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Britten: The Turn of the Screw
Various Artists
Mark Padmore; Lisa Milne; Catrin Wyn Davies; Diana Montague; Nicholas Kirkby Johnson; Caroline Wise
Britten’s haunting opera is based on a novella written by Henry James in 1898. Katie Mitchell’s atmospheric film of the opera returns to the late 19th Century setting of the original story, Fulbeck Hall in Lincolnshire. Visual inspiration is from the photographic work of Julia Margaret Cameron, Munch, Strindberg and early Spiritualists. This is a world where boundaries between the living and the dead are chillingly blurred. "Mark Padmore is among the best of Quints, vocally and histrionically. Catryn Wyn-Davies is a properly wild and scary Miss Jessel. All in all, this is the version to have." (Gramophone)

Handel: Tamerlano
Teatro Real
Plácido Domingo; Monica Bacelli; Ingela Bohlin; Sara Mingardo; Jennifer Holloway; Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Real
Teatro Real's majestic production of Handel's vivid tragedy, Tamerlano, stars a Lear-like Plácido Domingo as the Turkish Sultan Bajazet, caught between pride, love and loyalty. Displaying the uniquely heroic quality of his voice, Domingo heads a superb cast, all magnificently responsive to Paul McCreesh's authentic interpretation of the score. "Here Domingo, with his superb diction, his great declamatory power and eloquent phrasing…brings a towering presence and bags of vocal charisma to Bajazet ... This is surely one of Vick’s finest achievements in the opera house." (The Sunday Times)

Humperdinck: Hansel und Gretel
The Royal Opera House
Angelika Kirchschlager; Diana Damrau; Elizabeth Connell; Thomas Allen; Anja Silja; The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Diana Damrau and Angelika Kirchschlager star in this acclaimed production of Humperdinck’s famous fairytale opera. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in full Surround Sound. "Angelika Kirchschlager’s tousled, boyish Hänsel and Diana Damrau’s Gretel are dramatically convincing and vocally superb, while their parents, excellently sung and played by Elizabeth Connell and Thomas Allen, earn our sympathy as well as our censure." (The Evening Standard) "...the DVD is perhaps as good an introduction to opera as one could hope for, a success on almost every front." (Musicweb International)

Janáček: La zorrita astuta (The Cunning Little Vixen)
Various Artists
Olivia Biarnés; Joan Martin-Royo; Bruce Sledge; Gregorio Gonzalez; Angel Rodriguez; Xavier Fernandez
Janáček's opera returns to its roots in the hands of innovative animator Geoff Dunbar, whose award-winning films include Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of Mr Tod and Paul McCartney's Rupert and the Frog Song. With its new soundtrack recorded by Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and singers from the European Opera Centre, the story of Sharpears unfolds a tale of love, death and rebirth which will appeal to audiences of all ages. Filmed in High Definition. "...a deliciously mischievous life cycle opera...This film is about as close to nature as art will ever get...an unmissable treat." (The Evening Standard)

Shakespeare: Macbeth
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
Joseph Millson; Samantha Spiro; Stuart Bowman; Billy Boyd; Gawn Grainger; Finty Williams
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s darkest and most powerful tragedies – a gripping account of one man’s determination to secure his ambition, the crown of Scotland, by whatever means necessary. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound, this production marked Eve Best’s sensational debut as a director. Joseph Millson and Samantha Spiro lead the cast, offering ‘superb fresh-minted performances’ as the power-obsessed Macbeth and his increasingly guilt-ridden wife. "Eve Best's directorial debut is a cracking – at times, terrifying – production of Macbeth." (The Daily Telegraph ★★★★)

Verdi: Macbeth
The Royal Opera House
Simon Keenlyside; Liudmyla Monastyrska; Raymond Aceto; The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House; Antonio Pappano
Black, red, cream and gold are the colours that define Phyllida Lloyd’s Royal Opera House staging of Verdi’s robust, yet penetrating setting of Shakespeare’s Scottish play. Manipulated by a whole coven of cunning, scarlet-turbanned witches, the characters often evoke figures in a splendid Gothic fresco. "...an impressive company showcase..." (The Guardian) "you know that Keenlyside is an accomplished lieder-singer by the dramatic precision in this phrase readings throughout (his Act 4 aria has such emotional transparency he almost breaks your heart)... Monastyrska unleashes such pent-up venom with her sharp-edged vocalism that the total package is almost too psychologically repulsive..." (Gramophone)

Verdi: Verdi Triple (La traviata; Il trovatore; Macbeth)
The Royal Opera House
Simon Keenlyside; Liudmyla Monastyrska; Renée Fleming; Joseph Calleja; José Cura; Yvonne Naef
"... an impressive company showcase, full of moments when chorus and orchestra are at full throttle. Whipped up by Antonio Pappano's baton, they sound truly thrilling." (The Guardian - Macbeth) "Elijah Moshinsky’s production is surely as lively and moving as Verdi’s intricate masterpiece deserves. Jose Cura sizzles. Dimitri Hvorostovsky is everything one could want to see and hear in a Verdi baritone. This new “Trovatore” DVD is a reminder that not every golden age happened long ago." (San Francisco Chronicle - Il Trovatore)

Mozart: Cecilia Bartoli Sings Mozart
Various Artists
Cecilia Bartoli; Concentus Musicus Wien; Nikolaus Harnoncourt
The electric Cecilia Bartoli joins Nikolaus Harnoncourt and the Concentus Musicus Wien to perform arias and recitatives by Mozart at the Styriarte Festival in Graz. This live recording is from the Stefaniensaal, Graz’s concert hall famous for its perfect acoustic. Directed by Brian Large. "Superb - a masterclass in the vocal arts, how to conduct Mozart and how to direct a film of the occasion...director Brian Large captures a great singer at the height of her powers guided by the inspirational Harnoncourt" (Classic fM) "Bartoli in fine form - one of the best recorded concerts on DVD." (Gramophone) "Bartoli is on marvellous form." (BBC Music Magazine)

Mozart: Così fan tutte
Teatro alla Scala
Daniela Dessì; Delores Ziegler; Alessandro Corbelli; Jozef Kundlak; Adelina Scarabelli; Claudio Desderi
Daniela Dessì and Delores Ziegler lead the cast in Mozart's brilliant and witty opera, as the two women whose faithfulness in the face of romantic love is ruthlessly tested in Da Ponte's comic tale. Mozart lavishes some of the finest music ever written on the unfolding story of the two sisters' chaotic and fickle love affairs with their two Italian army officers. Sung in Italian with English subtitles. "No seat in La Scala would allow an audience member to know the characters this well, and yet the stage-picture as a whole is not forgotten" (Classical Net)

Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night's Dream
Pacific Northwest Ballet
Patricia Barker; Paul Gibson; Seth Belliston; Lisa Apple; Julie Tobiason; Ross Yearsley
Choreographed by an artistic genius, George Balanchine, Shakespeare’s comedy set to the music of Felix Mendelssohn is a guaranteed audience pleaser. Filmed in High Definition. "It is a fine company with an enviable reputation and some altogether excellent principal dancers: Lisa Apple's Helena and Julie Tobiason's Hermia are particularly fine, and the scene between Titania and Bottom is most affecting. The fairy scenes are imaginatively handled and staged." (The Penguin Guide) "Skirting the stage with razor sharp jetés, Seth Belliston (as Puck) made a terrific impact." (The Stage)