Adams
Doctor Atomic; Amsterdam, 2007
Albéniz
Merlin; Madrid, 2003
Beethoven
Fidelio; Glyndebourne, 1979
Fidelio; Metropolitan Opera, 2000
Bellini
Norma; Canadian Opera Company, 1981
Norma; Munich, 2006
Berg
Lulu; Glyndebourne, 1996
Wozzeck; Frankfurt, 1996
Wozzeck; Barcelona, 2007
Berlioz
Les Troyens; Paris, 2003
Birtwistle
The Minotaur; Royal Opera House, 2008
Bizet
Carmen; Glyndebourne, 2002
Carmen; Royal Opera House, 2006
Britten
A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Glyndebourne, 1981
Billy Budd; Glyndebourne, 2010
Owen Wingrave; Channel 4 film, 2001
Peter Grimes; BBC film, 1969
Peter Grimes; Royal Opera House, 1981
Peter Grimes; ENO, 1994
Peter Grimes; Zurich, 2005
Peter Grimes; Metropolitan Opera, 2008
Comparative round up of all five available versions of Peter Grimes
The Turn of the Screw; Opera Australia, 1991
The Turn of the Screw; BBC Wales film, 1996
Debussy
Pelléas et Mélisande; WNO, 1992
Pelléas et Mélisande; Theater an der Wien, 2009
Donizetti
Anna Bolena; Canadian Opera Company, 1984
L’Elisir d’Amore; Glyndebourne, 2009
La Fille du Régiment; Royal Opera House, 2007
Roberto Devereux; Munich, 2005
Dvorák
Rusalka; ENO, 1986
Rusalka; Paris, 2002
Rusalka; Munich, 2010
Gluck
Orphée et Eurydice; Paris, 2000
Orphée et Eurydice; Munich, 2003
Handel
Ariodante; ENO, 1996
Ariodante; Spoleto, 2007
Giulio Cesare; Sydney, 1994
Giulio Cesare; Glyndebourne, 2005
Rinaldo; Munich, 2001
Rodelinda; Glyndebourne, 1998
Serse; Dresden, 2000
Tamerlano; Halle, 2001
Theodora; Glyndebourne, 1996
Haydn
Il Mondo della Luna; Theater an der Wien, 2009
Humperdinck
Hansel and Gretel; Metropolitan Opera, 2008
Hänsel und Gretel; Royal Opera House, 2008
Janáček
The Cunning Little Vixen; Paris, 1995
Jenůfa; Glyndebourne, 1998
Kat’a Kabanová; Glyndebourne, 1988
Věk Makropulos; Salzburg, 2011
Louie
Burnt Toast; Film, 2005
Lully
Persée; Opera Atelier, 2004
Messiaen
Saint François d’Assise; Amsterdam, 2008
Mozart
Bastien und Bastienne/Der Schauspieldirektor; Salzburg, 2006
La Clemenza di Tito; Salzburg, 2003
Così fan tutte; Paris, 1992
Così fan tutte; Salzburg, 2009
Don Giovanni; Wiener Staatsoper, 1999
Don Giovanni; Metropolitan Opera, 2000
Don Giovanni; Salzburg, 2006
Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Amsterdam, 2008
Idomeneo; Metropolitan Opera, 1982
Mitridate, rè di Ponto; Royal Opera House, 1993
Le Nozze di Figaro; Paris 1993
Le Nozze di Figaro; Glyndebourne, 1994
Le Nozze di Figaro; Salzburg, 2006
Die Zauberflöte; Metropolitan Opera, 1991
Die Zauberflöte; Salzburg, 2006
Mussorgsky
Khovanshchina; Vienna, 1989
Khovanshchina; Barcelona, 2007
Offenbach
La Belle Helène; Zurich, 1997
La Belle Helène; Paris, 2000
La Vie Parisienne; Lyon, 1991
Orphée aux Enfers; Lyon, 1997
Poulenc
Dialogues des Carmélites; Strasbourg, 1999
Prokofiev
The Love for Three Oranges; Amsterdam, 2005
Puccini
Gianni Schicchi; Glyndebourne, 2004
La Rondine; Metropolitan Opera, 2009
Manon Lescaut; Royal Opera House, 1983
Tosca; La Scala, 2000
Purcell
Dido and Aeneas; Film (Canada), 1995
Dido and Aeneas; Film (UK), 1995
Dido and Aeneas; Royal Opera House, 2009
King Arthur; Salzburg, 2004
King Arthur; Montpellier, 2009
The Fairy Queen; Glyndebourne, 2009
Rachmaninov
The Miserly Knight; Glyndebourne, 2004
Rameau
Les Boréades; Paris, 2003
Rossini
Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Glyndebourne, 1982
Ermione; Glyndebourne, 1995
Il Turco in Italia; Zurich, 2002
Saariaho
L’Amour de Loin; Helsinki, 2004
Shostakovich
The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; Amsterdam, 2006
The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; Florence, 2008
Strauss, Johann
Die Fledermaus; Munich, 1987
Die Fledermaus; Seefestspiele Mörbisch, 1996
Die Fledermaus; Glyndebourne, 2003
Eine Nacht in Venedig; Film, 1973
Strauss, Richard
Ariadne auf Naxos; Metropolitan Opera, 1988
Ariadne auf Naxos; Dresden, 2000
Capriccio; Paris, 2004
Elektra; Metropolitan Opera, 1980
Elektra; Film, 1981
Der Rosenkavalier; Salzburg, 1961
Salome; Film, 1974
Salome; Royal Opera House, 1992
Salome; Royal Opera House, 2008
Stravinsky
The Rake’s Progress; Glyndebourne, 1975
The Rake’s Progress; Brussels, 2007
Sturminger
The Infernal Comedy; Vienna, 2009
Tan Dun
The First Emperor; Metropolitan Opera, 2007
Tchaikovsky
Eugene Onegin; Metropolitan Opera, 2007
Thomas
Hamlet; Barcelona, 2003
Verdi
Don Carlos; Paris, 1996
La Traviata; Salzburg, 2005
Simon Boccanegra; Royal Opera House, 2010
Wagner
Der Fliegender Holländer; Bayreuth, 1985
Lohengrin; Munich, 2009
Weill
Die Dreigroschenoper; Film, 1931
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; Salzburg, 1998
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; Los Angeles, 2007
Want more reviews?
Not finding what you want here? Want a second opinion? Over at Mostly Opera Monika Rittershaus has reviewed over 200 DVDs. There’s not much overlap with my list and Monika tends to come at the task from a somewhat different perspective so her page is definitely worth a look.
A note on my reviewing philosophy/approach
My DVD reviews are both a personal opinion and an attempt to offer a kind of review of opera DVDs which is hard to find elsewhere. Of course I evaluate the production concept and how well it is executed as well as the quality of the music making though, not being a musicologist or a trained singer, you will not find highly detailed analysis of the “such and such a character did/did not execute a trill in the repeat of such and such da capo aria” variety. What I do do is attempt to evaluate the DVD as such rather than just review what was on stage with perhaps a few cursory remarks about the disk specific aspects of the production. I believe that recordings are as much the work of the video director and engineering team as they are of the cast and creative team and I try to give full weight to their work in the review. In my reviews you will read a fairly detailed critique of the video direction as well as an evaluation of the audio-visual quality of the package. (I find it odd that many reviewers make comments about sound quality without even identifying which sound track they were listening to!).
