"Actor: Emily Magee"

• Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) -- Berlin/Barenboim | DVD | (05/04/2000) from £22.97   |  Saving you £2.02 (8.10%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A massive success from its premiere on May 3, 1786, Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro ("The Marriage of Figaro") downplays the social satire in Beaumarchais' original tale of romantic intrigue and revenge between the classes, instead emphasising the psychological dimensions. Here in a live production from the Staatsoper, Berlin, director Alexandre Tarta employs simple sets, focusing all attention on a very fine cast as they spin-out the farcical ironies. The result is one of the most acclaimed interpretations of recent years, with soprano Dorethea Röschmann reprising her star-making 1995 Salzburg debut as the sensual and flirtatious Susanna. Rene Papé makes a fine Figaro, and there are no weak links, with not just the singing but the performances uniformly excellent. The humour on show makes the sorrow all the more genuinely affecting. Of course Mozart's music is marvellous, packed with great arias and duets, and under Daniel Barenboim the State Opera Choir Berlin "Staatskapelle Berlin" are on splendid form.On the DVD: With the opera lasting 190 minutes the only other feature on the disc is a plot synopsis. However, the subtitles can be switched on or off. The booklet also provides a synopsis, together with some background on the opera and the performers. Filming a live production with theatre lights is never going to result in the most detailed images, and under these circumstances the anamorphically enhanced picture fares well, being far superior to VHS. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is realistic, detailed and absorbing without ever being unnecessarily showy. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame | Blu Ray | (31/05/2011) from £25.65   |  Saving you £4.34 (16.92%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Pique Dame

• Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos | Blu Ray | (03/06/2013) from £32.38   |  Saving you £-2.39 (-8.00%)   |  RRP £29.99

  ARTH 108045; ARTHAUS MUSIK - Germania; Classica Lirica

• Strauss: Arabella (2012 Vienna State) (Emily Magee/ Genia Kuhmeier/ Tomasz Konieczny/ Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera/ Franz Welser-Möst/ Sven-Eric Bechtolf) (Electric Picture: EPC04BD) | Blu Ray | (15/10/2012) from £32.30   |  Saving you £-2.31 (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

• Verdi: Otello -- Berlin Staatskapelle/Barenboim | DVD | (15/11/2002) from £13.40   |  Saving you £11.59 (86.49%)   |  RRP £24.99

  One of the chief pleasures of this live production of Otello from the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden is Daniel Barenboim's conducting. From the opening gale-force blast of storm music, through the crunching and stabbing accompaniment of Iago's "Credo" to the shimmering strings of Desdemona's "Willow Song", he doesn't miss a trick. Everything works at the highest pitch of intensity and the orchestra sticks to his beat like glue. It's a necessary compensation for the shortcomings of the staging: the stolid chorus remains unperturbed by the storm and is directed to perform with unison movements; the acting (apart from Valeri Alexejev) is non-committal, and Alexandre Tarta's video direction somewhat flat-footed. She doesn't manage to make much small-screen sense of an impenetrably murky opening scene, for example, and doesn't seem fond of reaction shots. That said, Christian Franz and Emily Magee both have large-scale voices that they know how to shade into mo! ments of intimacy, and George Tsypin's sets are impressive: the murder of Desdemona is set against a brilliant lake of fire. On the DVD: Otello is presented in 1.78:1 ratio with PCM Stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound options. The picture quality is clear, although much of the lighting of this live production is low-level and thus many details do not come over well. Nor does the stage microphone system avoid some muffling of sound. There are subtitles in Italian, English, German, French and Spanish. --Warwick Thompson

• Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos | Blu Ray | (01/06/2009) from £40.48   |  Saving you £-10.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  TDK OPAAN (Blu ray); TDK - EUROPA; Classica Lirica