Off The Bookshelf Puccini - Manon Lescaut (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series) Search DVD

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1.Tan Dun - The First Emperor (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series) starring: Placido Domingo, Elizabeth Futral, Michelle DeYoung, Paul Groves, Hao Jiang Tian directed by: Zhang Yimou, Brian Large September 16, 2008
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $37.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $33.99 You Save: $3.99 (11%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $26.99
This opera is by far the best of all tan dun works. The costumes by designer Emi Wada are are unbelieveable beautifull. Placido Domingo as the first emperor Qin was full and strong that is missing from his other recordings, it must be the help he got with working under Tan Dun. The whole opera will be my best in my very large collection. RYTA SMITH

2.Britten - Peter Grimes (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series) starring: Anthony Dean Griffey, Patricia Racette, Anthony Michaels-Moore, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus directed by: Donald Runnicles (Conductor) September 16, 2008
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $37.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $33.99 You Save: $3.99 (11%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $22.50
I first saw this production of Peter Grimes when the Met broadcast it to movie theatres in March and vowed I would purchase the DVD when it became available. From the stark set of the poor fishing village to the wonderful performance by Anthony Dean Griffey in the lead role to the great sound of the orchestra under Donald Runnicles, bringing to life Britten's evocative score, the entire performace was mesmerizing. I highly recommend this DVD.

3.Humperdinck - Hansel and Gretel (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series) starring: Christine Schafer, Alice Coote, Philip Langridge, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chorus directed by: Vladimir Jurowski (Conductor) September 16, 2008
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $24.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $22.49 You Save: $2.49 (10%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $12.99
First off, it's not the music making or singing that make this such a horrible evening at the opera. It's this psycho, pseudo-Eurotrash production that puts the beloved classic in some weird time and place - we have fish-headed waiters instead of a dream pantomime, a hausenfrau witch and a lot of other weird stuff. True, it's not as godawful as the ENO production of a few years back (that takes place in WWI England, the sandman is a coke-snorting wastrel and the mother and witch are portrayed by the same singer) but I wonderful how awful opera productions have to get before we all scream, Enough! If you get this one, turn off the picture and just listen to the music. Or better yet, wait for DG to revive the Pioneer Classics DVD of the earlier Met O'Hearn Production.

4.Verdi - Macbeth (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series) starring: Zeljko Lucic, Maria Guleghina, John Relyea, Dimitri Pittas, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra directed by: James Levine (Conductor) September 16, 2008
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $37.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $33.99 You Save: $3.99 (11%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $19.99
In reviewing the Barcelona Opera DVD in which Maria Guleghina also appears as Lady Macbeth, I've already expressed my view (not shared by everyone here) that "Macbeth" is one of Verdi's underappreciated operas. Forgive me if I quote what I said there rather than rewrite it: "Verdi took great source material and used it to compose an opera with choruses that range from spooky (the witches) to weary and heartbreaking (the people of Scotland); arias for Lady Macbeth with vocal leaps and pyrotechnics that are Mozartian in difficulty; a great marital spat duet in which Lady M's diabolical hold over her husband is revealed; a final aria for the title character that garners sympathy for him, cold-blooded murderer though he is. The score is taut; not a wasted note." As in her Barcelona Opera performance, Guleghina's ... Read More

5.Puccini - Manon Lescaut (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series) starring: Karita Mattila, Marcello Giordani, Dwayne Croft, Dale Travis, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra directed by: James Levine (Conductor) September 16, 2008
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $24.98 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $22.49 You Save: $2.49 (10%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $14.99
For me, there has just always been something about Manon Lescaut that moves me deeply. So I admit that I am hard to disappoint when it comes to performances of Puccini's first big hit. Still, I consider myself to be pretty critical and picky, even if I get a little sentimental. I personally think this version easily competes with other DVDs available, and not just because of the musical performances. I attended this performance live at a local movie theatre and was quickly drawn into the compelling, unrelenting melancholy of this opera. It took me a while to warm up to Marcello Giordani's initially wooden Des Grieux, but his portrayal gradually relaxed and took hold, imparting passion and depth to the role. His beautiful singing is full of emotion, even if it is imperfect (whose isn't?). I had high hopes for Karita ... Read More

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