"Director: Brian Large"

• Donizetti: L'Elisir D'Amore (The Elixir of Love) | DVD | (11/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It's hard to think of a couple better suited to play the romantic leads in Donizetti's comedy L'Elisir d'amore than husband-and-wife team Roberto Alagna and Angela Gheorghiu. Both are charming on stage, and both have voices to die for: Gheorghiu's dark liquid tones are particularly spine-tingling, and her coloratura abilities awe-inspiring, and though Alagna has mainly concentrated on the more spinto (powerful) roles of the tenor repertoire, in 1996 when this live production was recorded his voice was just a little fresher and lighter and thus perfect for the bel canto gracefulness of Donizetti's writing. His performance of "Una furtiva lagrima", for example, is meltingly sung and free from all temptation to overplay the high notes. Frank Dunlop's 1920s-set production doesn't quite produce the belly laughs some stagings manage (in Dulcamara's patter song, for example), but has a certain small-town wistful charm nonetheless. The orchestral accompaniment under Donizetti expert Evelino Pidò is spot on, and never falls into the banal "oom-pah" trap that such simple writing can often lead to. Overall, it's a production of great charm. On the DVD: L'Elisir d'amore comes to disc with a 52-minute film on the history of the opera and its recording, with contributions from Alagna and Gheorghiu, and subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese. The Lyon opera house is particularly well set up for video recording, and Brian Large does a sophisticated job of capturing a live performance: it's hard to believe at some points that the cameras aren't actually on stage in the middle of the action. Just occasionally this leads to the singers not knowing where to look and seeming a trifle lost, but generally the performances work superbly well on the small screen. --Warwick Thomson

• New Year's Concert - Vienna (Kleiber, Wiener Philharmoniker) | DVD | (22/11/2004) from £15.49   |  Saving you £0.50 (3.23%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The 'New Year's Concert In Vienna' featuring works 'Acceleration Waltz' 'Bauern-Polka' 'Voices Of Spring-Waltz' and the 'Blue Danube' by Johann Strauss 'Jockey Polka' and the 'Moulinet-Polka' by Josef Strauss and the 'Radetzky-Marsch' by both composers. Conducted by Carlos Kleiber and performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

• The Cleveland Orchestra At Carnegie Hall | DVD | (15/10/2007) from £10.45   |  Saving you £12.54 (120.00%)   |  RRP £22.99

  The Cleveland Orch At Carnegie Hall

• New Year's Day Concert 2008 - Georges Pretre/Wiener Philharmoniker | DVD | (21/01/2008) from £13.94   |  Saving you £3.05 (21.88%)   |  RRP £16.99

  The 2008 New Year's Day Concert will be conducted by the eminent conductor Georges Prtre for the first time. Prtre is the first French citizen to receive this honour. Maestro Prtre has a special association with the Wiener Philharmoniker dating back to 1966. He is one of the few French Artists to have received the highest decorations both in France and abroad. In 2004 he became Commander of the French Lgion d'honneur and was decorated with the Austrian Cross for Services Rendered to Science and the Arts. He also became Honorary Member of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna - the highest decoration an artist can obtain in Vienna. The concert programme for 1st January 2008 will be the customary cornucopia of Strauss delights but this time with a French theme. The sumptuous setting of the Musikverein Wien provides the traditional backdrop. Tracklist: 1. New Year's Day Concert 2008 Opening Credits 2. Napoleon March Opus 156 3. Dorfschwalben Aus Osterreich Opus 164 4. Laxenburger-Polka Op.60 5. Pariser-Walzer 6. Versailler-Galopp 7. Orpheus-Quadrille Op.236 8. Kleiner Anzeiger Galopp Op.4 9. Overture 10. Freuet Euch Des Lebens Opus 340 11. Bluette Opus 271 12. Tritsch-Tratsch Polka 13. Hofball Tnze Op.161 14. Die Libelle Opus 204 (Polka Mazur) 15. Russischer Marsch Opus 426 16. Die Pariserin Polka Francaise Opus 238 17. Chineser-Galopp Op.20 18. Emperor Waltz (Kaiser Walser) 19. Die Bajadere Schnell-Polka Opus 351 20. Sport Polka Opus 170 21. New Year's Address 2008 22. An Der Schonen Blauen Donau Op. 314 23. Radetzky March Opus 228 24. New Year's Day Concert 2008 Closing Credits

• The Cunning Little Vixen - Janacek | DVD | (15/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Janacek's The Cunning Little Vixen is a real charmer of an opera, a tale that shows the natural world the composer had loved from childhood in its true colours: miraculous, beautiful, mysterious but also cruel. The inspiration came from a series of illustrated stories published in a Czech newspaper. The Vixen of the title is captured by a forester and taken home as a plaything for his children. She is soon thrown out of the house and has to make her own way in the world, encountering lust, stupidity, pride, love and ultimately death. This 1995 performance was taken from the Chatelet Theatre in Paris. Visually, Nicholas Hytner's production is a triumph, the animals wonderfully wittily wrought (the mosquito with its syringe for a nose, the mangey old dog, distasteful in baggy Y-fronts, the hideous, goggle-eyed frog). And it's also brilliantly cast: Eva Jenis's Vixen is funny, sexy, endearing and youthful enough in voice and figure to convince. Thomas Allen is a veteran of the role of the Forester, a huge presence and singing in impeccable Czech. In fact, there's not a weak performance here, and that goes for the dancers and instrumentalists as well as the singers. And at the helm, who better than Sir Charles Mackerras, arguably the greatest living interpreter of Janacek's music? This is in essence a grown-up fairy tale, ravishingly done and extremely highly recommended. On the DVD: The Cunning Little Vixen is presented on disc in vividly remastered PCM stereo, with 16:9 picture format that does full justice to the alluringly colourful designs. The disc is encoded for regions 2 and 5, and the menu and subtitle languages are English, German, French and Spanish. The useful booklet gives coherent background information and synopsis as well as full casting details. There's also a substantial (23-minute) trailer of other offerings from Arthaus Musik. --Harriet Smith

• Nabucco - Verdi | DVD | (07/02/2005) from £14.38   |  Saving you £5.60 (49.17%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Verdi - Nabucco

• Puccini: Madama Butterfly -- Verona/Arena | DVD | (11/06/2001) from £3.49   |  Saving you £15.76 (706.73%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This traditional production of Puccini's enduringly popular opera Madama Butterfly should give much pleasure. It was recorded at the open-air theatre in Verona in 1983 with the local orchestra and chorus under the aptly named Maurizio Arena. The video direction is by an expert in the field, Brian Large, who brings home all the intimate moments of Puccini's drama from an open set that ascends and sprawls across rows of seating. His camera draws the viewer into scenes that the audience cannot witness at their distance--most movingly when Sharpless, the American consul in Nagasaki, gives up his attempt to read Pinkerton's letter to Butterfly saying he has no intention of seeing her again (set to that magical melody which will recur as the humming chorus). It's of little matter that there are no operatic stars in the cast for this ensemble consists of experienced singers who fill the night air with lungs to match Puccini's heaviest demands. The audience, many of them evidently on holiday, greet the show-stopping moments with waves of applause. Their enthusiasm may drown a few bars of orchestral continuity but the orchestra itself is always at the service of the singers on a soundtrack that captures the atmosphere of an open-air performance with astonishing verisimilitude. Butterfly, sung by the statuesque Raina Kabaivanska, may not see Cio-Cio San (to give "butterfly" her real name) 16 years again and some of her arm movements are overdone but her big number "Un bel di" and its reprise when she's holding her child by Pinkerton are touchingly conveyed. Neither does she overplay the final scene where she prepares to follow her father's example using the Mikado's dagger to commit suicide--a moment that sends a shiver down the spine in its economy. Nazzareno Antinori as her Pinkerton, with his matinée idol looks and resonant voice, complements her well; their singing of Puccini's spacious love duet at the close of Act One goes down a treat with the crowd. --Adrian Edwards

• Puccini: La Boheme -- San Francisco/Severini | DVD | (28/08/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  One way to use the DVD format for opera is to provide a video format with a clear picture and sumptuous sound and let a good performance speak more or less for itself. Severini's La Boheme comes with a minimum of trimmings--subtitles in English, French and German; even a short account of the performance history is relegated to text in a booklet. The live performance has real theatrical presence, even to the extent that, at times, the vocal and orchestral subtleties get lost in wild applause. Pavarotti's Rodolfo was, in 1988, as plangently lyrical as ever and Freni's care-worn Mimi is a deeply touching and musical performance; Pacetti is a beefy full-blooded no-nonsense Musetta--the waltz song and ensuing duet with Marcello is for once the Broadway show-stopper it ought to be. Of the supporting roles, though, perhaps the most moving is Ghiaurov's Colline--his farewell to his old coat is a short passage of deep pathos which he has rarely sung as well as he does here. --Roz Kaveney

• R. Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier - Royal Opera House/Solti | DVD | (23/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Strauss' dazzling opera Der Rosenkavalier set in 1740's Vienna combines farce romance and a world of weary acknowledgement of getting older. It features some of the most gorgeous music ever written for the female voice.

• The Flying Dutchman - Wagner | DVD | (09/05/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  One of the most acclaimed Wagner productions of the postwar period this electrifying revolutionary Bayreuth staging of The Flying Dutchman catapulted the German director Harry Kupfer to international fame. Kupfer's psychologically acute production presents the entire story as a hallucination in which Senta's yearning for the eternally wandering Dutchman sends her into a trance-like state. Senta is sung by Danish soprano Lisbeth Balslev the American bass-baritone Simon Estes portrays the Dutchman while the Finnish bass Matti Salminen is Daland.

• Britten - Peter Grimes - Britten | DVD | (09/06/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Part of the Britten-Pears DVD Collection. This DVD collection features four historically and musically significant films from the BBC archives of works and performances by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears one of the greatest English tenors and Britten's long-term partner and artistic inspiration. None of the films have been available before on any home video format. First-ever audio-visual recording of Peter Grimes Britten's first great operatic success. The only film recording of Peter Grimes featuring Peter Pears in the title role and conducted by the composer. The production was mounted by the celebrated Decca producer John Culshaw following his move to the BBC. The 1969 studio colour film was staged by the great British soprano Joan Cross. Cross was closely associated with the operas of Britten and had created the role of Ellen Orford at the premiere of Peter Grimes in 1945. Fabulous cast of British opera greats from the period including Heather Harper as Ellen Orford Elizabeth Bainbridge and Robert Tear.

• Vivaldi - Viva Vivaldi (Bartoli) | DVD | (24/11/2008) from £11.02   |  Saving you £-2.03 (N/A%)   |  RRP £8.99

  A full-length concert from the Theatre des Champs-Elysees Paris featuring beautiful and rare arias from Vivaldi's operas. This Brian Large film showcases the repertoire from the bestselling Vivaldi Album (Decca 1999) which catapulted Cecilia Bartoli to worldwide stardom. Bartoli's spectacular vocal pyrotechnics are supported by world-class Baroque ensemble and collaborators on the Decca album Il Giardino Armonico. Tracklisting: 1. Di due rai languir costante (Foa 28) 2. Siam navi all'onde algenti (L'Olimpiade) 3. Non ti lusinghi la crudeltade (Tito) 4. Gelosia (Ottone in Villa) 5. Domine Deus (Gloria) 6. Armatae face e anguibus (Juditha Triumphans) 7. Zeffiretti che sussurrate (Ercole sul Temodonte) 8. Gelido in ogni vena (Farnace) 9. Anch'il mar par che sommerga (Bajazet) 10.Dite oime (La fida ninfa) 11. Agitata da due venti (La Griselda) 12. Sventurata navicella (Giustino)

• Wagner: Parsifal | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £18.65   |  Saving you £3.34 (17.91%)   |  RRP £21.99

  A performance of Wagner's opera 'Parsifal' featuring the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Conducted by James Levine. The action takes place in the Middle Ages. At the castle of Monsalvat cut off from the rest of the world the brotherhood of Grail Knights guards the chalice in which the blood of the crucified Saviour had once been caught. In an effort to seize possession of the Grail Klingsor a powerful magician has established his realm at the foot of the mountain peop

• Verdi - Stiffelio - Domingo/The Met/James Levine | DVD | (30/04/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Stiffelio the searing drama of adultery jealousy religious devotion and reconciliation is sung by an all-star cast led by Pl''cido Domingo. Performed at the Metropolitan Opera in 1993 this rarely staged masterpiece was conducted by James Levine directed by Giancarlo del Monaco and filmed by Brian Large.

• Cecilia Bartoli - Live In Italy | DVD | (25/06/2001) from £3.45   |  Saving you £14.80 (675.80%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Cecilia Bartoli gives a performance from Teatro Olimpico Vincenza Italy. The tracklist includes 'Voi Che Sapete' Seguedille' and many more.

• Massenet-Manon | DVD | (13/11/2006) from £16.60   |  Saving you £0.39 (2.30%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Massenet: Manon (Fischer Wiener Staatsoper Gruberova)

• Stravinsky: The Firebird & Les Noces -- Royal Ballet | DVD | (12/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Two very different Stravinsky ballets are here presented by The Royal Ballet: the traditional, colourful designs perfectly suit the opulence of The Firebird, contrasting with the later, more austere, ritualistic scoring and choreography of Les Noces ("The Wedding"). Firebird is a traditional fairytale: the Prince gets his girl (a princess, naturally), with a little help from a magical Firebird, by defeating the evil Kostchei, who's holding the Princess and her fellow maidens captive. The devil notoriously gets all the best tunes, and with the riveting presence of David Drew's Kostchei it's apparent that baddies get the best moves in dance, too. Leanne Benjamin is an immensely athletic Firebird and Jonathan Cope, as the Prince, dances with style and personality. Les Noces is, by contrast, a genuine ensemble piece, with the principals (the bride and groom) being almost less important than the corps de ballet itself. There are a few moments of less-than-perfect ensemble here, but these pale into insignificance in the face of the raw power of Stravinsky's angular music (scored for four pianos, percussion and chorus with solo voices). A third item finds Stravinsky conducting the Philharmonia Orchestra in his own Firebird Suite. The date was 1965 and he was a frail 83 at the time, but the concentration of the reading is compelling, as is his own stern visage, only breaking into a smile at the very end of the performance. This is an excellent filler for a first-rate ballet release. On the DVD: The Firebird & Les Noces on this disc are presented with terrific technical values, both visually and in sound quality (the Stravinsky archive performance is in mono, however, but it's perfectly respectable). This is a real feast for the eye, backed up by solid documentation in the booklet and excellent additional features--David Drew's arch and entertaining "Nijinska's World" and behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage--that will appeal to both seasoned ballet fans and those who are new to the art form. --Harriet Smith

• Wagner: Die Walkure -- Metropolitan/Levine | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £21.99

  The 1990 Metropolitan Opera performance of Die Walkure ("The Valkyrie") with James Levine conducting is a solid, four-square performance with few frills and no gimmicks, just extraordinarily fine singing and orchestral playing. There is no point in this where you find yourself asking why the director did something: this is the sort of production which could be criticised as unimaginative but defended as serving Wagner's intentions for this instalment of his Ring cycle. Levine and his orchestra give the music an emotional intensity that never overwhelms its grandeur, though perhaps in Wotan's farewell to Brunnhilde, we feel him more as father than as god. James Morris as Wotan has real stature, making us feel that he has finally created the free agents he needs to avoid the curse he has unleashed on the world, but he has broken his heart in the process. Jessye Norman is surprisingly good and erotically self-assured as Sieglinde; the Act 1 love duet with Gary Lake as Siegmund has an ardour that makes the incestuous aspect less a matter of perversity than of the conduct of heroes. Kurt Moll makes Sieglinde's rapist and husband Hunding, a three-dimensional sinister villain; and Christa Ludwig almost manages to sell us Fricka's interminable paean to family values. The most impressive performance here, though, is Hildegard Behrens as Brunnhilde, the steely godling who sacrifices everything because she learns to feel and to know what is right. On the DVD Die Walkure on disc comes with menus and subtitles in German, French, English, Spanish and Chinese and with a picture gallery of the production. Awkwardly it is presented in (American) NTSC format not PAL, with a visual aspect of standard TV 4:3. More impressive is the choice of PCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS 6.1; the sound is admirably clear and well-balanced. --Roz Kaveney

• Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg | DVD | (24/11/2000) from £98.99   |  Saving you £-69.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  This glorious 1995 production of Wagner's festival opera highlights the central debate about the artist, his inspiration and the academic rules that have to be worked with, or around, by setting it not in the Middle Ages so much as in a high-Victorian world of frock coats and cravats. Wolfgang Brendel's impressive performance as Hans Sachs has both the authority of the great poet trying to make everyone understand the virtues of good sense and a middle way, as well as the emotional appeal of a man whose decision to make Eva's choice between him and Walther is for once a real struggle: Brendel plays him as a man young enough to be a credible rival to the young minstrel-knight. Gosta Windbergh in turn brings real passion not only to the "Prize Song" itself but to the whole opera, not least to the aristocratic/bohemian distrust of the bourgeois world of the master singer for which Sachs ends up rebuking him. Schulte's performance as Beckmesser conveys the meanness and pettiness without buying wholly into the viciousness with which Wagner humiliates his comic villain and through him all of his own enemies. Conductor de Burgos manages to keep the massive scale of this longest of comic operas human and humane--this never becomes a sinisterly intense or vast performance. --Roz KaveneyOn the DVD: This two-disc set comes equipped with scene selection and subtitles in German, French and English, as well as menus in those languages and Spanish. --Roz Kaveney

• Parsifal - Wagner/Stein | DVD | (16/07/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Wolfgang Wagner's arrestingly beautiful production filmed live at Bayreuth in 1981 and directed by Brian Large features a stellar cast led by Eva Randova Bernd Weikl and Siegfried Jerusalem.