"Actor: Maria Chiara"

• Birdwatchers | DVD | (25/01/2010) from £8.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (77.86%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Tensions escalate when a tribe of indigenous Guarani Indians attempts to re-inhabit their ancestral land, which lies on the border of a wealthy landowner's fields.

• Ma Vie Sexuelle | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £44.99   |  Saving you £-29.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Ma Vie Sexuelle is a modern tale of Parisian romance. The film's originality and humour lie in its superb performances for which Mathieu Amalric won a Csar Award for Best Newcomer in his role as Paul. Paul is a fiercely intellectual woman-loving assistant professor at the university of Paris. He became a teacher but hasn't finished his doctorate that would make him a full professor. In this state on a modest salary he lives a half-life waiting to begin what he calls ""his life as a man"". Paul has been dating Esther for ten years. They don't get along in fact they are on the verge of splitting up. Two years ago he had an affair with his best friend's girlfriend. Since he considers it unthinkable to steal his friend's girl the state of his romantic affairs remain much the same way as his professional ones...

• Attila - Arena Di Verona | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  An early Verdi work set in the 5th century Italy during the age of the Huns and the Ostrogoths. It tells the story of the fall of the infamous king of the Huns which proved popular with the Italians in the 1800's. This production was filmed in 1985 with Nello Santi conducting.

• Verdi: Aida -- La Scala | DVD | (28/08/2000) from £3.51   |  Saving you £17.74 (788.44%)   |  RRP £19.99

  La Scala went all-out for its 1986 production of this grandest of grand operas, with a strong cast and--most important for a video recording--a larger-than-life staging. The Triumph Scene in Act II is by no means Aida's only attraction, but it is the part that makes the strongest and most lasting impression and it is the visual and musical climax of this production. Stage director Ronconi brings on a procession to dwarf all processions: looted treasures, heroic statuary, miserable captives struggling under the lash of whip-bearing slave-drivers. On par with these visuals is Lorin Maazel's first-class performance of the popular "Grand March" with the outstanding La Scala chorus and orchestra. In Act III, the contrasting tranquillity of the Nile Scene also gets a visual treatment to match the music's qualities.When it is not an epic spectacle, Aida is a tragic story of love, jealousy and horrible revenge. The shifting focus between vast spectacle and intimate moments-sometimes awkward in a live performance onstage--presents special opportunities and challenges for a video recording. In this Aida, the camera work shows an acute awareness of those opportunities and challenges. The soloists have a variety of strengths that outweigh a few small weaknesses. Luciano Pavarotti sings one of his signature roles in superb voice, but his weight problems are visually evident and detract from his impact as the dashing hero Radames. Maria Chiara has moments of vocal imperfection but gives a dramatically compelling performance. Ghena Dimitrova sings powerfully and the supporting cast is excellent throughout. --Joe McLellan, Amazon.com

• Puccini - Manon Lescaut | DVD | (04/08/2008) from £21.90   |  Saving you £7.09 (32.37%)   |  RRP £28.99

• Verdi - Aida, La Traviata | DVD | (18/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Performed at La Scala in Italy 'Aida' is Guiseppe Verdi's famous grand opera at its very best. 'La Traviata' is Peter Hall's production and comes from the 1988 Glyndebourne Festival under the musical direction of Bernard Haitink.

• Opera Exclusive: Arena Di Verona | DVD | (01/06/2009) from £40.48   |  Saving you £-10.49 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £29.99

  These three legendary outstanding operas from the Arena di Verona Festival feature star conductors such as Nello Santi and Daniel Oren. Zeffirelli's interpretation of 'Madama Butterfly' shows us a masterpiece of traditional Italian opera. The 'Aida' staging by Gianfranco De Bosio was seen and loved by thousands of opera lovers throughout the world. Star singers as the Italian soprano Fiorenza Cedolins, Marcelo �lvarez, Ruggero Raimondi or Maria Chiara show us the highest performance quality o...

• Verdi Favourites | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £14.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  This stunning compilation includes some of the greatest scenes from favourite Verdi operas taken from spectacular productions filmed at La Scala Milan The Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Arena di Verona. The DVD features superb performances from major opera stars including Jos Carreras as Oronte in scenes from I Lombardi Mirella Freni as Elvira in Ernani Renato Bruson as Falstaff Nicola Martinucci and Maria Chiara in Aida Ghena Dimitrova as Abigaille in Nabucco an

• Aida / La Traviata | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Aida: La Scala went all-out for this 1986 production of Aida, the grandest of grand operas, with a strong cast and--most important for a video recording--a larger-than-life staging. The Triumph Scene in Act 2 is by no means this Aida's only attraction, but it is the part that makes the strongest and most lasting impression, and is the visual and musical climax of the production. On par with the visuals is Lorin Maazel's first-class performance with the outstanding La Scala chorus and orchestra. The soloists have a variety of strengths that outweigh a few small weaknesses. Luciano Pavarotti sings one of his signature roles in superb voice, but his weight problems are visually evident and detract from his impact as the dashing hero Radames. Maria Chiara has moments of vocal imperfection but gives a dramatically compelling performance. Ghena Dimitrova sings powerfully and the supporting cast is excellent throughout. --Joe McLellanLa Traviata: Performances of La Traviata stand or fall to an unusual extent on their principal soprano; the first thing that needs saying about this Glyndebourne performance is that Marie McLaughlin has all of the attributes needed for a role that is fundamentally a virtuoso one, no matter how emotionally involving it is as well. The point about Violetta is that she is, with absolute authenticity, all of the things she becomes in the course of the opera--the febrile socialite and yearning love of Act 1, the quiet domesticated woman of Act 2 who sacrifices her love for Alfredo to precisely the family values he has talked her into espousing, the dying penitent of Act 3. Walter McNeil is an impressive poetic Alfredo in whose successful courtship we can believe. Brent Ellis is solidly powerful as his father Germont--the duet in which he talks Violetta into renouncing his son and comes to value what he is destroying is one of the high points here, as it should be. Bernard Haitink conducts impressively. --Roz Kaveney