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Invocazioni Mariane / Scholl, Tampieri, Accademia Bizantina

Naïve

$9.49 ~~$18.99~~ Save 50% Mar 08, 2024

For the first time with naïve, the counter-tenor Andreas Scholl joins the Accademia Bizantina and Alessandro Tampieri to present a Neapolitan programme, centred on the Virgin Mary.

Andreas Scholl and the Accademia Bizantina have for several decades enjoyed a successful musical partnership, encompassing the whole Baroque repertoire. As usual, this new album together includes both renowned and less well-known vocal and instrumental pieces. The figure of Mary, which has inspired a huge repertoire, both sacred and profane, runs through this Easter programme of exquisite affliction, virtuosic for both voice and orchestra. “Neapolitan music has a unique melodic vein and a great capacity to communicate emotion profoundly," says Alessandro Tampieri.

Thus, Vivaldi’s iconic Stabat Mater, which the German counter-tenor has enjoyed singing for many years, is placed alongside lesser-known airs from oratorios by Nicola Porpora and Leonardo Vinci, which had the character of the Virgin sung by a castrato. “I endeavour to place humanity before gender," says Andreas Scholl, “and I interpret the role of Mary with the greatest sincerity, without the slightest notion of 'travesty’. Love, despair and pain transcend the notion of gender."

We also find a Salve Regina by Pasquale Anfossi, requiring a particularly participative orchestra, a sonata by Angelo Ragazzi and a violin concerto by Pergolesi, both strongly echoing Pergolesi’s famous Stabat Mater. The solo violin parts are played by Alessandro Tampieri, first violin of the Italian ensemble, who conducts here from his instrument in the purest tradition of the Baroque orchestra.

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Invocazioni Mariane / Scholl, Tampieri, Accademia Bizantina
Naïve Mar 2024
CD
~~$18.99~~ $9.49

UNDERGODS

INTAKT RECORDS

$18.35 Oct 18, 2024

An otherworldly journey through a Europe in decline... UNDERGODS is a collection of darkly humorous, fantasy tales about failed societies and doomed fortune. 810047235309 GSVS22014DVD 41810996 15.78 18.99 .26 GRAVITAS VENTURES DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE HORROR / SCI-FI / FANTASY 07/06/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/74/4375374-3362550.jpg 0 1 N ALPINES ALPINES 810047237440 GSVS22133DVD 42046325 15.78 18.99 .26 GRAVITAS VENTURES DIGITAL VIDEO DISC MOVIE HORROR / SCI-FI / FANTASY 09/21/2021 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/84/4012084-3128164.jpg 0 1 N HALLEY FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 'From Dusk Till Dawn', the first album of the new generation R&B band Halley, who performed at 'SXSW 2024', will be released on a long-awaited vinyl record! This is the culmination of Halley's work, packed with the lustrous and soulful voice of vocalist TaeHyun and a band ensemble based on R&B/neo-soul. Strongly influenced by jazz, R&B, soul, gospel, and funk, the music is characterized by elements of black music. LISTEN: https://youtu. Be/A9kh01MZXF0 Songlist A-01. Daydream A-02. Breeze A-03. 'Cause It's Too Cold To Walk Alone A-04. Comfy A-05. Sugary A-06. Who Is He (Interlude) B-01. Whim B-02. Set Free B-03. Clear Mind B-04. Lemonade B-05. From Dusk Till Dawn B-06. Write Me a Love Song 4988044123274 AXRQ64.1 44664916 38.25 45.98 .54 ASTROLLAGE VINYL LP POP R&B / SOUL / FUNK 12/20/2024 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/32/4375632-3265204.jpg 2 1 N BABY BLOOD BABY BLOOD It's Time to Feed the Baby! It is a voracious parasite from the dawn of creation, surviving centuries in search of the one thing it needs: to be born of a human. But when this cunning creature slithers inside a sexy circus performer (voluptuous French starlet Emmanuelle Escourrou, Lady Blood), it demands gallons of fresh blood to grow stronger. Now this reluctantly expectant mommy and her chatty mutant fetus are off on a cross-country killing spree, where pre-natal care means violent carnage and the ultimate mother's milk is Baby Blood! Also known as The Evil Within, this French shocker is now presented totally uncut and uncensored with all it's infamous womb-raiding, gore-spewing and flesh-baring beautifully restored in 4K! Co-written and directed by Alain Robak (Adrenaline). 738329268121 KICU26812UHD 44664879 24.39 39.95 .21 KINO CULT ULTRA HD MOVIE HORROR / SCI-FI / FANTASY 10/29/2024 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/76/4375676-3265466.jpg 10 2 N WOLFMAN'S GOT NARDS WOLFMAN'S GOT NARDS How does a Squad become a Cult? How does a Cult become a Classic? When it was released in 1987, The Monster Squad was deemed a failure by critics and was, according to the box office, a film no one cared about. But over the last three decades, word of mouth has turned it into a cultural phenomenon. Wolfman's Got Nards is a howlingly entertaining documentary that explores the power of cult film told through the lens of The Monster Squad, taking an in-depth look into the film's conception, response, cult status and revival. Through interviews with the cast, crew, screenwriters, directors, academics and original reviewers as well as through never-before-seen footage, it turns the lens on an audience of self-proclaimed misfits (including celebrities and filmmakers) who have kept The Monster Squad alive for more than thirty years. Directed by Andre Gower, who starred as Squad member Sean Crenshaw in the original movie! This special edition, loaded with new extras is must own for all the fans of The Monster Squad. 738329268237 KLSC26823BR 44664817 15.23 24.95 .17 KL STUDIO CLASSICS BLU-RAY MOVIE DOCUMENTARY 11/05/2024 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/81/4375681-3265471.jpg 2 1 N DANCE CLASSICS VOL. 1 / VARIOUS DANCE CLASSICS VOL. 1 / VARIOUS Music On Vinyl, in collaboration with Warner Music Benelux, presents the new versions of the Dance Classics series. Originally released between 1988 and 1990 as a series of CD compilations which included soul, funk, and classic-disco tracks. Dance Classics Vol. 1 includes floorfillers by Chaka Khan, Change, Sheila & B. Devotion, Sister Sledge, Zapp, Chic, Jenny Burton, Starpoint, Lace, George Benson, Sheila E. and more tracks. All songs have been newly selected, remastered and feature a broad selection of dance classics, including hidden gems and rare tracks. This collection includes full length 12'/album versions and unmixed DJ-friendly tracks. The sleeves have been updated with new, yet familiar, artwork and are instantly recognizable. Each edition also includes a 2-page insert with credits and cover photos. Dance Classics Vol. 1 is available as a limited edition on 2LP's on gold colored vinyl and includes an insert. * 180 GRAM AUDIOPHILE VINYL * INCLUDES INSERT * RETURN OF THE SEMINAL DANCE CLASSICS COMPILATION ALBUMS FROM THE EARLY EIGHTIES WITHZ FULL LENGTH DJ-FRIENDLY TRACKS * FEATURING LONG VERSIONS OF CHAKA KHAN'S 'I FEEL FOR YOU', 'THE GLOW OF LOVE' BY CHANGE, A PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED TOM MOULTON MIX OF 'SPACER' BY SHEILA & B. DEVOTION, SISTER SLEDGE'S 'LOST IN MUSIC', 'MORE BOUNCE TO THE OUNCE' BY ZAPP AND 9 MORE CLASSIC DISCO FLOORFILLERS * LIMITED EDITION ON GOLD COLORED VINYL 8719262036260 MCVL3802.1 44665463 39.75 47.98 1.09 MUSIC ON VINYL VINYL LP POP DANCE MUSIC V/A COMPILATIONS 11/01/2024 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/95/4375695-3265262.jpg 1 2 N TANKARD FOR A THOUSAND BEERS Limited eight disc (seven CDs + DVD) box set. Packaged in beer box and includes hardback book. For A Thousand Beers contains all Tankard albums which were released by Noise. Tankard was founded in 1982 and is a German thrash metal band from Frankfurt am Main. Along with Kreator, Destruction and Sodom, they are one of the Big Four of German thrash metal. Stylistically at home in thrash metal, their songs are mainly about alcohol. With Zombie Attack they released their first album in July 1986. A year later, in October 1987, followed their second album, Chemical Invasion and in 1988 The Morning After. After the first drummer, Oliver Werner, left the band and was replaced by Arnulf Tunn, the three albums were released: The Meaning of Life, Stone Cold Sober and Two-Faced. At the same time Tankard released the live album: Fat, Ugly and Live. After that the line up of the band changed again. In May 1994 Arnulf Tunn was replaced by Olaf Zissel, who still plays the drums today. One year later another founding member, Axel Katzmann, was forced to leave the band due to arthritis in his wrist. In the same year the band released The Tankard, which was their last album with Noise. 4050538705348 SACT3870534.2 44651527 46.03 71.99 .48 SANCTUARY UK COMPACT DISCS POP ROCK BOX SETS (AUDIO / VIDEO ONLY) 02/25/2022 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/80/4041480-2792550.jpg 1 8 N MY DAD'S CHRISTMAS DATE MY DAD'S CHRISTMAS DATE 810047232278 GSVS232278BR 44653958 18.28 21.99 .12 GRAVITAS VENTURES BLU-RAY MOVIE CHRISTMAS / CHANUKKAH DRAMA 01/02/2024 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/02/4374302-3362398.jpg 0 1 N BODIED BODIED Words are weapons in the world's most brutal lyrical sport. Produced by Eminem and directed by world-renowned music video director Joseph Khan, Bodied is a go-for-the-jugular, hilarious look inside the competitive world of rap battles. 812034036449 GSVS36449BR 44654214 18.28 21.99 .14 GRAVITAS VENTURES BLU-RAY MOVIE COMEDIES 02/20/2024 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/28/4374328-3645236.jpg 0 1 N SHANK,BUD BAREFOOT ADVENTURE - SEAGLASS AGUA This exclusive colored vinyl edition of Barefoot Adventure is strictly limited to just 1,500 pressings and is sure to be a collector's item after stock runs out. Impex Records is pleased to announce a new, limited-edition Seaglass Aqua HQ-180 LP of Bud Shank's very rare recording Barefoot Adventure. Featuring original compositions arranged by Shank for Bruce Brown's surf film of the same name, this is a swinging, hard-driving jazz session by six top-flight musicians at the height of their careers: Bud Shank (alto and baritone), Bob Cooper (tenor), Carmell Jones (trumpet), Dennis Budimir (guitar), Gary Peacock (bass), Shelly Manne (drums). The original Pacific Jazz recording features excellent sonics and showcases Shank at his most adventurous, playing with an advanced confidence and sophistication. Remastered and cut to lacquer by Kevin Gray from the original 1961 analog master tape, this ultimate vinyl edition of Barefoot Adventure will satiate the most demanding audiophile and jazz enthusiast alike! 856276002800 IMPX6057.1 44654405 42.25 55.98 .82 IMPEX RECORDS VINYL LP POP JAZZ 11/22/2024 https://mediacdn.aent-m.com/prod-img/500/33/4374333-3263476.jpg 0 1 N KRUTTLI ,MARIE SCORIA Following the solo piano album Transparence, released on Intakt Records in 2023, Marie Kruttli, a jazz pianist from western Switzerland who is celebrated as a young visionary and a premiere European jazz pianist whose touching, penetrating compositions make waves throughout the jazz community and beyond", now presents the trio album Scoria together with bassist Lukas Traxel and drummer Gautier Garrigue. Together they draw on a broad vocabulary ranging from classical to jazz and contemporary music, in which the studio is an instrument and post-production an ally of performance. Fresh, bold and inspiring, the trio explores every possible aspect of playing together, sometimes with chamber music transparency, sometimes dense and impetuous, and always with captivating intensity. "And in creating the feel of a live loop Kruttli's trio is fulfilling a mission to make music that skillfully straddles many borders on the way to destinations unknown. Scoria is an album created with it's own sense of time, to be heard many times over", writes Kevin Le Gendre in the liner notes.

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UNDERGODS
INTAKT RECORDS Oct 2024
CD
$18.35

Gaelic Songs for a Modern World

ARC Music

$20.99 Jul 28, 2017

Mary Ann’s unique collection of contemporary Gaelic songs reflects a lifetime of musicmaking in the Scottish traditional music world, but also a hothouse classical music training and even a brief foray running the BBC’s Gaelic news service. She and producer-musician husband Nick Turner are based in Ardgour in the Scottish West Highlands where they run their Watercolour Music studios, home to her various roles as writer, TV and radio broadcaster, choral director, producer, and performer. A chivvier, an encourager, an in-the-mix partner all her musical life, including her time with the seminal Gaelic supergroup Cliar, Mary Ann is finally stepping forward- An Dan is her debut solo album. “It’s important to any living culture that new songs are composed and performed. An Dan, from one of Gaelic music’s most talented figures, may surprise some- in the best possible way. A very classy album.” (Arthur Cormack) “Scottish singing doesn’t get much better than this. A wonderful singer and excellent choice of songs in Scottish Gaelic.” (D. W.)

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Gaelic Songs for a Modern World
ARC Music Jul 2017
CD
$20.99

Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op 10, No 1, 2 & 3 / Mari Kodama

PENTATONE

SACD

$16.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 20% Mar 29, 2011

BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas , op. 10/1–3 • Mari Kodama (pn) • PENTATONE 5186 377 (SACD: 59:20)

This is the latest installment of a cycle-in-progress (though new to me) by Mari Kodama, a Japanese student of Nikolayeva and Brendel. Her playing is impressive in its refinement and control, if occasionally a little predictable. The three op. 10s make for a satisfying program, though they’re curiously presented in reverse order here (Beethoven’s own is more logical, with the biggest, most ambitious work placed last).

No. 1 in C Minor goes well, with few surprises. Kodama generally lets the outer movements speak for themselves—straight, incisive, dramatic, forceful, with effective lyrical contrasts. Tension is well maintained, with a convincing sense of real performance (vs. a recording-studio run-through). The Adagio is straightforward, perhaps to a fault—here I miss the imaginative flexibility and expressive depths others bring to the music (e.g., Schiff/ECM, Lewis/Harmonia Mundi, or the recently reviewed Ohlsson/Bridge and Ehlen/Azica). The recorded sound of her Steinway is rich, resonant, and close, but a little “plummy” for my taste, with a pronounced resonant overhang. Her playing is certainly not over-pedaled, but a real staccato articulation is in short supply.

This is a bigger drawback in the first movement of No. 2 in F where, for all the poise and polish, Beethoven’s numerous injunctions to very short articulations (e.g., at the beginning, bars 38 ff., and 47 ff.) are rarely effectively realized. The development has a slightly stolid feel (the second repeat is observed). The F-Minor Allegretto is taken slowly, to rather dour effect, with (for my taste) an insufficient variety of texture and attack; the Presto finale is kept well under control at a moderate tempo. In the last resort, I find this all a little too uneventful.

The big D Major receives the most consistently satisfying performance of the three. The opening Presto is richly varied, supple and sinuous, with an exciting surging momentum. The Largo e mesto is all dark, glinting marble, and in this instance the finale finds her relishing the music’s wide-ranging phrase and textural discontinuities.

So, a slightly mixed bag. But there’s much playing of real distinction here, and anyone wanting a high-quality version of the three op. 10s in state-of-the-art sound won’t go wrong. For the general collector, perhaps not a first choice (see alternatives mentioned above), but I’ll be keeping this in my collection, and can see returning to the first and third sonatas.

FANFARE: Boyd Pomeroy

This is a hybrid Super Audio CD playable on both regular and Super Audio CD players.

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Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Op 10, No 1, 2 & 3 / Mari Kodama
PENTATONE Mar 2011
SACD
~~$21.99~~ $16.99

Mary Preston - In Concert!
Gothic Jan 2009
CD
$18.99

Britten: The Rape Of Lucretia / Ainsley, Boylan, Bayley, Melrose, Maltman [blu-ray]

Opus Arte

Blu-Ray

$45.99 Jan 28, 2014

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Benjamin Britten
THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Lucretia – Sarah Connolly
Tarquinius – Christopher Maltman
Bianca – Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Lucia – Mary Nelson
Junius – Leigh Melrose
Collatinus – Clive Bayley
Female Chorus – Orla Boylan
Male Chorus – John Mark Ainsley

English National Opera Orchestra
Paul Daniel, conductor

David McVicar, stage director

Recorded live at the Aldeburgh Festival, The Maltings, Snape, 2001

Bonus:
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 120 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

R E V I E W: 3761210.az_BRITTEN_Rape_Lucretia_Paul.html
BRITTEN The Rape of Lucretia • Paul Daniel, cond; Sarah Connolly (Lucretia); Christopher Maltman (Tarquinius); John Mark Ainsley (Male Chorus); Orla Boylan (Female Chorus); Clive Bayley (Collatinus); Leigh Melrose (Junius); Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Bianca); Mary Nelson (Lucia); O of the English Natl Op • OPUS ARTE 7135 (Blu-ray: 120:00) Live: Aldeburgh 6/2001

Premiered at Glyndebourne in July of 1946, The Rape of Lucretia was Britten’s first stage work after Peter Grimes, and the first he called a “chamber opera.” It was composed for just eight singers and a chamber ensemble of 12 instrumentalists, but a good performance of Lucretia packs at least as much of an emotional wallop as Peter Grimes or Billy Budd, and this performance is indeed a good one. A mood of dread and tense expectation is established in the opening scene for the Roman generals—Collatinus, Junius, and the depraved Tarquinius—that hardly lets up for the entire work. Four of the singes are truly top-notch: John Mark Ainsley and Orla Boylan as the Male and Female Chorus, Sarah Connolly in the title role, and Christopher Maltman (officially a “Barihunk,” who gets to take his shirt off for the rape scene) portraying Tarquinius. The other singers also cover their roles quite effectively. For example, the peaceful oasis in act I, scene 2, where the servants Bianca and Lucia wordlessly accompany the Female Chorus, is especially lovely.

As is frequently the case for this artist, stage director David McVicar questions, clarifies, and reconsiders. In a brief “Extra Feature,” McVicar explains that he actively rebelled against Britten’s specific instructions that the Male and Female Chorus should comment on the action, but not participate in it. Here, the two interact on stage with the other six singers, which makes the production considerably more theatrical and much less stylized. One reason, McVicar offers, is that Lucretia’s relationship with the Female Chorus can counter the typical “objectification” of the character—we can more easily understand her as something other than a sexual target. Lucretia’s costume is almost frumpish; she’s no fancier in her dress than her servants. She sports a plain, short hairstyle and wears very little jewelry. This wife of a powerful Roman general is certainly no temptress. This effort to de-glamorize the character may further confuse the already confused matter as to why Lucretia feels any sense of blame for her violation, why she won’t accept her husband’s absolution and kills herself. McVicar doesn’t seem to have much trouble with the opera’s “Christian” epilog, which was added (perhaps, it’s been said, at the urging of Peter Pears) to soften the harsh tragedy of Lucretia’s death by invoking the suffering and sacrifice of Christ. The director reminds us that the work was introduced just following World War II, when the world was attempting to come to grips with the senseless horror of the Holocaust. But a listener certainly won’t feel warm and fuzzy after the final blackout: This production maintains plenty of the moral ambiguity inherent to the score and libretto.

In keeping with the modest musical forces employed, Yannis Thavoris’s set and costume design is simple, attempting no profound commentary of its own. The recorded sound is good, with excellent detail to reveal Britten’s imaginative use of the small orchestra. Subtitle choices are English, French, German, Japanese, and Korean.

FANFARE: Andrew Quint

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Britten: The Rape Of Lucretia / Ainsley, Boylan, Bayley, Melrose, Maltman [blu-ray]
Opus Arte Jan 2014
Blu-Ray
$45.99

Gloria in Excelsis Deo - Festive Christmas Music / Ziesak, Clamor

Accentus Music

DVD

$27.99 Oct 29, 2013

From the Church of St Mary, Marienberg

Sächsische Bläserphilharmonie
(The Saxony Philharmonic Wind Orchestra)
Thomas Clamor, Conductor
Ruth Ziesak, Soprano
Rundfunk – Jugendchor Wernigerode
Peter Habermann, Chorus Master
Ensemble Sonora

TRACK LIST
1. Wolfgang Schumann: Christmas Toccata
2. Gloria in Excelsis Deo
3. George Frideric Handel: Arrival of the Queen of Sheba
4. George Frideric Handel: Let the bright Seraphim
5. George Frideric Handel: Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion
6. From Heaven above to Earth I come (trad.)
7. Richard Wagner: Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral
8. Blest Mary wanders through the thorn (trad.)
9. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Excerpts from the “Nutcracker” Suite
10. Felix Mendelssohn: Christmas / In Advent
11. Lo, how a rose e’er blooming (trad.)
12. Felix Mendelssohn: For He shall give His angels charge
13. Let us listen, blessed angels (trad.)
14. Eduard Ebel: Snow falls softly at night
15. Sweeter the bells never sound (trad.)
16. Richard Eilenberg: St Petersburg Sleigh Ride
17. Roger Harvey: Festive Cheer
18. John Francis Wade: Adeste fideles
19. Engelbert Humperdinck: Evening Prayer
20. Siegfried Köhler: A thousand stars are a cathedral
21. Franz Gruber: Silent night, holy night
22. Oh, how joyfully (trad.)

Picture Format DVD: NTSC 16:9
Sound Formats DVD: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, PCM Stereo
Region Code: 0 (worldwide)
Running Time: 84:15 min
Number of Discs: 1
Disc Format: DVD-9

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Gloria in Excelsis Deo - Festive Christmas Music / Ziesak, Clamor
Accentus Music Oct 2013
DVD
$27.99

A Britten Collection

Opus Arte

DVD

$59.99 Oct 30, 2015

Outstanding singers, conductors and directors come together in five diverse but compelling operas by Benjamin Britten. The turbulent, inward fishing community of Peter Grimes is transposed to a merciless 1980s society in Richard Jones' production. An 'outstanding' Sarah Connolly (Guardian) stars in The Rape of Lucretia, navigating the difficult tale with superb poise. Billy Budd is grippingly staged aboard the claustrophobic MS Indomitable, with Jacques Imbrailo portraying the troubled sailor in the 2010 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production by Michael Grandage. More light-hearted is the Royal Opera House staging of Gloriana, penned by Britten to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and featuring Susan Bullock as the monarch. Finally, Edward Gardner conducts the English National Opera in Deborah Warner's highly acclaimed production of Death in Venice, In which John Graham-Hall stars as the ageing Gustav von Aschenbach. These productions from some of the world's best opera houses offer five masterful performances that are an ideal way to experience Benjamin Britten's music. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.

A BRITTEN COLLECTION
(7-DVD Box Set)

PETER GRIMES

Peter Grimes - John Graham Hall

Boy - Francesco Malvuccio
Ellen Orford - Susan Gritton
Captain Balstrode - Christopher Purves
Auntie - Felicity Palmer
First Niece - Ida Falk Winland
Second Niece - Simona Mihai
Bob Boles - Peter Hoare
Swallow - Daniel Okulitch
Mrs. Sedley - Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Rev. Horace Adams - Christopher Gillett
Ned Keene - George von Bergen

Milan La Scala Chorus and Orchestra
Robin Ticciati, conductor
Richard Jones, stage director

Recorded live at the Teatro alla Scala, June 2012

THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA

Lucretia - Sarah Connolly
Tarquinius - Christopher Maltman
Bianca - Catherine Wyn-Rogers
Lucia - Mary Nelson
Junius - Leigh Melrose
Collatinus - Clive Bayley
Female Chorus - Orla Boylan
Male Chorus - John Mark Ainsley

English National Opera Orchestra
Paul Daniel, conductor

David McVicar, stage director

Recorded live at the Aldeburgh Festival, The Maltings, Snape, 2001

BILLY BUDD

Captain Vere - John Mark Ainsley
Billy Budd - Jacques Imbrailo
Claggart - Phillip Ens
Mr. Redburn - Iain Paterson
Mr. Flint - Matthew Rose
Lieutenant Ratcliffe - Darren Jeffery
Red Whiskers - Alasdair Elliott
Donald - John Moore
Dansker - Jeremy White
Novice - Ben Johnson
Squeak - Colin Judson
Bosun - Richard Mosley-Evans

Glyndebourne Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Mark Elder, conductor
Michael Grandage, stage director

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Opera House, 8 and 11 June 2010

GLORIANA

Queen Elizabeth I - Susan Bullock
Earl of Essex - Toby Spence
Countess of Essex - Patricia Bardon
Lord Mountjoy - Mark Stone
Lady Rich - Kate Royal
Sir Robert Cecil - Jeremy Carpenter
Sir Walter Raleigh - Clive Bayley
Ballad Singer - Brindley Sherratt

Royal Opera Chorus
Royal Opera House Orchestra
Paul Daniel, conductor
Richard Jones, stage director

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, June 2013

DEATH IN VENICE

Gustav von Aschenbach - John Graham Hall
Traveller / Elderly Fop / Gondolier / Barber / Hotel Manger / Player / Dionysus - Andrew Shore
Apollo - Tim Mead
Tadzio - Sam Zaldivar
The Polish Mother - Laura Caldow
Two Daughters - Mia Angelina Mather / Xhuliana Shehu
The Governess - Joyce Henderson
Jaschiu - Marcio Teixeira

English National Opera Chorus and Orchestra
Edward Gardner, conductor
Deborah Warner, stage director

Recorded live at the London Coliseum, June 2013

---

Bonus:
- Cast gallery (all)
- Introduction to the opera (Billy Budd, Gloriana)
- Introduction to the designs (Billy Budd)
- Interviews with the cast and crew (Peter Grimes)
- Comments from the director (The Rape of Lucretia)
- Britten’s Aldeburgh (Gloriana)

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: DTS 5.1 (all) / + LPCM 2.0 (The Rape of Lucretia, Billy Budd, Gloriana) / + Dolby Digital 2.0 (Peter Grimes, Death in Venice)
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Audio Language: English
Menu Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German (all) + Japanese (Peter Grimes, The Rape of Lucretia, Gloriana) + Korean (Death in Venice) / + Spanish (Billy Budd)
Running time: 13 hrs 10 mins (opera) + 27 mins (bonus)
No. of DVDs: 7 (DVD 9)

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A Britten Collection
Opus Arte Oct 2015
DVD
$59.99

Dreamer - Original Soundtrack

Sony Masterworks

$11.98 Oct 18, 2005

Track Listing
1. Dreamer, film score: Theme from Dreamer
2. Dreamer, film score: The Stand Off - 1st Ride
3. Dreamer, film score: First Race
4. Dreamer, film score: Ben Asks Pop For Help
5. Dreamer, film score: Soñador in Harness
6. Dreamer, film score: Popsicles
7. Dreamer, film score: Manny's Story
8. Dreamer, film score: Testing Soñador's Leg
9. Dreamer, film score: 2nd Ride - Thunderpants
10. Dreamer, film score: Runaway Horse
11. Dreamer, film score: Exercising Soñador
12. Dreamer, film score: The Noble King
13. Dreamer, film score: New Owner Montage
14. Dreamer, film score: Training Montage
15. Dreamer, film score: Smart and Beautiful
16. Dreamer, film score: Soñador Chosen
17. Dreamer, film score: Cale Won't Sell Soñador
18. Dreamer, film score: Leaving Sadir's
19. Dreamer, film score: She's Ready to Run
20. Dreamer, film score: She Wants to Race
21. Dreamer, film score: Last Race
22. Dreamer, film score: End Credit Medley
23. Dreamer, song (for the film Dreamer) - (Film Mix)
24. Dreamer, film score: Main Title (Film Version)
25. Dreamer, song (for the film Dreamer)

Composer: John Debney.

Personnel: John Debney (acoustic guitar); Weldon Dean Parks (guitar); George Doering (acoustic guitar, dulcimer); Dean Parks (acoustic guitar, mandola); Gayle Levant (harp); Eun Mee Ahn, Assa Drori, Al Hershberger, Ron Folsom, Irina Voloshina, Anatoly Rosinsky, Katia Popov, Tamara L. Hatwan, Robin Olson, Mark Sazer, Ana Landauer, Barbara Porter, Ken Yerke, Phillip Levy, Rene Mandel, Sungil Lee, Eric J. Hosler, Jay Rosen, Kevin Connolly, Lisa Sutton, Mark Robertson , Sid Page, Joshua Bell, Jacqueline Brand, Roberto Cani, Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Peter Kent, Natalie Leggett, Sara Parkins, Roger Wilkie, Armen Garabedian, Darius Campo, Michael Markman, Liane Mautner, Dimitrie Leivici, Berj Garabedian, Endre Granat, Haim Shtrum (violin); Shawn Mann, Andrew Picken, Karie Prescott, Steven Gordon, Carrie Holzman-Little, Rick Gerding, Michael Nowak, Brian Dembow, Keith Greene, Jennie Hansen, Roland Kato, Janet Lakatos, Simon Oswell, Dave Walther, Piotr Jandula, Victoria Miskolszy, Darrin McCann, Denyse Buffum, Andrew Duckles, Shanti Randall (viola); Christina Soule, Trevor Handy, Timothy Landauer, George Kim Scholes, Dennis Karmazyn, Antony Cooke , Larry Corbett, Stephen Erdody, Armen Ksadjikian, Dane Little, David Low , Andrew Shulman, David Speltz, Sebastian Toettcher, Cecilia Tsan, Todd Hemmenway (cello); Steve Kujala, Geri Rotella, David Shostac (flute); Steve L. Roberts, Gary Bovyer (clarinet); Chris Bleth, Phil Ayling (oboe); Michael O'Donovan (bassoon); Jon Lewis , Warren Luening, Malcolm McNab (trumpet); Alvin Veeh, Alan Kaplan, Stephen Holtman (trombone); Jim Self (tuba); John A. Reynolds, David Duke, Phil Yao, Steve Becknell, Rick Todd, Brian O'Connor (horns); Richard Ruttenberg, Michael Lang , Mike Lang (piano); Alan Estes, Terrence Schonig, Tom Raney, Peter Limonick, Donald Williams (percussion).

Recording information: Todd AO Scoring Stage, Culver City, CA.

Composer John Debney (Sin City, Passion of the Christ) may seem an odd choice to score a film about a horse trainer, his precocious daughter, and their quest for the Breeder's Cup, but he rises to the occasion with a rousing piece of recycled Americana that's sure to bring a lump in the throat to even the grumpiest moviegoer. Like Mark Isham's similarly predictable score for the 2004 hockey drama Miracle, Debney represents the best of the genre, utilizing a not-so-subtle blend of soft pianos, warm strings (courtesy of Indiana-born violin wunderkind Joshua Bell), and patriotic brass motifs to paint a rural backdrop reminiscent of both Aaron Copeland's "Appalachian Spring" and The Natural-era Randy Newman. ~ James Christopher Monger

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Dreamer - Original Soundtrack
Sony Masterworks Oct 2005
CD
$11.98

Leclair: Scylla & Glaucus

Alpha

$40.99 Jan 29, 2016

Jean-Marie Leclair, a pure product of the 18th century, was at the crossroads of styles, cultivating a virtuosic art combining melodies à la française and Italian virtuosity stemming from Corelli and Vivaldi. He was 49 when he undertook his first (and only) lyric tragedy: Scylla et Glaucus. A veritable masterpiece, revealing the obvious influence of Rameau, Scylla et Glaucus left a strong mark on French opera. First performed at the Académie Royale de Musique in 1746, this opera, which had a run of 17 performances and enjoyed great success, was only rediscovered in the 1980s (by John Eliot Gardiner in Lyon).

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Leclair: Scylla & Glaucus
Alpha Jan 2016
CD
$40.99

Chopin Nocturnes

Evil Penguin

$16.99 Sep 05, 2025

Chopin's nocturnes are widely regarded as some of the finest works for solo piano and continue to hold a prominent place in today's concert repertoire. He composed 21 of them between 1827 and 1846, and they have become a cen- tral part of the repertoire. Many of his compositions began as improvisations - musical ideas discovered at the piano and later carefully crafted into written works. There is so much more to say about it - but for me, it was partially through studying and playing it over time that I have come to understand it better. From the beginning, the goal was never to just record these nocturnes. I wanted to learn and grow as a pianist and mostly as a musician. I wanted to understand how to shape storytelling at the instrument, to create a musical narrative through phrasing, colour, timing, and silence. And there is no better repertoire to explore that with, than with these nocturnes. - Marie Francois

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Chopin Nocturnes
Evil Penguin Sep 2025
CD
$16.99

Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos / Isokoski, Claycomb, Allen, Jurowski, London Philharmonic [blu-ray]

Opus Arte

Blu-Ray

$45.99 Jul 29, 2014

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Director Katharina Thoma sets Richard Strauss’ comedy in a country house in the South Downs (a surrogate for Glyndebourne), immediately before and during the Second World War. Hofmannsthals’ conceit—that a hapless young composer has to accept the simultaneous performance of his new tragic opera with a burlesque from a commedia dell’arte troupe—is turned into a touching wartime drama of nurses, invalids and airmen, and of painful delusions and soul searching, before final happiness.

ACCLAIM
“Everything fits superbly and the production captures the fragility of happiness and the undertow of melancholy better than any I can remember. The mellow glow of the LPO under Vladimir Jurowski’s sensitive baton complements the vision perfectly, while a fine cast enhances the pleasure. Soile Isokoski is superb as Ariadne…” – The Evening Standard

“Conductor Vladimir Jurowski ends his 13-year reign as music director by drawing sumptuous Straussian playing from the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In 40 years of watching Ariadne, the opera has never moved me more.” – The Daily Mail

Richard Strauss
ARIADNE AUF NAXOS

Ariadne / Prima Donna - Soile Isokoski
Zerbinetta - Laura Claycomb
Bacchus / Tenor - Sergey Skorokhodov
Music Master - Thomas Allen
Composer - Kate Lindsey
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Vladimir Jurowski, conductor
Katharina Thoma, stage director
Julia Müer, set designer
Irina Bartels, costume designer
Olaf Winter, lighting designer

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Lewes, March 2013

Bonus:
- When Two Worlds Collide
- Thomas Allen at Glyndebourne
- Vladimir Jurowski on his final production as Music Director
- Cast gallery

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM 2. 0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Korean
Running time: 121 mins (opera) + 21 mins (bonus)
No. of Discs: 1 (blu-ray)

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Strauss: Ariadne Auf Naxos / Isokoski, Claycomb, Allen, Jurowski, London Philharmonic [blu-ray]
Opus Arte Jul 2014
Blu-Ray
$45.99

Par amour

Alpha

$20.99 Feb 14, 2025

Love is the common thread running through this first recorded recital by soprano Vannina Santoni; it's also an opportunity to look back over her fifteen-year career, through her leading roles, alongside her favourite musicians. With the help of the Orchestre National de Lille and Quebecois conductor Jean-Marie Zeitouni, she places her sensual voice at the service of famous operatic arias featuring the amorous heroines of Gounod, Massenet, Puccini ('O mio babbino caro'), Catalini ('Ne andro' from La Wally) and Verdi (Desdemona's poignant 'Ave Maria' from Otello). The programme also includes a rare but sublime aria from Franco Alfano's Tolstoy-inspired opera Risurrezione (1904), as well as the magnificent 'Saint-Sulpice' duet from Massenet's Manon, with tenor Julien Dran. Finally, Vannina Santoni pays homage to her Corsican roots with a new orchestration of the lullaby 'O Ciucciarella' that Corsican mothers have sung to their children for generations.

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Par amour
Alpha Feb 2025
CD
$20.99

Britten, Canteloube: Vocal Works / Eriksmoen, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic

Chandos

SACD

$10.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 50% Nov 05, 2021

Norwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen is undoubtedly a rising star at the moment, following successful appearances at the Opéra-Comique in Paris, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Oper Frankfurt, Komische Oper Berlin, and Teatro alla Scala in Milan. On the concert stage she has made recent important appearances with the Orchestre de Paris, Berliner Philharmoniker, Oslo Philharmonic, and Münchner Philharmoniker among others. Here she joins the Bergen Philharmonic and Edward Gardner for a powerful album of orchestral songs, coupling Britten’s Les Illuminations and Four French Songs with a selection of Cantaloube’s inimitable Songs of the Auvergne. Eriksmoen spent a year studying in Paris, and proves an effective and natural singer of the French language. As she mentions in her program note: ‘It is highly demanding to sing in French when it is not one’s native tongue, but I have always felt at home when singing in French and nurture an emotional attachment to the French language.’

REVIEWS:

One cannot can’t praise Eriksmoen enough for the accuracy of her singing, its tonal beauty, and her absorption in the text. There are running passages, exposed intervals, and those chromatic steps to contend with. She faces every challenge with ease.

-- Fanfare

In Britten’s Les illuminations, the generally belllike accuracy of Norwegian soprano Mari Eriksmoen’s singing is more than matched by the expressive truth of her interpretations. She is most beguiling when floating her voice weightlessly and with a serene joie de vivre in ‘Antique’, perfectly partnered by the lovely violin playing of the Bergen Philharmonic leader Melina Mandozzi.

-- BBC Music Magazine

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Britten, Canteloube: Vocal Works / Eriksmoen, Gardner, Bergen Philharmonic
Chandos Nov 2021
SACD
~~$21.99~~ $10.99

Seven Come Eleven - A Gaming Gambol

Sony Masterworks

$8.99 ~~$17.99~~ Save 50% Jul 01, 2013

"The merriest ninety minutes in the town's night life." -- The New Yorker

"There isn't a gayer, wittier or subtler cabaret show in town than 'Seven Come Eleven'... The enterprising Julius Monk has again assembled a group of six versatile performers, furnished them with material from about a dozen bright song-and-sketch writers and mounted the whole thing with fluency and verve." -- Arthur Gelb, The New York Times [10/9/1961]

Seven Come Eleven - A Gaming Gambol

With Philip Bruns, Ceil Cabot, Rex Robbins, Steve Roland, Donna Sanders, Mary Louise Wilson.

William Roy and Carl Norman at the plural pianos.

Musical and vocal arrangements by William Roy.

It all began (way back in 1956) in a dark, dank cellar, located beneath an ancient brownstone on New York City’s Sixth Avenue. It was here that Julius Monk, with a few yards of velvet and a handful of performers, presented his first subterranean sensation, Four Below. Notwithstanding some mild competition from a musical called My Fair Lady and an occasional attack of bends, Four Below romped happily through a six-month run. It was followed, quite naturally, by The Son of Four Below (1956) and, in time, Take Five (1957), the latter fondly recalled as a classic nightclub entertainment.

By 1958, The Downstairs Room was firmly established as a favorite late-night spot for New Yorkers on the town. But the tranquility at 51st Street and Sixth Avenue was disturbed by the ominous approach of demolition squads, which looked jealously at a street corner that they hadn’t yet battered down. It was not long before Julius and his companions were homeless, as The Downstairs Room was politely removed in the name of architectural progress. Vagrants for but a trice, they moved to West 56th Street, where they took up permanent residence in a congenial mansion formerly owned by John Wanamaker. There, Take Five took its second wind and was later followed by Demi-Dozen (1958), Pieces of Eight (1959), Dressed to the Nines (1960) and now Seven Come Eleven, which opened to rave notices on October 5, 1961. Dorothy Kilgallen expressed the attitude of the critics by referring to Seven Come Eleven as “the wittiest cafe show in town.”

Aware that there still may be one or two people who have not yet seen a Julius Monk opus, we offer the following description. It is New York at night. Taxicabs wind perilously in and out of traffic, along glittering, noisy avenues. Soon they drive up an attractive, quiet side street, lined with shops in remodeled town houses and stop in front of a canopied entrance that announces “Upstairs at the Downstairs.” A uniformed doorman greets the couples arriving from Broadway shows or late dinners and ushers them inside to join a crowd waiting to ascend the circular marble staircase leading to the Upstairs Room, where the show is about to go on.

The Upstairs Room, formerly the sitting room of the mansion, is lined with rich, red fabric and softly lighted by glowing globes from the last century. Visitors are seated at little tables, and soon the lights dim. Suddenly, a half dozen bright, young Thespians leap onto the tiny stage at one end of the room. Accompanied by twin pianos, they spend the next hour and a half singing songs and performing sketches which touch upon just about every event in the newspapers, every phobia in the textbooks, and every celebrity in the history of the world. Seven Come Eleven, for example, contains hilarious spoofs on the John Birch Society, the Peace Corps, sick comedians, Cuban highjacking of airplanes and other topics close to the hearts of New Yorkers: school scandals and the construction of a new hotel designed in typical Miami Beach fashion. If all this sounds terribly, terribly sophisticated, it should be pointed out at once that the performers in this show come from such remote spots as Pipestone, Minnesota; Pierre, South Dakota; Eldred, Pennsylvania, and Greenville, Texas.

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Seven Come Eleven - A Gaming Gambol
Sony Masterworks Jul 2013
CD
~~$17.99~~ $8.99

Berlioz: Les Troyens / Gergiev, Matos, Viviani, Ryan, Cutler, Milling [Blu-ray]

C Major Entertainment

Blu-Ray

$45.99 Jun 28, 2011

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Hector Berlioz
LES TROYENS

Énée – Lance Ryan
Chorèbe – Gabriele Viviani
Panthée – Giorgio Giuseppini
Narbal – Stephen Milling
Iopas – Eric Cutler
Ascagne – Oksana Shilova
Cassandre – Elisabete Matos
Didon – Daniele Barcellona
Anna – Zlata Bulycheva

Valencia Regional Government Choir (Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana)
Valencian Community Orchestra (Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana)
Valery Gergiev, conductor

La Fura dels Baus, staging
Carlus Padrissa, stage director
Ronald Olbeter, stage designer
Peter van Praet, lighting designer
Chu Uroz, costume designer

Recorded live from the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofia”, Valencia, Spain, 2009.

Bonus:
- The making of Les Troyens

Picture format: 1080p High Definition
Sound format: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish, Chinese, Korean
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 240 mins (opera) + 21 mins (documentary)
No. of Discs: 2

"Ancient myth meets Star Wars, and the eye is constantly engaged with images ranging from space-age technology to details of soccer uniforms." The New York Times

"This is a worthy and compelling, glittering version of a sublime work." International Herald Tribune

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Berlioz: Les Troyens / Gergiev, Matos, Viviani, Ryan, Cutler, Milling [Blu-ray]
C Major Entertainment Jun 2011
Blu-Ray
$45.99

Mozart: Sonata K 448; Schubert: Fantasia / Perahia, Lupu

Sony Masterworks

$11.98 Sep 20, 2011

Murray Perahia and Radu Lupu first teamed up on disc in 1984 with the Mozart D major sonata and Schubert Fantasia, setting benchmark standards for sharply honed and tonally cultivated piano ensemble playing. The gorgeous engineering gains warmth and amplitude in this new transfer for Sony's Masterworks Expanded Edition series. Likewise, the not-inconsiderable Mozart-Busoni and unhyphenated Mozart fillers yield sonic improvement. My list of all the wonderful things that transpire through the pianists' sublimely synchronized fingers, minds, and hearts would take longer to read than for you to listen to this disc all the way through.

Where do I start? The effortless, impeccably calibrated runs tossing back and forth in the Mozart sonata's first movement? The exquisitely scaled dynamics, acute harmonic and linear cogency, and split-second timing of transitions and phrase endings in the Schubert? Or the pianists' mutual sixth sense for divining perfect tempos? Two-piano mavens familiar with Busoni's retooling of the Mozart F minor Fantasia for Mechanical Organ will notice that Perahia and Lupu rightly restore passages from Mozart's original score that Busoni cut (notably in the finale). If you love the piano, you need this disc. [2/21/2004]
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com Reviewing Sony 93015

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Mozart: Sonata K 448; Schubert: Fantasia / Perahia, Lupu
Sony Masterworks Sep 2011
CD
$11.98

Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 4

Chandos

SACD

$16.99 ~~$21.99~~ Save 20% Mar 14, 2025

Edward Gardner's Schubert cycle concludes with the 'Great' Symphony No. 9 in C major. Having (remarkably) composed a symphony a year between 1813 and 1818, the onset of syphilis and it's intrusive treatment seemed to shake the composer's confidence as a symphonist - the Ninth is the only symphony after those first six that he actually completed. This is attributed by many to a wonderful holiday with friends in the high Austrian Alps that seems to have re-ignited his enthusiasm. The nickname 'Great' may originally have arisen to distinguish it from the 'little' C major Symphony (No. 6), but is apt, as the Ninth is on so much greater a scale than any symphony before it, which can run to almost an hour in some performances. The soprano Mary Bevan joins Edward Gardner and the CBSO in a selection of orchestral songs that complete the album. One was orchestrated by Schubert himself, the others are settings by Britten, Berlioz, Brahms, and Reger.

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Schubert: Symphonies, Vol. 4
Chandos Mar 2025
SACD
~~$21.99~~ $16.99

Berlioz: Les Troyens / Gergiev, Matos, Viviani, Ryan, Cutler, Milling

C Major Entertainment

DVD

$42.99 Jun 28, 2011

Also available on Blu-ray

Hector Berlioz
LES TROYENS

Énée – Lance Ryan
Chorèbe – Gabriele Viviani
Panthée – Giorgio Giuseppini
Narbal – Stephen Milling
Iopas – Eric Cutler
Ascagne – Oksana Shilova
Cassandre – Elisabete Matos
Didon – Daniele Barcellona
Anna – Zlata Bulycheva

Valencia Regional Government Choir (Cor de la Generalitat Valenciana)
Valencian Community Orchestra (Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana)
Valery Gergiev, conductor

La Fura dels Baus, staging
Carlus Padrissa, stage director
Ronald Olbeter, stage designer
Peter van Praet, lighting designer
Chu Uroz, costume designer

Recorded live from the Palau de les Arts “Reina Sofia”, Valencia, Spain, 2009.

Bonus:
- The making of Les Troyens

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: French, English, German, Spanish, Chinese, Korean
Booklet notes: English, German, French
Running time: 240 mins (opera) + 21 mins (documentary)
No. of DVDs: 2 (DVD 9)

"Ancient myth meets Star Wars, and the eye is constantly engaged with images ranging from space-age technology to details of soccer uniforms." The New York Times

"This is a worthy and compelling, glittering version of a sublime work." International Herald Tribune

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Berlioz: Les Troyens / Gergiev, Matos, Viviani, Ryan, Cutler, Milling
C Major Entertainment Jun 2011
DVD
$42.99

Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame / Didyk, Magee, Boder [blu-ray]

Opus Arte

Blu-Ray

$39.99 Jul 26, 2011

Note: This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky
PIQUE DAME
(Blu-ray Disc Version)

Hermann – Misha Didyk
Liza – Emily Magee
Count Tomsky – Lado Ataneli
Prince Yeletsky – Ludovic Tézier
Polina – Elena Zaremba
Countess – Ewa Podles
Chaplitsky – Mikhaïl Vekua
Chekalinsky – Francisco Vas
Masha – Claudia Schneider

Escolania de Montserrat
Intermezzo Choir
Liceu Grand Theatre Chorus and Orchestra
Michael Boder, conductor

Gilbert Deflo, stage director

Recorded live from the Gran Teatre del Liceu, 2010.

Picture format: 1080i High Definition
Sound format: LPCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Catalan
Running time: 183 mins
No. of Discs: 1 (Blu-ray)

---------

3534570.az_TCHAIKOVSKY_Pique_Dame_Michael.html

TCHAIKOVSKY Pique Dame • Michael Boder, cond; Emily Magee ( Lisa ); Elena Zaremba ( Pauline/Milovzor ); Ewa Podle? ( Countess ); Misha Didyk ( Hermann ); Ludovic Tézier ( Yeletsky ); Lado Ataneli ( Tomsky ); Liceu Th Ch & O • OPUS ARTE OA BD 7085D (Blu-ray: 180:00) Live: Barcelona 06/30–07/01/2010

Generally speaking, the failure rate for opera performances on DVD is far higher than for CDs; they tend to preserve inept to ludicrous stagings saddled with mediocre to intolerable voices. Consequently, it is always a special treat to review an opera DVD that squarely hits the mark with a first-rate production and singing. Last issue I had the pleasure of doing that with the marvelous Glyndebourne realization of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd , and now have the privilege of following it with this excellent version of Pique Dame , a first-rate performance of Tchaikovsky’s late operatic masterwork that not only assumes pride of place among versions available on DVD but holds its own with the best versions on CD as well. It presents a thoroughly traditional staging, more lavish than the 1983 Bolshoi version under Yuri Simonov on Kultur, more focused than the 1992 Kirov production led by Valery Gergiev on Philips (given a mixed review by James Camner in Fanfare 26:3), and free from the occasional miscalculations of the 1992 Glyndebourne version conducted by Andrew Davis on Arthaus, or the perverse 2005 Paris production led by Gennady Rozhdestvensky on TDK and Arthaus (properly damned by Henry Fogel in 31:4). Costumes and sets are elegant, stylish, and free from eccentricity (for example, references to madness and death are effectively but unobtrusively made at key moments by the simple use of a black curtain); stage movements, especially the choral scenes, are well managed.

The singing, while not peerless, is extremely solid. The ancient Greek mathematician Eratosthenes was affectionately nicknamed “beta” by his peers for being an excellent second-best in many things but not the best in any one thing. A similar observation applies to the casting here; while in almost any given role one can find a superior singer elsewhere, no other production on DVD except the Kirov possesses a comparably uniform degree of high quality throughout, and the minor caveats that I note are inconsequential in comparison to the impressive whole. The top honors go to tenor Misha Didyk as the tormented Hermann; if his voice is not as weighty in its lower register or as tormented as that of Vladimir Galouzine for Rozhdestvensky, it has a steadier (if occasionally stressed) top, plus more body and variety in tone than Gegam Grigorian for Gergiev and more cultivated vocal technique than Vladimir Atlantov in his various performances, while he sings as expressively as any of them. An added advantage is that he looks the part perfectly, with a virile, well-built physique, ruggedly handsome features, and fine head of blond hair.

As Lisa, Emily Magee does not have the Slavic timbre and edge of Maria Guleghina under Gergiev (some may consider that an asset), the occasional top note is a tad strained, and she does not blend ideally with Didyk in their duets. However, her Russian is quite good, her voice is attractive and steady, and she sings and acts with conviction. As Tomsky, Lado Atanelli has a slight spread in his upper register, but not to a degree that is distracting, and he plays his role convincingly. (He also doubles as Zlatogor/Plutus in the ballet sequence, where he is vocally miscast.) Ludovic Tézier has made a specialty role of Yeletsky; his singing here is suitably warm and gentlemanly, and superior to his effort in the 2005 Paris production, though a slight degree of strain at the very top makes one yearn in his lovely act II aria “Ya vas lyublyu” for the gloriously effortless magic of Pavel Lisitsian (though of course such a voice comes along only once or twice a century). Thankfully, for once the role of the Countess is satisfactorily cast with the famed Polish contralto Ewa Podle? instead of an aged mezzo whose voice went to seed a decade or two before. The Surin (Alberto Feria), Chekalinsky (Francisco Vas), and Prilepa/Daphnis (Michelle Marie Cook) are all quite good; the only failings are in the minor supporting roles of Pauline and Milovzar/Chloë, where Elena Zaremba has a jackhammer Slavic wobble, and Lisa’s maid Masha wields a squally soprano in her few lines. The chorus is excellent; the orchestra starts out sounding a bit thin but soon warms to its task. Conductor Michael Boder guides the forces with a sure hand, ably shaping the lyrical passages with flowing warmth and the dramatic ones with tension and power.

Subtitles are provided in an impressive array of languages: English, French, German, Spanish, and Catalan; however, they are rather small and sometimes difficult to read, especially when the background is light. The recorded sound is entirely satisfactory; the only extra feature is a cast gallery. While not absolutely flawless, this performance is enthusiastically recommended, and is an outside candidate for the 2012 Want List.

Of competing versions on DVD, the 1992 Gergiev and 1983 Simonov performances are worthwhile if visually somewhat inferior alternatives. Both the Davis and Rozhdestvensky versions, particularly the former, suffer from lethargic conducting as well as problematic stagings, and the Davis is also marred by the horribly miscalculated decision of Yuri Marusin to portray the madness of Hermann by singing most of his role deliberately out of tune. Completely out of the running is the 1992 Vienna production on Sony, led by Seiji Ozawa, afflicted by severe cuts and a cast of vocally over-the-hill former stars. I have not seen the 1960 film version issued by Kultur, with actors lip-synching the vocal roles of a Bolshoi Opera cast of soloists led by Yevgeny Svetlanov. I have an off-the-air recording of Elijah Moshinsky’s 1999 Metropolitan Opera production with Plácido Domingo; if not as visually opulent as this production it is musically superb, and one hopes that the Met will soon release it commercially. On CD, out of several adequate to strong contenders I would recommend three: the 1999 recording on the Relief label with Vitaly Tarashschenko, Natalia Datsko, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Grigory Gritsuk, Alexander Verdernikov, and Irina Arkhipova under Vladimir Fedoseyev; the 1992 Kirov/Gergiev performance in its CD incarnation with Grigorian, Guleghina, Arkhipova, Nikolai Putiin, Vladimir Chernov, and Olga Borodina; and the historic 1949–50 Bolshoi production with Georg Nelepp, Evgeniya Smolenskaya, Pavel Lisitsian, and Alexei Ivanov under Alexander Melik-Pasheyev, an excellent version worth acquiring for Lisitsian alone.

FANFARE: James A. Altena

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Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame / Didyk, Magee, Boder [blu-ray]
Opus Arte Jul 2011
Blu-Ray
$39.99

Lokumbe: Can You Hear God Crying / Brosse, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia

Naxos AudioVisual

DVD

$10.49 ~~$20.99~~ Save 50% Nov 11, 2014

Hannibal Lokumbe
CAN YOU HEAR GOD CRYING?
A Spiritatorio

Janice Chandler-Eteme, soprano
Rodrick Dixon, tenor
Paula Holloway, vocals
Homayun Sakhi, rubâb
Alyn E. Waller, readings

The Celebration Choir
(chorus master: J. Donald Dumpson)
The Music Liberation Orchestra
Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Dirk Brossé, conductor

Recorded at Verizon Hall, Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia, United States, 21 September 2012
Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: PCM Stereobr
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: Englishbr
Running time: 71 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 5)

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Lokumbe: Can You Hear God Crying / Brosse, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia
Naxos AudioVisual Nov 2014
DVD
~~$20.99~~ $10.49

Glass: The Perfect American / Purves, Pittsinger, Davies, Teatro Real

Opus Arte

DVD

$40.99 Oct 29, 2013

Also available on Blu-ray

The last days of the American icon Walt Disney form a powerful and poignant subject for Philip Glass's latest opera, which was filmed at its first performances in Madrid in January 2013. Phelim McDermott's spectacular production is worthy of Disney's own visual imagination and its definitive influence on American culture, while in the pit is the conductor Dennis Russell Davies, an experienced and authoritative champion of the composer's hypnotically beautiful music, which gives wings to Rudy Wurlitzer's operatic transformation of Peter Stephan Jungk's novel, using both fact and fiction to peer into Disney's troubled psyche as illness forces him to confront his mortality.

What the press said: ''...one of the crowning events of the past year's globe-trotting celebration of Mr. Glass's 75th birthday.'' The New York Times
Philip Glass
THE PERFECT AMERICAN

Walt Disney – Christopher Purves
Roy – David Pittsinger
Dantine – Donald Kaasch
Hazel George – Janis Kelly
Lillian Disney – Marie McLaughlin
Sharon – Sarah Tynan
Diane – Nazan Fikret
Lucy / Josh – Rosie Lomas

The Improbable Skills Ensemble
Madrid Teatro Real Chorus and Orchestra
Dennis Russell Davies, conductor

Phelim McDermott, stage director

Recorded live from the Teatro Real, Madrid, February 2013

Bonus:
- Cast gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish, Japanese, Korean
Running time: 120 mins
No. of DVD: 1

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Glass: The Perfect American / Purves, Pittsinger, Davies, Teatro Real
Opus Arte Oct 2013
DVD
$40.99

Donizetti: Don Pasquale / Mazzola, Corbelli, De Niese, Borchev, Shrader, Platt

Opus Arte

DVD

$40.99 May 27, 2014

Also available on Blu-ray

Gaetano Donizetti
DON PASQUALE

Don Pasquale – Alessandro Corbelli
Norina – Danielle de Niese
Malatesta – Nikolay Borchev
Ernesto – Alek Shrader
A Notary – James Platt
Servant – Anna-Marie Sullivan

Glyndebourne Chorus
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Enrique Mazzola, conductor

Mariame Clément, stage director

Recorded live at the Glyndebourne Festival, 2013

Bonus:
- Behind the Curtain
- Danielle de Niese introduction
- Staging the Opera
- Cast gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Subtitles: English, French, German, Korean
Running time: 128 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

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Donizetti: Don Pasquale / Mazzola, Corbelli, De Niese, Borchev, Shrader, Platt
Opus Arte May 2014
DVD
$40.99

Laks: Quartets Nos. 3, 4 & 5 / Duczmal, Duczmal-Mróz, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio

DUX

$21.99 Apr 29, 2022

“I spent [...] almost three years in Oświęcim and my biographies, both the psychical and musical ones, could not resist the influence of what I saw and experienced there. [...] It was hard to return to a normal life, like to an interesting book which one stops just in the middle. Much water was to run under the bridge before it all settled somehow and before composing made sense to me again” – said Szymon Laks (1901‑1983) in an interview of Tadeusz Kaczyński for “Ruch Muzyczny” (21/1964). The number 49543 in the Auschwitz‑Birkenau concentration camp, an outstanding composer, violinist, writer, a passionate linguist and translator, admitted that it was music that saved his life: in the extermination camp where he was from 1942 to 1944, he was a kapellmeister, musician, and copyist of the male orchestra. It was also there that he arranged and performed together with instrumentalists‑prisoners Three Warsaw Polonaises by an unknown author from the 18th century for a chamber orchestra. They were found by accident and published by the Polish Music Publishing House already in 1950 and became the first published camp music literature.

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Laks: Quartets Nos. 3, 4 & 5 / Duczmal, Duczmal-Mróz, Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio
DUX Apr 2022
CD
$21.99

George Sand et la nature - Lettres, contes, pensees

Frémeaux

$32.99 Jan 23, 2026

Ce recueil de textes sur la nature de George Sand, interpretes avec finesse par Marie-Christine Barrault, met en lumiere l'alliage harmonieux entre la nature, l'engagement ecologique et la modernite intemporelle de l'ecrivaine. a travers la diversite des sujets abordes et la richesse des styles, il devoile des facettes meconnues de son oeuvre prolifique. Ses ecrits sur la botanique temoignent d'une erudition remarquable en sciences naturelles, ou l'observation precise de la flore se mele a des reflexions metaphysiques empreintes de poesie. Voyageuse infatigable, elle relate ses explorations avec une curiosite profonde et un respect des ecosystemes qui traversent son ecriture. Son style litteraire, d'une elegance rare, capte les beautes de la nature et invite a une admiration emerveillee, revelant l'ame poetique d'une femme en resonance avec les enjeux de notre epoque. Claude COLOMBINI FReMEAUX This collection of George Sand's texts on nature, interpreted with finesse by Marie-Christine Barrault, highlights the writer's harmonious blend of nature, ecological commitment and timeless modernity. Through the diversity of her subjects and the richness of her styles, it reveals little-known facets of her prolific oeuvre. Her writings on botany bear witness to a remarkable erudition in the natural sciences, where precise observation of flora blends with metaphysical reflections imbued with poetry. A tireless traveler, she recounts her explorations with a deep curiosity and respect for ecosystems that run through her writing. Her literary style, with it's rare elegance, captures the beauty of nature and invites us to admire it in wonder, revealing the poetic soul of a woman in tune with the issues of our time. Audiobook, in French. Claude COLOMBINI FReMEAUX SeLECTION DES TEXTES ET MISE EN MUSIQUE PAR PATRICK SCHEYDER DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE : CLAUDE COLOMBINI

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George Sand et la nature - Lettres, contes, pensees
Frémeaux Jan 2026
CD
$32.99