"Director: Humphrey Burton"

• Mozart - Requiem | DVD | (13/11/2006) from £21.49   |  Saving you £-4.50 (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

• Berg: Lulu - Glyndebourne Festival Opera | DVD | (23/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Alban Berg's second and last opera Lulu is one of the monuments of modernism, constructed around serial technique and containing scenes conceived of as Sonata-form, Suite and so on. The bliss of Andrew Davis's conducting in this classic Glyndebourne production is that we forget all of this--Davis doesn't gloss over the music's intellectual content, but that's not what we think about as we watch and listen. Part of the production's strength is the prodigious performance by Christine Schafer as Lulu--for once we believe in the character's sexual energy and power; and Schafer makes her real enough as a person that we largely forget the work's intrinsic misogyny. The rest of the cast are admirable too: Norman Bailey brings something perversely sweet to the disreputable painter Schigolch; Kathryn Harries makes the dying words of Lulu's lesbian lover Geschwitz one of the work's lyric high points; David Kuebler is equally powerful as Alwa. The final duet between Lulu and her destroyer Jack the Ripper is one of Wolfgang Schone's great moments, but he is equally good as Dr Schon, the man Lulu marries and kills. This is a performance of energy and beauty, matched by a simple but effective production. On the DVD Lulu on disc is presented in disappointingly in NTSC format with a 4:3 picture ratio. Fortunately, the Dolby 2.0 digital sound is ideal for the fine detail of this complex score and these nuanced performances. There are subtitles in English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese. --Roz Kaveney

• Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 9 and 10, Das Lied Von Der Erde | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £21.99

  Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 9 And 10 Das Lied Von Der Erde

• Herbert von Karajan: Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 | DVD | (31/03/2008) from £14.69   |  Saving you £10.30 (70.12%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Beethoven:Symphony No.9

• Carlos Kleiber - the Legend | DVD | (29/11/2004) from £44.39   |  Saving you £-0.25 (-0.60%)   |  RRP £44.14

  Carlos Kleiber's concert appearances were legendary for their rarity and for the sublime quality of his music-making. His death in 2004 robbed music of one of its most charismatic yet enigmatic figures. His excursions into the recording studio were frustratingly few thus it is fortunate that a handful of concerts were captured on film. This special DVD box set includes five of these occasions in which the hallmarks of Kleiber's conducting - his often minimal but always poetic ges

• Verdi - Falstaff / Graham Vick, Bernard Haitink, Royal Opera House | DVD | (10/10/2001) from £24.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Graham Vicks production of Falstaff opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and was not to everybody's taste; the garish primary colours of the costumes, especially Falstaff's unusually hideous get-ups, go several steps beyond the Breughelian effect Vicks intended. The staging is effective--the complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate, especially in the final fugue. Bryn Terfel's Falstaff is a memorable creation, self-mocking and self-aggrandising at the same time--so much so, in fact, that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for the part. Desiree Rancatore is an admirably sweet-toned Nanetta; Bernadette Manca di Nissa an appropriately sardonic Mistress Quickly; Roberto Frontali as Ford, in his Act 2 scena, perfectly distils and parodies every jealousy aria ever written, including Verdi's own. Haitink's conducting is exemplary in the lyrical passages, gets almost everything out of the fast and furious comic sections. --Roz Kaveney On the DVD: The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is powerful and filled with detail, capturing the excitement of the performance and the atmosphere of the Royal Opera House superbly. The anamorphically enhanced 1.77:1 widesceen image is very clear, and while given the source inevitably not up to the highest feature film standards, is among the best live classical titles yet released on DVD. The bold colours are particularly well realised, though the red lighting of the Garter Inn scenes causes the image to falter a little. There are optional subtitles in English, French and German. These are presented directly over the picture and would be easier to read had they been a little larger, or outlined in some way. The special features consist of a brief synopsis by James Naughtie, taken directly from the original television broadcast, a minute-long "comment" by conductor Bernard Haitink and short but interesting interviews with Bryn Terfel and director Graham Vick. Finally there is a nine-minute episode from the series of short BBC films, Covent Garden Tales on the 1999 modernisation of the Royal Opera House. --Gary S Dalkin

• Leonard Bernstein: Beethoven - Cycle 7 | DVD | (18/11/2008) from £108.75   |  Saving you £-12.76 (N/A%)   |  RRP £95.99

• Brahms - Concertos 1 - 2 - Leonard Bernstein/Wiener Philharmoniker | DVD | (13/08/2007) from £13.39   |  Saving you £0.60 (4.30%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Leonard Bernstein: Brahms Cycle II

• Tchaikovsky - Symphonies/Violin Concerto in D Major (Belkin) | DVD | (10/11/2008) from £13.48   |  Saving you £9.50 (90.56%)   |  RRP £19.99

• Schumann - Symphonies Nos. 1 - 4 (Wiener Philharmoniker) | DVD | (10/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £10.99

  The Symphonies

• Ermione - Glyndebourne Festival Opera | DVD | (30/01/2006) from £68.99   |  Saving you £-51.00 (-283.50%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Rossini's rarely performed 'opera series' Ermione was a surprise hit when it was first performed at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1995. Set in Troy after the fall of the city to the Greeks this tragedy of great histrionic force concentrates on the bitter struggle for the love of Pyrrhus between Hector's widow Andromache and the jealous Ermione sister of Helen of Troy. Graham Vick sets this highly effective production in the classically-inspired auditorium of an

• La Traviata - Verdi | DVD | (13/06/2005) from £22.13   |  Saving you £2.86 (11.40%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The famous performance of Verdi's romantic tragedy captures one of the most sensational debuts in operatic history. Singing Violetta for the first time was the young Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu whose remarkable interpretation reached the front pages of the world's press and led the BBC immediately to film the production. Equally notable was the masterly conducting of Sir Georg Solti and director Richard Eyre's stylish staging. This DVD and highlights CD present the definitive record of a momentous occasion.

• Il Ritorno D'Ulisse In Patria (REGION 1) | DVD | (10/09/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria from the Theatre du Jeu de Paume, July 2002.

• Die Schopfung (The Creation) (Full Sub Ac3 Dol) | DVD | (14/09/2009) from £11.08   |  Saving you £10.17 (103.56%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tracklisting1. Opening Credits / Haydn: Die Schpfung / Bernstein2. 1a. Einleitung. Die Vorstellung des Chaos (Largo) 3. 1b. Rezitativ mit Chor: Im Anfange schuf Gott Himmel und Erde4. 2. Arie mit Chor: Nun schwanden vor dem heiligen Strahle 5. 3. Rezitativ: Und Gott machte das Firmament 6. 4. Chor mit Sopransolo: Mit Staunen sieht das Wunderwerk7. 5. Rezitativ: Und Gott sprach: Es sammle sich das Wasser 8. 6. Arie: Rollend in schumenden Wellen 9. 7. Rezitativ: Und Gott sprach: Es bringe die Erde Gras hervor10. 8. Arie: Nun beut die Flur das frische Grn 11. 9. Rezitativ: Und die Himmlischen Heerscharen 12. 10. Chor: Stimmt an die Saiten 13. 11. Rezitativ: Und Gott sprach: Es sei'n Lichter an der Feste des Himmels14. 12. Rezitativ: Im vollen Glanze steiget jetzt 15. 13. Chor mit Soli: Die Himmel erzhlen die Ehre Gottes 16. 14. Rezitativ: Und Gott sprach: Es bringe das Wasser 17. 15. Arie: Auf starkem Fittiche schwinget sich der Adler stolz18. 16. Rezitativ: Und Gott schuf groe Walfische 19. 17. Rezitativ: Und die Engel rhrten ihr' unsterblichenHarfen20. 18. Terzett: In holder Anmut stehn 21. 19. Chor mit Soli: Der Herr ist gro in seiner Macht 22. 20. Rezitativ: Und Gott sprach: Es bringe die Erde hervor lebende Geschpfe23. 21. Rezitativ: Gleich ffnet sich der Erde Scho (Raphael)24. 22. Arie: Nun scheint in vollem Glanze der Himmel (Raphael)25. 23. Rezitativ: Und Gott schuf den Menschen (Uriel) 26. 24. Arie: Mit Wrd' und Hoheit angetan 27. 25. Rezitativ: Und Gott sah jedes Ding 28. 26. Chor: Vollendet ist das groe Werk 29. 27. Terzett: Zu dir, o Herr, blickt alles auf 30. 28. Chor: Vollendet ist das groe Werk 31. 29. Orchestereinleitung und Rezitativ: Aus Rosenwolken bricht32. 30. Duett mit Chor: Von deiner Gt', o Herr und Gott - Der Sterne hellster, o wie schn33. 31. Rezitativ: Nun ist die erste Pflicht erfllt Surround Sound34. 32. Duett: Holde Gattin, dir zur Seite - Der tauende Morgen35. 33. Rezitativ: O glcklich Paar 36. 34. Schluchor mit Soli: Singt dem Herren all Stimmen

• Bach - the Cello Suites (Maisky) | DVD | (11/06/2007) from £21.43   |  Saving you £1.82 (9.02%)   |  RRP £21.99

• Shostakovich - Symphonies Nos. 6 and 9 (Bernstein) | DVD | (12/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  For the first time on DVD here are Leonard Bernstein's critically acclaimed mid-1980s live performances with the Vienna Philharmonic - also featuring his spoken introductions to the two symphonies.Includes Symphonies Nos. 6 & 9.

• Ivo Pogorelich - Recital | DVD | (09/05/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ivo Pogorelich one of the world's most exciting pianists and an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 1981 was thrust into worldwide fame when Martha Argerich resigned from the jury of the 1980 Warsaw International Chopin Competition in protest of his elimination. This production by Humphrey Burton features him in the elegant Veneto Villa Caldogno and the splendid Eckartsau Castle in Lower Austria.

• Brahms - Violin Concerto/Double Concerto - Leonard Bernstein/Wiener Philharmoniker | DVD | (13/08/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Leonard Bernstein: Brahms Cycle III

• Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 7 and 8 (Bernstein, Wiener Po) | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Mahler - Symphonies Nos. 7 And 8 (Bernstein Wiener PO)

• Verdi: Falstaff -- Royal Opera House | DVD | (20/11/2000) from £30.24   |  Saving you £-5.25 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This Graham Vicks production of Falstaff opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House, but was not to everybody's taste; the garish primary colours of the costumes, especially Falstaff's unusually hideous get-ups, go several steps beyond the Breughelian effect Vicks intended. The staging is effective--the complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate, especially in the final fugue. Bryn Terfel's Falstaff is a memorable creation, self-mocking and self-aggrandising at the same time--so much so, in fact, that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for the part. Desiree Rancatore is an admirably sweet-toned Nanetta; Bernadette Manca di Nissa an appropriately sardonic Mistress Quickly; Roberto Frontali as Ford, in his Act 2 scena, perfectly distils and parodies every jealousy aria ever written, including Verdi's own. Haitink's conducting is exemplary in the lyrical passages, and gets almost everything out of the fast and furious comic sections. --Roz KaveneyOn the DVD: The disc comes with act introductions by James Naughtie, interviews with Haitink, Terfel and Graham Vicks and a documentary about the reaction of the stage-hands to the new building. It has scene selection and subtitles in English. --Roz Kaveney