"Actor: Karl Daymond"

• Maria Ewing - Dido And Aeneas | DVD | (10/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Purcell''s much-loved tragic masterpiece is an intense tale of heroism passion betrayal and ultimate tragedy played out against a backdrop of fiery rituals evil spells and pageantry. This film was first shown on television in 1995 to celebrate the tercentenary of Purcell''s death. The American soprano Maria Ewing stars as Dido with Karl Daymond as Aeneas. They head an excellent British cast including Rebecca Evans as Belinda Sally Burgess as the Sorceress Patricia Rozario as the First Enchantress and James Bowman as the Voice of Mercury. The Collegium Musicum 90 is conducted by Richard Hickox and the film was directed by Peter Maniura. This production of Dido & Aeneas was filmed entirely on location at Hampton Court House in 1995 where spectacular settings were created in the house and grounds by the Dutch designer Niek Kortekaas. Director Peter Maniura said of the production ''Purcell''s masterpiece is a miracle of dramatic compression. Inspired by the paintings of the 17th Century I have tried to recreate a rich filmic world which places a classical love story with its heroes and heroines magic and intrigue in a Baroque setting''.

• Leonard Bernstein: Trouble In Tahiti | DVD | (20/01/2003) from £17.15   |  Saving you £2.84 (16.56%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This new film of Leonard Bernstein's music-theatre piece Trouble in Tahiti, produced by BBC Wales and Opus Arte and directed by Tom Cairns, makes a strong case for a neglected work. Bernstein wrote his satire on American materialism in 1952, drawing on elements of opera, revue and musical comedy to tell a story of a marriage that's turned sour amid the trappings of suburban prosperity. The brevity of the piece, which flashes by in 39 minutes, perhaps accounts for its rare appearances, making this version specially welcome. Tom Cairns directs with style and panache, moving the camera effortlessly to and fro between the seven scenes. Amir Hosseinpour's choreography recalls with affection the heyday of the MGM musical then at its zenith. The film opens with a Greek-style chorus singing in scat jazz fashion to a montage of 1950s imagery: flickering television adverts, manicured lawns and white picket fences. Characters within the narrative appear in flash-back in home video footage. This is all highly diverting and possibly a ruse to mask some dramatic weakness in the story written by Bernstein himself. The wife never offers an explanation for her visit to the cinema to see Trouble in Tahiti instead of attending her son's school play, nor do we see the boy again after witnessing his parents having a tiff. The two principals, Karl Daymond as Sam and Stephanie Novacek as Dinah, are well cast and sing in a natural and pleasing manner with clear diction. The scat vocal trio is well matched and the City of London Sinfonia under Paul Daniel catch the spirit of the jazz inflected score as if it were second nature. On the DVD: Trouble in Tahiti is shot in wide-screen, appropriate for the era that gave us CinemaScope. There are subtitles in German, Spanish and French. A full translation in English is printed in the booklet. The extras include an introduction that partly overlaps with "A Very Testing Piece", in which Paul Daniel touches on the parallel with Bernstein's own unhappy childhood. Humphrey Burton in "Not Particularly Romantic" elaborates on this theme and goes on to offer a further fascinating commentary on Bernstein, whom he knew well. --Adrian Edwards