Bizet: Carmen

Richard Eyre’s stunning new production of Bizet’s opera was the talk of the town when it was unveiled on New Year’s Eve 2009. Elīna Garanča leads the cast as the iconic gypsy of the title—a woman desired by every man but determined to remain true to herself. Roberto Alagna is Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell and sacrifices everything for her love, only to be cast aside when the toreador Escamillo (Teddy Tahu Rhodes) piques Carmen’s interest. With dances created by star choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and conducted by rising...

Mozart Don Giovanni

Don Juan sins with his servant and is doomed in this tragicomic opera.

Otello

This was Domingo's last set of performances as Otello in La Scala. In spite of his relatively advanced age, he is still in excellent form, both vocally and in terms of stage presence. Nucci is also his usual self, delivering a performance of very high standard. Barbara Frittoli is an excellent Desdemona, in good voice and gives a very moving performance. Muti conducts with great emotion and tight accuracy, conveying the full orchestral drama of the score.

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro

Le Nozze di Figaro New Production Teatro Real in co-production with Bilbao’s ABAO and Las Palmas Teatro Pérez Galdós. From the opening notes of the overture to the final curtain, Emilio Sagi’s classic, triumphant production brings to life all the elegant wit and theatricality of Mozart’s comic masterpiece Le nozze di Figaro. Leading baritone Ludovic Tézier shines as the lustful Count Almaviva who attempts to obtain the favors of Figaro’s bride-to-be, Susanna (Isabel Rey), while Luca Pisaroni gives a feisty performance as Figaro. Conductor J...

Falstaff

The Graham Vicks production of FALSTAFF opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and was not to everybody's taste; the garish primary colours of the costumes. The staging is effective--the complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate, especially in the final fugue. Bryn Terfel's Falstaff is a memorable creation, self-mocking and self-aggrandising at the same time--so much so, in fact, that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for...

Giacomo Puccini: Turandot

Lovely but lethal, the evil Princess Turandot comes to life through the performance of Luana De Vol in this visually stunning production of Giacomo Puccini's Peking-set opera directed by Nuria Espert and conducted by Giuliano Carella. In this 2004 performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, all the subtleties of Puccini's unique tonality and unconventional instrumentation are in ample evidence.

Massenet Thais

There's an uncompromising clarity to Blu-ray audio and video that really does bring the splendour of grand opera right into the living room. So it's all the more frustrating to get a compromised production as the final product. Jules Massenet's 1894 tragedy about a sex goddess humbled by an insistent Cenobite monk isn't produced very often, because of a demanding lead role and some difficult staging issues. But the music is gorgeous from beginning to end. When you have a great diva at centre stage, the three acts go by in a flash.