Donizetti La Favorite opera to a libretto by Alphonse Royer, Gustave Vaëz, and Eugène Scribe. Directed by Ariel García-Valdés with co-director Derek Gimpel at the Gran Teatre del Liceu di Barcellona. Stars Veronica Simeoni (Léonor de Guzman), Celso Albelo (Fernand), Mattia Olivieri (Alphonse XI, King of Castile), Ugo Guagliardo (Balthazar), Manuel Amati (Don Gaspar), Francesca Longari (Inès), Leonardo Sgroi (Un Seigneur), and extras Paolo Arcangeli, Cristiano Colangelo, Domenico Nuovo, and Pierangelo Prziosa. Fabio Luisi conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (Chorus Master Lorenzo Fratini). Set and costume design by Jean-Pierre Vergier; lighting design by Dominique Borrini. Directed for TV by Matteo Ricchetti. Sound recorded by Rino Trasi. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MorePuccini Madama Butterfly opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Directed by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier at the Royal Opera House in 2017. Stars Ermonela Jaho (Cio-Cio San), Marcelo Puente (Pinkerton), Scott Hendricks (Sharpless), Carlo Bosi (Goro), Elizabeth DeShong (Suzuki), Jeremy White (Bonze), Emily Edmonds (Kate Pinkerton), Gyula Nagy (Imperial Commissioner), and Yuriy Yurchuk (Prince Yamadori). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of The Royal Opera House and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Master William Spaulding; Co-Concert Master Sergey Levitin). Set design by Christian Fenouillat; costume design by Agostino Cavalca; lighting design by Christophe Forey; directed for video by Matthew Woodward. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read More2018 Europakonzert: Program includes:
Beethoven Leonore Overture, No. 3 in C major, Op. 72
Beethoven Symphony No. 4
Beethoven Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, Op. 43
Wagner Wesendonck-Lieder (Westbroek)
Played and recorded at the the Markgräfliches Opernhaus in Bayreuth, 2018. This was the traditional Europakonzert performed on May 1 each year by the Berliner Philharmoniker in a special venue, usually in a different European city. Paavo Järvi conducts; features soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek. Directed for TV by Henning Kasten. Released in 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreHandel Xerxes opera to a libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz (Serse in Italian). Directed 2017 by Tilmann Köhler at the Frankfurt Opera. Stars Gaëlle Arquez (Xerxes), Lawrence Zazzo (Arsamene), Elizabeth Sutphen (Romilda), Louise Alder (Atalanta), Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Amastre), Brandon Cedel (Ariodate), and Thomas Faulkner (Elviro). Constantinos Carydis conducts the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumorchester and the Vocalensemble Frankfurt. Set design by Karoly Risz; costume design by Susanne Uhl; lighting design by Joachim Klein; live video by Marlene Blumert; dramatic advisor was Zsolt Horpácsy. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read More💓 On July 4 and 6, 2015, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra performed two concerts with Zubin Mehta conducting at the Charles Bronfman auditorium in Tel Aviv. On one night Khatia Buniatishvili performed the Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2. On the next night she played the Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1. Videographer Christophe Boula was there to film Khatia's performances for Panamax. He must have been frustrated as he was unable to set up cameras at the back of the hall to shoot the orchestra and Khatia from normal angles of 4:00 to 8:00 o'clock. Most of his cameras were consigned to the sides and back of the stage (he did have one camera, probably hanging from a boom, that could shoot Khatia at the keyboard from about 7:00.)
Boula was told to make a DVD-style recording. But he had the capability of shooting something far better. I wonder if Boula knew at the time that his work would eventually result in the first fine-art recording ever to be published in 4K with High Dynamic Range? And did Boula guess that this project would arguably turn into, from the viewpoint of PQ and SQ anyway, the best recording ever to be made a fine-art performance? And did he foresee that the wonderful images he would record would nevertheless be crippled by weak video content? Well, it's not likely that we well hear anything from Boula about all this, so we will have to try to explain it for you.
Read MoreBenjamin Britten Billy Budd opera to a libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier. Directed by Deborah Warner at the Teatro Real. Stars Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), Toby Spence (Edward Fairfax Vere), Brindley Sherratt (John Claggart), Thomas Oliemans (Mr. Redburn), David Soar (Mr. Flint), Torben Jürgens (Lieutenant Ratcliffe), Christopher Gillet (Red Whiskers), Duncan Rock (Donald), Clive Bayley (Dansker), Sam Furness (Novice), Francisco Vas (Squeak), Manel Esteve (Bosun), Gerardo Bullón (First Mate), Tomeu Bibiloni (Second Mate), Borja Quiza (The Novice's Friend), Jordi Casanova (Maintop), and Isaac Galán (Arthur Jones). Ivor Bolton conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Real de Madrid (Chorus Master Andrés Máspero). Stage design by Michael Levine; costume design by Chloe Obolensky; lighting design by Jean Kalman. Directed for TV by Jérémie Cuvillier. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MorePuccini La Bohème opera to libretto by Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica. Directed 2017 by Richard Jones at the Royal Opera House. Stars Nicole Car (Mimì), Michael Fabiano (Rodolfo), Simona Mihai (Musetta), Mariusz Kwiecień (Marcello), Luca Tittoto (Colline), and Florian Sempey (Schaunard). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) and Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Master William Spaulding). Associate direction by Elaine Kidd; designs by Stewart Laing; lighting design by Mimi Jordan Sherin; movement direction by Sarah Fahie. Directed for TV by Rhodri Huw. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreThe Mumbai Concerts. In 2018 Zubin Mehta conducts the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra at the National Center for Performing Arts in Mumbai, India. Features violinist Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Amanda Forsyth, and pianist Denis Matsuev. This disc presents two concerts that were performed on back-to-back nights.
The first night's program:
Antonín Dvořák Carnival Overture
Ludwig van Beethoven Concerto for Violin and Orchestra
Maurice Ravel La Valse & Daphnis et Chloé, Suite No. 2
The second night's program:
Johann Strauss Overture from Die Fledermaus
Johannes Brahms Double Concerto in A minor, Op. 102
Peter Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1
Directed by Michael Beyer; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreMendelssohn Symphony No. 3 ("Scottish") and Berg Concerto for Violin and Orchestra ("To the Memory of an Angel"). Andris Nelsons in 2018 conducts the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig . Features violinist Baiba Skride. Here is the full program:
Steffen Schleiermacher Relief for Orchestra (This is a world premiere performance of a piece commissioned for this concert.)
Felix Mendelssohn Symphony No. 3 in A minor, op. 56
Alban Berg Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (Baiba Skride on violin)
Directed for TV by Ute Feudel. Produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreJanáček Věc Makropulos (The Makropulous Thing) opera to a libretto by the composer after Karel Čapek’s play. Directed 2011 by Christoph Marthaler at the Großes Festspielhaus as part of the Salzburg Festival. Stars Angela Denoke (Emilia Marty), Raymond Very (Albert Gregor), Peter Hoare (Vítek, the lawyer's clerk), Jurgita Adamonytė (Krista, his daughter), Johan Reuter (Jaroslav Prus), Aleš Briscein (Janek, his son), Jochen Schmeckenbecher (Dr. Kolenatý, the lawyer), Linda Ormiston (A Scottish maid) Peter Lobert (A conscientious objector), Ryland Davies (Hauk-Šendorf), Sasha Rau (Jin Ling), Silvia Fenz (Mary Lang), and Antia Stadler (Anita Stadler). Esa-Pekka Salonen conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Jörn H. Anderson), and Members of the Angelika Prokopp Sommerakademie of the Wiener Philharmoniker. Set and costume design by Anna Viebrock; lighting design by Olaf Winter. Directed for TV by Hannes Rossacher; produced by Magdalena Herbst. Sung in Czech. Released in 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-
Věc Makropulos is usually translated as The Makropulos Affair or Case Makropulos, but it should be called The Makropulos Thing. This is perhaps the weirdest opera in the canon because it is (1) a philosophical discourse on the meaning of life, (2) a comedy of manners, (3) although no crime was committed, a who-done-it-type detective story, (4) the only opera ever about a decedent’s probate case that has lasted for 100 years, and (5) the only opera ever with a character who is 337 years old! Director Christoph Marthaler ratchets up the weirdness
Read MoreRudolf Nureyev box set with 3 ballets in the classical tradition with revival choreography by Nureyev. Below are the discs. Each of them has already been reported on this website, and you can get more details by using the links provided:
Swan Lake. 2014. (Grade A+)
The Nutcracker. 2014. (Grade A+)
Don Quixote. 2017. (Grade A-)
Read MoreMassenet Cendrillon opera (Cinderalla) to a libretto by Henri Caïn . Directed 2017 by Barbara Mundel and Olga Motta at the Theater Freiburg. Stars Kim-Lillian Strebel (Cendrillon), Anja Jung (Madame de la Haltière), Anat Czarny (Le Prince Charmant), Katharina Melnikova (La Fée), Irina Jae Eun Park (Noémie), Silvia Regazzo (Dorothée), Juan Orozco (Pandolfe), Jongsoo Yang (Le Roi), Naoishi Sekiguchi (Le Surintendant des Plaisirs), Roberto Gionfriddo (La Doyen de la Faculté), and Pascal Hufschmid (Le Premier Ministre / La Voix du Hérault). Fabrice Bollon conducts the Philharmornisches Orchester Freiburg as well as the Opern und Extrachor des Theater Freiburg (Chorus Master Bernhard Moncado). Choreography by Graham Smith; set design and costumes by Olga Motta; lighting by Dorothee Hoff; dramaturgy by Heiko Voss. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2018, disc has 5.1 HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreAdam's Passion performance art event performed in 2015. Music by Arvo Pärt. Stage direction, set design, and lighting concept by Robert Wilson. Choreography by Lucinda Childs, who also performs as Woman. Other dancers: Michalis Theophanous (Man or Adam); Trevor Mattias Sakias (Boy); Endro Roosimäe and Erki Laur (Cain and Able); Tatejana Kosmõnina (A woman); Triin Marts (Another woman); Evelin Tanis (Girl); and Madis Kolk (Old Man), Lui Laur (Another boy), Kätrin Kärsna (Another girl), and Indrek Hirsrnik (Tall boy). Tõnu Kaljuste conducts the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. Instrumental soloists are Harry Traksmann, violin; Robert Traksmann, violin; Marrit Gerretz-Traksmann, prepared piano. Choruses sung in Latin and Russian with subtitles in English, German, French, Korean, and Japanese. Disc sports an especially nice booklet. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by Paul Smaczny. Released 2015, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+
Read MoreEinstein on the Beach performance art piece performed January 6-7, 2014 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Music by Philip Glass. Directed for stage by Robert Wilson. Choreography by Lucinda Childs. Random number and solfège lyrics called for by the composer. Actual texts used were from Christopher Knowles (a neurologically impaired teenager and poet whom Wilson helped as special ed teacher), Samuel M. Johnson (an elderly black performer who was a friend of Wilson), and choreographer Lucinda Childs (who contributed the monologue "I was in this prematurely air-conditioned supermarket"). Released 2016, title has 2 Blu-ray discs with 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio surround sound. Grade: A+ with ‽ designation.
Read MoreTwin Spirits, a poly-discipline performance art concert, portrays the lives of and love between composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife, Clara Wieck. It appears this was the brainstorm of June Chichester, a member in 2005 of the Board of Directors of the Royal Opera, who wanted a special program to raise charitable donations for the opera and other causes. Chichester recruited John Caird, a director at the Royal Shakespeare Company, to create a play with a narrator, actors to speak the roles of Robert and Clara based on their actual words in letters and other surviving documents, and musicians to perform excerpts from their music.
The words and music of Clara Wieck are portrayed by Trudie Styler (actress), Rebecca Evans (soprano), Natalie Clein (cello), and Natasha Paremski (piano). The words and music of Robert Schumann are portrayed by Sting (actor), Sir Simon Keenlyside (baritone), Sergej Krylov (violin), and Iain Burnside (piano). Special arrangements of various musical selections are by Martin Ward. Recorded in 2007 and released 2009, disc has 5.0 PCM sound. Grade A+
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