"Director: Herbert Wernicke"

• Cavalli - La Calisto | DVD | (30/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

• Der Rosenkavalier (2pc) (Ws Sub Ac3 Dol Dts) | DVD | (06/10/2009) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Track Listing: 1.Der Rosenkavalier / Opening Credits - Fleming, Rene2.Der Rosenkavalier, Op.59 (Original Versi 1.Introduction - 'wie Du Warst! Wie Du Bis2.Warum Ist Tag? (Act 1)3.Er Katzenkopf, Er Unvorsichtiger! (Act 14.selbstverstndlich Empfngt Mich Ihro G5.hat Sie Schon Einmal Mit Einem Kavalier6.Drei Arme Adelige Waisen (Act 1)7.Di Rigori Armato Il Seno' (Act 1)8.Da Geht Er Hin, Der Aufgeblasene Schlech9.Ach! Du Bist Wieder Da!' (Act 1)10.Die Zeit, Die Ist Ein Sonderbar Ding DVD 2 1. Der Rosenkavalier, Op.59 (Original Versi - 1. Introduction - 'Ein Ernster Tag' (Act 2)2. Der Rosenkavalier Op. 59 - 1. Mir Ist Die Ehre Widerfahren' (Zweiter3. Der Rosenkavalier, Op.59 (Original Versi - 1. Ich Kenn' Ihn Schon Recht Wohl' (Act 2)2. Jetzt Aber Kommt Mein Herr Zuknftiger'3. Wird Sie Das Mannsbild Da Heiraten' (Ac4. Eh Bien, Mamsell, Was Hat Sie Mir Zu Sag5. Da Lieg' Ich!' (Act 2)6. ohne Mich, Ohne Mich, Jeder Tag Dir So7. Introduction And Pantomime (Act 3)8. Hab'n Euer Gnaden Noch Weitre Befehle?'9. Nein, Nein, Nein, Nein! I Trink' Kein W10 Macht Sie Der Wein Leicht Immer So? (Act11.Halt! Keiner Rhrt Sich!' (Act 3)12.Bin Glcklich ber Massen (Act 3)13.Er Sieht, Herr Kommissar (Act 3)14.Leopold, Wir Gehn!' (Act 3)15.Eh Bien, Hat Sie Kein Freundlich Wort Fu16.Marie Theres'!' - 'hab Mir's Gelobt, Ih17.ist Ein Traum, Kann Nicht Wirklich Sein20.Der Rosenkavalier - Closing Credits

• Orphee Aux Enfers - Offenbach | DVD | (15/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Orphée aux Enfers, Offenbach's riotous parody of the dissipations of French life in the Second Empire, fairly gallops past in this 1997 Herbert Wernicke production staged at the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Based on Offenbach's meatier second version (1874) of the Orpheus legend, it features nicely judged performances across the board and some stunning special effects, notably the explosive locomotive crash signalling the breach of the divide between Heaven and Hell. Satire reigns, not least in the reactionary figure of Public Opinion, a pinny-clad bossy boots with a hint of Dame Edna Everage about her. Olympus is a moribund salon full of bored Gods, sick of the Ambrosian diet. The casting is excellent, with Jacqueline van Quaille's chain-smoking dowager Juno heading the field. Alexandru Badea’s Orpheus subverts the legend in his purely pragmatic pursuit of Eurydice (the thrush-voiced soprano Elizabeth Vidal) that has nothing to do with love. Dale Duesing's Jupiter is louche and sexy, particularly in the very funny fly scene in the second act. From first to last, Wernicke's production offers something to catch the eye and ear, culminating in the well-loved, frantic can-can finale. Overall this is not only well-sung but very entertaining. On the DVD: Orphée aux Enfers gets the standard stage-to-video treatment. The picture quality (16:9) is OK but often dark so you strain to catch some of the production's design subtleties. Excellent sound (PCM stereo) brings Offenbach's vibrant score to the forefront, well matched by the strong performances of the principal singers.--Piers Ford

• Verdi: Falstaff -- Aix-en-Provence/Mazzola | DVD | (20/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  With Willard White in the title role, this very well-sung production of Falstaff from the Aix-en-Provence festival, set in the 1950s, makes for a radical yet plausibly alternative view to the traditional setting in "Merrie England". By casting Jamaican-born baritone White in the title role, director Herbert Wernicke has emphasised Falstaff's role as an outsider, spurned by the community on account of his success as a local businessman and here with the added burden of being black. White engages our sympathy for Falstaff's plight, notably in the last act where he finally turns the table on his adversary, Ford. Yet in his world-weary sophisticated persona this Falstaff seems at odds with the farce unfolding about him; he's been there, done that. There are, nevertheless, key moments to relish: his flicker of the eye as he dismisses Pistol and Bardolph with his letters to the Misses Ford and Page; the duet he shares with Ford on the trials and tribulations of love; and the return of his self-esteem as he pulls himself up to full height following his ducking in the Thames. His face in the final act, shot in close-up, white beard illuminated by moonlight, framed by Herne's horns, is unforgettable. The supporting cast are uniformly excellent as singers and actors, a joy to watch and hear. The main set consists of a polished wooden floor with walls of wooden slatted flaps that open and shut as characters drop in and out of the action. White linen on washing lines, sheets tumbling out of drawers, or, somewhat incongruously, neatly folded on the bed that Falstaff rolls out of after his dip in the Thames, make welcome visual diversions. The Orchestre de Paris play brilliantly under maestro Enrique Mazzola who captures the ebb and flow of Verdi's fast moving score to perfection. On the DVD: Falstaff on disc has subtitles in Italian, English, German, French and Spanish. The picture quality has a real three-dimensional feel to it and the soundtrack likewise. --Adrian Edwards

• Giulio Cesare - Handel | DVD | (03/01/2006) from £32.38   |  Saving you £-2.39 (-8.00%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Recorded live at the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona July 2004.Giulio Cesare is regarded by many as Handel's greatest and most exquisite work.This new adaptation comes from director Herbert Wernicke who includes in his version fragments of Rinaldo Orlando and Tolomeo. Wernicke concentrates on the psychology and politics of the story rather than seeking to set the opera in a contemporary context.In Handel's Giulio Cesare a far cry from the dark story of p