CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

The Turandot Project

starring: Audrey Stottler, Lando Bartolini, Giovanna Casolla, Cristina Gallardo Domas, Yimou Zhang
directed by: Allan Miller (II)

Release Date May 28, 2002
It's difficult to do opera even poorly, and nearly impossible to do it well. The art form is staggeringly collaborative, and --- unlike cinema --- is utterly dependent on all factors combining in the right way at each unrepeatable, uneditable moment. So... take Puccini's swan song, TURANDOT, his grandest, if not his greatest, opera; now, present it in a city that has never produced western opera but that is the fictional/historical setting for its plot; make certain that your thousands of collaborators and artistic leadership do not speak the same language; and finally, add the less-than-creative tension of a totalitarian government determined that the entire enterprise should reflect well on both current leaders and the ancient culture. No ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Offenbach - Les Contes d'Hoffmann / Kraus, Hendricks, Welting, Ghiuselev, Omilian, Eggerton, Guingal, Parma

starring: Barbara Hendricks, Alfredo Kraus, Ruth Welting, Jolanta Omilian, Nicola Ghiuselev

Release Date September 30, 2003
I bought this DVD particularly because of Alfredo Kraus. I had the privilege of knowing him personally. There never have been any doubts in my mind that whatever he performed, no one would do it better. This Contes d'Hoffmann is another example of that. His vocal technique and beautiful phrasing always extremely elegant. I think he was already in his sixties when he did this performance and the way he moves around, dancing, running, jumping to and from the table, and singing at the same time is very impresive. Too bad it is a little dark. Too bad there are not too many good quality dvd's of Alfredo Kraus performances.

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Verdi - Falstaff

starring: Renato Bruson, Katia Ricciarelli, Leo Nucci, Barbara Hendricks, Lucia Valentini-Terrani
directed by: Ronald Eyre

Release Date April 24, 2007
Moderation in the pursuit of opera is by no means a vice, and this traditional and highly refined 1982 Covent Garden FALSTAFF surely is preferable to the 1999 performance from the same house. The latter (on Opus Arte DVD) is the well-cast but hyperkinetic and comedically overexplicit Terfel/Vick/Haitink production, notorious for such touches as Falstaff's waterbed, his carrot-shaped suggestion of "excitement" in one scene, and for its eye-searingly bright Day-Glo colors. Still, while admiring much of what the 1982 has to offer, one may have the gnawing feeling that it is a bit pedantic -- more of an exercise in corrective point-making than a vital performance. Maestro Carlo Maria Giulini and stage director Richard Eyre work together to create a FALSTAFF ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Igor Stravinsky - The Rake's Progress / Hendricks, Hagegård, Fedderly, Essa Pekka Salonen

starring: Barbara Hendricks, Hakan Hagegard, Greg Fedderly, Brian Asawa

Release Date March 28, 2006
I realize I risk stirring some opprobrium in giving this TV film version of Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress my highest possible recommendation - but I do.

A number of critics have disparaged it, quite rightly, for having excised some 20 minutes of Stravinksy's inspired music, and Auden-Kallman's inspired poetry. Some have despised its overuse of unmusical tricks. Still others have said that a truly great alternative is to be found in the video that records the 1975 Glyndebourne production. Again, true.

However, on its own terms, this is a most rewarding treatment of the Rake. Firstly, the sets, sounds, lighting and other cinematic effects conjure up a veritable Hogarthian 18th Century England that serves the story very ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Barbara Hendricks - Recital

starring: Barbara Hendricks

Release Date August 29, 2006
I realize I risk stirring some opprobrium in giving this TV film version of Stravinsky's opera The Rake's Progress my highest possible recommendation - but I do.

A number of critics have disparaged it, quite rightly, for having excised some 20 minutes of Stravinksy's inspired music, and Auden-Kallman's inspired poetry. Some have despised its overuse of unmusical tricks. Still others have said that a truly great alternative is to be found in the video that records the 1975 Glyndebourne production. Again, true.

However, on its own terms, this is a most rewarding treatment of the Rake. Firstly, the sets, sounds, lighting and other cinematic effects conjure up a veritable Hogarthian 18th Century England that serves the story very ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Some Tales of Hoffmann [Region 2]

starring: Daniel Galvez-Vallejo, José van Dam, Natalie Dessay, Barbara Hendricks, Isabelle Vernet
directed by: Pierre Cavassilas

Release Date
There are several reason you may want to own that DVD.
First of all: Natalie Dessay. She is incredible. So much nuances and clear control of the voice! Not to mention she is adding two high G (same in the CD version) and one high high A flat (not in the CD version)without any strain.
Second, the marvelous Barbara Hendricks, loveliest Antonia with a vibrato more controled than usually. Beside her high C sharp at the end of the trio which seems a bit thight to my ears, the colour of the voice is opulent.
Third, the Van Dam-Bacquier duo with perfect style, "intelligence de la scène".
Galvez-Vallejo is an adequate Hoffmann but not a revelation. However you have to think that it was a non stop evening which is quite a marathon for the tenor, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

A Tribute to Duke Ellington: Barbara Hendericks Monty Alexander Trio

starring: Barbara Hendricks, Monty Alexander

Release Date August 02, 2005
There are several reason you may want to own that DVD.
First of all: Natalie Dessay. She is incredible. So much nuances and clear control of the voice! Not to mention she is adding two high G (same in the CD version) and one high high A flat (not in the CD version)without any strain.
Second, the marvelous Barbara Hendricks, loveliest Antonia with a vibrato more controled than usually. Beside her high C sharp at the end of the trio which seems a bit thight to my ears, the colour of the voice is opulent.
Third, the Van Dam-Bacquier duo with perfect style, "intelligence de la scène".
Galvez-Vallejo is an adequate Hoffmann but not a revelation. However you have to think that it was a non stop evening which is quite a marathon for the tenor, ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Offenbach - Des contes d'Hoffmann (Some Tales of Hoffmann) / Nagano, Galvez-Vallejo, Dessay, Lyon Opera

starring: Daniel Galvez-Vallejo, José van Dam, Natalie Dessay, Barbara Hendricks, Isabelle Vernet
directed by: Pierre Cavassilas

Release Date October 26, 1999
There are several reason you may want to own that DVD.
First of all: Natalie Dessay. She is incredible. So much nuances and clear control of the voice! Not to mention she is adding two high G (same in the CD version) and one high high A flat (not in the CD version)without any strain.
Second, the marvelous Barbara Hendricks, loveliest Antonia with a vibrato more controled than usually. Beside her high C sharp at the end of the trio which seems a bit thight to my ears, the colour of the voice is opulent.
Third, the Van Dam-Bacquier duo with perfect style, "intelligence de la scène".
Galvez-Vallejo is an adequate Hoffmann but not a revelation. However you have to think that it was a non stop evening which is quite a marathon for the tenor, Hoffmann being ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Barbara Hendricks - Artist of Life

starring: Barbara Hendricks

Release Date March 05, 2002
This DVD gives us a special look into the life and behind-the-scenes workings of Barbara Hendricks- one of the worlds most enchanting (opera) singers. I appreciate that this DVD documents her rise to Paris fame from her humble Arkansas roots. She is truly a magnificent woman in so many ways, from her voice, to taking on formidable challenges with grace, to her beauty, to her visionary path, that I really don't know what to say... but this DVD gives us a unique glimpse into this Diva's stunning voice, mind, career, and mystique...

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Barbara Hendricks: A Portrait [Region 2]

starring: Barbara Hendricks

Release Date May 25, 2004
This DVD gives us a special look into the life and behind-the-scenes workings of Barbara Hendricks- one of the worlds most enchanting (opera) singers. I appreciate that this DVD documents her rise to Paris fame from her humble Arkansas roots. She is truly a magnificent woman in so many ways, from her voice, to taking on formidable challenges with grace, to her beauty, to her visionary path, that I really don't know what to say... but this DVD gives us a unique glimpse into this Diva's stunning voice, mind, career, and mystique...