Index of DVD reviews

Adams
Doctor Atomic; Amsterdam, 2007
Nixon in China; Metropolitan Opera, 2011

Albéniz
Merlin; Madrid, 2003

Alfano
Cyrano de Bergerac; Valencia, 2007

Beethoven
Fidelio; Glyndebourne, 1979
Fidelio; Metropolitan Opera, 2000

Bellini
Norma; Canadian Opera Company, 1981
Norma; Munich, 2006
I Puritani; Metropolitan Opera, 2007

Berg
Lulu; Glyndebourne, 1996

Wozzeck; Film, 1970
Wozzeck; Wiener Staatsoper, 1987
Wozzeck; Frankfurt, 1996
Wozzeck; Barcelona, 2007

Berlioz
Les Troyens; Paris, 2003

Birtwistle
The Minotaur; Royal Opera House, 2008

Bizet
Carmen; Earl’s Court, 1999
Carmen; Glyndebourne, 2002
Carmen; Royal Opera House, 2006

Britten
A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Glyndebourne, 1981
A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Barcelona, 2005

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

Cavalli
Il Giasone; Vlaamse Opera, 2010

Deshenov
Ice and Steel; Saarbrücken, 2007

Donizetti
Anna Bolena; Canadian Opera Company, 1984
Anna Bolena; Wiener Staatsoper, 2011
Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali; La Scala, 2009
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

Giordano
Fedora; Metropolitan Opera, 1996

Gluck
Iphigénie en Aulide; Amsterdam, 2011

Iphigénie en Tauride; Zurich, 2001
Iphigénie en Tauride; Amsterdam, 2011

Orfeo ed Euridice; Royal Opera House, 1991
Orphée et Eurydice; Paris, 2000
Orphée et Eurydice; Munich, 2003

Gounod
Faust; Wiener Staatsoper, 1985

Handel
Acis and Galatea; Royal Opera House, 2009
Ariodante; ENO, 1996
Ariodante; Spoleto, 2007
Giulio Cesare; Sydney, 1994
Giulio Cesare; Glyndebourne, 2005
Messiah; Theater an der Wien, 2009
Orlando; Zurich, 2008
Rinaldo; Munich, 2001
Rodelinda; Glyndebourne, 1998
Semele; Zurich, 2007
Serse; Dresden, 2000
Tamerlano; Halle, 2001
Theodora; Glyndebourne, 1996
Theodora; Salzburg 2009

Haydn
Il Mondo della Luna; Theater an der Wien, 2009

Henze
Boulevard Solitude; Barcelona, 2007
L’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe; Salzburg, 2003

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

Knussen
Where The Wild Things Are & Higglety, Pigglety, Pop; Glyndebourne, 1985

Louie
Burnt Toast; Film, 2005

Lully
Atys; Paris, 2011
Cadmus et Hermione; Paris, 2008
Persée; Opera Atelier, 2004

Massenet
Cendrillon; Royal Opera House, 2011
Manon; Berlin, 2007

Messiaen
Saint François d’Assise; Amsterdam, 2008

Meyerbeer
Les Huguenots; Opera Australia, 1990

Monteverdi
Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda; Amsterdam, 1993
L’incoronazione di Poppea; Amsterdam, 1994
L’Orfeo; Barcelona, 2002

Mozart
Ascanio in Alba; Salzburg, 2006
Bastien und Bastienne/Der Schauspieldirektor; Salzburg, 2006

La Clemenza di Tito; Film, 1980
La Clemenza di Tito; Salzburg, 2003
La Clemenza di Tito; Paris, 2005

Così fan tutte; Film, 1988
Così fan tutte; Paris, 1992
Così fan tutte; Berlin, 2002
Così fan tutte; Salzburg, 2009

Don Giovanni; Wiener Staatsoper, 1999
Don Giovanni; Metropolitan Opera, 2000
Don Giovanni; Barcelona, 2002
Don Giovanni; Salzburg, 2006
Don Giovanni; Royal Opera House, 2008
Don Giovanni; Salzburg, 2008
Don Giovanni; Glyndebourne, 2010

Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Amsterdam, 2008

Idomeneo; Metropolitan Opera, 1982
Idomeneo; Salzburg, 2006

Mitridate, rè di Ponto; Royal Opera House, 1993

Le Nozze di Figaro; Film, 1976
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; Ludwigsburg, 1992
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
Les Contes d’Hoffmann; Paris, 2002
Orphée aux Enfers; Lyon, 1997

Pizzetti
Assassinio nella Cattedrale; Bari, 2007

Poulenc
Dialogues des Carmélites; Strasbourg, 1999
Dialogues des Carmélites; La Scala, 2004

Prokofiev
The Gambler; Berlin, 2008
L’Amour des trois oranges; Amsterdam, 2005
L’Amour des trois oranges; Paris, 2005

Puccini
Gianni Schicchi; Glyndebourne, 2004
La Bohème; San Francisco, 1988
La Bohème; Film, 2008
La Rondine; Metropolitan Opera, 2009
Madama Butterfly; Film, 1974
Manon Lescaut; Royal Opera House, 1983
Tosca; La Scala, 2000
Turandot; Beijing, 1999
Turandot; Valencia, 2008

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
Castor et Pollux; Amsterdam, 2008
Les Indes galantes; Paris, 2003
Les Paladins; Paris, 2004
Plateé; Paris, 2002
Zoroastre; Drottningholm, 2006

Reimann
Medea; Vienna, 2010

Rossini
Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Film, 1972
Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Glyndebourne, 1982
Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Madrid, 2005

La Cenerentola; Film, 1981
La Cenerentola; Salzburg, 1988

Le Comte Ory; Metropolitan Opera, 2011
Ermione; Glyndebourne, 1995
Tancredi; Schwetzingen, 1992
Il Turco in Italia; Zurich, 2002
Il Viaggio a Reims; Barcelona, 2003

Saariaho
L’Amour de Loin; Helsinki, 2004

Schoenberg
Moses und Aron; Film, 1975

Shostakovich
The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; Barcelona, 2002
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
Arabella; Wiener Staatsoper, 2012

Ariadne auf Naxos; Metropolitan Opera, 1988
Ariadne auf Naxos; Dresden, 2000

Capriccio; San Francisco, 1993
Capriccio; Paris, 2004

Elektra; Metropolitan Opera, 1980
Elektra; Film, 1981
Elektra; Zürich, 2005
Elektra; Salzburg, 2010

Die Liebe der Danae; Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2011

Der Rosenkavalier; Salzburg, 1961
Der Rosenkavalier; Salzburg, 2004

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
Marco Polo; Amsterdam, 2008

Tchaikovsky
Eugene Onegin; Film, 1988
Eugene Onegin; Metropolitan Opera, 2007
Queen of Spades; St. Petersburg, 1992

Thomas
Hamlet; Barcelona, 2003

Ullmann
Der zerbrochene Krug; Los Angeles, 2008

Verdi
Don Carlo; Amsterdam, 2004
Don Carlos; Paris, 1996

Otello; Film, 1974

Rigoletto; Zürich, 2006

Simon Boccanegra; Royal Opera House, 2010

La Traviata; Salzburg, 2005
La Traviata; La Scala, 2007
La Traviata; Royal Opera House, 2009

I vespri Siciliani; La Scala, 1989

Vivaldi
Orlando Furioso; Paris, 2011

Wagner
Der fliegender Holländer; Bayreuth, 1985
Der fliegender Holländer; Amsterdam, 2010

Lohengrin; Metropolitan Opera, 1986
Lohengrin; Munich, 2009
Lohengrin; Bayreuth, 2011

Das Rheingold; Copenhagen, 2006
Tannhäuser; Barcelona, 2008
Die Walküre; Copenhagen, 2006

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
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; Madrid, 2010

Zemlinsky
Der Zwerg; Los Angeles, 2008

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!).