CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Gaetano Donizetti - La Fille du regiment / Dessay, Florez, Palmer, Corbelli, French, Campanella, Pelly (Royal Opera House 2007)

starring: Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Florez, Felicity Palmer, Alessandro Corbelli, Dawn French
directed by: Laurent Pelly

Release Date April 15, 2008
Desssay and Florez are wonderful together -- one of the best pairings in recent memory.

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Gilbert & Sullivan - The Mikado / Eric Idle, Lesley Garrett, Richard Van Allan, Felicity Palmer, Richard Angas, Bonaventura Bottone, Susan Bullock, English National Opera

starring: Eric Idle, Lesley Garrett, Bonaventura Bottone, Richard Van Allan, Felicity Palmer
directed by: John Michael Phillips

Release Date December 26, 2005
"The Mikado" is arguably the most-performed of all the G&S operas. The current stage director of the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Austin and renowned G&S scholar Ralph MacPhail said that not a day goes without the Mikado being performed somewhere in the world. I don't know if that's true, but "Mikado" is without question a very popular and frequently-performed comic opera. In addition, there are many different takes on it. There's Red Mikado, Hot Mikado, Swing Mikado, and recently the Mikado Project.

This version, with Monty Python's Eric Idle as Ko-Ko, is set in a seaside resort in the 1920s. (For those of you not familiar with the plot of Mikado, see my comment for a link to the G&S archives, as they summarize it far better ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Windsor Castle - A Royal Year

starring: Barbara Flynn, Queen Elizabeth II, Edward Griffiths, Jodie Kidd, Ray Wheaton
directed by: Matt Reid (II)

Release Date March 14, 2006
I bought this as I am both fascinated and repelled by the British monarchy. The pomp and ceremony are quite interesting and way over the top (Christmas caroling to the queen's horses in the royal stables!). QE2 comes off as stodgy and not in touch with the real world. As an American, after viewing this DVD, I really cannot decide which is worse -- spending thousands of dollars for a toilet on a US government jet or having a guy on the government payroll whose entire career is dedicated to raising the flag once a week at the exact moment the Queen's limo is entering Windsor Castle. What a great gig! The volunteer bell ringers were also funny -- ringing away in honor of the birthdays of various members of the royal family. Very entertaining.

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

Puccini - Gianni Schicchi / Corbelli, Palmer, Giordano, Matthews, McLaughlin, Jurowski, Glyndebourne Opera

starring: Massimo Giordano, Felicity Palmer, Alessandro Corbelli, Vladimir Jurowski, Marie McLaughlin

Release Date July 19, 2005
This is a truly brilliant production of Puccini's comic masterpiece. Although this one-acter, the third in Puccini's "Il Trittico" (trilogy) of one-act operas dealing with the subject of death, is less than an hour long, it packs a more than satisfying punch in the way of great music, well-drawn characters, and entertaining plot.

Annabel Arden has done a marvelous job in drawing out the dark side of humanity in the story, which keeps this production from veering into caricature and slapstick; yet humor is still here in abundance. Vladimir Jurowski leads the London Philharmonic in a brilliant, well-paced reading of Puccini's motif-packed score.

In the title role, Alessandro Corbelli once more shows us why he is considered ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

The Funny Blokes of British Comedy

starring: Judy Cornwell, Emily Joyce, Richard Briers, Geoffrey Palmer, Jon Plowman
directed by: Duane Huey

Release Date August 30, 2005
The DVD is just a presentation where a speaker talks about different shows of the British Comedy. I was expecting to see a presentation and then the complete shows, but instead they are just small parts (a few seconds) of the mentioned shows.

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Tchaikovsky - Pique Dame / Davis, Marusin, Gustafson, Palmer, London Philharmonic

starring: Yuri Marusin, Nancy Gustafson, Felicity Palmer, Sergei Leiferkus, Dmitri Kharitonov

Release Date December 14, 1999
I am writing this review to counter the bad ones here. This is a great production, both vocally and theatrically. The director's concept is wonderful and the singers are great. I recommend this DVD over any other one of this opera. What a joy.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Handel - Rodelinda / Roschmann, Chance, Palmer, Nilon, Robson, Chiummo, Bolton, Munich Opera

starring: Dorothea Roschmann, Felicity Palmer, Michael Chance, Paul Nilon, Ivor Bolton
directed by: Umberto Chiummo

Release Date April 26, 2005
I love this opera, and recordings of it are in short supply, so I actually bought this DVD (and the Glyndebourne one as well) just to hear some different renditions of this wonderful music. Both DVDs are good, but Roschmann's singing is a revelation! Anna Caterina Antonacci, on Glyndebourne's DVD, is a bit stretched by the tessitura of the part, but Roschmann has the coloratura, volume, and luminous shimmering tone that sets her apart from any other voice I have heard in the role. Her acting is also less stilted, although I think that has more to do with the productions they are in (the Glyndebourne is set in a sort of 1920's silent film Hollywood milieu). The Glyndebourne production is better overall, and better cast overall (Scholl is much better than Chance ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Janacek - Kat'a Kabanova / Davis, Gustafson, Palmer, Glyndebourne Opera

starring: Barry McCauley, Felicity Palmer, Ryland Davies, Nancy Gustafson, John Graham-Hall
directed by: Derek Bailey

Release Date March 26, 2002
On the DVD the orchestra is really there. I liked the production, and the cast sang and acted well. Perhaps the sound was remixed for the DVD as I could not understand the negative reviews given this production.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Britten - Let's Make an Opera

starring: Felicity Palmer, Lisa Milne, Kate Flowers, John Graham Hall, Stephen Richardson
directed by: Peter Weigl

Release Date November 21, 2006
This DVD claims to have subtitles but only the "Opera" the final 15 min. is subtitled. The slap-stick comedy is fun but heavily over-played. I would not recommend this unless you are a Britten freak or you have young teens with a love of slap-stick comedy that you want to introduce to opera.