Blu-ray
Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (Glyndebourne)
Soile Isokoski (Ariadne ); Kate Lindsey (Composer ); Laura Claycomb (Zerbinetta ); Sergey Skorokhodov (Bacchus ); Thomas Allen (Music Master );
"Everything fits superbly and the production captures the fragility of happiness and the undertow of melancholy better than any I can remember.The mellow glow of the LPO under Vladimir Jurowski’s sensitive baton complements the vision perfectly, while a fine cast enhances the pleasure. Soile Isokoski is superb as Ariadne ..." (The Evening Standard ★★★★)
Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Glyndebourne)
Tara Erraught (Octavian); Kate Royal (The Marschallin ); Lars Woldt (Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau ); Teodora Gheorghiu (Sophie ); Michael Kraus (Herr von Faninal ); Miranda Keys (Marianne Leitmetzerin ); Christopher Gillett (Valzacchi ); Helene Schneiderman (Annina);
"Robin Ticciati conducts briskly, lovingly, and the London Philharmonic is on top form." (The Financial Times ★★★★)
Strauss: Die Fledermaus (Glyndebourne)
Pamela Armstrong (Rosalinde); Thomas Allen (Eisenstein); Lyubov Petrova (Adele); Malena Ernman (Orlofsky); Håkan Hagegård (Falke);
"Here is a perfect example of the quality of Glyndebourne opera. A classic yet inventive staging of a work without stars but composed of excellent singer-actors ... Thomas Allen is a perfect bourgeois cad...and the young Vladimir Jurowski confirms his talent as conductor in a brilliant rendition of Strauss' marvellous music." (Le Monde de la Musique)
Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten (Salzburg Festival)
Stephen Gould (The Emperor); Anne Schwanewilms (The Empress); Michaela Schuster (The Nurse); Wolfgang Koch (Barak, the Dyer); Evelyn Herlitzius (Barak's Wife);
"[The Empress] is central throughout, compellingly acted and luminously sung by the marvellous Anne Schwanewilms...Orchestral detail has tremendous clarity and the documentary extra includes pithy insights from cast and crew." (BBC Music Magazine)
Strauss: Elektra (Baden-Baden Festspielhaus)
Linda Watson (Elektra); Jane Henschel (Klytämnestra); Manuela Uhl (Chrysothemis); René Kollo (Aegisth); Albert Dohmen (Orest);
"Never do Christian Thielemann and the Munich Philharmonic overwhelm the singers: they make chamber music, in effect, with no bombast whatever." (International Record Review)
Strauss: Salome (The Royal Opera)
Nadja Michael (Salome); Michaela Schuster (Herodias); Thomas Moser (Herod); Joseph Kaiser (Narraboth); Michael Volle (Jokanaan);
"Nadia Michael's Salome can sing and dance with comparable flair and accuracy. Thomas Moser's Herod is genuinely moving...The orchestra plays spendidly under Philippe Jordan and Jonathan Haswell's photography is more imaginative than the work of his colleague at La Scala." (The Penguin Guide)