CARMEN (Bizet) - Vienna State Opera
Carmen:ELENA OBRAZTSOVA
Don José: PLÁCIDO DOMINGO
Escamillo: YURI MAZUROK
Orchestra and Chorus of the Vienna State Opera
Vienna Boys' Choir
Conductor: CARLOS KLEIBER
For this legendary staging of Carmen, the masterly director Franco Zeffirelli created colorful and atmospheric imagery, while the musical genius of conductor Carlos Kleiber drew from the music a rhythmic vitality and subtle passion. Kleiber was conducting an extraordinary cast. Placido Domingo, still the young lyrical tenor, gave a stunning performance as Don Jose, and Elena Obraztsova was a wonderfully natural Carmen, a far cry from the usual she-devil erotic cliche.
' The applause threatened to last as long as a full-length opera'
SÜDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG
Directed for stage and TV by FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI
SAMSON AND DELILAH (Saint-Saens)
San Francisco Opera
Samson: PLACIDO DOMINGO
Delilah: SHIRLEY VERRETT
High Priest of Dagon: WOLFGANG BRENDEL
Chorus and Orchestra of the San Francisco Opera
Conductor: JULIUS RUDEL
Saint-Saens' great dramatic opera closely follows the biblical tale of the struggle between the Hebrews and the Philistines, and the downfall of Samson at the hands of the temptress Delilah. The colorful and evocative sets and costumes reflect Saint-Saens' melodic and sensual score.
'Placido Domingo and Shirley Verrett...incomparable in the title roles' SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
'...boasting three excellent principals, an extraordinarily handsome scenic and costume design, crisp, effective stage direction, and exceptionally good orchestral playing under an operatic conductor of the first rank'
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
Directed by NICOLAS JOEL
Directed for video by KIRK BROWNING
THE TALES OF HOFFMANN (Offenbach)
The Royal Opera Covent Garden
Hoffmann: PLACIDO DOMINGO
Olympia: LUCIANA SERRA
Giulietta: AGNES BALTSA
Antonia: ILEANA COTRUBAS
Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House
Conductor: GEORGES PRETRE
Seeking to exorcise the failure of his current love affair, the poet Hoffmann tells the tales of his three past loves - the doll-like Olympia, the high-class courtesan Giulietta, and the ambitious but delicate Antonia - and recalls how each was thwarted by the evil influence of his rival. In this production by the distinguished film director, John Schlesinger, Offenbach's nightmare world is brought to life. The all-star cast is headed by Placido Domingo as Hoffmann: his three loves are Ileana Cotrubas, Agnes Baltsa and Luciana Serra and the manifestations of his rival are sung by Geraint Evans, Robert Lloyd, Siegmund Nimsgern and Nicola Ghiuselev.
Stage Production JOHN SCHLESINGER
Directed for video by BRIAN LARGE
Bonus DVD
Placido Domingo speaks at length, with passion and fervor, about each of the roles he sings in these three operas.
Production Manager: ANGELA HALL
Editor ANDREW FINDLAY
Produced and Directed by CHRIS HUNT
Artistic Supervision: PLÁCIDO DOMINGO
CARMEN 154 Mins
Audio Subtitles: English, Francais, Deutsch, Italiano, Espanol
SAMSON AND DELILAH 111 Mins
Audio Subtitles: English, Francais, Deutsch, Italiano, Espanol
THE TALES OF HOFFMANN 150 Mins
Subtitles: English, Francais, Deutsch, Italiano, Espanol, Japanese
BONUS INTERVIEWS 59 Mins
Unsubtitled
- MPAA rating : Unrated (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 7.75 x 5.25 x 0.5 inches; 4.8 ounces
- Director : John Schlesinger, Franco Zeffirelli, Nicolas Joel
- Media Format : NTSC
- Run time : 7 hours
- Release date : September 28, 2010
- Actors : Placido Domingo, Shirley Verrett, Ileana Cotrubas, Elena Obraztsova, Luciana Serra
- Subtitles: : German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, English
- Producers : The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera
- Studio : Kultur Video
- Writers : Georges Bizet, Jacques Offenbach, Camille Saint-Saens, Michel Carre, Jules Barbier
- Number of discs : 4
