Pergolesi: The Brother in Love (La Scala)

Starring Angela Gheorghiu as the celebrated French actress Adriana Lecouvreur and Jonas Kaufmann as her lover Maurizio, Count of Saxony, Cilea s verismo drama explores celebrity, romance, jealousy, and death. The trio of sublime voices is completed by Russian mezzo-soprano Olga Borodina as Adriana s jealous rival, the Princess de Bouillon. David McVicar s hit production the first performance of the opera at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for more than a century presents the life of the French actress as a blurring of the distinction between fantasy and reality. The action revolves around a life-size Baroque Theatre, taking us from the bustle and colour of the first act backstage at the playhouse, to the bare final scenes as the drama reaches its fatal climax.

A groundbreaking production of Verdi's masterpiece and its first video recording. Recorded live in Florence in 1977.

Nabucco - live performance by Helikon Opera Theatre of Moscow at the Opéra de Massy, Paris.

Live performance from Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, March 2011.

Wiener Staatsoper Live at Home - 14 May 2015

Rising Met star Angela Meade is Elvira, the young woman caught between three men: her lover, the nobleman-turned-outlaw Ernani (Marcello Giordani); her guardian, the rich, elderly de Silva, who wants her for himself (Ferruccio Furlanetto); and Don Carlo, the King of Spain, who also desires Elvira (Dmitri Hvorostovsky). Verdi’s early drama is full of sweeping melody and rousing rhythms, delivered masterfully by the Met Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Marco Armiliato.

In celebration of Verdi's anniversary year, the Mariinsky label presents a high-definition video recording of Verdi's Attila, led by maestro Valery Gergiev, produced by Arturo Gama and featuring acclaimed Russian bass Ildar Abdrazakov in the title role. A two-time GRAMMY Award winner for his Verdi readings, Abdrazakov has quickly established himself as one of opera's most sought-after basses. Since making his La Scala debut in 2001 at only 25, the Russian singer has become a mainstay at leading houses worldwide. Filmed in the Mariinsky Opera House, the DVD includes a stunning picture gallery of scenes from the performance. As is the case with many of Verdi's operas, Attila is imbued with the spirit of Risorgimento, the national liberation movement of the Italian people against foreign rule and for the unification of Italy. Looking ahead, Atilla is the first of four opera DVDs that are planned for release on the Mariinsky label in 2013.

Oberto - live performance from Ópera de Bilbao - January 2007.

L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli. Rossini composed L'italiana in Algeri when he was 21 in either 18 or 27 days, depending on which source one believes (Rossini, not surprisingly, pegged it at 18). It premiered at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice on 22 May 1813. The music is characteristic of Rossini's style, remarkable for its fusion of sustained, manic energy with elegant, pristine melodies. The plot, in brief: Isabella’s lover Lindoro has been kidnapped, and in her search for him she is shipwrecked and taken captive by Mustafa, Bey of Algiers. To her amazement and delight, she finds Lindoro among the Bey’s prisoners. Isabella hatches a plot that involves flirtation and stealth, and together she and Lindoro escape. Marilyn Horne, Pablo Montarsolo, Douglas Ahistedt, and Allan Monk star in this legendary Metropolitan Opera production conducted by James Levine.

Live from ROH 1985. Giordano's Andrea Chenier is one of the greatest of verismo operas, full of heart-stopping big tunes and powerful emotional situations. If it is not as well-known as it should be, it is because in summary it sounds a little too like Puccini's Tosca: there is a tussle between political opponents over a woman, an attempt to save a condemned man, a tenor aria about writing poetry on the eve of execution. The difference is that Gerard (Giorgio Zancanaro) is not a villain like Scarpia, he is an idealist whom the French Revolution has betrayed as much as it has his rival the poet Chenier (Placido Domingo). His temptation to abuse his power to seduce the virtuous Maddalena (Anna Tomowa-Sintow) is a momentary one, though its consequences are terrible. There is a streak of post-Wagnerian decadence in much of this--Maddalena is at least as much in love with death as she is with Chenier, and the final love duet has a deeply sinister aspect. -- From Amazon.co.uk

Massenet composed his opera about Cenerentola nearly 80 years after Rossini did his. And if you are looking for the outburst of the non-stop hilarity and the musical jokes of Rossini, you won't find it here. Also, while the Cendrillon was highly successful and popular in its time, it does not reach up to the artistic and musical levels offered by Massenet's other operas, like Manon, or Thais or Werther. Nevertheless, this is a delightful opera and it is well presented by The Royal Opera. Laurent Pelly created a ingenious setting with movable walls which are covered [in French] with the story of Cinderella, and which open and close book-like.

Live from ROH 2009, TV relay 1/12/2009.

David McVicar's spectacular production of Charles Gounod’s Faust, featuring a divine cast of opera’s superstars: Roberto Alagna, Angela Gheorghiu, Bryn Terfel, Simon Keenlyside and Sophie Koch – recorded at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 19 June 2004.

New production. Live from Glyndebourne 2015.

New production. UK professional premiere May 21, 2015. Live from Glyndebourne.

Live from Glyndebourne 1997

After the destruction of Troy, the Trojan warrior Énée sets out on a journey to found a new dynasty. He meets Didon, Queen of Carthage, and falls in love. But will Énée's love for Didon prove stronger than his sense of duty? LES TROYENS ('The Trojans') is a tour de force of music that ranges from fiery military marches to intense choruses, passionate soliloquies – such as those of the prophetess Cassandre – and the lyrical love duets of Didon and Énée. It is Hector Berlioz's largest work and he wrote the libretto himself, drawing upon his intimate knowledge of Virgil's Aeneid. To the composer's disappointment, LES TROYENS was only performed once in full during his lifetime and was often presented in shortened form during the 20th century. The Royal Opera's production provides a rare chance to see this epic work in its entirety. David McVicar's staging is on an enormous scale, assembling one of the largest casts ever seen at Covent Garden.

Joyce DiDonato gives a sensational performance as Mary, Queen of Scots, in Donizetti’s bel canto drama, opposite Elza van den Heever as Queen Elizabeth. This Live in HD presentation of David McVicar’s acclaimed 2012 production also stars Matthew Polenzani as Leicester, the man caught between the rival queens. Maurizio Benini conducts.

"This is Vienna State Opera live at home". April 2015. 'L'italiana in Algeri' (English: 'The Italian Girl in Algiers') is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice on 22 May 1813. The music is characteristic of Rossini's style, remarkable for its fusion of sustained, manic energy with elegant, pristine melodies.

"This is Vienna State Opera live at home". March 2015.