Verdi: Falstaff (Glyndebourne)

Christopher Purves (Falstaff); Tassis Christoyannis (Ford); Dina Kuznetsova (Mrs Ford); Marie-Nicolre Lemieux (Mistress Quickly); Jennifer Holloway (Mrs Page); Bulent Bezduz (Fenton);

"Some of Glyndebourne’s more entrenched punters took umbrage at Richard Jones’s updating of Falstaff to a 1940s Ealing-comedy Windsor. Most, though, as you can hear throughout this film, roared at the gags in a production so sharply coordinated with the music." (BBC Music Magazine)

Verdi: Falstaff (The Royal Opera)

Bryn Terfel (Falstaff); Barbara Frittoli (Alice Ford); Roberto Frontali (Ford); Bernadette Manca di Nissa (Mistress Quickly); Desiree Rancatore (Nanetta); Kenneth Tarver (Fenton);

"... a true joy to the eye as Bryn Terfel dazzles us with stature, voice and gesture..." (Diapason)

Verdi: I due Foscari

Renato Bruson (Francesco Foscari); Alberto Cupido (Jacopo Foscari); Linda Roark-Strummer (Lucrezia Contarini);

Verdi: I Due Foscari (The Royal Opera)

Plácido Domingo (Francesco Foscari); Francesco Meli (Jacopo Foscari ); Maria Agresta (Lucrezia Contarini); Maurizio Muraro (Jacopo Loredano); Samuel Sakker (Barbarigo); Rachel Kelly (Pisana);

"Domingo ... is, unquestionably, rather fine in it. There’s strong conducting from Antonio Pappano, and the dark-hued score, all sombre brass and low strings, is excitingly played." (The Guardian)

Verdi: I vespri Siciliani

Giorgio Zancanaro (Guido di Monforte); Enzo Capuano (Il sire di Bethune); Chris Merritt (Arrigo); Cheryl Studer (La duchessa Elena);

"...Muti...conducting tautly, ensures that this live performance carries high drama, with the orchestra too playing splendidly. Cheryl Studer sings gloriously as Elena and Chris Merritt (as Arrigo) is in even better form here than on the CD set...As with Ernani, the production is straightforward, with no crazy impositions from a self-conscious stage director. The ballet is included, but it is presented effectively and danced well, and the music is tuneful enough. Excellent sound, too." (The Penguin Guide)

Verdi: Il trovatore (Bergenz Festival)

Carl Tanner (Manrico); Iano Tamar (Leonora); Željko Lučić (Il Conte di Luna); Marianne Cornetti (Azucena);

"It is nothing short of staggering to see how Carsen, using only light and shade, manages to create new spaces again and again within this dreadful labyrinth of steel. Fabio Luisi conducts the Vienna Symphony Orchestra as though in a beguiling dream. Every single instrumental ornament, no matter how small, is clearly audible on the evening air. The ensemble, freed from the obligation to produce great volume in sound, can now concentrate entirely on beauty of tone and expression." (Stuttgarter Zeitung)