"Actor: Birgit Nilsson"

• Strauss - Elektra | DVD | (09/10/2006) from £15.54   |  Saving you £-1.55 (-11.10%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Strauss: Elektra (Levine Metropolitan Opera Orchestra)

• The Golden Ring - Wiener Philharmoniker/Sir Georg Solti | DVD | (11/06/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The legendary 1965 BBC film on the pioneering recording by Sir Georg Solti of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. Filmed during the recording of Gotterdammerung in the Sofiensale with the Vienna Philharmonic, it features performances by the great Wagner singers Birgit Nilsson, Wolfgang Windgassen, Gottlob Frick, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The DVD also includes ORF's German-language version of the programme (Hinter den Kulissen der Gotterdammerung) featuring different interview footage with Sir Georg Solti.

• The Golden Ring | DVD | (08/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When The Golden Ring was aired on the BBC in 1965, it was the longest music documentary ever made. And though now Humphrey Burton's 90-minute black and white film about Georg Solti's landmark recording of Gotterdammerung seems rather rough and naïve in its use of basic documentary techniques, the excitement it conveys about the gargantuan Ring cycle project is still palpable. Underlings scuttle about, engineers endlessly fiddle with knobs, and Decca producer John Culshaw oversees the largest recording project ever undertaken with the command of a great military general. The technical insights are fascinating: all the sound mixing has to be done immediately, for instance, and echo effects are created by placing certain instruments in different rooms with closed-circuit TV cameras giving them Solti's beat. Culshaw's legendary attention to detail is also noted: he had obsolete stierhorns made especially for Hagen's call to the Gibichung vassals. Burton's documentary style is a little awkward, and his use of cut-aways and fades now seems antiquated. But he is sensible enough to allow generous portions of the music to speak for themselves, and the closing scene--Birgit Nilsson singing Brunnhilde's immolation--is simply heart-stopping. Despite the roughness, this film undoubtedly still captures one of the greatest moments in the history of classical music recording. On the DVD: The Golden Ring, as you might expect from a 1965 documentary, has patchy sound and picture quality (from a mixture of video and 16mm film). Occasionally the tape seems to splinter a little and the microphones fail to catch certain conversations with clarity. But somehow it all adds to the raw excitement and doesn't detract from the subject matter. The DVD also includes 69 minutes of audio highlights from the final recording.--Warwick Thompson

• Wiener Festwochen 1962 - Wiener Philarmoniker - Hans Knappertsbusch | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £24.95   |  Saving you £-4.96 (-24.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Hans Knappertsbusch and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra perform at the Wiener Festwochen, 31st of May 1962. Programme:Beethoven: Leonora Overture No. 3Beethoven: Piano Concerto in G Major (Wilhelm Backhaus on piano)Wagner: Tristan und Isolde: Vorspiel & Liebestod (Birgit Nilsson, soprano)

• Wagner - Tristan Und Isolde (Bohm, Nilsson, Vickers, Hesse) | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £10.45   |  Saving you £22.80 (248.10%)   |  RRP £31.99

  Tristan Und Isolde Dramma musicale in 3 atti di Richard WagnerFilmato in diretta al Theatre Antique d'Orange il 7 luglio 1973

• Great Stars Of Opera - Vol. 2 | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £30.49   |  Saving you £-6.24 (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  BIRGIT NILSSON:TurandotTannhauserMacbethGEORGE LONDON:OtelloFRANCO CORELLI AND LISA DELLA CASA:ToscaRENATA TEBALDI:ToscaAdriana LecouvreurCavalleria RusticanaLa GiocondaGIUSEPPE DI STEFANO AND TERESA STRATASManonREGINA RESNIK AND ROBERT MERRILL:CarmenNICOLAI GEDDA AND GIORGIO TOZI:The Cartered BridePHYLLIS CURTIN NICOLAI GEDDA AND THEODOR UPPMAN:Die FlaudermausTERESA BERGANZA:La CenerentolaANNA MOFFO AND GEORGE LONDON:Don GiovanniANNA MOFFO:La TraviataRICHARD TUCKER AND ROBERT MERRILLLa Forza del DestinoLEONTYNE PRICE:La Forza del DestinoIl TrovatoreAdriana Lecouvreur

• Mozart - Don Giovanni (Ustinov, Salzburg Marionette Theatre) | DVD | (03/11/2003) from £22.98   |  Saving you £-2.99 (-15.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Artist: MozartManufacturer: Cascade (Mvd)

• The Great Sopranos - Voice Of Firestone Performances | DVD | (07/07/2008) from £13.75   |  Saving you £3.24 (19.10%)   |  RRP £16.99

• The Bell Telephone Hour Performances 1961 - 67 (Nilsson) | DVD | (03/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

• Wiener Festwochen 1962 - Wiener Philarmoniker - Hans Knappertsbusch | DVD | (29/05/2006) from £50.27   |  Saving you £-34.02 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Beethoven / Wagner: Knappertsbuch At The Wiener Festwochen