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Don Pasquale is one of the few Donizetti operas that seem never to have dropped out of favor (along with Lucia, Elisir d’amore, and to a lesser extent, Fille du regiment). In today’s operatic world, when many of my colleagues find my tastes ringard (impossible to translate, with a combination of “old-fashioned” and “corny” coming closest), I can only say that this production was singularly enjoyable, following both the letter and the spirit of the work. Unlike other productions I have seen—where Norina was constantly hammering at Pasquale so that the slap went for nothing when it finally occurred, or recently where act I took place at an outdoor café with enormous crowds so that all intimacy was lost, and where Ernesto had to sing his cabaletta while brushing his teeth—everything was in its place and allowed the music to come through. Thank you, producer Stefano Vizioli... -- Joel Kasow, FANFARE

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Bel canto can be translated as "pretty singing," and that definition seems tailor-made for this production, which offers grace, charm, and a fine-tuned sense of style in abundance to compensate for its limited psychological and emotional impact. The four principal singers are all specialists in the bel canto style, and this opera has played a key role in building their substantial reputations. Their singing is more spectacular than their acting, but that is what bel canto is all about. Those who want gut-wrenching situations and passionate emoting should try the verismo style. Meanwhile, for its sweeping musical imagination and technical wizardry, Rossini's epic about royal assassination and misdirected lust in the ancient Babylonian empire deserves a place in any inclusive opera collection, and we are not likely to have a better video Semiramide recording in the foreseeable future... --Joe McLellan

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In this 25 CDs box you will find: La Traviata (1967), Il Trovatore (1970), Rigoletto (1984), Aida (1970), Simon Boccanegra (1973), Un Ballo In Maschera (1966), Otello (1960), Macbeth (1959), Ernani (1967), Luisa Miller (1964), Falstaff (1991) ,La Forza Del Destino (1964). See the news text for details.

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…It must not be easy to be Anna Netrebko. The hype surrounding her role debut as Anna Bolena last night was enormous, complete with absurdly priced scalped tickets and no fewer than three camera crews checking out the standing room line. Bless her heart, she delivered, and how! But the Wiener Staatsoper, the beneficiary of her fame and accomplice in all this hoopla, had the temerity to make her do all the work herself. Strong voices in the supporting roles failed to catch fire as Netrebko did, and Eric Génovèse’s life-suckingly dreary concert of a staging is something that any house in the world should be ashamed of...

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"... a fascinating glimpse into the history of the Salzburg Festival...The designer is Rudolf Heinrich, whose atmospheric sets cleverly suggest the different rooms in the Almaviva mansion within which Rennert, as ever, directs the work with an unforced feeling for the thoughts and actions of the Count’s scheming household and entirely without exaggeration...Berry’s then-reigning Figaro leads his eponymous opera with the confidence and exuberance of long experience in the part. His antagonist is the sturdy, impulsive Count of Wixell, obviously driven by testosterone. Both sing with absolute command of the stage and boast exemplary tone and technique with voices of properly contrasted timbre... Reri Grist’s Susanna is at once worldly-wise and quick-witted..." - Alan Blyth, GRAMOPHONE

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L’Equivoco stravagante (the curious misunderstanding) was Rossini’s first attempt at writing a two act opera. The plot is based around three characters; Ermanno, Ernestina and Buralicchio. Ermanno, who’s young and poor, loves Ernestina the daughter of Gamberotto, a wealthy farmer. However, Ernestina and her father have their eyes on Buralicchio, a young upstart who has more money than sense. To get his competition out of the way, Ermanno and a few servants hatch a plot to convince Buralicchio that Ernestina is actually a castrato, and worse, an army deserter. Ernestina is arrested, but eventually freed by Ermanno whom she then marries.

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In July 1835 Donizetti was to have staged the first of the three new operas for which he had signed a contract with the management of the San Carlo theatre; but things, as so often happens in the world of opera, did not work out as the composer had intended. The subject - Walter Scott’s The Bride of Lammermoor - had long since been chosen but the direction had not provided for having the libretto written so that it could be read and approved by the censor by the beginning of March, four months before the scheduled date of the première, as the contract stipulated. At the end of May, at the composer’s urgent bidding, the writing of the libretto was entrusted to Salvatore Cammarano, destined to become one of the composer’s favourite working partners: yet the date of the première, inevitably, had to be postponed...

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In a time when operas are often set to different contexts from the ones they were intended for, a philological production has its merits, representing both a rediscovery and a provocation. This Barbiere di Siviglia, which at first sight might appear old-fashioned, restores, in fact, to perfection the setting of an early 19th-centrury Italian theatre. It was a time when the glorious tradition of popular comedy, a direct descendant of the 16th-century "commedia dell'arte", was very much alive, and the singers entertained the audience with humour that was direct and catchy.

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...The story is a historical fiction centering on the failed assassination plot against the Roman Emperor Titus Vespasiano (Tito) by his childhood best friend Sextus (Sesto) and Sesto’s ambitious girlfriend Vitellia (whose father was killed in the power struggle that put Tito on top)... and how Tito deals with this treason. There are some complications along the way as Tito keeps getting rejected by the women he proposes marriage to; first Berenice, and then Sesto’s sister Servilia (who wants to marry Sesto’s best-friend Annio instead), before finally settling on Vitellia (after she had already set in motion the assassination attempt)...

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I will admit straightaway to being less than impressed with Sven-Eric Bechtolf´s production of Don Giovanni for the Zurich Opera. The setting is simply a 1930-50 upper-class nightclub, in which the characters enter and exit throughout the opera. Apart from being rather unaesthetic, it´s also plainly uninteresting. Yes, the characters do interact convincingly with one another, but somehow the entire affair never lifts off. Of the singers, Simon Keenlyside and especially Piotr Beczala stood out. Simon Keenlyside, by all means is a fine Don Giovanni, singing and acting far above average. That his slightly wooden-sounding baritone doensn´t entirely appeal to me, is probably less important in this context: He does indeed cut a convincing figure on stage...

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This recording of Mozart's first German opera The Abduction From The Seraglio is also on another box set/label and has been re-issued for Deutsche Grammophone, the world's greatest classical music and opera label. The Brit Sir Jon Elio Gardiner conducts at a brisk, lively pace (too fast for some folks) and the principal singers sing with excellent German diction and in the traditional Singspiel style but lack a je ne sais quai to really stand out. Tenor Stanford Olsen sings Belmonte, baritone Hans Peter Minetti as Pasha Selim, soprano Luba Orgonasova as Konstanze, soprano Cyndia Sieden as Blonde, Uwe Peper as Pedrillo and bass Cornelius Hauptmann as Osmin. If you're a fan of any of these singers, this recording is for you...

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This is a beatifully sung, but, on the whole, unremarkable performance. Elina Garanca is the highlight in the title role. She exhibits a lovely voice, excellent technique and beguiling acting. Indeed, she's the best part of this persentation. Lawrence Brownlee sings beautifully, but it's hard to overlook the disadvantages of his stature. His Dandini towers over him and even Cenerentola is much taller than he. By S. Wells (California)

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This DVD is in fact the "break a leg" version which sees Joyce DiDonato perform her role in a wheelchair - a story which has occupied international headlines last year - and definitely a DVD which will stand out. The DVD will include bonus features like an interview with Joyce on her stage accident and subsequent wheelchair performances... (Opera News)

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Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman) is an opera, with music and libretto by Richard Wagner. Wagner claimed in his 1870 autobiography Mein Leben that he had been inspired to write "The Flying Dutchman" following a stormy sea crossing he made from Riga to London in July and August 1839, but in his 1843 Autobiographical Sketch Wagner acknowledged he had taken the story from Heinrich Heine's retelling of the legend in his 1834 satirical novel The Memoirs of Mister von Schnabelewopski (Aus den Memoiren des Herrn von Schnabelewopski). The central theme is redemption through love.

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The Zurich Opera House has recorded more productions for DVD than any other opera house in the world. During the last twelve years, conductor Franz Welser-Möst has conducted more than fifty premieres with the Zurich Opera. They perform regularly together in London, Paris, Tokyo and other major international cities. Welser-Möst has enjoyed a long and very fruitful relationship with the Zurich Opera. From 1995 - 2002, he was Chief Conductor of the House, was Principal Conductor from 2002 - 2005 and was then appointed General Musikdirektor. In June 2007, Welser-Möst was appointed General Musikdirektor designate of the Staatsoper, Vienna, a position he will assume in the 2010/11 season. Prior to that, he undertakes a new production of “The Ring" in Vienna, which started in the 2007/8 season. He is also Music Director of the Cleveland Orchestra. Welser-Möst has assembled over the years a close-knit ensemble which is frequently praised for both its vocal and acting abilities.

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