"Actor: BBC"

• Bill Bailey's Remarkable Guide To The Orchestra | DVD | (23/11/2009) from £9.74   |  Saving you £10.25 (105.24%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Bill Bailey takes to the stage to give an expert lecture on the ins and outs of an orchestra in his inimitable style.

• Last Night of the Proms 2011 | DVD | (09/07/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tradition met high jinks as Edward Gardner conducted his first Last Night of the Proms. For this grandest of grand finales there were two very special guests. Since her first Proms appearance in 1995, Susan Bullock has emerged as Britain's leading dramatic soprano, specialising in what she calls 'the large ladies' of the repertoire. Also featured is a classical music superstar as popular in the West as in his native China. On his sixth visit to the Proms, Lang Lang plays Liszt; Bartok's thrilling suite provides a blast of exotic orchestral colour; and Arne, Parry and Elgar bring down the curtain in traditional fashion.

• Strauss/ Dvorak: Kempe (Ein Heldenleben/ Symphony No.9) | DVD | (09/02/2011) from £21.75   |  Saving you £-1.76 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tracklist: 1. Strauss - Ein Heldenleben 2. Dvorak - Symphony No.9 'From the New World'

• A Simple Man | DVD | (18/02/2005) from £2.49   |  Saving you £17.50 (702.81%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Commissioned to celebrate the centenary of the birth of the painter L.S. Lowry in 1987 this BAFTA award-winning dramatic ballet celebrates the life and work of a unique artist. Created by Gillian Lynne in collaboration with the composer Carl Davis this memorable production filmed in 1987 is performed by the Northern Ballet Theatre led by ex-Royal Ballet stars Christopher Gable and Moira Shearer. Re-mastered for DVD with the addition of recent interviews with Lynne and Davis it gives a fascinating insight into the creation of an inspirational work in the history of dance which remains as fresh as ever.

• Elgar: Enigma Variations | DVD | (29/03/2005) from £13.47   |  Saving you £6.52 (48.40%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Includes BBC drama documentary A Hidden Portrait presented by Sir Andrew Davis plus a complete performance of The Enigma Variations given in Elgar's home town of Worcester by the BBC Symphony Orchestra.

• The Best Of Men | DVD | (01/07/2013) from £14.21   |  Saving you £0.78 (5.20%)   |  RRP £14.99

• Poulenc - Stabat Mater | DVD | (27/03/2002) from £4.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (300.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Francis Poulenc was a tantalising character, part-monk and part-rascal according to the critic Claude Rostand. As in Stabat mater his music reflects this Janus-like persona, tears never far beneath the surface of even his most jovial offerings. Early on he had renounced the devout Catholicism of his family but rediscovered his faith after the premature death of a close friend, the composer and patron Pierre-Octave Ferroud. It was this event that prompted Poulenc's pilgrimage to the Black Madonna of Rocamadour, who nestles benevolently, high up in the rock face. An important body of sacred works ensued, not least his Stabat mater, a personal memorial to Ferroud. This is performed here by the combined Cambridge choirs of St John's, Clare and Gonville, and Caius; they're pleasingly mellifluous and disciplined but sound utterly un-French. The work can take it, but this is not the most tender performance. The strange and haunting Motets (Claire and Gonville and Caius Choirs) are dramatically the high point of this concert, while the otherworldly beauty of the ethereal (female-voice) Litanies tugs at the heart-strings. As a visual experience, we get two different locations but there's not a great deal you can do with a bunch of singers. The best things are the close-ups of a fabulous Chagall window (which comes from another church entirely, but who cares?). On the DVD: The remastering of these 1996 recordings has been reasonably well done though disconcertingly, picture and sound aren't always immaculately synchronised. Extra features are a virtual (four-and-a-half minute) visit to Rocamadour which has an appropriate sense of drama, if visually it's a bit crude; and a more substantial (18-minute) documentary on the phenomenon of Black Madonnas which is interesting but you may find the piety cloying, and more editing would have tidied up some of the rough edges that may irritate on repeated viewing. Sound is Dolby Digital 4.0, and picture is anamorphic 16:9 with both PAL and NTSC formats. The disc is region-free. The booklet is informative, though more for its madonnas than its music. --Harriet Smith

• Holst - The Planets | DVD | (18/02/2005) from £12.45   |  Saving you £2.54 (16.90%)   |  RRP £14.99

  This lavish visualisation of Gustav Holst's orchestral masterpiece The Planets and Colin Matthews' additional movement Pluto the Renewer features spectacular images which enhance the symbolic meaning attributed to each planet by the composer. Directed by Rhodri Huw this memorable audiovisual experience enthralled a massive TV audience with a spellbinding blend of images filmed in many locations around the world (including New Mexico Arizona and Scandinavia) computer graphics animatronics and a splendidly atmospheric performance by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

• A Christmas Carol - The Northern Ballet Theatre | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Charles Dickens' immortal tale here revels in a delightful adaptation for dance drama in three acts by Christopher Gable distinguished choreographer actor and former Royal Ballet star who died in 1998. The work is laced with Carl Davis' sparkling Christmas music which also requires the dancers to sing at various points. The featured company is the renowned Northern Ballet Theatre who here dance with infectious ebullience and vivacity.

• Great Composers - Vol. 3 - Mahler / Tchaikovsky / Puccini | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This three-hour compilation surveying the life and works of Tchaikovsky, Puccini and Mahler completes the BBC Great Composers series (the two previous releases contain the pairings of Bach/Mozart and Beethoven/Wagner). It's a splendid series, full of judiciously collected biographical information, lively and telling visuals, colourful anecdotes and excellent excerpted performances of the composers' best works. The directors' styles are very different, from Kriss Rusmanis' impressionistic approach (with an early chamber piece of Mahler's accompanied by shots of rippling brooks and dappled sunlight) to Chris Hunt's more forthright take on Puccini, but each is well tailored to the subject matter. There is a certain amount of psychological speculation in each case (Mahler may have inherited his sense of irony from watching nine of his siblings die while the jolly life of his father's tavern continued unabated, for example) but there's nothing outrageous. If you haven't hooked up your TV to some decent speakers the performances may sound a little pinched, but they are so good the quality shines through nonetheless; particularly noteworthy is Thomas Hampson's glorious reading of excerpts from Kindertotenlieder, and Georg Solti is on top form. On the DVD: Great Composers on disc comes with subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian, but no other special features. --Warwick Thompson

• Elgar: Enigma Variations | DVD | (02/09/2013) from £17.09   |  Saving you £2.90 (16.97%)   |  RRP £19.99

  BBC Symphony Orchestra - Leonard Bernstein, direction

• Dream Of Gerontius | DVD | (26/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Edward Elgar's choral masterpiece telling of an ordinary man on the point of death and facing his judgement before God is considered one of the greatest spiritual adventures in the Romantic repertoire. This monumental performance was broadcast live on BBC television from St Paul's Cathedral in London as part of the celebrations for the Cathedral's 300th anniversary on November 26 1997. Conducted by Andrew Davis and featuring Philip Langridge Catherine Wyn Rogers and Alastair Miles.

• Last Night Of The Proms 2000 | DVD | (03/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Numerous compilations of The Last Night of the Proms have been available in the past. Yet it makes sense to see and hear the event whole, and the 2000 Last Night was among the best of recent years. The range of music is excellent: Bach bizarrely orchestrated by Elgar, Mozart's Fourth Violin Concerto given with classical poise by Hilary Hahn, and Jane Eaglen thrilling in the closing scene from Richard Strauss' opera Salome. In the second half, a scintillating and newly discovered jazz suite by Shostakovich, Percy Grainger's affectionate Tribute to Stephen Foster, and Delius' heartfelt Walk to the Paradise Garden. That it all works so well is a tribute to Sir Andrew Davis, who conducts with conviction and is clearly enjoying himself in the standard items by Elgar, Wood, Arne and Parry. As his last concert at the helm of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, it's fitting that he received a special presentation--following on from his typically enthusiastic Last Night speech.On the DVD: Presentation is excellent, with profiles of the main works and interviews with the artists performing them. Picture quality reproduces the colourful array of flags and festivities with admirable definition and naturalness. Sound quality is good, though recorded levels vary between music and interviews, and may need some volume adjustment during playback. There are 23 access points, and an introduction to the Last Night that sets the scene without pre-empting the occasion. Whether or not you've attended the event in person, you won't get a better sense of the fun, frivolity, and also the musical quality of the Last Night than here. --Richard Whitehouse

• Various: Garrick Ohlsson (Piano Concerto No.2/ Scherzo/ Polonaise/ Funerailles) | DVD | (04/02/2011) from £12.05   |  Saving you £7.94 (39.70%)   |  RRP £19.99

• Tavener - Fall & Resurrection | DVD | (20/04/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £21.99

• A Midsummer Night's Dream - Pacific Northwest Ballet | DVD | (26/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This performance of George Balanchine's ballet A Midsummer Night's Dream was filmed live at Sadler's Wells Theatre, London, in February 1999 and won the award for "Best Television Realisation of a Stage Production" at IMZ Dance Screen. The music is from Mendelssohn's youthful overture plus later theatre music, and five other pieces by the composer all selected by the great Russian choreographer Balanchine in 1962. In a fine ensemble cast, Paul Gibson as Oberon and Patricia Barker as Titania are suitably aloof, at least until the latter dances with the ass Bottom (Timothy Lynch) in a highlight of touching comedy. After all the quarrelsome entanglements of the first act, the finale ensures celebration and richly deserved happy endings all round. The simple sets have a picturesque charm, the costumes a fairytale glamour and the large cast, including many children, dance with flair and enthusiasm; this is clearly one production where everyone was having a fine time. In fact it is rather more enjoyable than Hollywood's A Midsummer Night's Dream of the same year. Ballet aficionados may also want to explore the BBC's wonderful Coppélia (2000). On the DVD: There are no special features on the disc, but the 12-page booklet is entirely in English and is well presented, offering track and cast lists, a synopsis and notes on Balanchine, Mendelssohn and the creative talents and directors of the Pacific Northwest Ballet. The sound is atmospheric--Dolby Digital 5.0--and the anamorphically enhanced 16:9 image is good, though slightly soft, and does occasionally reveal some compression artefacting. In defiance of regional encoding regulations, not only is this DVD region free, but includes the normal PAL UK television system programme material on one side and on the reverse includes the same content in NTSC format, suitable for American playback. Anyone curious to see if one format is better will find that the UK PAL transfer contains just a little more picture detail. --Gary S Dalkin