"Actor: Kirov Opera Orchestra And Choir"

• Sadko | DVD | (10/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Sadko's exotic world of myth magic and mystery encapsulates all the seductive charm of 19th century Russian opera. This widescreen DVD will be the only DVD version of Sadko on the market. Filmed at the Mariinsky Theatre St. Petersburg 1994. Kirov opera Orchestra and Ballet Mariinsky Theatre St Petersburg under Valery Gergiev.

• Prokofiev: The Fiery Angel | DVD | (17/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A performance of Prokofiev's opera 'The Fiery Angel' which centres on a girl possessed by a spirit. Conducted by Valery Gergiev.

• Tchaikovsky: Pique Dame (The Queen of Spades) | DVD | (24/03/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  In terms of vocal power, lyrical beauty and idiomatic authenticity, the casting for this 1992 live recording of the Kirov production of Pique Dame ("The Queen of Spades") could hardly be bettered. Gegam Grigorian (Herman) hits his fearsome, anguished high notes with the accuracy of a laser and Maria Gulegina (Liza) has a voice the size of the QEII but uses it with great subtlety--her opening duet with Pauline floats like gossamer, and her declarations of love for Herman at the end of Act 1 are spine-tingling. Kirov superstars Sergei Leiferkus (Tomsky) and rich-toned Olga Borodina (Pauline) also sound divine. In the pit Valery Gergiev renders every nuance of Tchaikovsky's score with clarity, and drives the strings to produce an almost unbearably tense atmosphere of foreboding; Herman's manslaughter of the Countess is preceded by shallow, haunted phrases which rise and fall like a beating heart. It isn't all rosy, however. The production comes from the traditional old Kirov "stand-and-sing" tradition and is somewhat static. The characters don't interact with much detail or generate much chemistry, and the chorus moves in unwieldy blocks. For a more gripping production (though not quite as well sung) try the Glyndebourne performance. But for sheer musical pleasure, you won't find anything to beat this. On the DVD: Pique Dame doesn't feature particularly inventive camerawork, though it does give a good solid account of the production. The sound recording captures all the most important moments with clarity, though just occasionally singers stray away from the microphones. There are subtitles in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and Chinese, and some trailers for other Universal Music DVDs. --Warwick Thomson

• Mazeppa - Tchaikovsky | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  The first-ever release on any video format of the Kirov's 1996 production of Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa. Valery Gergiev directs the Kirov Opera and Ballet in this dramatic staging of Tchaikovsky's historical opera based on Pushkin's verse tale of the legendary Cossack chieftain. Tchaikovsky's dark musical setting intertwines the political drama of Mazeppa's ill-fated betrayal of the Tsar with the personal tragedy of his love for Maria the young daughter of his hapless opponent Koc

• Verdi: La Forza del Destino | DVD | (16/08/2000) from £26.58   |  Saving you £-1.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This is a 1998 performance from the Mariinsky Theatre, St Petersburg of the original 1862 St Petersburg version of Verdi's La Forza del Destino. While the world famous version premiered in Italy in 1867 is the superior work, few will want to miss the rare opportunity to see and hear such a well-staged version of Verdi's first thoughts. Here the earlier libretto by Francesco Maria Piave is restored, the original, considerably darker ending is intact and even the sets are constructed to the 1862 designs. There are other differences, though the story remains the familiar mixture of love, misunderstanding and war, the characters ranging from the nobility to monks, soldiers and gypsies, the tone spanning low comedy to high drama. The result is a lavish production, full of life and vitality, shot through with musical urgency and some tremendously powerful singing. Particularly striking is Gegam Grigorian, making a commanding Don Alvaro, whose role here is rather more expansive than in the later version. Galina Gorchakova reprises her Leonara from the 1997 CD recording of the work with passionate intensity, and conductor Valéry Gergiev keeps the epic scale tightly focused. The direction for video unobtrusively brings out the heart of the drama on stage.On the DVD: The disc is presented at 16:9 and is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen televisions. The result is a good but not exceptional picture with clear PCM stereo sound. Other than the booklet and the option to view with or without subtitles there are no special features. --Gary S. Dalkin

• War And Peace - Prokofiev | DVD | (01/04/2004) from £32.38   |  Saving you £-2.39 (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  A performance of Prokofiev's opera at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. Valery Gergiev conducts the Kirov Opera Orchestra. Sung in Russian.