owen Willetts (Tullio), Pavel Kudinov (Segeste), and Juan Sancho (Varo). George Petrou conducts the Armonia Atenea. Stage design by Helmut Stürmer; costumes by Helmut Stürmer and Corina Gramosteanu; lighting by Helmut Stürmer and Christoph Häcker; video by Etienne Guiol and Arnaud Pottier. Directed for TV by Corentin Leconte. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio Sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreNiccolò Jommelli Il Vologeso opera to a libretto by Metatasio. Directed 2015 by Jossi Wieler and Sergio Morabito at Oper Stuttgart. Stars Sebastian Kohlhepp (Lucio Vero), Sophie Marilley (Vologeso), Ana Durlovski (Berenice), Helene Schneiderman (Lucilla), Catriona Smith (Flavio), and Igor Durlovski (Aniceto). Gabriele Ferro conducts the Staatsorchester Stuttgart. Set and costume design by Anna Viebrock. Directed for TV by Marcus Richardt. Sung in Italian. Released in 2018, disc has 5.1 dts sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBizet Les pêcheurs de perles(The Pearl Fishers) opera to libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. Directed 2016 by Penny Woolcock (based on a 2010 English National Opera production). Stars Mariusz Kwiecien (Zurga), Matthew Polenzani (Nadir), Diana Damrau (Leïla), and Nicolas Testé (Nourabad). Gianandrea Noseda conducts the The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Donald Palumbo). Sets by Dick Bird with assistance of Scott Laule; costumes by Kevin Pollard; lighting by Jen Schriever; projection designs by 59 Productions; movement direction by Andrew Dawson; fight direction by J. Allen Suddeth; music production by Jay David Saks; directed for TV by Matthew Diamond. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 Dolby Digital Audio. Grade: A
Read MoreBizet Les pêcheurs de perles opera to libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. Directed 2012 by Fabio Sparvoli at the Teatro di San Carlo. Stars Patrizia Ciofi (Léïla, a priestess), Dmitry Korchak (Nadir, a hunter), Dario Solari (Zurga, elected chief of the pearl fishers), and Roberto Tagliavini (Nourabad, the high priest). Gabriele Ferro conducts the Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet Corps of the Teatro di San Carlo (Chorus Master Salvatori Caputo). Sets by Giorgio Richelli; costume design by Alessandra Torella; lighting design by Vinicio Cheli; choreography by Annarita Pasculli with Ballet Director Alessandra Panzavolta. Directed for TV by Davide Mancini with high-definition editing by Tiziano Mancini and Mauro Santini. Produced by Thomas Hieber. Released 2014, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B-
Read MoreRimsky-Korsakov Le coq d’or orThe Golden Cockerel opera to a libretto by Vladimir Belsky. Directed 2016 by Laurent Pelly at la Monnaie, Brussels. Stars Pavlo Hunka (Tzar Dodon), Alexey Dolgov (Tzarevich Gvidon), Konstantin Shushakov (Tzarevich Afron), Alexander Vassiliev (General Polkan), Agnes Zwierko (Amelfa), Alexander Kravets (Astrologer), Venera Gimadieva (Tzaritsa of Shemakha), and Sheva Tehoval (Little Golden Cockerel), John Manning and Marcel Schmitz (Boyars), and Marc Coulon (Man of the People). Alain Altinoglu conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master Martino Faggiani) and the MM Academy Chorus Academy (Chorus Master Benoît Giaux). Set design by Barbara de Limburg; costume design by Laurent Pelly and Jean-Jacques Delmotte; lighting by Joël Adam; choreography by Lionel Hoche. Directed for TV by Myriam Hoyer. Sung in Russian. Released in 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
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