The basic structure of this page is an alphabetic index, by composer and work, of all the DVD and Blu-ray reviews that have appeared on Opera Ramblings. Recital and documentary type disks are grouped at the end. It’s a long list so I wrote some posts designed to guide readers to the the disks I find most worthwhile (originally written in April 2015 and sporadically updated). Also, if it matters to you, there’s a note on, mainly, audio technology and how I relate to it at the bottom of the CD review page.
“Best of” lists
Best overall recordings
Most interesting pre-1980 recordings
Best recordings of works prior to Mozart
Most interesting recordings of Mozart works
Personal favourite recordings of 21st century operas
Interesting recordings that didn’t make it onto the other lists
…and for fun, the weirdest opera video recordings.
Adam
Le postillon de Lonjumeau; Paris, 2019
Adams
The Death of Klinghoffer; Film, 2003
Doctor Atomic; Amsterdam, 2007
El Niño; Paris, 2000
Nixon in China; Metropolitan Opera, 2011
Adès
The Exterminating Angel; Metropolitan Opera, 2017
The Tempest; Metropolitan Opera, 2012
Albéniz
Merlin; Madrid, 2003
d’Albert
Tiefland; Zürich, 2006
Alfano
Cyrano de Bergerac; Valencia, 2007
Sakùntala; Catania, 2016
Barber
Vanessa; Glyndebourne, 2018
Barrière and Saariaho
Ekstasis; Paris, 2018
Beethoven
Fidelio; Glyndebourne, 1979
Fidelio; Metropolitan Opera, 2000
Fidelio; Zürich, 2004
Fidelio; Zürich, 2008
Fidelio; Salzburg, 2015
Fidelio (1806 version); Theater an der Wien, 2020
Leonora (1805 version); Opera Lafayette, 2020
Bellini
I Capuletti e I Montecchi; San Francisco, 2012
Norma; Canadian Opera Company, 1981
Norma; Munich, 2006
Norma; Barcelona, 2015
Norma; Royal Opera House, 2016
Norma; Macerata, 2016
I Puritani; Barcelona, 2001
I Puritani; Metropolitan Opera, 2007
I Puritani; Madrid, 2016
La Sonnambula; Stuttgart, 2013
Benjamin
Lessons in Love and Violence; Royal Opera House, 2018
Written on Skin; Royal Opera House, 2013
Berg
Lulu; Glyndebourne, 1996
Lulu; Salzburg; 2010
Lulu; Brussels, 2012
Wozzeck; Film, 1970
Wozzeck; Wiener Staatsoper, 1987
Wozzeck; Frankfurt, 1996
Wozzeck; Barcelona, 2007
Wozzeck; Moscow, 2010
Wozzeck; Zürich, 2015
Wozzeck; Amsterdam, 2017
Berlioz
Béatrice et Bénédict; Glyndebourne, 2016
Benvenuto Cellini; Amsterdam, 2015
Les Troyens; Paris, 2003
Les Troyens; Royal Opera House, 2012
Birtwistle
The Minotaur; Royal Opera House, 2008
Bizet
Carmen; Earl’s Court, 1999
Carmen; Glyndebourne, 2002
Carmen; Royal Opera House, 2006
Carmen; Zurich, 2008
Carmen; Paris, 2009
Carmen; Metropolitan Opera, 2010
Carmen; Barcelona, 2011
Carmen; Bregenz, 2017
Blow
Venus and Adonis; Stockholm, 2021 (coupled with Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas)
Boesmans
Julie; Aix-en-Provence, 2005
Boismortier
Don Quichotte chez la duchesse; Versailles, 2015
Boito
Mefistofele; San Francisco, 2013
Borodin
Prince Igor; Metropolitan Opera, 2014
Britten
Albert Herring; Glyndebourne, 1985
Billy Budd; BBC film, 1966
Billy Budd; Glyndebourne, 2010
Death in Venice; Glyndebourne Touring Opera, 1987
Death in Venice; Venice, 2008
Gloriana; BBC film/Opera North, 2000
Gloriana; Royal Opera House, 2013
A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Glyndebourne, 1981
A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Barcelona, 2005
Owen Wingrave; BBC2 film, 1970
Owen Wingrave; Channel 4 film, 2001
Peter Grimes; BBC film, 1969
Peter Grimes; Royal Opera House, 1981
Peter Grimes; ENO, 1994
Peter Grimes; Zurich, 2005
Peter Grimes; Metropolitan Opera, 2008
Peter Grimes; La Scala, 2012
Peter Grimes; Aldeburgh, 2013
Comparative round up of all seven available versions of Peter Grimes
The Rape of Lucretia; Snape, 2001
The Rape of Lucretia; Glyndebourne, 2015
The Turn of the Screw; Opera Australia, 1991
The Turn of the Screw; BBC Wales film, 1996
The Turn of the Screw; Glyndebourne, 2011
Busoni
Doktor Faust; Zurich, 2008
Casablancas
L’enigma di Lea; Barcelona, 2019
Catalani
La Wally; Theater an der Wien, 2021
Cavalieri
Rappresentatione di Anima et di Corpo; Theater an der Wien, 2021 (Review on Opera Canada website)
Cavalli
La Didone; Caen, 2011
Elena Aix-en-Provence; 2013
Ercole amante; Amsterdam, 2009
Ercole amante; Paris, 2019
Il Giasone; Vlaamse Opera, 2010
Il Giasone, Geneva, 2017
Cesti
La Dori; Innsbruck, 2019
Chabrier
Une Éducation Manquée; Compiègne, 1994
Cherubini
Koukourgi; Klagenfurt, 2010
Médée; Brussels, 2011
Chin
Alice in Wonderland; Munich, 2007
Cilea
Adriana Lecouvreur; Royal Opera House, 2010
Dean
Hamlet; Glyndebourne, 2017
Debussy
Pelléas et Mélisande; WNO, 1992
Pelléas et Mélisande; Zurich, 2004
Pelléas et Mélisande; Theater an der Wien, 2009
Pelléas et Mélisande; Malmö, 2016
Pelléas et Mélisande; Zurich, 2016
Deshenov
Ice and Steel; Saarbrücken, 2007
Donizetti
Anna Bolena; Canadian Opera Company, 1984
Anna Bolena; Wiener Staatsoper, 2011
Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali; La Scala, 2009
Don Pasquale; Cagliari, 2002
L’elisir d’amore; Lyon, 1996
L’elisir d’amore; Glyndebourne, 2009
La fille du régiment; Royal Opera House, 2007
Lucrezia Borgia; Munich, 2009
Lucrezia Borgia; San Francisco, 2011
Maria Stuarda; Metropolitan Opera, 2013
Poliuto; Glyndebourne, 2015
Roberto Devereux; Munich, 2005
Rosmonda d’Inghilterra; Bergamo, 2016
Dove
The Adventures of Pinocchio; Opera North, 2008
Dukas
Ariane et Barbe-bleue; Barcelona, 2011
Dvorák
Rusalka; ENO, 1986
Rusalka; Paris, 2002
Rusalka; Munich, 2010
Rusalka; Brussels, 2012
Rusalka; Metropolitan Opera, 2014
Rusalka; Glyndebourne, 2019
Faccio
Amleto; Bregenz, 2016
de Falla
La Vida Breve; Valencia, 2012
Floyd
Susannah; St. Petersburg (FL), 2014
Franck
Stradella; Liège, 2012
Gay
The Beggar’s Opera; Paris, 2018
Gay/Britten
The Beggar’s Opera; BBC Film, 1963
Gershwin
Porgy and Bess; San Francisco, 2013
Giordano
Andrea Chénier; Royal Opera House, 2015
Andrea Chénier; La Scala, 2017
Fedora; Metropolitan Opera, 1996
Fedora; Genoa, 2015
Siberia; Florence, 2021
Glass
The Perfect American; Madrid, 2013
Spuren der Verirrten; Linz, 2013
Gluck
Alceste; Paris, 2000
Alceste; Stuttgart, 2006
Alceste; Munich 2019
Iphigénie en Aulide; Amsterdam, 2011
Iphigénie en Tauride; Zurich, 2001
Iphigénie en Tauride; Amsterdam, 2011
Orfeo ed Euridice; Royal Opera House, 1991
Orphée et Eurydice; Paris, 2000
Orphée et Eurydice; Munich, 2003
Orfeo ed Euridice; Peralada, 2012
Orphée et Eurydice; La Scala, 2018
Orphée et Eurydice; Chicago, 2018
Goldschmidt
Beatrice Cenci; Bregenz, 2018
Gounod
Faust; Wiener Staatsoper, 1985
Faust; Turin, 2015
Faust; Salzburg, 2016
Faust; Royal Opera House, 2019
Mireille; Paris, 2010
La nonne sanglante; Paris, 2018
Roméo et Juliette; Verona, 2011
Graun
Montezuma; Bayreuth, 1982
Hahn
Ciboulette; Paris, 2014
Handel
Acis and Galatea; Royal Opera House, 2009
Agrippina; Theater an der Wien, 2016
Alcina; Wiener Staatsoper, 2011
Alcina; Aix-en-Provence, 2015
Ariodante; ENO, 1996
Ariodante; Spoleto, 2007
Arminio; Karlsrühe, 2018
Belshazzar; Aix-en-Provence, 2008
Giulio Cesare; Sydney, 1994
Giulio Cesare; Glyndebourne, 2005
Giulio Cesare; Copenhagen, 2005
Giulio Cesare; Salzburg, 2012
Giulio Cesare; Theater an der Wien, 2021
Hercules; Paris, 2004
Messiah; Theater an der Wien, 2009
Der Messias; Salzburg, 2020
Orlando; Zurich, 2008
Partenope; Copenhagen, 2008
Rinaldo; Munich, 2001
Rinaldo; Glyndebourne, 2011
Rodelinda; Glyndebourne, 1998
Rodelinda; Theater an der Wien, 2011
Saul; Glyndebourne, 2015
Saul; Theater an der Wien, 2021
Semele; Zurich, 2007
Semele; Auckland, 2021
Serse; Dresden, 2000
Tamerlano; Halle, 2001
Theodora; Glyndebourne, 1996
Theodora; Salzburg 2009
Theodora; Royal Opera House, 2022
Hartmann
Simplicius Simplicissimus; Stuttgart, 2005
Haydn
Il Mondo della Luna; Theater an der Wien, 2009
Orlando Paladino; Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2009
Heggie
Moby Dick; San Francisco, 2012
Henze
Boulevard Solitude; Barcelona, 2007
L’Upupa und der Triumph der Sohnesliebe; Salzburg, 2003
Der Prinz von Homburg; Stuttgart, 2019
Hindemith
Mathis der Maler; Theater an der Wien, 2012
Hofmannsthal
Jedermann; Salzburg 2020
Humperdinck
Hansel and Gretel; Metropolitan Opera, 2008
Hänsel und Gretel; Royal Opera House, 2008
Janáček
The Cunning Little Vixen; Paris, 1995
The Cunning Little Vixen; Florence, 2009
The Cunning Little Vixen; Glyndebourne, 2012
From the House of the Dead; Aix-en-Provence, 2007
From the House of the Dead; Munich, 2018
Jenůfa; Glyndebourne, 1998
Jenůfa; Madrid, 2009
Jenůfa; Deutsche Oper, 2014
Jenůfa; Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2021
Jenůfa; Royal Opera House, 2021
Kat’a Kabanová; Glyndebourne, 1988
Kat’a Kabanová; Madrid, 2010
Věk Makropulos; Glyndebourne, 1995
Věk Makropulos; Salzburg, 2011
Knussen
Where The Wild Things Are & Higglety, Pigglety, Pop; Glyndebourne, 1985
Korngold
Die Tote Stadt; Deutsche Oper, 1983
Die Tote Stadt; Helsinki, 2010
Violanta; Turin, 2020
Das Wunder der Heliane; Deutsche Oper, 2018
Lalo
Le Roi d’Ys; Liège, 2008
Landi
La morte d’Orfeo; Amsterdam, 2018
Larcher
Das Jagdgewehr; Bregenz, 2018
Lehár
Das Land des Lächelns; Zürich, 2017
Leoncavallo
Pagliacci; Metropolitan Opera, 1994
Pagliacci; Royal Opera House, 2015
Pagliacci; Salzburg, 2015
Pagliacci; Amsterdam, 2019
Ligeti
Le Grand Macabre; Barcelona, 2011
Louie
Burnt Toast; Film, 2005
Lully
Armide; Paris, 2008
Atys; Paris, 2011
Cadmus et Hermione; Paris, 2008
Persée; Opera Atelier, 2004
Mascagni
Cavalleria Rusticana; Royal Opera House, 2015
Cavalleria Rusticana; Salzburg, 2015
Cavalleria Rusticana; Amsterdam, 2019
Massenet
Cendrillon; Royal Opera House, 2011
Cendrillon; Freiburg, 2017
Cendrillon; Glyndebourne, 2019
Don Quichotte; Sofia, 2009
Manon; Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2007
Manon; Liège, 2014
Thaïs; Metropolitan Opera, 2008
Werther; Paris, 2010
Messiaen
Saint François d’Assise; Amsterdam, 2008
Meyerbeer
L’Africaine; San Francisco, 1988
Dinorah; Compiègne, 2002
Les Huguenots; Opera Australia, 1990
Die Hugenotten; Deutsche Oper, 1991
Mondonville
Titon et l’Aurore; Paris, 2021
Moniuszko
Halka; Theater an der Wien, 2019
Monteverdi
Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda; Amsterdam, 1993
L’incoronazione di Poppea; Film, 1979
L’incoronazione di Poppea; Amsterdam, 1994
L’incoronazione di Poppea; Aix-en-Provence, 2000
L’incoronazione di Poppea; Barcelona, 2009
L’incoronazione di Poppea; Madrid, 2010
L’incoronazione di Poppea; Oslo, 2010
L’incoronazione di Poppea; Venice, 2017
L’Orfeo; Film, 1978
L’Orfeo; Barcelona, 2002
L’Orfeo; Opéra Comique, 2021
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria; Film, 1979
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria; Aix-en-Provence, 2002
Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria; Madrid, 2007
Mosca
Signor Goldoni; Venice, 2007
Mozart
Ascanio in Alba; Salzburg, 2006
Bastien und Bastienne/Der Schauspieldirektor; Salzburg, 2006
La clemenza di Tito; Film, 1980
La clemenza di Tito; Salzburg, 2003
La clemenza di Tito; Paris, 2005
La clemenza di Tito; Zurich, 2005
La clemenza di Tito; Glyndebourne, 2017
Così fan tutte; Film, 1988
Così fan tutte; Paris, 1992
Così fan tutte; Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2002
Così fan tutte; Salzburg, 2006
Così fan tutte; Glyndebourne, 2006
Così fan tutte; Salzburg, 2009
Così fan tutte; Madrid, 2013
Così fan tutte; Salzburg, 2013
Così fan tutte; Theater an der Wien, 2014
Così fan tutte; Royal Opera House, 2016
Così fan tutte; Paris, 2017
Davide penitente; Salzburg, 2015
Don Giovanni; Deutsche Oper, 1961
Don Giovanni; La Scala, 1987
Don Giovanni; Wiener Staatsoper, 1999
Don Giovanni; Metropolitan Opera, 2000
Don Giovanni; Barcelona, 2002
Don Giovanni; Salzburg, 2006
Don Giovanni; Royal Opera House, 2008
Don Giovanni; Salzburg, 2008
Don Giovanni; Glyndebourne, 2010
Don Giovanni; Aix-en-Provence, 2010
Don Giovanni; Royal Opera House, 2014
Don Giovanni; Salzburg, 2014
Don Giovanni; Theater an der Wien, 2014
Don Giovanni; Royal Opera House, 2019
Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Stuttgart, 1998
Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Aix-en-Provence, 2004
Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Amsterdam, 2008
Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Glyndebourne, 2015
La finta giardiniera; Lille, 2014
Idomeneo; Metropolitan Opera, 1982
Idomeneo; Salzburg, 2006
Idomeneo; Munich, 2008
Idomeneo; Madrid, 2019
Idomeneo; Vienna State Opera, 2019
Lucio Silla; La Scala, 2015
Lucio Silla; Madrid, 2017
Mitridate, rè di Ponto; Royal Opera House, 1993
Le nozze di Figaro; Film, 1976
Le nozze di Figaro; Paris 1993
Le nozze di Figaro; Glyndebourne, 1994
Le nozze di Figaro; Paris, 2004
Le nozze di Figaro; Salzburg, 2006
Le nozze di Figaro; Royal Opera House, 2006
Le nozze di Figaro; Madrid, 2009
Le nozze di Figaro; Glyndebourne, 2012
Le nozze di Figaro; Theater an der Wien, 2014
Le nozze di Figaro; Salzburg, 2015
Le nozze di Figaro; La Scala, 2016
Trollflöjten; Film 1975
Die Zauberflöte; Metropolitan Opera, 1991
Die Zauberflöte; Ludwigsburg, 1992
Die Zauberflöte; Royal Opera House, 2003
Die Zauberflöte; Salzburg, 2006
The Magic Flute; Film, 2006
The Magic Flute; Metropolitan Opera, 2006
Die Zauberflöte; La Scala, 2012
Die Zauberflöte; Baden-Baden, 2013
Des Königs Zauberflöte; Munich, 2013
Die Zauberflöte; Salzburg, 2018
Die Zauberflöte; Glyndebourne, 2019
Mussorgsky
Boris Godunov; St. Petersburg, 1990
Boris Godunov; Munich, 2013
Khovanshchina; Vienna, 1989
Khovanshchina; Barcelona, 2007
Khovanshchina; Munich, 2007
Nielsen
Saul og David; Copenhagen, 2015
Offenbach
Barbe-bleue; Lyon, 2019
La Belle Helène; Zurich, 1997
La Belle Helène; Paris, 2000
Les contes d’Hoffmann; Paris, 2002
Les contes d’Hoffmann; Bilbao, 2006
Les contes d’Hoffmann; Barcelona, 2013
Les contes d’Hoffmann; Amsterdam, 2018
Les contes d’Hoffmann; Hamburg, 2021
La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein; Paris, 2004
Orphée aux enfers; Lyon, 1997
Orphée aux enfers; Salzburg 2019
La Périchole; Paris, 2022
La vie Parisienne; Lyon, 1991
La vie Parisienne; Paris, 2021
Pergolesi
Il prigionier superbo and La serva padrona; Jesi, 2009/11
Pfitzner
Palestrina; Munich, 2009
Pizzetti
Assassinio nella Cattedrale; Bari, 2007
Poulenc
Dialogues des Carmélites; Strasbourg, 1999
Dialogues des Carmélites; La Scala, 2004
Dialogues des Carmélites; Paris, 2013
La voix humaine; Film, 2011
Prokofiev
The Fiery Angel; Rome, 2019
The Fiery Angel; Theater an der Wien, 2021
The Gambler; Staatsoper unter den Linden, 2008
The Gambler; St. Petersburg, 2010
L’Amour des trois oranges; Amsterdam, 2005
L’Amour des trois oranges; Paris, 2005
Puccini
Gianni Schicchi; Glyndebourne, 2004
La Bohème; San Francisco, 1988
La Bohème; Film, 2008
La Bohème; Oslo, 2012
La Bohème; Turin, 2016
La Bohème; Royal Opera House, 2017
La Bohème; Royal Opera House, 2020
La Rondine; Metropolitan Opera, 2009
Madama Butterfly; Film, 1974
Madama Butterfly; La Scala, 1986
Madama Butterfly; Glyndebourne, 2018
Madama Butterfly; Bregenz, 2022
Manon Lescaut; Royal Opera House, 1983
Il Tabarro; Metropolitan Opera, 1994
Tosca; La Scala, 2000
Tosca; Royal Opera House, 2012
Tosca; Baden-Baden, 2017
Tosca; Salzburg, 2018
Tosca; Wiener Staatsoper, 2019
Il Trittico; Royal Opera House, 2011
Turandot; Beijing, 1999
Turandot; Valencia, 2008
Turandot; La Scala, 2015
Turandot; Turin, 2018
Turandot; Madrid, 2018
Turandot; Barcelona, 2019
Purcell
Dido and Aeneas; Film (Canada), 1995
Dido and Aeneas; Film (UK), 1995
Dido and Aeneas; Paris, 2008
Dido and Aeneas; Royal Opera House, 2009
Dido and Aeneas; Rouen, 2014
Dido and Aeneas; Stockholm, 2021 (coupled with Blow’s Venus and Adonis)
King Arthur; Salzburg, 2004
King Arthur; Montpellier, 2009
King Arthur; Staatsoper Berlin, 2017
The Fairy Queen; Glyndebourne, 2009
Rachmaninov
The Miserly Knight; Glyndebourne, 2004
Rameau
Les Boréades; Paris, 2003
Castor et Pollux; Amsterdam, 2008
Hippolyte et Aricie; Glyndebourne, 2013
Les Indes galantes; Paris, 2003
Les Indes galantes; Munich, 2016
Les Paladins; Paris, 2004
Plateé; Paris, 2002
Zoroastre; Drottningholm, 2006
Ravel
L’heure espagnole and L’enfant et les sortilèges; Glyndebourne, 2012
Reimann
Lear; Hamburg, 2014
Medea; Vienna, 2010
Respighi
La bella dormente nel bosco; Cagliari, 2017
La campana sommersa; Cagliari, 2016
Rihm
Dionysos; Salzburg, 2010
Rimsky-Korsakov
Christmas Eve; Frankfurt, 2021
The Golden Cockerel; Lyon, 2021
The Snow Maiden; Paris, 2017
The Tale of Tsar Saltan; St. Petersburg, 2015
Rossini
Adelaide di Borgogna; Pesaro, 2011
Aureliano in Palmira; Pesaro, 2014
Il barbiere di Siviglia; Film, 1972
Il barbiere di Siviglia; Glyndebourne, 1982
Il barbiere di Siviglia; Schwetzingen, 1988
Il barbiere di Siviglia; Madrid, 2005
Il barbiere di Siviglia; Glyndebourne, 2016
Il barbiere di Siviglis; Paris, 2017
La cambiale di matrimonio; Schwetzingen, 1989
La Cenerentola; Film, 1981
La Cenerentola; Salzburg, 1988
La Cenerentola; Rome, 2016
Ciro in Babilonia; Pesaro, 2012
Le Comte Ory; Metropolitan Opera, 2011
Le Comte Ory; Zurich, 2012
Le Comte Ory; Paris, 2017
La Donna del Lago; Metropolitan Opera, 2015
Ermione; Glyndebourne, 1995
Guillaume Tell; Pesaro, 2013
Guillaume Tell; Royal Opera House, 2015
Maometto II; Venice, 2005
L’occasione fa il ladro; Schwetzingen, 1992
L’occasione fa il ladro; Wildbad, 2017
Otello; Zurich, 2012
Ricciardo e Zoraide; Pesaro, 2018
La scala di seta; Schwetzingen, 1990
Il signor Bruschino; Schwetzingen, 1989
Tancredi; Schwetzingen, 1992
Il Turco in Italia; Zurich, 2002
Il Turco in Italia; Pesaro, 2016
Il Viaggio a Reims; Barcelona, 2003
Rota
La notte di un nevrastenico/ I due timidi; Reate, 2017
Saariaho
L’Amour de Loin; Helsinki, 2004
Only the Sound Remains; Amsterdam, 2016
Salieri
Europa Riconosciuta; La Scala, 2004
Scarlatti
Dove è Amore è Gelosia; Krumlov, 2011
Griselda; Martina Franca, 2021
Schoenberg
Moses und Aron; Film, 1975
Moses und Aron; Paris, 2015
Von Heute auf Morgen; Venice, 2008
Schubert
Fierrabras; Salzburg, 2014
Eine Winterreise; Basel, 2022
Schumann
Genoveva; Zürich, 2008
Shostakovich
Katerina Izmailova; Film, 1966
The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; Barcelona, 2002
The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; Amsterdam, 2006
The Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District; Florence, 2008
Somers
Louis Riel; Canadian Opera Company, 1969
Spontini
Fernand Cortez; Florence, 2019
La fuga in maschera; Jesi, 2012
Straus
The Chocolate Soldier; Film, 1955
Strauss, Johann
Die Fledermaus; Munich, 1987
Die Fledermaus; Seefestspiele Mörbisch, 1996
Die Fledermaus; Salzburg, 2001
Die Fledermaus; Glyndebourne, 2009
Eine Nacht in Venedig; Film, 1973
Der Zigeunerbaron; Seefestspiele Mörbisch, 2000
Strauss, Richard
Arabella; Wiener Staatsoper, 2012
Arabella; Salzburg, 2014
Ariadne auf Naxos; Salzburg, 1965
Ariadne auf Naxos; Film, 1978
Ariadne auf Naxos; Metropolitan Opera, 1988
Ariadne auf Naxos; Dresden, 2000
Ariadne auf Naxos; Metropolitan Opera, 2003
Ariadne auf Naxos; Zurich, 2006
Ariadne auf Naxos; Glyndebourne, 2013
Capriccio; San Francisco, 1993
Capriccio; Paris, 2004
Capriccio; Metropolitan Opera, 2011
Elektra; Metropolitan Opera, 1980
Elektra; Film, 1981
Elektra; Zürich, 2005
Elektra; Salzburg, 2010
Elektra; Baden-Baden, 2010
Elektra; Aix-en-Provence, 2013
Elektra; Salzburg, 2020
Feuersnot; Palermo, 2014
Die Frau ohne Schatten; Salzburg, 1992
Die Frau ohne Schatten; Salzburg, 2011
Die Frau ohne Schatten; St. Petersburg, 2011
Intermezzo; Glyndebourne, 1983
Die Liebe der Danae; Deutsche Oper, 2011
Die Liebe der Danae; Salzburg, 2016
Der Rosenkavalier; Salzburg, 1961
Der Rosenkavalier; Royal Opera House, 1985
Der Rosenkavalier; Vienna, 1994
Der Rosenkavalier; Salzburg, 2004
Salome; Film, 1974
Salome; Royal Opera House, 1992
Salome; Royal Opera House, 2008
Salome; Salzburg, 2018
Stravinsky
Mavra mashed up with Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta; Munich, 2019
The Rake’s Progress; Glyndebourne, 1975
The Rake’s Progress; Brussels, 2007
The Rake’s Progress; Glyndebourne, 2010
The Rake’s Progress; Gothenburg, 2018
Le Rossignol; Film, 2005
Sturminger
The Giacomo Variations; Vienna, 2011
The Infernal Comedy; Vienna, 2009
Szymanowski
Król Roger; Royal Opera House, 2015
Tan Dun
The First Emperor; Metropolitan Opera, 2007
Marco Polo; Amsterdam, 2008
Tchaikovsky, Piotr
Eugene Onegin; Film, 1988
Eugene Onegin; Metropolitan Opera, 2007
Eugene Onegin; Valencia, 2011
Iolanta mashed up with Stravinsky’s Mavra; Munich, 2019
Queen of Spades; St. Petersburg, 1992
Queen of Spades; Amsterdam, 2016
Queen of Spades; Salzburg, 2018
Tchaikowsky, André
The Merchant of Venice; Bregenz, 2013
Thomas
Hamlet; Barcelona, 2003
Turnage
Anna Nicole; Royal Opera House, 2011
Ullmann
Der zerbrochene Krug; Los Angeles, 2008
Vaccaj
Giulietta e Romeo; Martina Franca, 2018
Verdi
Don Carlo; Amsterdam, 2004
Don Carlos; Paris, 1996
I due Foscari; La Scala, 2015
Falstaff; Glyndebourne, 2009
Falstaff; Rome, 2019
Falstaff; Florence, 2021
La forza del destino; Wiener Staatsoper, 2008
La forza del destino; Munich, 2014
La forza del destino; Florence, 2020
Giovanna d’Arco; Bologna, 1990
Macbeth; Royal Opera House, 2011
Nabucco; Royal Opera House, 2013
Nabucco; Verona, 2017
Otello; Film, 1974
Otello; Salzburg, 2008
Otello; Metropolitan Opera, 2015
Otello; Salzburg, 2016
Otello; Macerata, 2016
Rigoletto; Zürich, 2006
Rigoletto; Bregenz, 2019
Rigoletto; Royal Opera House, 2021
Simon Boccanegra; Royal Opera House, 2010
Simon Boccanegra; Salzburg, 2019
La traviata; Aix-en-Provence, 2003
La traviata; Salzburg, 2005
La traviata; La Scala, 2007
La traviata; Royal Opera House, 2009
La traviata; Aix-en-Provence, 2011
Traviata – Vous méritez un avenir meilleur; Paris, 2018
La traviata; Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2021
Il Trovatore; Metropolitan Opera, 2011
Il Trovatore; Brussels, 2012
Il Trovatore; Royal Opera House, 2017
Il Trovatore; Verona, 2019
I vespri Siciliani; La Scala, 1989
Vinci
Artaserse; Nancy, 2012
Vivaldi
Orlando Furioso; Paris, 2011
Wagner
Der fliegende Holländer; Bayreuth, 1985
Der fliegende Holländer; Amsterdam, 2010
Der fliegende Holländer; Theater an der Wien, 2015
Der fliegender Holländer; Bayreuth, 2021
Götterdämmerung; Bayreuth, 1980
Götterdämmerung; Bayreuth, 1991
Götterdämmerung; Copenhagen, 2006
Götterdämmerung; Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2021
Lohengrin; Metropolitan Opera, 1986
Lohengrin; Vienna, 1992
Lohengrin; Munich, 2009
Lohengrin; Bayreuth, 2011
Lohengrin; Stuttgart, 2018
Lohengrin; Bayreuth, 2018
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Bayreuth, 2008
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; Glyndebourne, 2011
Parsifal; Brussels, 2011
Parsifal; Metropolitan Opera, 2013
Parsifal; Staatsoper Berlin, 2015
Parsifal; Bayreuth, 2016
Parsifal; Palermo, 2020
Das Rheingold; Bayreuth, 1980
Das Rheingold; Bayreuth, 1991
Das Rheingold; Copenhagen, 2006
Das Rheingold; Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2021
Rienzi; Toulouse, 2012
Siegfried; Bayreuth, 1980
Siegfried; Bayreuth, 1991
Siegfried; Copenhagen, 2006
Siegfried; Deutsche oper Berlin, 2021
Tannhäuser; Barcelona, 2008
Tannhäuser; Copenhagen, 2009
Tannhäuser; Bayreuth, 2019
Tristan und Isolde; Bayreuth, 1995
Tristan und Isolde; Metropolitan Opera; 1999
Tristan und Isolde; La Scala, 2007
Tristan und Isolde; Bayreuth, 2009
Tristan und Isolde; Bayreuth, 2015
Tristan und Isolde; Rome, 2016
Die Walküre; Bayreuth, 1980
Die Walküre; Bayreuth, 1991
Die Walküre; Copenhagen, 2006
Die Walküre; Salzburg, 2017
Die Walküre; Royal Opera House, 2018
Die Walküre; Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2021
Weber
Euryanthe; Theater an der Wien, 2018
Der Freischütz; Film, 1968
Der Freischütz; Zürich, 1999
Der Freischütz; Dresden, 2015
Der Freischütz; Vienna, 2018
Weill
Die Dreigroschenoper; Film, 1931
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; Salzburg, 1998
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; Los Angeles, 2007
The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny; Madrid, 2010
Street Scene; Madrid, 2018
Weinberg
The Passenger; Bregenz, 2010
The Passenger; Graz, 2021
Weinberger
Frühlingstürme; Komische Oper Berlin, 2020
Wuorinen
Brokeback Mountain; Madrid, 2014
Zandonai
Francesca da Rimini; Deutsche Oper, 2021
Zemlinsky
Der Zwerg; Los Angeles, 2008
Der Zwerg; Deutsche Oper, 2019
Zimmermann
Die Soldaten; Salzburg, 2012
Recitals, Documentaries etc
Barbara Hannigan – Concert Documentary; 2014
Barbara Hannigan – Taking Risks; 2018
Cecilia and Bryn at Glyndebourne; 1999
Fuoco Sacro; 2022
Le miracle d’une voix; 1993-2003
LSO Stravinsky; 2015
Maria Callas at Covent Garden; 1962 and 1964
The Real Don Giovanni; 1998
The Salzburg Festival; A Brief History; 2006
traviata et nous; 2011
Want more reviews?
Not finding what you want here? Want a second opinion? Over at Mostly Opera Monika Rittershaus has reviewed over 200 DVDs. There’s not much overlap with my list and Monika tends to come at the task from a somewhat different perspective so her page is definitely worth a look.
A note on my reviewing philosophy/approach
My reviews are both a personal opinion and an attempt to offer a kind of review of opera DVDs and Blu-rays which is hard to find elsewhere. Of course I evaluate the production concept and how well it is executed as well as the quality of the music making though, not being a musicologist or a trained singer, you will not find highly detailed analysis of the “such and such a character did/did not execute a trill in the repeat of such and such da capo aria” variety. What I do do is attempt to evaluate the disk as such rather than just review what was on stage with perhaps a few cursory remarks about the disk specific aspects of the production. I believe that recordings are as much the work of the video director and engineering team as they are of the cast and creative team and I try to give full weight to their work in the review. In my reviews you will read a fairly detailed critique of the video direction as well as an evaluation of the audio-visual quality of the package. (I find it odd that many reviewers make comments about sound quality without even identifying which sound track they were listening to!)
I strongly believe that Blu-ray has significant advantages over DVD and review that format when I can which means (a) it exists in that format and (b)either I get a review copy or I buy it. The other major source of disks is the Toronto public library system which doesn’t carry Blu-ray so quite often even when Blu-ray is available I will end up reviewing the DVD version. Where I have reviewed the Blu-ray I have marked the entry on this page with a . Where I have reviewed the release on DVD but I know that Blu-ray is available I have indicated with
. Absence of this icon should not be taken as a definitive indication that Blu-ray is not available. Things change and the Met, in particular, is quite prone to releasing its HD broadcasts on DVD well ahead of an eventual Blu-ray release. On a final note, one can usually assume that a recording issued on Blu-ray was prepared from HD audio and video material but if it has a recording date before about 2000 it’s more likely to be a digitally enhanced non-HD recording. These can be very good and I welcome the trend to cheap Blu-ray reissues of older material but they aren’t of the technical quality of the newer ones. That said, the Sellars’ Theodora is pretty good (and a magnificent production/performance).
ETA March 2019: A very few 4K and Dolby Atmos formatted opera recordings are starting to appear. It will be interesting to see where that goes. I now have a player capable of reading 4K disks so, for now, at least, I’ll flag those as .
Very interesting blog! I’m very glad I came across it. Have you seen Purcell’s The Fairy Queen done by the English National Opera? I’d be interested in your review.
The only version of The Fairy Queen I’ve seen is the Glyndebourne one which I really like. I’ll keep an eye out for the ENO one. I think my favourite interpretation of a semi-opera would be the Salzburg King Arthur. It’s a bit quirky but tremendous fun.
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Hello,
I love that you also review videos, I would love to hear your take on Handel’s Deidamia , conducted by Ivor Bolton.
Also, I noticed that you reviewed Hansel and Gretel twice by two larger companies. I would be curious to get your opinion on Vera Causa Opera’s film production they did in November (Shameless plug, I was in this, but I am still curious either way.)
Thank you!
I haven’t seen the Deidamia. I’ll try and take a look at the H&G but no promises. I’m getting “streamed out” and w/ he reenergizing effect of live performance I’m finding it harder and harder to spend much time watching opera.