Richard Strauss Capriccio opera to a libretto by Clemens Krauss and Richard Strauss. Directed 2021 by Jens-Daniel Herzog at the Semperoper Dresden. Stars Camilla Nylund (The Countess), Christoph Pohl (Flamand), Daniel Behle (Olivier), Nikolay Borchev (La Roche), Morten Frank Larsen (The Count), George Zeppenfeld (Director of a Theatre), Christa Mayer (Clairon), Tuuli Takala and Beomjen Kim (Italian Singers), Frank Blümel, Friedrich Darge, Alexander Födisch, Torsten Schäpan, Norbert Klesse, Thomas Müller, Juan Carlos Navarro, and Jörg Reißmann (Servants), Torben Jürgens (Majordomo), and Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke (Monsieur Taupe). Christian Thielemann conducts the Sächsische Staatskaapelle Dresden and the Sächsischer Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master André Kellinghaus). Set design by Mathis Neidhardt; costume design by Sibylle Gädeke; lighting design by Fabio Antoci; choreography by Michael Schmieder and Ramses Sigl; dramaturgy by Johann Casimir Eule. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in German. Released 2022, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

The artwork on the front of the Blu-ray keepcase is strangely ugly and uninformative . . .

Luigi Nono Intolleranza 1960 opera to a libretto by the composer (based on texts from Henri Alleg, Bertolt Brecht, Paul Éluard, Julius Fučík, Wladimir Majakowski, Angelo Maria Ripellino, and Jean-Paul Sartre). Directed 2021 by Jan Lauwers at the Felseignriteschule as part of the Salzburg Festival. Stars Sean Panikker (A Migrant), Sarah Maria Sen (A Woman), Antonio Yang (An Algerian), Musa Ngqungwana (A Torture Victim), and Victor Afung Lauwters (The Blind Poet). Also features performers from Lauwers’ NEEDCOMPANY, dancers from the BODHI PROJECT, and members of the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. Ingo Metzmacher conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker, the Konzertvereinigung of the Wiener Staatsopernchor (Chorus Master Huw Rhys James), Soprano Leah Manning, and Anna-Maria Birnbauer (A Laughing Woman). Set and design by Jan Lauwers, costumes by Lot Lemm, lighting and video designs by Ken Hioco; sound design by Paul Juekendrup; dramatury by Elke Janssens and Kasia Tórz. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Sung in Italian. Released in 2022, disc has PCM Stereo sound. Grade: NA

Nono was a life-long Italian communist who wrote electronic, serial, and aleatory (improvised or chance) music. Intolleranza is a musical and political statement. It has only been staged a few times, and at least two productions resulted in actual vandalism during performances by neo-nazis (in Italy) and members of the John Birch Society (in Boston).

Richard Strauss Der Rosenkavalier opera to libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Directed 2020 by André Heller at the Staatsoper Berlin. Stars Camilla Nylund (Feldmarschallin Fürstin Werdenberg), Michèle Losier (Octavian), Nadine Sierra (Sophie), Günther Groissböck (Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau), Roman Trekel (Herr von Faninal), Anna Samuil (Jungfer Marianne Leitmetzerin), Karl-Michael Ebner (Valzacchi), Katharina Kammerloher (Annina), Atalla Ayan (Italian Singer), Erik Rosenius (Ein Polizeikomissar), Florian Hoffmann (Der Haushofmeister bei der Feldarmarschallin), Linard Vrielink (Der Haushofmeister bei Faninal), Jaka Mihelač (Ein Notar), Andrés Moreno Garcia (Ein Wirt), and Victoria Randem (Eine Modistin). Zubin Metha conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Staatsopernchor Berlin (chorus master Anna Milukova). Set design by Xenia Hausner; costume design by Arthur Arbesser; lighting design by Olaf Freese; video design by Günter Jäckle and Philip Hillers. Directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Sung in German. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

György Ligeti Le Grand Macabre opera to a libretto by the composer based on a play by Michel de Ghelderode. Directed 2011 by Àlex Ollé and Valentina Carrasco with staging by La Fura dels Baus at the Gran Teatre Del Liceu. Stars Chris Merritt (Piet the Pot), Inés Moraleda (Amando), Ana Puche (Amanda), Werner Van Mechelen (Nekrotzar), Frode Olsen (Astradamors), Ning Liang (Mescalina), Barbara Hannigan (Venus/Gepopo), Brian Asawa (Prince Gogo), Francisco Vas (White Minister), Simon Butteriss (Black Minister), Gabriel Diap (Ruffiak), Miquel Rosales (Schabiack), and Ramon Grau (Schabernack). Michael Boder conducts the orchestra and chorus of the Gran Teatre Del Liceu (Chorus Master José Luís Basso). Set design by Alfons Flores; video by Franc Aleu; costume design by Lluc Castells; lighting design by Peter van Praet. Directed for TV by Xavi Bové; produced by Magdalena Herbst. Sung in English. Released 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+ with ‽ designation

Le Grand Macabre premiered in 1978, but Ligeti rewrote the opera in 1996. A Hungarian, Ligeti thought that operas should be enjoyed in the native language of the audience. The 1996 version was written in a way that allowed the libretto to be translated into various languages without changing the music. The production in Barcelona was in English (rather than Spanish) in a successful effort to help the work travel better. Le Grand Macabre is a savage comedy and satire on

Mozart Le nozze di Figaro opera to libretto by Lorenza da Ponte. Directed 2016 by David Bösch at the Dutch National Opera. Stars Stéphane Degout (Il Conte di Almaviva); Eleonora Buratto (La Contessa di Almaviva); Christiane Karg (Susanna); Alex Esposito (Figaro); Mariane Crebassa (Cherubino); Katharine Goeldner (Marcellina); Umberto Chiummo (Bartolo); Krystian Adam (Basilio); Jeroen de Vaal (Don Curzio); Louise Kemény (Barbarina); Matteo Peirone (Antonio), and Tomoko Makuuchi and Fang Fang Kong (Due donne). Ivor Bolton conducts the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Chorus of the Dutch National Opera (Chorus Master Ching-Lien Wu). Set design by Patrick Bannwart; costume design by Meentje Nielsen; lighting design by Olaf Winter; dramaturgy by Klaus Bertisch. Directed for TV by Misjel Vermeiren. Sung in Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande opera to libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck. Directed 2012 by Nikolaus Lehnhoff at the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen. Stars Jacques Imbrailo (Pelléas), Michaela Selinger (Mélisande), Vincent Le Texier (Golaud), Doris Soffel (Geneviève), Wolfgang Schöne (Arkel), Dominik Eberle (Yinoid), and Mateusz Kabala (Doctor). Stefan Soltesz conducts the Essener Philharmoniker and the Opernchor des Aalto-Theaters (Chorus Master Alexander Eberle). Sets by Raimund Bauer; costumes by Andrea Schmidt-Futterer; lighting by Olaf Freese. Directed for video by Marcus Richardt. Sung in Italian. Released 2013, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A

Claude Debussy Pelléas et Mélisande opera to libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck. Directed 2004 by Sven-Eric Bechtolf at Opernhaus Zürich. Stars Rodney Gilfry (Pelléas), Isabel Rey (Mélisande), Michael Volle (Golaud), Lásló Polgár (Arkel), Cornelia Kallisch (Geneviève), Eva Liebau (Le petit Yniold), and Guido Götzen (Doctor/Shepherd). Franz Welser-Möst conducts the Orchestra of the Zurich Opera House and the Chorus of the Zurich Opera House (Chorusmaster Ernst Raffelsberger). Sets by Rolf Glittenberg; costumes by Marianne Glittenburg; lighting by Jürgen Hoffmann. Directed for TV by Felix Breisach. Sung in French. Released 2012, disc has 7.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B

Richard Strauss Ariadne auf Naxos opera to libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Directed 2014 by Sven-Eric Bechtolf at the Wiener Staatsoper. Stars Soile Isokoski (Primadonna/Ariadne), Sophie Koch (Der Komponist), Jochen Schmeckenbecher (Ein Musiklehrer), Johan Botha (Bacchus), Daniela Fally (Zerbinetta), Adam Plachetka (Harlekin), Carlos Osuna (Scaramuccio), Jongmin Park (Truffaldin), Benjamin Bruns (Brighella), Norbert Ernst (Ein Tanzmeister), Peter Matić (Der Haushofmeister), Macus Pelz (Ein Lakai), Won Cheol Song (Ein Perückenmacher), Dániel Lőkös (Ein Offizier), Valentina Nafornița (Najade), Rachel Frenkel (Dryade), and Olga Bezmertina (Echo). Christian Thielemann conducts the Orchestra of the Wiener Staatsoper. Set design by Rolf Glittenberg; costume design by Marianne Glittentberg; lighting design by Jürgen Hoffmann. Directed for TV by Robert Gummlich. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

Hans Werner Henze The Bassarids opera to libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman. Directed 2018 by Krzysztof Warlikowski at the Salzburg Festival. Stars singers Sean Panikkar (Dionysus), Russell Braun (Pentheus), Willard White (Cadmus), Nikolai Schukoff (Tiresias/ Calliope), Tanja Ariane Baumgartner (Agave/Venus), Károly Szemerédy (Captain/Adonis), Vera-Lotte Böcker (Autonoe/Proserpine), Anna Maria Dur (Beroe). Bassarid dancers are Rosalba Guerrero Torres, Hector Buenfil Palacio, Flavie Haour, Katharina Platz, and Javier Salcedo Hernandez. Kent Nagano conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker and the Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Le coq d’or (The Golden Cockerel) opera to a libretto by Vladimir Bel’sky. Staged 2002 by Ennosuke Ichikawa at the Théâtre Musical de Paris - Châtelet. Stars Albert Schagidullin (King Dodon), Ilya Levinsky (Prince Guldon), Andrei Breus (Prince Afron), Ilya Bannik (General Polkan), Elena Manistina (Amelfa), Barry Banks (Astrologer), Olga Trifonova (Queen of Shemakha), and Yuri Maria Saenz (Golden Cockerel). Kent Nagano conducts the Orchestre de Paris and the Chorus of The Mariinsky Theatre (Arndrei Petrenko Chorus Master). Stage direction by Isao Takashima with assistant Nobuo Ichikawa; set design by Setsu Asakura with assistant Yasue Itod; costumes by Tomio Mohni; make-up by Suzanne Pisteur; lighting by Jean Kalman; choreography by Kanshino Fujima with assistant Sakon Fujima. Sung in Russian with subtitles in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, and Chinese. Directed for TV by Thomas Grimm. Released in 2012, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A-

Handel Alcina opera to a libretto by an unknown author. Directed 2010 by Adrian Noble at the Wiener Staatsoper.  Stars Anja Harteros (Alcina), Vesselina Kasarova (Ruggiero), Veronica Cangemi (Morgana), Kristina Hammarström (Bradamante), Alois Mühlbacher (Oberto), Benjamin Bruns (Oronte), and Adam Plachetka (Melisso). Marc Minkowski conducts Les Musiciens du Louvre - Grenoble (Chorus Director Thomas Lang). Stage musicians are Thibault Noally (Violin), Nils Wieboldt (Cello), Florian Cousin (Flute), Gilberto Caserio (Recorder), Toshinori Ozaki (Theorbo), Francesco Corti and Johannes Maria Bogner (Harpsichord). Chorus members are Hannelore Auer, Gilles Combecave, Arina Holecek, Christian Jung, Jens Musger, Richard Neugebauer, Martina Reder, Barbara Reiter, Barbara Sommerbauer, Cornelia Sonnleithner, Ion Tibrea, and Oleg Zalytskiy. Dancers provided by the Wiener Staatsballett. Set and costumes by Anthony Ward; lighting by Jean Kalman; choreography by Sue Lefton. Directed for TV by Matthias Leutzendorff. Zoltan Glied corrected pointed out that the sound for this title was recorded using 96kHz/24-bit sound sampling. This makes this the first opera recording published (we think) in state-of-the-art sound and HD video. Sung in Italian. Released  2011, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C+