"Director: Brian Large"

• Rossini: La Cenerentola (Cinderella) -- Houston | DVD | (25/06/2001) from £25.00   |  Saving you £-8.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Rossini's opera recorded live in Houston in November 1995. Bruno Campanella conducts the Houston Symphony Orchestra and the Houston Grand Opera Chorus.

• Ariadne Auf Naxos | DVD | (02/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Strauss's opera 'Ariadne Auf Naxos' performed by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. Artists include: Jessye Norman Kathleen Battle Tatania Troyanos and James King. Conducted by James Levine.

• Strauss - Die Fledermaus (Kleiber) | DVD | (22/11/2004) from £16.69   |  Saving you £-4.70 (N/A%)   |  RRP £11.99

  This release forms part of a series from Carlos Kleiber designed to show off his remarkable talents which enlivened the classical music genre and cemented his reputation as one of the all-time greats. A conductor of considerable magnitude Kleiber tackled some formidable works in his lifetime but was able to execute them in a professional and proficient style winning over many admirers to his work. 'Die Fledermaus' sees Kleiber joined by the Bayerisches Stattsorchester.

• Wagner: Das Rheingold -- Metropolitan/Levine | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  It takes a certain amount of forethought if Das Rheingold is to be more than a series of special effects scenes, though moments like the appearance of the giants through the mist or Alberich's transformations need to be as thrilling as they are here. As always in his Wagner, and perhaps especially in this very traditional 1990 Metropolitan Opera production of the Ring cycle, James Levine keeps to the forefront the underlying humanity of Wagner's gods and monsters. In the first scene, for example, he brings out the thoughtless, callous frivolity of the Rhine maidens as they precipitate the events of the four operas by taunting the gnome Alberich: it helps that they swirl around, green and gold, in a convincing representation of the bottom of the Rhine, but the emotions are the point. Ekkehaard Wlaschiha is a convincingly menacing Alberich partly because Levine brings out his vulnerability as well as his evil temper. James Morris is splendid as the younger less care-worn Wotan and Siegfried Jerusalem as Loge enjoys the sarcasm of his cynical commentary on Wotan's aspirations. The smaller parts have luxury casting: Matti Salminen as Fafner and Christa Ludwig as Fricka, for example. On the DVD: Das Rheingold comes with a photo gallery of the Metropolitan Opera production and with menus and subtitles in German, French, English, Spanish and Chinese. Disappointingly though it is presented in American NTSC format with standard TV 4:3 visual ratio. But it does have an excellent clear acoustic in all three of its audio options: PCM stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1. --Roz Kaveney

• Verdi: Simon Boccanegra -- Metropolitan Opera/Levine | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  A performance of the Verdi opera 'Simon Boccanegra'. Conducted by James Levine.

• Sadko | DVD | (10/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Sadko's exotic world of myth magic and mystery encapsulates all the seductive charm of 19th century Russian opera. This widescreen DVD will be the only DVD version of Sadko on the market. Filmed at the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg 1994. Kirov opera Orchestra and Ballet Mariinsky Theatre St Petersburg under Valery Gergiev.

• Strauss: Arabella | DVD | (16/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Like most of his later operas, Richard Strauss' Arabella ends with a meltingly lovely duet. But then criticising Strauss for composing melodically enduring operas is as pointless as lambasting Vermeer for painting only exquisite interior scenes. Those who say Strauss never improved on Rosenkavalier may be right but when such beguiling sounds kept coming from his music for the next 30 years of his life, there shouldn't be any quibbles. Arabella is, in a nutshell, the story of a woman who cannot make up her mind about a suitor. Taped at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1994 under the baton of conductor Christian Thielemann, this production features Kiri Te Kanawa in the title role; her acting is mediocre but vocally she never forces anything and at least sounds like the perfect Arabella. Wolfgang Brendel does well with Mandryka, who finally ends up with Arabella and Marie McLaughlin makes a sympathetic younger sister to the heroine as Zdenka. Otto Schenk's production is sturdily conservative, the video transfer is acceptable if unspectacular and the sound mix is CD-quality. --Kevin Filipski, Amazon.com

• Wagner: Siegfried | DVD | (15/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

• Tristan Und Isolde - Wagner | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £21.99

  A performance of Richard Wagner's opera 'Tristan Und Isolde'....

• R. Strauss: Die Frau Ohne Schatten -- Salzburg Festival/Solti | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £21.99

  A performance of Richard Strauss' opera 'Die Frau Ohne Schatten' performed at the Salzburg Festival in 1992.

• Wagner: Tannhauser | DVD | (28/09/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  In Richard Wagner's obsessive drama Tannhauser--with its themes of sin and repentance, cultural inhibition and artistic spontaneity, sexual excess and lost innocence--symbols sprout as profusely as dandelions on summer lawns. A lot of the symbols were put there by the composer (who also wrote the libretto), but for this production director David Alden has decided to add many more--notably in the first scene: an orgy in the love nest of the goddess Venus. The sadomasochistic visuals, reminiscent of the feverish inventions of Hieronymus Bosch, may help to explain Tannhauser's decision that he wants to go home. Like the scenery, the costumes are eclectic, ranging from modern formal evening gowns to medieval suits of armour and even, in a few choice instances, nothing at all. The director may be trying to say too many things at once. The profusion of visual symbols shows a rich imagination, but a more clearly defined focus would have been helpful. That kind of focus is found in the acting, partly because Alden is a good director but also because he is working with seasoned performers. René Kollo as Tannhauser and Bernd Weikl as Wolfram von Eschenbach have made specialties of these roles, and even when the story strains credibility or when the music strains their voices, they give convincing portrayals, as do Waltraud Meier and Nadine Secunde and the supporting cast. Zubin Mehta's conducting is opulent if not subtle. This is an intriguing though sometimes disturbing production. --Joe McLellan, Amazon.com

• La Traviata: Salzburg Festival (Rizzi) | Blu Ray | (26/05/2009) from £17.24   |  Saving you £5.74 (40.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Here is the opera event of 2005, the Salzburg Festival's La traviata, Rolando Villazon, and Thomas Hampson in a dramatic staging by Willy Decker - the thrilling production that prompted riotous ovations not seen since Karajan's heyday.

• Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera -- Metropolitan Opera/Levine | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £15.79   |  Saving you £1.20 (7.60%)   |  RRP £16.99

  A performance of Verdi's opera 'Un Ballo In Maschera' by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra And Chorus; conducted by James Levine. Singers include: Luciano Pavarotti and Aprile Millo. Directed by Brian Large.

• Puccini: Manon Lescaut -- Royal Opera House | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This famous production of Manon Lescaut from The Royal Opera recorded in 1983 features two of the biggest stars in opera Placido Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa in their vocal prime. Placido Domingo's performance of Des Grieux is considered to be unsurpassed. Conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli made his British operatic debut with this production which has not been available on video for 10 years. Puccini's first masterpiece was rapturously received on its first night. It has his hallmark se

• Fidelio - Beethoven | DVD | (19/01/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  A performance of the Beethoven's Fidelio. James Levine conducts the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus.

• The Met/James Levine - Rossini - L'italiana In Algeri | DVD | (19/02/2007) from £16.59   |  Saving you £-1.60 (-10.70%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Live from the Met: 11 January 1986.

• Gluck - Alceste / Robert Wilson, John Eliot Gardiner, Théâtre du Châtelet | DVD | (16/09/2015) from £14.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (66.82%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Rebelling against the increasingly formulaic operas of the time, Christoph Willibald Gluck's "reformist" opera Alceste (1767) was a successful attempt to return to a purer form of musical drama. It is highly appropriate that this 1999 production of the revised 1776 Paris version should be conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, with the English Baroque Soloists and Monteverdi Choir, the same forces responsible for many fine Bach performances equally emphasising character and text. In setting the tragic story of the profound love between Queen Alceste and her husband King Admète, Gluck provided a score of austere, rending beauty. Principals Anne-Sofie Von Otter and Paul Groves dominate the production as much through the power of their acting as their musical prowess, the major scenes being electrifying in their emotional intensity. Contrasting with this psychological realism are the simple, Greek-inspired designs by Robert Wilson. Silhouetted geometric shapes glide gracefully through the slow-motion movements of the actors, bringing a hypnotic, dreamlike quality to the work. Near constant blue lighting adds a sense of late evening tranquillity, giving the stage a highly distinctive look and a feeling of dislocation in space and time. Both chilling and uplifting, this Alceste is a triumph. On the DVD: There are no special features other than a well-appointed booklet. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound effectively re-creates a wide theatrical atmosphere and given the low lighting levels throughout, the anamorphically enhanced 16:9 picture makes the most of the striking imagery. The disc is encoded for regions 2 and 5. --Gary S Dalkin

• Mozart 22 - Die Zauberflote | DVD | (22/01/2007) from £19.05   |  Saving you £2.94 (15.43%)   |  RRP £21.99

  Part of the epach-making release of Mozart's complete operas on DVD, Pierre Audi's production of this blithe fable suggests an operatic Garden of Eden, enhanced by the primary-coloured, story-book designs of Karel Appel. The tale of two young men undergoing a rite of passage to win their perfect spouse inspired Mozart's most tuneful yet sublime score - superbly brought to life by Riccardo Muti and a distinguished cast of international soloists.

• Handel - Rodelinda | DVD | (21/01/2008) from £16.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (47.09%)   |  RRP £24.99

• Giacomo Puccini - Puccini - Turandot | DVD | (21/07/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Turandot: Puccini - Arena di Verona