"Actor: Agnes Baltsa"

• Bizet - Carmen (Levine, Metropolitan Opera) | DVD | (20/11/2000) from £16.05   |  Saving you £-2.06 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  George Bizet's opera 'Carmen' performed by the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra. Conducted by James Levine.

• Mahler-Complete Symphonies | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £63.99

• Offenbach: Les Contes d'Hoffmann -- Royal Opera House/Pretre | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This famous and highly-praised Royal Opera production by film director John Schlesinger filmed in 1981 is as good as we are ever likely to see. The spectacular designs by Maria Bjornson and William Dudley vividly bring Hoffman's nightmare world to life. The brilliant cast is led by Placido Domingo as Hoffmann in one of his towering portrayals. He has become wholly identified with this part in a way that no other artist has.

• Opera Night 2007 - Deutsche Oper Berline - For The German Aids Foundation | DVD | (03/03/2008) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-1.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Chorus Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin Orchestra Of The Deutsche Oper Berlin Conducted By Lawrence Foster Live from the Deutsche Oper Berlin

• Vienna State Opera Gala 2005 - Gala Concert 50th Anniversary Of The Re-Opening | DVD | (30/01/2006) from £14.57   |  Saving you £10.42 (71.52%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A 50 year celebration of the re-opening of the Vienna State Opera since the Second World War.

• Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier -- Vienna/Von Karajan | DVD | (09/07/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  A production of Strauss' opera 'Der Rosenkavalier' performed at the Saltzburg Festival in 1984. Includes the Vienna State Opera Choir the Philharmonic Orchestra with singers Wilma Lipp Anna Tomowa-Sintow and Agnes Baltsa. Conducted by Herbert Von Karajan.

• Herbert von Karajan: Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 | DVD | (31/03/2008) from £14.69   |  Saving you £10.30 (70.12%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Beethoven:Symphony No.9

• Mozart: Cosi fan tutte | DVD | (30/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Mozart's third and final opera with librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, the hugely ambitious dramatic comedy Così fan Tutte (roughly translated as: "They're All Like That"), is brought passionately to life in a first-class production conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt and featuring one of the great starring roles for Cecilia Bartoli. Filmed live at the Zurich Opera House in February 2000 on a set which visualises the subtitle "The School for Lovers", the plot revolves around two army officers arguing about the fidelity of their brides, then setting out to test their chastity. Despite the often playful humour, this is not only psychologically telling music-making, but reveals Mozart exploring the structure of opera, discarding convention to mix large ensemble sections with arias for as many different combinations of singers as possible. With Liliana Nikiteanu attractively contrasted with Bartoli, and thoroughly convincing performances by Roberto Sacca (Ferrando) and Oliver Widmer (Guilelmo), this Così has a freshness and flow which, coupled with the timeless romantic themes, feels very contemporary. On the DVD: the presentation, which includes an interesting 22-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, is spread over two DVDs. There is a multi-language booklet minus libretto, though there is the option to watch with English subtitles. Given the difficult live stage lighting conditions the 16:9 anamorphically enhanced picture is as good as can be expected. There are both stereo and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks, though the latter gives the voices a disconcertingly disembodied character, leaving the former to be preferred. The total running time is approximately 213 minutes, not 275 minutes stated on the packaging. --Gary S Dalkin

• Bruckner - Symphonies Nos. 8 And 9 - Te Deum - Karajan/Wiener Philharmoniker | DVD | (04/02/2008) from £17.95   |  Saving you £-2.96 (-19.70%)   |  RRP £14.99

  In these priceless documents from the late 1970's, filmed in the Bruckner shrines of Vienna and St Florian, Herbert von Karajan conducts the Vienna Philharmonic in Bruckner's Eighth - the symphony he revered above all others - and Ninth, as well as the towering Te Deum.

• Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8 (Bernstein, Wiener Po) | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 7 And 8 (Bernstein Wiener PO)

• Karajan - a Profile | DVD | (24/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £11.99

  Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) one of the twentieth century''s most fascinating and complex geniuses dominated the post-war classical music world like a colossus. He won unprecedented musical power and public acclaim; received far more adulation sold far more records and made far more money than any other classical musician of his era. He also had many detractors -those alienated by his superstar status; those who found the purity and beauty of his music-making cold and superficial; those repelled by his headstrong ambition and endlessly demanding pursuit of his artistic ideals; and those for whom he was forever tainted by the shadow of the Third Reich. Yet his musical playboy image was at odds with the private man who was in reality a shy often solitary figure possessed of great directness simplicity and wit who craved inner quiet and concentration and was deeply loyal to his closest associates. He loved the peace and quiet of lakes and mountains as much as he did his private aeroplane and his fast cars. Charismatic and enigmatic Karajan was also the construct that was 'Karajan''. This film reveals the phenomenon of the man and his music. And it is Karajan himself in archive interviews who talks of events in his life and relates them to his work as a conductor. Herbert von Karajan''s life both on and off the podium is charted. From the influential experiences of his childhood and student days; through his emergence as a young conductor with a reputation for being brilliant but difficult; to his years at the forefkont of classical music; and his last decade when despite failing health and beset by acrimonious musical politics he continued to push himself to the limits of his creative and physical powers. The documentary also touches on the controversial issue of Karajan''s membership of the Nazi Party; his rivalry with FurtwSingler; his fitful association with Walter Legge of EM1 and with the Philharmonia orchestra founded by Legge in 1945; his fascination with science technology art and architecture in relation to music and his conducting style and rapport with his musicians. All are brought into focus and illustrated with a wealth of archive material. And throughout the film there is Karajan''s music drawn from the many sound and audiovisual recordings he made during the course of his extraordinary career. Extracts fiom works by Beethoven Mozart Wagner J.S. Bach Puccini Johann Strauss II Mahler Verdi Richard Strauss and Schoenberg testify to the vast range of the classical repertoire he mastered and summon up the sublime beauty of his music-making.

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Mozart: Greatest Operas | DVD | (31/07/2006) from £121.48   |  Saving you £-31.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £89.99

  This unique boxset a collaboration between Arthaus and TDK presents four great Mozart operas from the Zurich Opera House with some of the world's top artists. Featuring: Le Nozze Do Figaro Don Giovanni Cosi Fan Tutti Die Zauberflote