"Actor: Christine Schafer"

• Verdi: Rigoletto | DVD | (27/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  If there are doubts still lingering about the Royal Opera House's artistic renaissance after its mid-1990s doldrum years, David McVicar's gritty and sexy production of Rigoletto should blow them all away. One of the principal reasons is McVicar's decision to emphasise the tyrannical nature of the Duke (beautifully sung by Marcelo Alvarez), and the appalling social injustice that springs from a corrupt leader: his court is a place of physical and sexual abuse (graphically, but by no means gratuitously, depicted). This violence throws the dual nature of Rigoletto into relief, making his toadyism seem all the worse and his vengefulness all the more sympathetic. The singing and acting are first rate, with Paolo Gavanelli's energetic, insect-like Rigoletto worthy even to stand against Anthony Sher's Richard III. Christine Schafer has a gorgeous voice, an intelligent sense of phrasing, and plays Gilda as a frail, morbid creature whose ultimate self-sacrifice is as much an act of neurotic despair as of love. The production is also a visual and orchestral success. Michael Vale's set is a masterpiece of economy--both the Duke's palace and Rigoletto's home are surrounded by broken objects, wire fencing and gloomy shadows--and Edward Downes draws some stunning playing from the Royal Opera Orchestra. This is undoubtedly the best Rigoletto committed to DVD thus far. On the DVD Rigoletto comes with an entertaining 17-minute BBC biography of the composer, "Verdi Through the Looking Glass", presented by conductor Charles Hazlewood, as well as an illustrated synopsis of the opera, and a revealing 10-minute interview with the director. There are subtitles in English, French, German, Dutch and Spanish.--Warwick Thomson

• Berg: Lulu - Glyndebourne Festival Opera | DVD | (23/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Alban Berg's second and last opera Lulu is one of the monuments of modernism, constructed around serial technique and containing scenes conceived of as Sonata-form, Suite and so on. The bliss of Andrew Davis's conducting in this classic Glyndebourne production is that we forget all of this--Davis doesn't gloss over the music's intellectual content, but that's not what we think about as we watch and listen. Part of the production's strength is the prodigious performance by Christine Schafer as Lulu--for once we believe in the character's sexual energy and power; and Schafer makes her real enough as a person that we largely forget the work's intrinsic misogyny. The rest of the cast are admirable too: Norman Bailey brings something perversely sweet to the disreputable painter Schigolch; Kathryn Harries makes the dying words of Lulu's lesbian lover Geschwitz one of the work's lyric high points; David Kuebler is equally powerful as Alwa. The final duet between Lulu and her destroyer Jack the Ripper is one of Wolfgang Schone's great moments, but he is equally good as Dr Schon, the man Lulu marries and kills. This is a performance of energy and beauty, matched by a simple but effective production. On the DVD Lulu on disc is presented in disappointingly in NTSC format with a 4:3 picture ratio. Fortunately, the Dolby 2.0 digital sound is ideal for the fine detail of this complex score and these nuanced performances. There are subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese. --Roz Kaveney

• Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire / Schumann: Dichterliebe | DVD | (14/02/2002) from £4.18   |  Saving you £17.07 (584.59%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Song cycles--anthologies that tell a story--are perfect for visual treatment, and Oliver Herrmann has chosen two that typify the expressive and the expressionist. Subtitled "A Story of Red and Blue", Dichterliebe places Schumann's songs in a nightclub setting, intercutting them with rehearsal and pre-production sequences that don't shed much light on either the settings or their interpretation. Christine Schäfer captures the lovelorn feel of this music, and Natascha Osterkorn is a sensitive accompanist, but the peer presentation style could well grate on repeated viewing. One Night. One Life, Herrmann's presentation of Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, is likely to prove more durable. Schäfer walks listlessly down corridors and through rooms of Dali-esque paranoia, emerging into the cold facelessness of a modern city, before retreating behind her own persona. The performance, directed by Pierre Boulez, is unfailingly good and this ought to attract new listeners to Schoenberg's light, ironic and ever-relevant cabaret. On the DVD: Dichterliebe and Pierrot Lunaire on disc are presented in a 16:9 picture format that reproduces with needle-sharp clarity, and the PCM stereo sound has the required immediacy and finesse. There are subtitles in four European languages and detailed introductions to both works are provided in the booklet. The lengthy interview with Schäfer is insightful, if not without an element of Blind Date, Fassbinder style! --Richard Whitehouse

• Chicago Symphony Orchestra - Pierre Boulez | DVD | (03/07/2006) from £3.05   |  Saving you £16.20 (905.03%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Brilliant Orchestral Music by Berg Debussy and Stravinsky.Recorded live at the Philharmonie Koln.

• Songs of Love and Desire / Freni, Schäfer, Alvarez, Keenlyside, Berlin Phil., Abbado - Silvesterkonzert 1998 | DVD | (02/12/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado a cast of singers perform works from Bach to Haydn from Donizetti to Verdi and from Schumann to Schonberg.

• Berlin Philharmonic - European Concert 1999 | DVD | (08/05/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Enjoy the splendour of the Berlin Philharmoniker led by Bernard Haitink at their 1999 European Concert in Cracow.

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Mozart 22 - Don Giovanni | DVD | (19/03/2007) from £40.48   |  Saving you £-15.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Popular American baritone Thomas Hampson stars as the amoral Don who is dragged to hell at the end of Mozart's great operatic dramma giocoso. In Martin Kusej's production Mozart's darkest opera is presented as a 20th Century morality tale set in a world where images of female sexuality constantly surround us. A cast of leading interpreters of the major roles includes Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as the Don's servant Leporello and Christine Sch''fer and Melanie Diener as the wronged Donna Anna and vengeful Donna Elvira. The Vienna Philharmonic is conducted by Daniel Harding. Tracklist includes: Mozart: Don Giovanni - Opening Credits Overture Notte e giorno faticar Leporello ove sei? Ma qual mai s'offre o Dei Fuggi crudele fuggi! Ors'' spicciati presto Ah! chi mi dice mai - Udisti? qualche bella Chi '' l''? Madamina il catalogo '' questo In questa forma dunque Giovinette che fate all'amore Manco male '' partita Ho capito signor s''! Alfin siam liberati L'' ci darem la mano Fermati scellerato! Ah fuggi il traditor Mi par ch'oggi il demonio si diverta Non ti fidar o misera Povera sventurata! Don Ottavio... son morta! Or sai chi l'onore Come mai creder deggio Dalla sua pace Io deggio ad ogni patto Fin ch'han dal vino Masetto... senti un po'... Batti batti o bel Masetto Guarda un po' come seppe questa strega Presto presto... pria ch'ei venga Bisogna aver corragio Riposate vezzose ragazze

• Music Triennial 1 | DVD | (02/04/2002) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Musik Triennale Koln 2000. Features conductor Pierre Boulez and soprano Christine Schafer. Alban Berg - From Lulu-Suite Claude Debussy - Le jet d'eau Claude Debussy - 3 Ballades de Villon Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird Suite