Tír Na HiFi

Jared wrote:

Jose Echenique wrote:On the other hand, we have reached definite Vivaldi.

and I see you have converted Fergus to your cause... ;-)

I have been meaning to ask you Pepe, if I asked you to name say your 5 favourite Baroque operas (available on DVD/ BR), ranging in time from Monteverdi to Handel/ Rameau, which would they be?

That is a difficult one Jared!
First of all, let me say that it´s been quite a surprise to see how well Rameau has done on dvd, but there´s an easy explanation: in Rameau the arias are very short and there are lots of dances, giving the stage director countless opportunities for lively action. Handel on the other hand has lots of arias that can last up to 12 minutes, a nightmare for stage directors.
But here is a list of very good recommendations:

1. Perhaps the finest Monteverdi production on DVD is Il Ritorno d´Ulisse in Patria from the Aix-en-Provence Festival with Les Arts Florissants and William Christie (Virgin). This is musical theatre at it´s best. The production is simple and beautiful, and every singer looks and acts his role to perfection.
Christie filmed a different production from the Teatro Real in Madrid. I haven´t seen this newer production, but the Virgin is so perfect, so breathtaking beautiful, that why bother?
2. I have just received a L´ Incoronazione di Poppea with Les Arts Florissants also from the Teatro Real de Madrid with a very promising cast: Philippe Jaroussky, Max Emanuel Cencic and Anna Bonitatibus. I haven´t seen it yet, but it can´t be anything but excellent. This is also in Virgin.
3. As I said Rameau has been particularly lucky on dvd, luckier in fact than in cd. Practically EVERYTHING in the market is worth having: a hilarious Platée with Minkowski, a gorgeous Indes Galantes with Les Arts Florissants, a Zoroastre and a Castor & Pollux with Christophe Rousset shot in the beautiful Drottningholm Theatre in Stockholm, and last but not least, Les Paladins and Les Boréades with William Christie in productions so beautiful and inventive that defy description.
Let´s face it, we don´t have a Futwängler to conduct Tristan in our time, but we do have William Christie to conduct Rameau.
4. We of course HAVE to name some Handel productions. I like a lot the Giulio Cesare from Harmonia Mundi with Andreas Scholl and a magnificent but little known Danish soprano called Inger-Dam Jensen. She sings a lovely Cleopatra, and Scholl was still in his finest voice. The production is highly inventive but in a good way, and the orchestra, the Concerto Copenhagen under Lars Ulrik Mortensen gives a classy performance. There are other Giulio Cesares on dvd, even one from Glyndebourne with William Christie, but the HM is preferable because it´s extremely well sung.
Another truly great Handel opera, Alcina, has been well served by Minkowski. These 2 are probably the finest Handel productions on dvd because musically they are excellent and they are also lovely to watch.
5. And finally let´s say something for Cavalli. Dynamic recently released an interesting production of Il Giasone, one of his latter operas. This was filmed in the Netherlands and the production though provocative is very interesting. Also I would like to mention a true rarity that one never expected to see on dvd: Stefano Landi´s Il Sant´Alessio. This is a Roman sacred opera (you must know that opera was forbidden in Rome in the XVII and XVIII centuries, except those with sacred stories). This is really interesting, and the production is beautiful. Who else but William Christie managed to have this recorded?

Hope these suggestions help :-)

^^ thank you very much Pepe for taking the trouble to write this out for me. As you will have noticed, I have the Rousset 'Zoroastre' which I enjoyed more than I imagined I might.... personally, I am coming to the conclusion that Rameau is better watched than only heard, and I will investigate more in due course.

You will never believe this, but I have just found a copy of Cavalli: Il Giasone on Blu Ray being sold off very reasonably on Amazon (2nd hand, watched only once), so I have snapped it up. I have read the synopsis in the Penguin Opera which sounds intriguingly convaluted so it should be an interesting watch at least!

I aim to keep adding to my collection little by little as funds, time and opportunity allow (I'm afraid I can't justify £25 per time) and try to understand the genre more as time goes by.

This one has been on my List for a long time. I found the music to be very pleasant, very accessible and very interesting. The Fine Arts Quartet play very well and the recorded sound is very good. I am not very well acquainted with the chamber music of Schumann but this is delightful music which I am sure will get plenty of play time.

^^ his SQs remain on my wish list also Fergus... but are moving on up.

all the chamber music I own of his, Quintet, Quartet & Trio involve the Piano and needless to say, all of which are very accomplished.

this is simply stunning:

Well as soon as Stephen Johnson picked his favourite recording of the Fifth I just had to leave CD Review and listen to his nomination:



The swansong in the Third movement never fails to move me, I love this symphony.

I'm not sure if the Davis/LSO is my first choice so I will have to listen to all of the Fifths in my collection before the weekend's out and discover for myself, drat!

Seán wrote:
I'm not sure if the Davis/LSO is my first choice so I will have to listen to all of the Fifths in my collection before the weekend's out and discover for myself, drat!

and I can see you adding your thoughts to Matt's March thread in the process, Sean... ;-))

Jared wrote:

Seán wrote:
I'm not sure if the Davis/LSO is my first choice so I will have to listen to all of the Fifths in my collection before the weekend's out and discover for myself, drat!

and I can see you adding your thoughts to Matt's March thread in the process, Sean... ;-))

Yes, I will. Johnson did not give a mention to several of the recordings in my collection.

Seán wrote: I'm not sure if the Davis/LSO is my first choice so I will have to listen to all of the Fifths in my collection before the weekend's out and discover for myself, drat!

You could do an awful lot worse with your weekend Seán!!!

This came up in conversation recently so I played it today....