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
Read MoreDebussy Pelléas et Mélisande opera to libretto by Maurice Maeterlinck. Directed 2016 by Benjamin Lazar (with assistance from Elizabeth Calleo and Katrina Sörensen Palm) at the Malmö Opera. Stars Marc Mauillon (Pelléas), Jenny Daviet (Mélisande), Laurent Alvaro (Golaud), Stephen Bronk (Arkel), Emma Lyrén (Geneviève), Julie Mathevet (Yniold), and Stefano Olcese (Doctor/Shepherd). Maxime Pascal conducts the Malmö Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Chorus Master André Kellinghaus). Stage design by Adeline Caron; costume design by Alain Blanchot; make-up by Mathilde Benmoussa; lighting by Mael Iger. Directed for TV by Corentin Leconte; produced by Xavier Dubois. Sung in French. Released 2017, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: B
Read MoreDebussy Pelléas et Mélisande opera to libretto by the composer after the play by Maurice Maeterlinck. Directed 2016 by Dmitri Tcherniakov at the Opernhaus Zürich. Stars Brindley Sherratt (Arkel), Jacques Imbrailo (Pelléas), Kyle Ketelsen (Golaud), Damien Göritz (Yniold), Charles Dekeyser (A doctor), Corrine Winters (Mélisande), Yvonne Naef (Geneviève), and Reinhard Mayr (Pelléas’s Father). Alain Altinoglu conducts the Philharmonia Zürich, Zusatzchor Opernhaus Zürich, and the Sopralti Der Oper Zürich (Chorus Master Jürg Hämmerli). (The “Sopralti” is an all female choir of sopranos and altos.) Set design by Dmitri Tcherniakov; costume design by Elena Zaytseva; lighting design by Gleb Filshtinksy; video design by Tieni Burkhalter; dramaturgy by Beate Breidenbach. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Sung in French. Released 2019, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: F+
Read MoreOperaVision (“OV”) is a public relations initiative of some 20+ European opera companies aimed at encouraging people to enjoy opera productions. See www.operavision.eu.
The hyperactive OV website has many features. But the big deal is free Internet streaming of operas. First you can watch simultaneous streaming of certain operas during live performance. Then, for about a year, you can downstream the show free on demand. In March 2020, OV had 21 operas up for you to enjoy.
What does OV mean to those of us who love Blu-ray discs with opera and other fine arts performances? For the moment, not much. But OV could in the future become a means of distributing opera titles (and other fine arts shows) on a permanent basis over the Internet in competition with Blu-ray discs. If this were to happen, we would have the mission of reviewing the OV streamed titles on HDVDarts.
So lately we have been picking through OV’s 21 current free operas just for fun. We stumbled over the first opera recording streamed over the Internet that is competitive, we think, with our Blu-rays: a 2019 production of The Bartered Bride (Smetana) from Garsington Opera directed by Paul Curran. This BB was lavished with praise by print critics who saw it live. It was lovingly shot for TV by Sonia Lovett and team. Lovett’s beautiful file perfectly captures the spirit of the show
Read MoreQuasthoff Sings Mahler concert. Zubin Mehta conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden in 2010 at the Semperoper. Features baritone Thomas Quasthoff. Here is the program:
Mahler Kindertotenlieder — Quasthoff
Webern Six Pieces for Orchestra
Strauss Also sprach Zarathustra
Released 2021, disc has 5.0 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: D
H’m. This looks unappealing. It was recorded 10 years ago, lasts only 73 minutes, no videographer is credited, the title is a bit misleading, and the photos on the back of the keepcase look washed out. There is a YouTube clip available under the MonardaArts label that appears to be this program. The clip has been viewed about 8,500 times in nine years, and has received no comments.
Read MoreIntermedi della Pellegrina concert. Music by Cristofano Malvezzi, Luca Marenzio, Giulio Caccini, Count Giovanni de’ Bardi, Jacopo Peri, and Emilio de’ Cavalieri. Texts by Giovanni de’ Bardi, Ottavio Rinuccini; Giovanni Battista Strozzi, and Laura Lucchesini. Directed 2019 by Valentino Villa at the Festival del Maggio Musicale. Features singers Rossana Bertini (Soprano I), Elena Bertuzzi (Soprano II), Candida Guida (Alto), Paolo Fanciullacci (Tenor), Marco Scavazza (Baritone), and Mauro Borgioni (Bass). Features extras Greta Cisternino, Barbara Novati, Marco Angelilli, Edoardo Mozzanega, Francesco Napoli, and Giuseppe Sartori. Frederico Maria Sardelli conducts the Orchestra Modo Antiquo, the Coro Ricercare Ensemble, and the Compagnia Dramatodia (Chorus Master Alberto Allegrezza). Set design by Saverio Santoliquido; lighting design by Alessandro Tutini; costume design by Gianluca Sbicca; choreography and assistant direction by Marco Angelilli and the Bandierai degli Uffizi. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Sung in Italian. Grade: NA
Read MoreGolden Gallery Tricentenary concert (French: Galerie Dorée, le Concert du Tricentenaire). Performed 2018 at the Golden Gallery of the Central Bank of France. Julien Chauvin conducts the Concert de la Loge and the Cambini-Paris Quartet. Features musicians Jodie Devos (soprano), Justin Taylor (harpsichord), Thomas Dunford (lute), Atsushi Sakaï (cello), and Tami Krausz (traverso). The program includes works from baroque and classical composers such as Lully, Rameau, Couperin, Charpentier, Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Handel, and others. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreJanáček From the House of the Dead (Czech: Z mrtvého domu, German: Aus einem Totenhaus, French: De la maison des morts) opera to a libretto by the composer after the Dostoevsky novel Notes from the House of the Dead. Directed 2018 by Frank Castorf at the Nationaltheater in Munich. Stars Peter Rose (Aleksandr Petrovič Gorjančikov), Evgeniya Sotnikova (Aljeja), Aleš Briscein (Luka Kuzmič [Filka Morozov]), Charles Workman (Skuratov), Bo Skovhus (Šiškov), Christian Rieger (Prison Governor), Manuel Günther (Nikita), Tim Kuypers (Small Prisoner), Ulrich Reß (Old Prisoner), Boris Prýgl (Cook), Peter Lobert (Pope), Johannes Kammler (Čekunov), Kevin Conners (Šapkin), Alexander Milev (Blacksmith), Matthew Grills (Kedril), Niamh O’Sullivan (A Prostitute), Callum Thorpe (Don Juan/Brahmane), Dean Power (Čerevin/A Voice), Galeano Salas (Drunk Prisoner), and Long Long (Guard). Simone Young conducts the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and the Chorus of the Bayrische Staatsoper (Chorus Master Sören Eckhoff). Set design by Aleksandar Denić; costume design by Adriana Braga Peretzki; lighting design by Rainer Casper; video design by Andreas Deinert, Jens Crull, and Stefanie Nirschl; dramaturgy by Miron Hakenbeck. Directed for TV by Andy Sommer; produced by François Duplat. Sung in Czech. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreCarl Maria von Weber Euryanthe opera to libretto by Helmina von Chézy. Directed 2018 by Christof Loy at the Theater an der Wien. Stars Jacquelyn Wagner (Euryanthe), Norman Reinhardt (Adolar), Theresa Kronthaler (Eglantine), Andrew Foster-Williams (Lysiart), Stefan Cerny (König Ludwig IV), and Eva-Maria Neubauer (Herzogin von Burgund). Constantin Trinks conducts the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Arnold Schoenberg Choir (Chorus Master Erwin Ortner). Set design by Johannes Leiacker; costume design by Judith Weihrauch; lighting design by Reinhard Traub; dramaturgy by Klaus Bertisch. Directed for TV by Paul Landsmann; produced by Landsmann+Landsmann. Sung in German. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreFerdinando Pae Agnese opera to libretto by Luigi Buonavoglia. Directed 2019 by Leo Muscato at the Teatro Regio Torino. Stars María Rey-Joly (Agnese), Markus Werbe (Uberto), Edgardo Rocha (Ernesto), Filippo Morace (Don Pasquale), Andrea Giovannini (Don Girolamo), Lucia Cirillo (Carlotta), Giulia Della Peruta (Vespina), Federico Benetti (Warden), and Sofia La Cara (Agnese’s Daughter). Features Carlo Capulo on harpsichord. Diego Fasolis conducts the Orchestra and Chorus del Teatro Regio Torino (Chorus Master Andrea Secchi). Set design by Federica Parolini; costume design by Silvia Aymonino; lighting design by Alessandro Verazzi; assistant direction by Alessandra De Angelis; assistant set design by Anna Varaldo. Directed for TV by Tiziano Mancini.. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Sung in Italian Grade: NA
Read MoreRossini La Cenerentola to libretto by Jacopo Ferretti. Directed 2016 by Emma Dante at the Teatro Opera of Rome. Stars Juan Francisco Gatell (Don Ramiro), Vito Priante (Dandini), Alessandro Corbelli (Don Magnifico), Damiana Mizzi (Clorinda), Annunziata Vestri (Tisbe), Serena Malfi (Angelina), and Ugo Guagliardo (Alidoro). Alejo Pérez conducts the Orchestra and Choir of Teatro Opera of Rome (Chorus Master Roberto Gabbiani). Set design by Carmine Maringola; costume design by Vanessa Sannino; lighting design by Cristian Zucaro; choreography by Manuela Lo Sicco. Directed for TV by Francesca Nesler. Sung in Italian. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBach The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book One concert. Performed 2017 at the Royal Albert Hall. Feature Sir András Schiff on piano. Directed for TV by Helen Scott. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreBach The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book Two concert. Performed 2018 at the Royal Albert Hall. Feature Sir András Schiff on piano. Directed for TV by Helen Scott. Released 2020, disc has 5.1 dts-HD Master Audio sound. Grade: NA
Read MoreWhat is the best Swan Lake Blu-ray? Swan Lake is the most esteemed classical ballet, and many versions (with various endings) have been created. We now (Jan. 2020) have 10 Blu-rays of Swan Lake. Of these, two stand out as superior, and both of them are based on the “tragic-ending” Nureyev choreography:
The Royal Ballet has produced 3 versions of Swan Lake in Blu-ray with different stars! Only the last one from 2019 is competitive with an A grade. Finally, let’s don’t forget the gay version from Mathew Bourne, which is a hoot.
Read MoreWhat is the best Blu-ray of Puccini’s Tosca opera? We now have 7 Blu-ray productions of this wonderful thriller, including 3 graded A or A+. The 3 A-rated discs are quite different from each other, so you should check them all out carefully before buying just one:
Teatro Carlo Felice. A. 2012. Arthaus. A bit old-fashioned, but a perfect explanation of why many people love Italian opera so much.
Royal Opera House. A. 2012. EMI Classics. Slick modern production with period sets and costumes is probably the safe choice for most opera fans.
Motion picture by Benoît Jacquot (transferred to both 4K and 2K discs) A+. Arthaus. French “art-house” movie version of the opera from a famous film director. Cogent personal direction and superb acting by an elite cast of singers puts this in a class by itself even though it was shot in 2001 (35 mm) and shows its age in some respects. Alert! Be ready for a bunch of movie tricks designed to keep you on your toes! This gets the A+ as it shows what we can look forward to in the future if expert movie directors are given the resources to make good HDVDs of the opera canon.
In addition there are 4 other Toscas, all of which we have reviewed and illustrated with screenshots.
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