Opera

The Monteverdi Trilogy / John Eliot Gardner; Monteverdi Choir [3 DVDs]

This set brings together Monteverdi’s three surviving operas: the splendorous L’Orfeo and, from later in his life, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and L’incoronazione di Poppeawith their visceral passions and dramatic dilemmas, all elements that have animated the history of opera for centuries.

(Opus Arte)

3DVD# OA 1349BD $39.99

3Blu-ray# OA BD7300BD $54.99

Meyerbeer: Jephtas Gelübde [2 CDs]

Meyerbeer, long considered one of the greatest of operatic composers, is being rediscovered. His first music drama was Jephtas Gelübde, based on the biblical story of Jephta and his rash vow of sacrifice. The musical language is varied in expression, with an exceptionally advanced use of leitmotif and a subtle depiction of psychological process. (Marco Polo)

2CD# 8225383-84 $33.99

Cherubini: Les Abencérages [3 CDs]

Cherubini’s Les Abencérages, premiered in 1813, heralds the spectacle and extravagance of Romantic grand opera. From the Alhambra gardens to the battlefield, the action skillfully intertwines political conspiracies with a love story. Underpinned by the energy and timbres of period instruments, this recording demonstrates the work’s modernity and its musical qualities.

(Bru Zane)

3CD# BZ1050 $41.99

Puccini: Tosca [DVD or Blu-ray]

Tosca is a melodrama of love, betrayal and death set in the revolutionary unrest of 1800. In this 2022 production, an eminent cast is directed by the acclaimed Australian director Barrie Kosky – ‘the Amsterdam audience was completely swept off its feet by Kosky’s stunning production’

Opera News. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110752

$27.99

1Blu-ray# NBD0166V $27.99

Mocnik: Johannes-Passion

For this CD production, Damijan Mocnik has created a reduced version of his “St. John Passion” for woodwind, percussion and strings, originally composed with a considerably larger orchestra. The recording took place on March 5, 2022 in Studio 1 of the Bayerischer Rundfunk. (BR Klassik)

1CD# BRK900343 $17.99

So Romantique! / Cyrille Dubois

‘So Romantique!’ illustrates the ‘profoundly sentimental’ side of French opera from the 1830s to the 1900s, which gradually came to be judged overwrought and was condemned to partial oblivion. With the Orchestre National de Lille conducted by Pierre Dumoussaud, French tenor Cyrille Dubois deploys the full range of his artistry, the impressive high notes, the luminous tone and the graceful phrasing that is ‘so Cyrille’! (Alpha)

1CD# ALPHA924 $18.99

Cavalieri: Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo

Emilio de’ Cavalieri’s Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo was premiered in 1600 in Rome. It was conceived to be performed in costume, bringing text and music together in a dramatic form, and is accepted as the first surviving opera, pre-dating works by Peri and Monteverdi. “An unmitigated, tremendous success’ and its ‘musical production was extraordinary...” – Bachtrack.com (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110750 $27.99

Rossini: Il Turco In Italia [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

The performance of Il turco in Italia at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro is presented as a totally renewed production. With references to films of the iconic film director Federico Fellini “Davide Livermore brought it all together adding the perfect physical comic schtick that matched up perfectly with the musical pace of Rossini’s masterpiece – it was spectacular.”

– Opera Today (C Major)

2DVD# 762508 $47.99

1Blu-ray# 762604 $42.99

Tafreshipour: The Doll Behind the Curtain [CD]

An original and challenging work of musical theatre, The Doll Behind the Curtain was composed in 2015 and is Tafreshipour’s first opera as well as the first Iranian opera with an English libretto. It was premièred in London in 2015 and is here heard in a recording by the team that also performed it at the Royal Danish Opera in 2020. (BIS)

1CD# BIS-2596 $19.99

Saint-Georges: L’Amant Anonyme [3 CDs]

Haymarket Opera, Chicago’s premier early opera company, performs on this world-premiere recording of L’Amant Anonyme (The Anonymous Lover) by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–1799).

Premiered in 1780, L’Amant Anonyme was the most successful of Bologne’s six operas and is the only one to survive to the present day. (Cedille)

3CD# CDR 217 $32.99

Herbert Blomstedt – When Music Resounds, the Soul Is Spoken To [DVD]”

The feature-length film portrait When Music Resounds, the Soul Is Spoken To was created between Herbert Blomstedt’s 90th and 95th birthdays. It accompanies Blomstedt in his work with selected orchestras, which are representative of the many international ensembles he has either led or with which he still works regularly, and observes the gifted communicator during rehearsals and concerts. (Accentus)

1DVD# ACC20417 $24.99

Springtime in Amsterdam [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

Springtime in Amsterdam is a joyful feature film created by director Christof Loy, world renowned for his work in international opera houses. A richly varied musical score that includes Viennese operetta, Dutch and French chansons, and songs from the American song book, is performed by a renowned cast of singers and conducted by Marko Letonja, well versed in popular music. (Naxos)

1DVD# 2110757 $24.99

1Blu-ray# NBD0169V $24.99

Music Under the Swastika –The Maestro & The Cellist of Auschwitz

This music documentary by Christian Berger focuses on star conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, and Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, the cellist of the infamous Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz. Featuring interviews with musicians like Daniel Barenboim and Christian Thielemann. Archive film footage, restored and colorized, brings the story to life, and bears witness to an agonizing chapter in history. (C Major)

1DVD# 762808 $29.99

Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos [DVD or Blu-ray Video]

Richard Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos is one of the early 20th century’s most peculiar operatic works. Set in the beautiful Teatro della Pergola in Florence, Matthias Hartmann’s 2022 production was a triumphant success both for its soloists and conductor Daniele Gatti in his first season as musical director at the Maggio Musicale Foundation. (Dynamic)

1DVD# DYN-37970 $27.99

1Blu-ray# DYN-57970 $27.99

Memory in Motion: Percussion in Surround DVD

Memory in Motion: Percussion in Surround was a research project developed to examine how percussionists memorize musical actions within ensembles. As part of this research, director Aiyun Huang commissioned new works to compliment selected existing repertoire. (Mode)

1DVD# MOD-DV-325

$29.99

Palais Garnier – Building the Paris Opera House DVD

The thrilling tale of the construction of the Palais Garnier, a total work of art built over fifteen tumultuous years by the brilliant architect Charles Garnier. Commissioned by Napoleon III, the Palais Garnier is the symbol par excellence of the Second Empire, a building set apart by its technical and artistic ambition. (BelAir)

1DVD# BAC184

$24.99