"Actor: Marc Laho"

• Donizetti: Lucie de Lammermoor - Lyon National Opera | DVD | (15/12/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Based on one of Walter Scott's most melodramatic novels, what is arguably Donizetti's best tragic opera is here presented in its French version, Lucie de Lammermoor. The hapless Lucia (Patrizia Ciofi) tries to refuse the marriage to a minister that will rescue her family's fortunes in favour of her beloved, the family's worst enemy Edgard (Roberto Alagna). Predictably this all ends in many deaths and the audience's tears. Evelina Pido and the Orchestre Nationale de Lyon tear through the fairly unsubtle score with considerable brio and they and the cast are admirable in the opera's quieter more thoughtful moments--the famous Act Two sextet and Lucia's mad scene, in which Ciofi is solidly excellent rather than deeply memorable. Alagna turns in his usual high-gloss performance as Edgard and manages to make his final aria more moving than the quality of the piece deserves. This is an idiomatic and effective performance in a solid made-for-TV production, albeit one that never comes across as notably original. On the DVD: Lucie de Lammermoor is presented on disc in 16:9 ration with Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS or LPCM stereo sound options. It has subtitles in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian. --Roz Kaveney

• Le Comte Ory - Glyndebourne Festival Opera | DVD | (27/06/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Set in rural France at the time of the crusades Rossini's last comic opera is the saucy tale of Le Comte Ory and his pursuit of the crusaders' wives who chastely await the return of their menfolk. This acclaimed production was recorded at Glyndebourne during the 1997 season with the delectable French soprano Annick Masis as Adele the Belgian tenor Marc Laho as the lecherous Comte Ory and Diana Montague as the amorous page Isolier. Jerome Savary's sparkling production includes a sensuous bathing scene and a riotous banquet with the male singer disguised as nuns. Andrew Davis conducts the London Philharmonic.