Hansel and Gretel

Engelbert Humperdinck Hansel and Gretel opera to libretto by Adelheid Wette (Humperdinck's sister). Directed 2008 by Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier at the Royal Opera House. Stars Angelika Kirchschlager (Hansel), Diana Damrau (Gretel), Elizabeth Connell (Gertrude), Thomas Allen (Peter), Anja Silja (Witch), Pumeza Matshikiza (Sandman), and Anita Watson (Dew Fairy). Colin Davis conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Peter Manning) and the Tiffin Boys' Choir and Children's Chorus (Director Simon Toyne). Set design by Christian Fenouillat; costumes by Agostino Cavalca; liSorry, no YouTube clip for this that comes for sure from the disc.ghting by Christophe Forey. Directed for TV by Sue Judd. Sung in German. Released 2009, disc has 5.1 PCM sound. Grade: B+

Famous musicians, sparkling set and costumes, and clever direction produce some beautiful scenes and gets lots of laughs in a show that your kids might like. But is all this glitz missing a bit of grit? Contrast this production from Panzerkreutzer Royal Opera House to the modest HDVD Hänsel und Gretel production by the Anhaltisches Theater Dessau.

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Here's news about high-definition video disc ("HDVD") recordings of opera, ballet, classical music, plays, fine-art documentaries, and paintings. In the journal below are independent (and hard-to-find critical) reports on hundreds of HDVDs. Pick the best titles for your excelsisphere.

Feb 25. We have just completed one of our most ambitious reviews: Einstein on the Beach opera, the surreal 4 and 1/2 hour cult legend. Kudos, encomiums, and accolades to Opus Arte for giving us this authoritative and weirdly fascinating recording, which we grade A+. Absorbing and learning Einstein is uniquely challenging. We try to help out by providing aids not included in the keepcase materials: an accurate libretto and a list of segments in the opera with correct Opus Arte time stamps. Good luck!

We have some other good grades with an A for the recent Met The Pearl Fishers (Les pêcheurs de perles) and a B- for an earlier The Pearl Fishers from Naples. Also, we recently gave an A- for the new Don Quixote from the Vienna State Ballet.