"Actor: Malin Hartelius"

• Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier | DVD | (07/03/2005) from £22.22   |  Saving you £-3.24 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Franz Welser-Moest conducts the Zurich Orchestra in this performance of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.

• Rameau - Les Indes galantes / Petibon · Agnew · Croft · Hartelius · Rivenq · de Niese · Panzarella · Le Roi · Les Arts Florissants · Christe - Serban (Opéra de Paris 2004) | DVD | (27/06/2005) from £26.44   |  Saving you £4.81 (19.10%)   |  RRP £29.99

  William Christie and Les Arts Florissants propel this exuberant production of Jean-Phillipe Rameau's second opera to great heights. Andrei Serban's extravagant highly baroque staging presents the four exotic love stories vibrantly. In Le Turc Genereux Osman sets free his captive Emilie whom he loves so that she may be reunited with her former lover Valere; Les Incas De Perou is all about the rivalry of the Inca Huascar and the Spaniard Don Carlos both in pursuit of Princess Phani; Les Fleurs offers a Persian love intrigue as the Sultana Fatime tries to detect whether her husband Tacmas has his eye on the lovely Atalide; and Les Sauvages takes us to North America where a Spaniard and a Frenchman compete for the love of Zima daughter of a native chief who prefers one of her own people.

• Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito | DVD | (19/02/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The opera La Clemenza di Tito was composed only a few months before Mozart's death. As this period of his life is not particularly well-documented there are many legends surrounding this composition - some say that it was composed in just 18 days! This production is unique because the secco-recitatives proven to not be Mozart's own are not up to the standard of the main musical numbers and Franz Welser-Mst decided to replace them with abridged spoken dialogue. The Opernhaus Zrich has aimed to look forward with this production and fuel discussions about the possibilities of modern Clemenza performances. Director Jonathan Miller was inspired by Tolstoi and Tchechov and the Flemish painters for this production. They gave the appropriate down to earth feel which he wanted to achieve. Jonas Kaufmann has sung all of the great Mozartian tenor roles so his excellent Titus rounds up his repertoire extremely well.

• Mozart - Don Giovanni (Welser-Moest) | DVD | (24/09/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Don Giovanni - Live From The Opernhaus Zurich.

• Monteverdi: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria -- Zurich/Harnoncourt | DVD | (10/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Klaus-Michael Gruber's austere staging of Monteverdi's Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria ("Ulysses' Return") gives the impression of a sun-drenched ancient Greek island by the simplest of means: a bleached white wall against a dazzling sky-blue backcloth. It is an ideal setting for conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt's pared-down reading of the score (fewer "authentic" rasps and rattles than 25 years ago) and Vesselina Kasarova's intense, restrained performance of Penelope, all the more powerful for being held back. For example, her repeated cry of "Torna!" ("Return to me!")--an excuse for much hand-wringing on the part of some mezzos--rarely rises above mezzo-forte here. Dietrich Henschel is equally impressive as Ulisse, and uses his rich, flexible voice with inventiveness: he handles the moment of recognition with his son Telemaco (the outrageously handsome Jonas Kaufmann) beautifully. There are some off-the-rail moments to the staging which might not appeal to English theatrical tastes: Penelope's suitors are presented in a rather silly puppet show and the comedy scenes with Iro (Rudolf Schasching) fall flat. But it doesn't prevent the final moments of reconciliation and recognition reaching powerful heights. On the DVD: Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria is presented in 16:9 ratio and has PCM Stereo or Dolby Digital 5.1 sound options. There are subtitles in Italian, German, English, French and Spanish. A handsome, well-lit production is rendered on the small screen with as much subtle shading as possible by video director Felix Breisach, and falls very easily on the eye. --Warwick Thompson

• Mozart - Irrfahrten I | DVD | (22/01/2007) from £10.53   |  Saving you £10.72 (115.64%)   |  RRP £19.99

• Mozart - Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail (Konig, Zurich Oo) | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  The opera Die Entfuhrung aus dem serail in three acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

• Der Freischutz - Carl Maria Von Weber | DVD | (24/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The chorus and orchestra of the Zurich Opera are conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt in this 1999 performance.

• Johann Strauss - Die Fledermaus / Marc Minkowski, Salzburg Festival 2001 | DVD | (04/03/2003) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (-8.00%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Hans Neuenfels' unconventional production of Johann Strauss' opera with new dialogue: Marc Minkowski is the musical director.