The Metropolitan Opera: Anna Bolena (2011)

John Adams: Nixon in China

In February 1972, the American president Richard Nixon went to China to meet Mao Zedong. In the context of the war in Vietnam and the cold war, this encounter marked a turning point in Chinese‑American relations. John Adams, a major musical figure of the last forty years, made this event of contemporary history the subject of his first opera. Nixon in China tackles the political thaw instigated by ping-pong diplomacy, begun by the invitation of the American table tennis players by their Chinese counterparts, one year before the presidential visit. A mesmerising work in which the pulsations and repetitions typical of minimalism are combined with melodic lines of great lyricism. For its entry into the Paris Opera repertoire, this work has been entrusted to the director Valentina Carrasco, who underlines the importance and the mediating power of Chinese national sport in history.

Turandot

2013 revival of Andrei Serban's 1984 production. Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, September 2013. Andrei Serban's spectacular and thrilling 1984 production of Puccini's final and grandest opera has long been a classic at the Royal Opera House. First filmed for BBC TV in the 80s, this new recording – of its fifteenth revival – is in stunning HD and makes this famous production available for the first time on DVD and Blu-ray. The release will rightfully take its place alongside the outstanding Royal Opera Puccini DVDs of La Bohème, Tosca (on EMI) and Trittico. American Lise Lindstrom is one of the very few contemporary Turandots who can genuinely sing this ‘killer’ role, and is supported by a touching Liù from Japanese soprano Eri Nakamura and an unashamedly Italianite Calaf from Marco Berti. The young Hungarian conductor Henrik Nánási directs the large orchestra and all-important chorus.

Lucia di Lammermoor

Live from the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova 2003

Tristan und Isolde

Inspired by Wagner’s own tortured affair with the wife of his patron, this searing masterwork is based on Arthurian legend and tells of an illicit romance between a Breton nobleman and the Irish princess betrothed to his uncle and king. The composer’s larger-than-life sensibilities are on full display throughout the score: Along with intoxicating orchestral music that surges in tandem with the couple’s burgeoning passion and a chord left symbolically unresolved until the last moments of the opera, the opera also features one of the repertory’s most soaring and ecstatic final climaxes, as Isolde surrenders to a love so powerful that she transcends life itself.

L'Italiana in Algeri

"This is Vienna State Opera live at home". April 2015. 'L'italiana in Algeri' (English: 'The Italian Girl in Algiers') is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice on 22 May 1813. The music is characteristic of Rossini's style, remarkable for its fusion of sustained, manic energy with elegant, pristine melodies.

La Traviata

"This is Vienna State Opera live at home". March 2015.

Rigoletto

An outsider—a hunchbacked jester—struggles to balance the dueling elements of beauty and evil that exist in his life.

Gloriana

Performed at Madrid's historic Teatro Real in 2018, Ivor Bolton conducts Benjamin Britten's opera based on Lytton Strachey's 1928 Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History. In her repeated clashes with the Earl of Essex-a longtime favorite of the queen who was ultimately put to death for treason-Elizabeth I is depicted as flawed and vain, human and sympathetic.

Cendrillon

Massenet composed his opera about Cenerentola nearly 80 years after Rossini did his. And if you are looking for the outburst of the non-stop hilarity and the musical jokes of Rossini, you won't find it here. Also, while the Cendrillon was highly successful and popular in its time, it does not reach up to the artistic and musical levels offered by Massenet's other operas, like Manon, or Thais or Werther. Nevertheless, this is a delightful opera and it is well presented by The Royal Opera. Laurent Pelly created a ingenious setting with movable walls which are covered [in French] with the story of Cinderella, and which open and close book-like.

Guillaume Tell

New production. Recorded live at Royal Opera House, July, 05, 2015.

Salomé

David McVicar’s powerful Royal Opera House 2008 production of Strauss's opera – based on a play by Oscar Wilde – takes the controversial and disturbing film 120 Days of Sodom as its visual reference. The action is set in a debauched palace, which has suggestions of Nazi Germany. Strauss’s ravishing and voluptuous score adds to the sexual alchemy that is conjured by an international cast led by Nadja Michael in the title role.

Sevil

The film takes place in Baku in 1918-19 and then several years later. The film is based on the opera of the same name by Fikret Amirov. Sevil became the first film opera in the history of Azerbaijani cinema.

Opéra National de Paris: Castor et Pollux by Jean-Philippe Rameau

A return to its roots for Castor et Pollux, Jean-Philippe Rameau’s lyric tragedy first performed in 1737 at the Académie royale and inspired by the mythological episode of the Gemini. Rarely performed in its original version – the score was reworked by Rameau himself in 1754 –, this daring work plays on contrasts and expressiveness, as in the famous “Tristes apprêts”. The aria is sung by Télaïre mourning the death of her fiancé Castor, killed in battle, before his twin brother Pollux descends into the Underworld to ask his father, Jupiter, to bring him back to life. While this opera celebrates brotherly love, its prologue poses an essential question for director Peter Sellars: how do you stop a war and its attendant hatred and resentment?

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor, dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti (1797 - 1848). Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, after Walter Scott's 'The Bride of Lammermoor'. First performance in Naples, Teatro San Carlo, 26 September 1835 Recording: December 23 2015 - Gran Teatre del Liceu | Barcelona Director: Fabrice Castanier Conductor: Marco Armiliato Orchestra & Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu

Love Me Forever

A man who loves an aspiring opera singer is prepared to sacrifice everything to help her with her career, even though he knows she doesn't love him.

Farinelli

The life and career of Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time.

La Bohème

Live performance of Puccini's opera at the Salzburg Festival in Austria. Piotr Beczala stars as Rodolfo with Anna Netrebko as Mimi, Massimo Cavalletti as Marcello and Nino Machaidze as Musetta. Daniele Gatti conducts the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna State Opera Chorus and the Salzburg Festival and Theatre Children's Choir.

Attila

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Attila (2010) Parma. 'Attila' is an opera in a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the 1809 play 'Attila, König der Hunnen' ('Attila, King of the Huns') by Zacharias Werner. The opera received its first performance at La Fenice in Venice on 17 March 1846.

Ernani

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Ernani (2005) Parma. 'Ernani' is an operatic dramma lirico in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play 'Hernani' by Victor Hugo. Ernani was first performed on 9 March 1844 at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice.

I due Foscari

Part of Tutto Verdi series - I due Foscari (2009) Parma

I Lombardi alla prima crociata

I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards on the First Crusade) was Verdi’s fourth opera and received its first performance at La Scala, Milan, in February 1843. The grandiloquent subject matter is fleshed-out with broad-brushed musical and dramatic effects and lavish choral scenes created a correspondingly impressive impact. A great success in Milan, it spread to the rest of Europe within a matter of only a few years.

Il corsaro

The caption on the DVD sleeve reads “This Is how Verdi should be played!” and I could not agree more. The trio of principals: Ribeiro, Lungu, and Dalla Benetta , offer youthful exhuberance and intensity, good looks and glorious voices. The rest of the cast is equally good. Superb conductor, traditional production, great staging. Anf of course, Verdi’s exquisite music. It has renovated my faith in the totality of the Verdi canon, not only its most performed titles.

Un giorno di regno

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Un giorno di regno (2010) Parma. 'Un giorno di regno, ossia il finto Stanislao' ('A One-Day Reign, or The Pretend Stanislaus', but often translated into English as 'King for a Day') is an operatic melodramma giocoso in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto written in 1818 by Felice Romani. Originally written for the Bohemian composer Adalbert Gyrowetz, the libretto was based on the play 'Le faux Stanislas' written by the Frenchman Alexandre Vincent Pineu-Duval in 1808.

I vespri siciliani

Part of Tutto Verdi series 'I vespri siciliani' ('The Sicilian Vespers') is a five-act Italian opera originally written in French for the Paris Opéra and translated into Italian shortly after its premiere in June 1855. Under its original title, 'Les vêpres siciliennes', the libretto was prepared by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrier from their work 'Le duc d'Albe', which was written in 1838 and offered to Halévy and Donizetti before Verdi agreed to set it to music in 1854. The story is loosely based on a historical event, the Sicilian Vespers of 1282, using material drawn from the medieval Sicilian tract 'Lu rebellamentu di Sichilia'.

Verdi: La Traviata (Teatro Regio di Parma)

Part of Tutto Verdi series - La Traviata (2007) Parma. 'La traviata' ('The Fallen Woman') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on 'La dame aux Camélias' (1852), a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The opera was originally titled 'Violetta', after the main character. It was first performed on 6 March 1853 at the La Fenice opera house in Venice. Piave and Verdi wanted to follow Dumas in giving the opera a contemporary setting, but the authorities at La Fenice insisted that it be set in the past, "c. 1700". It was not until the 1880s that the composer and librettist's original wishes were carried out and "realistic" productions were staged.

Verdi: Falstaff (Teatro Regio di Parma)

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Falstaff (2011) Parma. 'Falstaff' is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901). The libretto was adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's 'The Merry Wives of Windsor' and scenes from 'Henry IV, parts 1 and 2'. The work premiered on 9 February 1893 at La Scala, Milan

Luisa Miller

As the release of the ‘Tutto Verdi’ series from the Teatro Regio progresses, one has begun to have fears that the later Verdi operas will fail to measure up to the standards that have been set on DVD by productions from international houses across the globe. The issues of the early and middle period Verdi works have been welcome, because these pieces are so rarely encountered in the opera house; but with Macbeth and Luisa Miller we are coming to operas that have been performed by major artists in major productions with superb orchestras and conductors.

Stiffelio

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Stiffelio (2012) Parma. 'Stiffelio' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, from an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. The origin of this was the novel “Le pasteur d’hommes”, by Émile Souvestre, which was published in 1838. This was adapted into the French play 'Le pasteur, ou L'évangile et le foyer' by Émile Souvestre and Eugène Bourgeois. That was in turn translated into Italian by Gaetano Vestri as 'Stifellius'; this formed the basis of Piave's libretto.

I Masnadieri

Part of Tutto Verdi series - I masnadieri (2012) Naples. 'I masnadieri' ('The Bandits' or 'The Robbers') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Andrea Maffei, based on 'Die Räuber' by Friedrich von Schiller. As Verdi became more successful in Italy, he began to receive offers from other opera houses outside the country. The London impresario Benjamin Lumley had presented Ernani in 1845 and, as a result of its success, commissioned an opera from the composer which became 'I masnadieri'. It was given its first performance at Her Majesty's Theatre on 22 July 1847 with Verdi conducting the first two performances.

Verdi: Otello

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Otello (2008) Salzburg. 'Otello' is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play 'Othello'. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.

Alzira

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Alzira (2012) Dobbiaco. This is a concert performance. Alzira is an opera in a prologue and two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, based on the play Alzire, ou les Américains by Voltaire. The first performance was at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples, on 12 August 1845.

La battaglia di Legnano

Part of Tutto Verdi series - La battaglia di Legnano (2012) Trieste. 'La battaglia di Legnano' ('The Battle of Legnano') is an opera in four acts, with music by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian-language libretto by Salvadore Cammarano. Most of the early Verdi operas are sort of rare for a reason. They do not rise to the heights of genius that his middle period and late period operas did. However, there are always some beautiful arias or choruses and most of them are great fun......sort of like bel canto on steroids! What I mean is that you can hear that he was coming from the bel canto tradition, but he liked to inject a lot more power into the characters and their music.

Giovanna d'Arco

This work predates Thchaikowsly’s for almost 4 years, and it is base don the Schiller play I have previously criticized for its lack of historical accuracy. It is essentially focused on three major voices, soprano, tenor and baritone, with a basso to spice it up. New Yorker Evan Bowers may not be a matinee idol, but he sails into the role with a bright, focused lyrico spinto tenor voice. Renato Bruson was 72 years old in 2008, when he took this role (first sung by him in1989) and it shows, with quite a wobble on many passages; yet his voice commands the stage and rises majestically in the ensembles. And then, Bulgarian Svetla Vassileva, who is not burned at the stake, as in “Maid”, but dies heroically in battle.

Giuseppe Verdi : La forza del destino

Donna Leonora, daughter of the Marquis of Calatrava, is preparing to flee secretly with her lover Don Alvaro (son of the Viceroy of Mexico and an Inca princess). The Marquis enters unexpectedly. Alvaro hesitates to raise his weapon against his lover's father and throws his pistol. As he falls, the pistol fires and the Marquis is mortally wounded. As he dies, he curses his daughter. Don Carlo di Vargas, Leonora's brother, decides to avenge the death of his sister and her fiancé. In the turmoil of the chase, Leonora and Alvaro lose each other... Live recording made on 2 and 5 February 2011 at the Teatro Regio in Parma. The libretto by Francesco Piave is based on a play by Ángel Saavedra (1791 - 1865), Duke of Rivas, ‘Don Álvaro o la Fuerza del sino’ (1835). The plot of this romantic drama is based entirely on coincidence, chance and unexpected encounters. In a word, fate.

Un ballo in maschera

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Un ballo in maschera (2011) Parma. Based on a Scribe libretto and begun as 'Gustavo III' set in Sweden, it became 'Una vendetta in dominò' set in Germany, and finally 'Un ballo', set not in Sweden but in Boston, Massachusetts during the colonial era. These changes were caused by a combination of censorship regulations in both Naples and Rome, as well as by the political situation in France in January 1858.

Rusalka - Opera Ballet Vlaanderen

More than anything in the world, Rusalka, a mysterious and elusive water nymph, yearns to become human to win the heart of a young prince. But this metamorphosis comes at a price: she will lose her voice and be damned forever should their love story fail. Rusalka, a lyrical fairy tale inspired by The Little Mermaid and Undine, is Dvořák’s penultimate work and one of his greatest successes. In Opera Ballet Vlaanderen’s production, Norwegian director and choreographer Alan Lucien Øyen adds a new dimension to this masterpiece of the Czech repertoire by representing the main characters on stage twice: by a singer and a dancer. This doubling reinforces the opera’s deeply dreamlike nature. The impressive South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza embodies the character of Rusalka, while the Lithuanian conductor Giedré Šlekytė leads the orchestra with brio and intensity.