Genre:
Opera
Release Date:
May 2016
Subtitles:
EN
Sound Format:
LPCM 2.0 (AIDA, OTELLO, SALOME, STIFFELIO) DOLBY DIGITAL (MITRIDATE, ROMEO ET JULIETTE)
Catalog Number:
OA1213BD
The Royal Opera - A Collection
Plácido Domingo (Otello (Otello)); Kiri Te Kanawa (Desdemona (Otello)); Sergei Leiferkus (Iago (Otello)); José Carreras (Stiffelio (Stiffelio)); Cheryl Studer (Aida (Aida)); Dennis O’Neill (Radamès (Aida)); Roberto Alagna (Romeo (Romeo et Juliette)); Maria Ewing (Salome (Salome)); Bruce Ford (Mitridate (Mitridate)); Jochen Kowalski (Farnace (Mitridate)); Ann Murray (Sifare (Mitridate));
This special multi-disc collection brings together six memorable performances by The Royal Opera, unitingworld-class conductors Georg Solti, Charles Mackerras, Edward Downes and Paul Daniel with exciting directors Elijah Moshinsky, Peter Hall, Nicolas Joël and Graham Vick, and star singers. Treats on offerinclude Verdi’s Stiffelio, Aida and Otello, with José Carreras as the tormented pastor Stiffelio and Catherine Malfitano as his unfaithful wife Lina; Cheryl Studer as the tragic slave girl Aida, Dennis O’Neill as the heroic Radames and Luciana d’Intino as the passionate Amneris; and Plácido Domingo as the doomed Otello, with Kiri Te Kanawa as his beloved Desdemona and Sergei Leiferkus as his nemesis Iago. The collection also contains Peter Hall’s memorable production of Salome with Maria Ewing in the title role; Roberto Alagna and Leontina Vaduva in the title roles of Gounod’s epic, romantic version of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and Mozart’s virtuoso Mitridate, re di Ponte, with Bruce Ford in the title role, Ann Murray as Mitridate’s son Sifare and Luba Organasova as Aspasia, torn between two suitors. These classic recordings are preserved in their original Standard Definition and 4/3 picture format, capturing The Royal Opera at a memorable period in its long history.
Verdi: AIDA (1994)
Aida - Cheryl Studer
Amneris -Luciana d’Intino
Radamès - Dennis O’Neill
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Edward Downes
Director - Elijah Moshinsky
Verdi: OTELLO (1992)
Otello - Plácido Domingo
Desdemona - Kiri Te Kanawa
Iago - Sergei Leiferkus
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Sir Georg Solti
Director - Elijah Moshinsky
Verdi: STIFFELIO (1993)
Stiffelio - José Carreras
Lina - Catherine Malfitano
Stankar - Gregory Yurisch
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Edward Downes
Director - Elijah Moshinsky
Strauss: SALOME (1992)
Salome - Maria Ewing
Jokanaan - Michael Devlin
Herod - Kenneth Riegel
Herodias - Gillian Knight
Narraboth - Robin Leggate
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Edward Downes
Director - Peter Hall
Gounod: ROMEO ET JULIETTE (1994)
Romeo - Roberto Alagna
Juliette - Leontina Vaduva
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Charles Mackerras
Director - Nicolas Joel
Mozart: MITRIDATE, RE DI PONTO (1993)
Mitridate - Bruce Ford
Farnace - Jochen Kowalski
Sifare - Ann Murray
Aspasia - Luba Orgonasova
Ismene - Lillian Watson
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Paul Daniel
Director - Graham Vick
Verdi: AIDA (1994)
Aida - Cheryl Studer
Amneris -Luciana d’Intino
Radamès - Dennis O’Neill
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Edward Downes
Director - Elijah Moshinsky
Verdi: OTELLO (1992)
Otello - Plácido Domingo
Desdemona - Kiri Te Kanawa
Iago - Sergei Leiferkus
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Sir Georg Solti
Director - Elijah Moshinsky
Verdi: STIFFELIO (1993)
Stiffelio - José Carreras
Lina - Catherine Malfitano
Stankar - Gregory Yurisch
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Edward Downes
Director - Elijah Moshinsky
Strauss: SALOME (1992)
Salome - Maria Ewing
Jokanaan - Michael Devlin
Herod - Kenneth Riegel
Herodias - Gillian Knight
Narraboth - Robin Leggate
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Edward Downes
Director - Peter Hall
Gounod: ROMEO ET JULIETTE (1994)
Romeo - Roberto Alagna
Juliette - Leontina Vaduva
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Charles Mackerras
Director - Nicolas Joel
Mozart: MITRIDATE, RE DI PONTO (1993)
Mitridate - Bruce Ford
Farnace - Jochen Kowalski
Sifare - Ann Murray
Aspasia - Luba Orgonasova
Ismene - Lillian Watson
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor - Paul Daniel
Director - Graham Vick
Reviews
"Pure gold from the top team...Here was an evening to cherish, one to go straight into the memory in firmest indelible ink...The combination of Domingo and Solti promised gold and delivered every ounce expected." (The Times - Otello)
"Elijah Moshinsky's handsome Stiffelio was one of Covent Garden's greatest triumphs under a previous regime. José Carreras and Catherine Malfitano lead a fine cast." (BBC Music Magazine - Stiffelio)
"[Sir Edward Downes’] command of the score's structure, its curious blend of delicacy and bombast, of classical propriety and romantic excess, is complete and he drew superbly disciplined playing from the pit and lusty singing from the augmented chorus." (The Times - Aida)
"This is, unequivocally, a red-letter night at Covent Garden." (The Sunday Times - Mitridate)
"Leontina Vaduva is a touching Juliette… There's real passion in her Tomb aria… Roméo is the role that catapulted tenor Roberto Alagna into a celebrity. Best of all is Charles Mackerras conducting in the pit." (BBC Music Magazine - Romeo et Juliette ★★★★)
"Maria Ewing renews her tour de force performance in the title role, one of extraordinary stamina, range, colour and agility ... hers was a feat of high-class singing..." (The Evening Standard - Salome)