"Actor: Donald Kaasch"

• Glass: The Perfect American | Blu Ray | (02/09/2013) from £25.75   |  Saving you £4.24 (16.47%)   |  RRP £29.99

  United Kingdom released, Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio ), English ( Dolby Linear PCM ), English ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), Japanese ( Subtitles ), Korean ( Subtitles ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: At the age of 75, one of the leading figures on the 20th century music, Philip Glass, is composing a new work for the Teatro Real. "The Perfect American", imagining the final months of the life of Walt Disney - the person who has, more than any other, influenced the current world of consumers. Children nowadays only see mice and ducks as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, thanks to the image invented for them by Walt Disney factory. In opposition to the world of happiness he devised, the existence of this perfect American was marked by an unhappy youth and a personality whose 'political correctness' outdid that of even Richard Nixon. From the hand of Dennis Russell Davies, who has conducted almost all the premieres of Glass's operas, and the stage director Phelim McDermott, we will be penetrating into the nightmare of a happy world. World Premiere, commission of the Teatro Real De Madrid and English National Opera of London. ...The Perfect American (Blu-Ray)

• Glass: The Perfect American | DVD | (02/09/2013) from £21.38   |  Saving you £3.61 (16.88%)   |  RRP £24.99

  United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 ), English ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio ), English ( Dolby Linear PCM ), English ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), Japanese ( Subtitles ), Korean ( Subtitles ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (1.78:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Scene Access, SYNOPSIS: At the age of 75, one of the leading figures on the 20th century music, Philip Glass, is composing a new work for the Teatro Real. "The Perfect American", imagining the final months of the life of Walt Disney - the person who has, more than any other, influenced the current world of consumers. Children nowadays only see mice and ducks as Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck, thanks to the image invented for them by Walt Disney factory. In opposition to the world of happiness he devised, the existence of this perfect American was marked by an unhappy youth and a personality whose 'political correctness' outdid that of even Richard Nixon. From the hand of Dennis Russell Davies, who has conducted almost all the premieres of Glass's operas, and the stage director Phelim McDermott, we will be penetrating into the nightmare of a happy world. World Premiere, commission of the Teatro Real De Madrid and English National Opera of London. ...The Perfect American (2013)

• Gluck - Alceste | DVD | (02/01/2007) from £24.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Vienna version of Alceste was Gluck's second reform opera after Orfeo ed Euridice. The libretto and music revolve around a self-sacrificing main character, and it is quite probable that the courageous bearing of Empress Maria Theresia while mourning her husband provided Gluck with the impetus for this material.Alceste is reminiscent of Beethoven's subsequent Fidelio as a pure anthem to conjugal love. As Orfeo before it, Alceste did not achieve major success at the first performance of the Vienna version on 20 December 1767, but instead became widely-known when performed as a tragedie opera nine years later in Paris, after the addition of ballet music in French, the version we see performed here.This production from 2006 was acclaimed as the Opera Production of the Year, by German magazine Opernwelt. The title role is played by Catherine Naglestad, voted Female Opera Singer of the Year 2006.