Browse by Catagory:
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Repo! The Genetic Opera
Release Date: 2009-01-20
Sales rank: 281
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Vivere Live in Tuscany [DVD/CD]
Release Date: 2008-01-29
Sales rank: 2138
Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli grew up in Lajatico, a rural village in Tuscany, where his family still farms nearby. Last July, on the slopes of his ancient hill town, a special theater was constructed for a one-night-only concert of his greatest popular hits along with new songs performed to honor the occasion. Some famous musical friends dropped by and the magical result is Andrea Bocelli - Vivere - Live in Tuscany, premiering this December on PBS.
Joining Andrea for the new songs are "grandissimo sassofonista" Kenny G, trumpeter Chris Botti, piano virtuoso Lang Lang, Italian pop star Eliza, and legendary musician, songwriter and producer David Foster. Helping with the hits: favorite divas Sarah Brightman, Heather Headley and Laura Pausini. Surveying the breathtaking landscape that provides the backdrop for the festivities, Bocelli introduces the telecast with the passion of a true Toscano. "It's my land," he says, "a land that loves silence as much as I do. If I break this silence with my voice, it's because I want to pay tribute. Music penetrates this land; it flows across it and flies off far away. It's a message of love." Musical highlights include the song that launched Bocelli's career, "Il Mare Calmo Della Sera"; the one that brought him international stardom, "Time to Say Goodbye," in duet with Sarah Brightman; Laura Pausini joining him for "Dare to Live" ("Vivere"); Bocelli and Heather Headley reprising the popular "Vivo Per Lei," plus several new selections from the just-released The Best of Andrea Bocelli - Vivere album (Sugar Music/Decca). Also featured is a meltingly romantic medley of songs from his 2006 collection, Amore: "Bésame Mucho," "Somos Novios" ("It's Impossible") and "I Can't Help Falling in Love with You." Disc: 1 (Live CD) 1. ITALIA (Featuring Chris Botti on trumpet) 2. LA VOCE DEL SILENZIO (Duet with Elisa) 3. MEDLEY: Besame Mucho, Somos Novios (It's impossible), Can't Help Falling in Love 4. CANTO DELLA TERRA (Duet with Sarah Brightman) 5. MILLE LUNE MILLE ONDE 6. ROMANZA 7. SE LA GENTE USASSE IL CUORE (Studio Version) 8. DOMANI (Studio Version) Disc: 2 (Live Concert DVD) 1. MELODRAMMA 2. ROMANZA 3. A TE (Featuring Kenny G on soprano saxophone) 4. VIVO PER LEI (Duet with Heather Headley) 5. IO CI SARÒ (Featuring Lang Lang on piano) 6. HUNGARIAN RHAPSODY no. 2 in C sharp minor (Performed by Lang Lang) 7. LA VOCE DEL SILENZIO (Duet with Elisa) 8. DANCING (Performed by Elisa) 9. CANTO DELLA TERRA (Duet with Sarah Brightman) 10. BELLISSIME STELLE 11. MEDLEY: Besame Mucho/Somos Novios (It's impossible)/ Can't Help Falling in Love 12. BECAUSE WE BELIEVE 13. THE PRAYER (Duet with Heather Headley) 14. ITALIA (Featuring Chris Botti on trumpet) 15. DARE TO LIVE (Vivere) (Duet with Laura Pausini) 16. SOGNO 17. IL MARE CALMO DELLA SERA 18. TIME TO SAY GOODBYE (Con te partirò) (Duet with Sarah Brightman) DVD Bonus Material Includes: Photo gallery and behind the scenes interviews and more Bocelli Vivere Live In Tuscany will be available in both digipak and amaray versions—-each with DVD and CD components. |
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Luciano Pavarotti: Life in Seven Arias
Release Date: 2008-11-18
Sales rank: 3421
The extraordinary documentary from the BBC tells the story of Luciano Pavarotti's remarkable career through the eyes of some of his colleagues and the arias that made him famous! With the use of extensive archival performance footage, interviews and film from the BBC, this documentary is an in-depth appreciation of the most popular opera singer of modern times. Interviews with Joan Sutherland, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Montserrat Caballé, Juan Diego Flórez, Renata Scotto and others. Highlighted arias from La Bohème, La Fille du Régiment, L'Elisir d'Amore, Rigoletto, Tosca, Turandot as well as Panis Angelicus and Ingemisco. Additionally, extensive rare performance clips are included from The Metropolitan Opera and many other houses. |
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Tommy
Release Date: 1999-09-28
Sales rank: 3571
Ken russells adaptation of the whos rock opera. Special features: full screen and widescreen version 2-channel dolby surround sound or dolby digital 5.0 subtitles: english french spanish talent files and audio restoration production notes. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 12/21/2004 Starring: Roger Daltrey Ann-margret Run time: 111 minutes Rating: PgIf you've ever wanted to hear Jack Nicholson sing (or try to) or marvel at the sight of Ann-Margret drunkenly cavorting in a cascade of baked beans, Tommy is the movie you've been waiting for. As it turns out, the Who's brilliant rock opera is sublimely matched to director Ken Russell's penchant for cinematic excess, and this 1975 production finds Russell at the peak of his filmmaking audacity. It's a fever-dream of musical bombast, custom-fit to the thematic ambition of Pete Townshend's epic rock drama, revolving around the titular "deaf, dumb, and blind kid" (played by Who vocalist Roger Daltrey) who survives the childhood trauma that stole his senses to become a Pinball Wizard messiah in Townshend's grandiose attack on the hypocrisy of organized religion. The story is remarkably coherent considering the hypnotic dream-state induced by Russell's visuals. Tommy's odyssey is rendered through wall-to-wall music, each song representing a pivotal chapter in Tommy's chronology, from the bloodstream shock of "The Acid Queen" (performed to the hilt by Tina Turner) to Nicholson's turn as a well-intentioned physician, Elton John's towering rendition of "Pinball Wizard," and Daltrey's epiphanous rendition of "I'm Free." Other performers include Eric Clapton and (most outrageously) the Who's drummer Keith Moon, and through it all Russell is almost religiously faithful to Townshend's artistic vision. Although it divided critics when first released, Tommy now looks likes a minor classic of gonzo cinema, worthy of the musical genius that fueled its creation. --Jeff Shannon |
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Andrew Lloyd Webber - The Royal Albert Hall Celebration
Release Date: 2001-10-30
Sales rank: 4546
Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 03/04/2003 Run time: 89 minutes Rating: NrIn 1998 a concert at the Royal Albert Hall celebrated Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber's 50th birthday and featured more than two hours of hits from a body of work spanning almost three decades. In this keepsake of a memorable night, star after star steps on to a massive, Eurovision-style set to revisit golden moments in their long association with Britain's most successful composer of musicals. Elaine Paige in big frocks and an even bigger voice delivers "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" and "Memory" with her usual power; Michael Ball and Donny Osmond stretch the last vestiges of boyish charm to the very limits but still sound great; and Boyzone gets the youth vote. Then there are Kiri Te Kanawa, Bonnie Tyler, Tina Arena, and, of course, another encore for brother Julian Lloyd Webber and those Variations on the cello. But the stars are Sir Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Brightman in an outstanding selection from The Phantom of the Opera (probably his best work), Antonio Banderas (who really can sing), and Glenn Close, a stupendous, moving Norma Desmond in songs from Sunset Boulevard. All in all, a deserved celebration for someone who has given so many people a great deal of pleasure, and a treat for musicals fans of all ages. --Piers Ford |
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Puccini - La Boheme / Pavarotti, Scotto, Niska, Wixell, Plishka, Levine, Metropolitan Opera
Release Date: 2005-10-11
Sales rank: 5618
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The Three Tenors Christmas
Release Date: 2000-11-07
Sales rank: 13280
No Description Available No Track Information Available Media Type: DVD Artist: CARRERAS/DOMINGO/PAVAROTTI Title: THREE TENORS CHRISTMAS Street Release Date: 11/07/2000 Domestic Genre: XMAS VIDEO |
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Gaetano Donizetti - La Fille du regiment / Dessay, Florez, Palmer, Corbelli, French, Campanella, Pelly (Royal Opera House 2007)
Release Date: 2008-04-15
Sales rank: 6078
In January 2007, superstar soprano Natalie Dessay, joined on stage by acclaimed tenor Juan Diego Florez dazzled British audiences in Laurent Pelly's new production of Donizetti's "LA FILLE DU REGIMENT". The perfectly staged & cast production became the operatic event of the year, receiving rave press reviews & rapturous audience ovations.This DVD version of Donizetti’s comic opera zooms right to the top of any list of essential videos for opera fans. It may not be the composer’s best work, but given a top-notch production with world class singing actors, it brings vocal thrills and an abundance of laughs, a combination that’s hard to beat. The stars are Juan Diego Flórez and Natalie Dessay, both unbeatable in bel canto roles, and both in top form here. Flórez’s mellifluous tenor is flexible enough to make child's play of the terrifying (to other tenors) nine high C’s in Ah! mes amis," and supple enough to make his tender love arias moving. Dessay is equally comfortable in the stratospheric coloratura passages and poignant in such heart-tugging set-pieces as her farewell to her regimental "fathers" and her misery as the victim of the Marquise’s well-meaning attempts to teach her to be an aristocratic lady. She’s also a terrific comic actress. In her first appearance she’s doing the regiment’s laundry, and her antics with the iron and the ironing board while singing elaborately difficult coloratura passages induce belly laughs. But then, so do her comic acting in many other scenes, such as her Act II entry in a silk dress and full petticoat, her walk a wonderful parody of a "lady’s" heel-to-toe gait. That moment alone is worth the price of admission. Lesser roles too, are done to perfection. Felicity Palmer, a long-time Covent Garden favorite, is a delicious Marquise de Berkenfield, and Donald Maxwell, is her apt partner as Hortensius, her servant. Sergeant Sulpice, the heroine’s protector, is well-sung and acted by Alessandro Corbelli, and Dawn French almost steals the show as the overbearing Duchess. Conductor Bruno Campanella leads a spirited performance, enhanced by the fine playing by the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House. Laurent Pelly’s stage direction is wonderful for its comic touches and Chantal Thomas’ simple but effective sets add to the delights. The video direction efficiently serves the staging, focusing on the action and the singers without adding extraneous shots that detract from the musical flow. All of which makes this DVD a can't-miss for opera fans. --Dan Davis La Fille du regiment is in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo, Dolby 5.1 Surround and DTS 5.1 Surround. Subtitles include English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. |
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Puccini: La Boheme (Live from the Met)
Release Date: 2008-09-16
Sales rank: 8674
The Metropolitan Opera's acclaimed Live in High-Definition series, which projects live performances into theaters across the globe, has met with unprecedented critical and commercial success and has made opera convenient and affordable to millions of viewers worldwide. Now, EMI Classics is proud to collaborate with The Met to release 6 new DVDs made from these broadcast performances.
Puccini's immortal classic of love and loss, with Franco Zeffirelli's sumptuous, iconic production and Nicola Luisotti's expressive conducting. Angela Gheorghiu, the leading Puccini soprano of our time, reprises the role of Mimì, while tenor Ramón Vargas gives a sensitive reading of Rodolfo. All these forces combine for a truly definitive performance of this beloved opera!Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La Bohème is a perennial favorite at New York’s Metropolitan Opera and it retains its power in this 2008 performance. Its large-scale settings and especially an Act II set that looks as if half the 1890’s Paris Latin Quarter has been beamed direct to the MET. It’s been criticized as an over-the-top spectacle, but as well as bringing breath-taking realism to the stage, it’s bursting with energy and directorial flair. The individuals making up the large crowds milling in front of the Café Momus each have some little stage business to do, giving the audience the feeling of participating in the onstage street festival. Zeffirelli’s detailed directing even extends to the snow-filled Act III, where shadowy figures walk across the background hill in the distance while the principals are up front. While Zeffirelli’s conception tends to scant the opera’s intimate scenes in the theatre, on DVD those scenes make heightened impact. TV director Gary Halvorson’s establishing shots show a cutaway of the bohemians’ little garret precariously poised atop a sharply raked house, but he soon cuts to closeups of the playing space and the singers, creating a sense of warm interplay of personalities unavailable to the theatre audience. The MET provides a luxurious cast to complement the sumptuous setting. Tenor Ramón Vargas is an excellent Rodolfo, singing with passion, imaginative phrasing, and coloring his beautiful lyric voice to fit the text. Mimi is Angela Gheorghiu, always a stellar singing actress. Here she sings with a sensitivity to match her Rodolfo, exquisitely coloring her voice, as in her Mi chiamano Mimi, where she thins her voice at the start and then opens it out to bloom when she sings of the approach of spring. As an actress, she’s best after the first Act, when she abandons the coy, girlish tics that seem out of place. In the last Act, she’s profoundly moving in the death scene, as is Vargas, who is touching in his portrayal of Rodolfo’s desperation and sense of loss. Baritone Ludovic Tézier’s Marcello is well sung, as is soprano Ainhoa Arteta’s Musetta, the latter delivering a sparkling Quando me’n vo’ in the Café Momus scene. Rodolfo’s pals, Oren Gradus as Colline and Quinn Kelsey as Schaunard, are excellent, and veteran bass Paul Plishka contributes some nice comic turns as Benoit and Alcindoro. --Dan Davis La Bohème is an all-regions disc in 16:9 ratio. Sound options include PCM Stereo and DTS 5.1 Surround. Sung in Italian, subtitles include English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Extras include backstage interviews by Renée Fleming and a short tribute, "Zeffirelli at the Met." |
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Adams: Doctor Atomic
Release Date: 2008-09-30
Sales rank: 4903
The longing to overcome human boundaries lead the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to begin an experiment that formed a threat to the whole of humanity, and whose scientific results still do today. The question of the moral implications of the atomic bomb is raised in John Adams opera, just as much as that of the influence on the private lives of the main characters. Doctor Atomic is the fifth work to result from almost twenty years of collaboration between the American composer and his fellow American director and Erasmus Prize-winner Peter Sellars. Doctor Atomic concerns itself with the work of J. Robert Oppenheimer and his team of scientists at the test site of the first atomic bomb outside Los Alamos, New Mexico during the lead-up to the first detonation. As Zero Hour relentlessly approaches and conditions become less and less favorable, individual tensions build feverishly and Oppenheimer and his staff struggle with the moral implications of their work on 'the Gadget', and the strong possibility of global annihilation. Recorded in high definition video and true surround sound, John Adams' fascinating, overwhelming score and Peter Sellars' forceful staging (and TV direction) portray Oppenheimer, exquisitely sung by Gerald Finley, as a profoundly troubled man, at odds with himself but moving inexorably forward, representative of the great ethical dilemmas of humanity itself. |
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