23-year-old Gioachino Rossini completed his masterpiece IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA incredibly quickly – legend has it in just 13 days – which Rossini attributed to ‘facility and lots of instinct’. The opera, characterized by youthful energy and bold wit, has all the ingredients for comic chaos: an imprisoned young woman, her lecherous guardian and a young noble suitor. Skilfully plotting behind the scenes is Figaro, an irrepressible and inventive character in whom many have seen a resemblance to the young Rossini himself. The score fizzes with musical brilliance, from Figaro’s famous entrance aria to the frenzy of the Act I finale. This recording sees Joyce DiDonato (Rosina) bring literal meaning to the old theatrical motto Break a leg! She did just that in an earlier show but was determined to finish her commitment and was re-staged into the production to allow for the additional challenges that come when a leading lady in a lively physical role must wheel around the other performers...

Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur was inspired by the real-life story of a celebrated actress at ...

To open its 2019-2020 season, La Scala in Milan has chosen Tosca, in a new production directed by Da...

Dynamic are proud to present, for the first time on Blu-ray, Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra ‘The Thieving ...

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Imagine a window into the past. Imagine finally connecting singers' bodies to the voices you have al...

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There are elements of Eurotrash in this outdoor Aix-en-Provence summer opera production. Nevertheles...

Carlos Álvarez takes the title role in the first of Verdi's Shakespearean operas, with Maria Guleghi...

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German composer Richard Wagner wrote Parsifal, which is a three-act opera that tells the story of th...

A musical drama based on Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto.

Fierrabras of 1823 is the last of Franz Schubert’s stage works. Rarely performed to this day, this h...

This Blu-ray is a splendid record of a creative production with terrific voices and direction, as go...

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Visually this is a gripping production which captures the drama of this opera perfectly. It's downri...

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Richard Wagner called Die Walküre the “first evening” of the Ring of the Nibelung; he called Das Rhe...

The tale of a quick-witted fox and her escape from confinement for a life in the forest.