Classical Music > Opera

Elektra : tragic opera in one act, by Richard Strauss ; libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal after Sophokles ; Unitel Classica presents, Salzburger Festspiele, from the Grosses Festspielhaus.
This 2010 production of Elektra for the Salzburg Festspiele is impressive, with Nikolaus Lehnhoff's staging and a top drawer cast such as Irene Theorin, Waltraud Meier, Eva-Maria Westbroek and Rene Pape, with Daniele Gatti conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker. "This Elektra should be used as a textbook example of how to bring contemporary relevance to an opera without disfiguring it to the point where it becomes wholly unrecognizable." (Amazon customer)

Turandot / Puccini.
Set in Peking, Princess Turandot will become the bride of the royal suitor who can successfully answer three riddles. Unsuccessful suitors lose not only the hand of the princess, but their heads as well.
Performers include : Maria Guleghina (Turandot) ; Marina Poplavskaya (Liu) ; Marcello Giordani (Calif) ; Samuel Ramey (Timur) ; Charles Anthony (Emperor) ; Joshua Hopkins (Ping) ; Tony Stevenson (Pang) ; Eduardo Valdes (Pong) ; Metropolitan Opera Orchestra ; Metropolitan Opera Chorus ; Andris Nelsons, conductor.

Wagner & me, by Stephen Fry ; a Wavelenght Film production is association with the BBC.
Actor and writer Stephen Fry explores his passion for the world's most controversial composer - Richard Wagner. But Stephen is Jewish and lost family members in the Holocaust, so can he salvage the music he loves from its dark association with anti-semitism and the Nazis? Shot on location in Germany, Switzerland and Russia, the film includes unique behind-the-scenes access to the Bayreuth Festival, the annual extravaganza of Wagner's music held in the composer's own purpose built theatre. Animated by Stephen Fry's trademark wit and intelligence, and featuring a soundtrack of Wagner's extraordinary music, this is a fantastic introduction to the life and legacy of one of the most important composers ever, and a must-see film for those who already know and love his music. Note: this is shelved in the Documentary section (Music / History)

Mireille : opera en cinq actes et sept tableaux / de Charles Gounod ; livret de Michel Carre, d'apres le poeme de Fredric Mistral, Mirio. Although unlikely to appear towards the top of any 'favourite operas' list, this largely forgotten opera by Gounod is nevertheless definitely worth a whirl. This version is performed at the Opera National de Paris, with conductor Marc Minkowski. The plot is simple - but deals with the classic fare of epics such as love, rage, jealousy. Set in rural France, 2 young lovers from different side of the field fall in love, they encounter barriers and one of them dies at the end. We've heard this before but Gounod rises to the occasion to create music which fits all the emotions that are part of the plot.

Weep, shudder, die : a guide to loving opera / Robert Levine.
"Weep, Shudder, Die is an insightful and accessible guide to the grand art of opera for both new and longtime fans.For too long opera was relegated to high society and perceived as stuffy and remote. But now that has changed. A new generation of opera lovers has emerged, inviting a wave of extraordinary new productions and revivals the world over.Robert Levine has written an illuminating guide for this growing audience. With his signature wit, he examines the most famous composers and operas, from Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen to Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, giving a sense of each opera's history and celebrating its enduring greatness.Weep, Shudder, Die will inspire anyone who has ever been curious about opera but never knew where to start to discover one of the world's most entertaining and satisfying art forms. Book jacket." (Syndetics summary)

The gilded stage : the social history of opera / Daniel Snowman.
"From Opera's beginnings in the courts of northern Italy to its spread across Europe and the world, The Gilded Stage is an operatic Grand Tour of opera houses, monarchs, artists, and audiences. An exceptionally elegant volume, "The Gilded Stage" is a must-have for every music lover." (Syndetics summary)

The rough guide to opera written by Matthew Boyden ; with contributions from Joe Staines.
"The Rough Guide to Opera is a unique handbook on the most thrilling of art forms, spanning four hundred years of music drama. The title features lively biographical sketches of some 150 composers from Claudio Monteverdi to Poul Ruders, animating the main events of their careers and revealing their social and musical context. Entertaining accounts of hundreds of operas both famous and neglected and comprehensive reviews of over a thousand CDs from recent digital releases to the best historical recordings. From historical figures like Caruso to contemporary stars like Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming and Daniel Barenboim, discover the finest singers and conductors on record. Superb photographs, drawings, and CD cover images make this title an Opera-lover's essential." (Global Books)

Fashion designers at the opera / Helena Matheopoulos.
In this sumptuous book, leading figures in the world of fashion - Giorgio Armani, Marc Bohan, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, Ottavio and Rosita Missoni, Miuccia Prada, Zandra Rhodes, Emanuel Ungaro, Gianni Versace, and Viktor & Rolf - are profiled, together with illustrations of their costume designs. Helena Matheopoulos's interviews with many of the designers illuminate the journey that led each to the opera and the challenges of working in a demanding new medium.

The Grove book of opera singers, edited by Laura Macy.
"Covering over 1500 singers from the origins of opera to the present day, this is the most comprehensive guide to opera singers in the English language. Articles from The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and Grove Music Online have been fully revised and updated and new entries have been commissioned on contemporary singers such as Angelika Kirchschlager and Sanford Sylvan." "Each entry is written by an expert in the field and special attention has been paid to identifying first performances of important roles. "The index of roles identifies the creator of over 2000 roles from the operatic repertory, from Monteverdi's Orfeo to Previa's Blanche Dubois. The book is thus an important source of information about the singers for whom the great operatic roles were first composed." (Book Jacket)

Encyclopedia of opera on screen : a guide to more than 100 years of opera films, videos, and DVDs, Ken Wlaschin. (2004)
"This book is a comprehensive guide to the thousands of films, DVDs, and videocasettes featuring operas and opera singers from 1896 to the present. Find answers to such questions as: What were the first operas filmed? Why did movie makers create silent films of operas? Why was a pseudo-opera written for Citizen Kane? What was Maria Callas' only film?"--BOOK JACKET. (This is a reference only book)

The operagoer's guide : one hundred stories and commentaries, by M. Owen Lee.
Offers brief summaries of the plots of one hundred operas, and includes background commentary and recommendations for recordings of each opera.

Opera antics & anecdotes, Stephen Tanner ; [cartoons, Umberto Taccola ; foreword, David W. Barber].

Capital opera : Wellington's opera company, 1982-1999, by Adrienne Simpson.

The very best of Kiri Te Kanawa, Various opera arias. 2 CDs.
One of a series of "very best of" famous singers. Each is a double CD set, and also includes other signature songs, as well as wide range of opera arias.
Also in the series are Beniamino Gigli, Nicolai Gedda, and Victoria De Los Angeles.

DVD

Italian night, music by Verdi, Bellini, Rossin. Performed bty Angela Gheorghiu, soprano ; Sergej Larin, tenor ; Bryn Terfel, baritone ; Rundfunkchor Berlin ; Chorus master, Gerd Muller-Lorenz ; Claudio Abbado, conductor.
Contents include : Overture, Chorus of Hebrew slaves (Nabucco) / G. Verdi -- "Eccomi in lieta vesta" (I Capuleti ed I Montecch) / V. Bellini -- "E lui-- o mio Rodrigo" (Don Carlo), "Vedi! le fosche notturne" (Il trovatore) / G. Verdi -- Overture (La forza del destino) ; "Forse la soglia attinse" (Un ballo in maschera) ; "Fuoco di gioia", (Otello) ; Triumph march, "Gloria all'Egitto" (Aida) ; Overture (I vesperi siciliani) / G. Verdi -- Overture (Il barbiere di Siviglia) / G. Rossini.