"Actor: Sara Mingardo"

• Monteverdi: L'Orfeo -- Savall | DVD | (31/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  For this production of L'Orfeo, stage director Gilbert Deflo attempts to recreate the atmosphere of the first performance of Monteverdi's 1607 opera in the plush 19th-century setting of Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. On the whole he's extremely successful: the scenery consists of painted flats which are used imaginatively (Caronte's cavern is a particular coup de theatre) and the delightful costumes look like ancient Hellenic robes viewed through a 17th century lens. What's most remarkable, though, is the sensitive level of recording, for the light orchestral textures and small voices only once, in the Caronte scene, seem to get swamped by the gilt and velvet. Jordi Savall, looking uncannily like Monteverdi himself, conducts with energy and draws some committed, focused playing from the band. Zanasi makes a fine Orfeo, but all the voices have all the graceful and limpid qualities that are standard now in early music, and the whole company gets the stylised acting manner demanded by the production just right without becoming too arch. On the DVD: L'Orfeo is presented in 16:9 anamorphic ratio, with a choice of Dolby Surround Sound or LPCM Stereo. Within the limitations of a live relay from a large theatre, the picture quality is excellent: the colours of the costumes seem particularly vivid. There are subtitles in English, French, German and Spanish. Special features include an interview with the stage director, an illustrated synopsis and a gallery of cast photos. --Warwick Thompson

• Monteverdi: L'Orfeo (Teatro alla Scala di Milano 2009) | Blu Ray | (31/01/2011) from £26.81   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Handel: Tamerlano | DVD | (02/03/2009) from £35.09   |  Saving you £-0.10 (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Tamerlano (2 Dvd)

• Tamerlano, opera by George Frideric Handel (Teatro Real, Madrid 2008) | Blu Ray | (02/03/2009) from £29.86   |  Saving you £5.13 (17.18%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Tamerlano (2 Blu-Ray)

• Fenice Re-Opening Concert 2003 | DVD | (30/05/2005) from £5.89   |  Saving you £15.36 (331.75%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Fondly called La Fenice - evoking the myth of the Phoenix bird that periodically burns itself in order to rise again from the ashes as a symbol of eternal renewal - the Venetian theatre has burned to the ground twice since it opened in 1792. Following the first fire, during the night of 12/13 December 1836 it was rebuilt according to the original plans by Tommaso and Giambattista Meduna on a new site, the Campo San Fantin, where it has now been rebuilt following the second fire on the night of 29/30 January 1996, which reduced the theatre to its bare foundations.When the legendary Phoenix finally rose from the ashes again in 2003, its rebirth was celebrated with a series of concerts. Riccardo Muti, musical director of Italy's other world-famous opera house - La Scala, conducted the official inaugural gala concert on December 14th. In the presence of the Italian President, Carlo Ciampi, Muti conducted La Fenice's choir and orchestra together with some of the best Italian singers in an unusual but truly Venetian programme.