Verdi Un Ballo in Maschera

This production from Covent Garden is set in Stockholm, and not Boston. With Reri Grist (Oscar), Placido Domingo (Gustavus), Katia Ricciarelli (Amelia), Piero Cappucili (Renato), Patricia Payne (? - the booklet or DVD fails to credit the singer) (Ulrica) and Claudio Abbado in the pit: all at their peak, you just simply cannot go wrong when purchasing this DVD. This performance made me realise why I had fallen in love with opera: beautiful (today one should be thankful) and convincing sets and costumes, and fiery conducting and singing from a...

Peter Grimes

This 1969 BBC production is about as close as we can get to a definitive version of Benjamin Britten's PETER GRIMES, one of the greatest 20th Century operas. The story of the individualistic fisherman hounded by his neighbors who believe he murdered his young apprentice packs tremendous emotional power. The compelling narrative is richly enhanced by its subtexts: the lone outsider versus the conformist mob; the dreamer of improbable dreams that lead to tragedy; the artist (dreamer) versus the Philistines, and the homosexual overtones of Grim...