Handel Theodora opera to libretto by Thomas Morell. Directed 2022 by Katie Mitchell at the Royal Opera. Stars Julia Bullock (Theodora), Jakub Józef Orliński (Didymus), Ed Lyon (Septimius), Gyula Orendt (Valens), Joyce DiDonato (Irene), and Thando Mjandana (Marcus). Harry Bicket conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Master William Spaulding). Actors/dancers are Holly Weston and Kelly Vee. Other actors are Aquira Bailey-Browne, Ben Clifford, Sarah Northgraves, and David Rawlins. Set design by Chloe Lamford; costume design by Sussie Juhlin-Wallén; lighting design by James Farncombe; movement direction by Sarita Piotrowski. Directed for TV by Peter Jones. Sung in English. Released 2011, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: C

Theodora is usually considered an oratorio or a dramatic oratorio. But if you bring in Katie Mitchell, it’s going to be an opera. Mitchell’s modern-times overlay was controversial, but most critics who saw this live were ecstatic about the cast and the music. Handel wrote an Organ Concerto in G Minor for performance with Theodora. The organ piece was usually performed by Handel as a bonus extra, perhaps at an intermission. The Royal Opera here cuts the Organ Concerto.

Katie Mitchell likes to divide her stage into little boxes that get shifted around . . .

The Monteverdi Trilogy consists of three titles previously reported here:

• L’Orfeo

• Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria

• L’incoronazione di Poppea

All these titles are concerts with a few props. They are not opera performances. I maybe should have excluded these titles. But Gardiner is one of the most famous conductors of early music, so I list them out of respect for him. I give a D to these recordings. This doesn’t mean they are bad. It just means don’t buy this unless you know what you are doing . . .

Verdi Rigoletto opera to libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. Directed 2021 by Oliver Mears at the Royal Opera House. Stars Carlos Álvarez (Rigoletto), Liparit Avetisyan (Duke), Lisette Oropesa (Gilda), Brindley Sherratt (Sparafucile), Ramona Zaharia (Maddalena), Kseniia Nikolaieva (Giovanna), Eric Greene (Monterone), Dominic Sedgwick (Marullo), Egor Zhuravskii (Borsa). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House (Chorus Master William Spaulding). Set design by Simon Lima Holdsworth; costume design by Ilona Karas; lighting design by Fabiana Piccioli; movement direction by Anna Morrissey. Directed for TV by Peter Jones. Sung in Italian. Released 2022, disc features 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

This new production from the Royal Opera House got mostly rave reviews from critics who saw it live. For example, Tim Ashley, writing in The Guardian, says “Álvarez is utterly compelling as Rigoletto. Oropesa makes a matchless Gilda, singing with an extraordinary beauty of tone and understated depth of feeling: this really is one of the truly great performances.” So this would probably be a good choice even though we already have . . .

Janáček Jenůfa opera to a libretto by the composer. Directed 2021 by Claus Guth at the Royal Opera House. Stars Asmik Grigorian (Jenůfa), Elena Zilio (Grandmother Buryjovka), Nicky Spence (Laca Klemeň), Yarita Véliz (Jana), David Stout (Foreman at the Mill), Saimir Pirgu (Števa Buryja), and Karita Mattila (Kostelnička Buryjovka). Henrik Nánási conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Principal Guest Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director William Spaulding). Designs by Michael Levine; costume design by Gesine Völlmi; lighting design by James Farncombe; choreography by Teresa Rotemberg. Directed for TV by Rhodri Huw. Sung in Czech. Released 2022, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

Mozart Don Giovanni opera to libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte. Directed 2019 by Jack Furness after Kasper Holton at the Royal Opera House. Stars Roberto Tagliavini (Leporello), Malin Byström (Donna Anna), Erwin Schrott (Don Giovanni), Petros Magoulas (The Commendatore), Daniel Behle (Don Ottavio), Myrtò Papatanasiu (Donna Elvira), Louise Alder (Zerlina), and Leon Košavić (Masetto). Hartmut Haenchen conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Sergey Levitin) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director Genevieve Ellis). Set design by Es Devlin; video design by Luke Halls; costume design by Anja Vang Kragh; lighting design by Bruno Poet. Directed for TV by Jonathan Haswell. Sung in Italian. Released 2022, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: N/A

Beethoven Fidelio opera (1814 version) to libretto by Joseph Ferdinand von Sonnleithner, Stephan von Breuning, and Georg Friedrich Treitschke. Directed 2020 by Tobias Kratzer at the Royal Opera House. Stars Robin Tritschler (Jaquino), Amanda Forsythe (Marzelline), Lise Davidsen (Leonore/Fidelio), Georg Zeppenfeld (Rocco), Simon Neal (Don PIzarro), Filipe Manu (First Prisoner), Timothy Dawkins (Second Prisoner), David Butt Philip (Florestan), and Egils Siliņš (Don Fernando). Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Guest Concert Master Jan Schmolck) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director William Spaulding). Set and costume design by Rainer Sellmaier; lighting design by Michael Bauer; video design by Manuel Braun; dramaturgy by Bettina Bartz. Directed for TV by Rhodri Huw. Sung in German. Released 2022, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

Mozart Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) opera to libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. Directed 2017 at the Royal Opera House by Revival Director Thomas Guthrie after the 2003 production directed by David McVicar. Stars Mauro Peter (Tamino), Roderick Williams (Papageno), Sabine Devieilhe (Queen of the Night), Peter Bronder (Monostatos), Siobhan Stagg (Pamina), Mika Kares (Sarastro), Darren Jeffery (Speaker of the Temple), and Christina Gansch (Papagena). Julia Jones conducts the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House (Concert Master Vasko Vassilev) and the Royal Opera Chorus (Chorus Director William Spaulding). Set designs by John Macfarlane; lighting designs by Paule Constable; revival movement direction by Angelo Smimmo after Leah Hausman. Directed for TV by Jonathan Haswell. Sung in German. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound . Grade: NA

This was the sixth revival of the 2003 McVicar production that was recorded in 2003 and published in Blu-ray in 2008 (as one of the first opera Blu-rays to be released). The cast is all new. Diana Damrau’s depiction of the Queen of the Night in the 2003 became perhaps the most famous icon of opera in the 21st century—a tough act for Sabine Devieilhe to follow . . .

Donizetti Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali (Conventions and Inconveniences of the Stage) opera to a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni. Directed 2017 by Laurent Pelly. Stars Christophe Galland. Stars Laurent Naouri (Mamma Agata), Patrizia Ciofi (Daria), Charles Rice (Procolo), Clara Meloni (Luigia), Enea Scala (Guglielmo), Pietro di Bianco (Biscroma Strappaviscere), Enric Martinez-Castignani (Cesare Salsapariglia), Piotr Micinski (L’impresario), Katherine Aitken (Pippetto), and Dominique Beneforti (Le Directeur du Théâtre). Lorenzo Viotti conducts the Orchestra of Opéra de Lyon and the Chorus of Opéra de Lyon (Chorus Master Pierre Bleuse). Costume design by Laurent Pelly; set design by Chantal Thomas; lighting design by Joël Adam. Directed for TV by Vincent Massip. Sung in Italian. Released in 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA

The Beggar’s Opera is a ballad opera written in 1728 by John Gay and Johann Christoph Pepusch. This title is a new version by Ian Burton and Robert Carsen with musical conception by William Christie. Directed 2018 by Robert Carsen at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris. Stars Robert Burt (Mr. Peachum), Beverley Klein (Mrs. Peachum/Diana Trapes), Kate Batter (Polly Peachum), Benjamin Purkiss (Macheath), Kraig Thornber (Lockit), Olivia Brereton (Lucy Lockit), Emma Kate Nelson (Jenny Diver), Sean Lopeman (Filch/Manuel), Gavin Wilkinson (Matt), Taite-Elliot Drew (Jack, Prison Guard), Wayne Fitzsimmons (Robin), Dominic Owen (Harry), Natasha Leaver (Molly), Emily Dunn (Betty), Louise Dalton (Suky), and Jocelyn Prah (Dolly). William Christie conducts the Ensemble les Arts Florissants from his harpsichord. Sets by James Brandily; costumes by Petra Reinhardt; choreography by Rebecca Howell; lighting by Robert Carsen and Peter van Praet; dramaturgy by Ian Burton. Directed for TV by François Roussillon; Executive Producer was Toni Hajal; music producer was Mireille Faure. Sung in English. Released 2021, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: A+

Gay’s Beggar’s Opera was the first ballad opera. The ballad opera expropriates all kinds of familiar music to mock Italian opera. Gay’s creation survives as the only ballad opera performed today. It’s still popular, per Wikipedia, thanks to its savage satirical treatment of “politics, poverty, injustice, and corruption at all levels of society”. . .