CD-Charts Position 1
Average Rating:

Andre Rieu: Live in Vienna

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Andre Rieu
directed by: Not identified

Release Date September 30, 2008
I feel that this is the best Andre Rieu concert in a while. I LOVED it and plan to wear out the disc as i did with Tuscany. What? You dont's have tuscany? Then get that one as well - you wont be disapointed. Andre Rieu - Tuscany

CD-Charts Position 2
Average Rating:

Baby Einstein - Baby Mozart - Music Festival

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
by: Disney

Release Date March 12, 2002
This product was recommended to me by my cousin. It has been well worth the $15-and then some. My son loves it-and has loved it since he was 3 months old. He's now 11 months and will still sit & watch it. I actually enjoy watching it myself-it's very intriguing. The music is wonderful-so peppy and spirited. This is our favorite Baby Einstein dvd. I have purchased several as shower gifts for new mom's. Love it!

CD-Charts Position 3
Average Rating:

Puccini - La Boheme (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series)

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Angela Gheorghiu, Ramon Vargas, Ainhoa Arteta, Ludovic Tezier, Quinn Kelsey
directed by: Nicola Luisotti (Conductor)

Release Date September 16, 2008
For my money, the star of this performance is Ramon Vargas. He can act with the kind of restraint Hamlet rightly recommends for all times to any players, and he is in glorious voice throughout. Angela Gheorghiu possesses an indisputably gorgeous voice, and her employment of middle and high registers here is beyond criticism. She seems, though, to have developed a mannerism, a gummy holding on to vowels in the final syllables of low notes at the end of phrases which are unnecessarily ugly rather than dramatic. Also, she tends to annoyingly overact. Her Mimi has more characterization than most, it's true, and her aggressiveness in going after her chubby Rodolfo, rather than portraying the usual passive-aggressive consumptive heroine is not the problem. ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 4
Average Rating:

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

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Natalie Dessay, Juan Diego Florez, Felicity Palmer, Alessandro Corbelli, Dawn French
directed by: Laurent Pelly

Release Date April 15, 2008
I remember seeing a traditional La Fille a long time ago; I was bored stiff. But on the strength of the many 5 star reviews, I took a risk on this La Fille.

Do it! Like the Le Elisir d'amore with Netrebko and Villazon Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore / Eschwe, Netrebko, Villazon, Wiener Staatsoper, it takes middling music and makes it tremendous fun. Don't let the anachronistic setting (WW I?) scare you off; this is one of those cases where it works.

Dessay starts out as a near-manic, but her acting quickly turns the prosaic story into a dramatic hoot.

And then there's Florez' high C's: enough said.

I haven't seen the competing La Fille with Ciofi and Florez, but this one is simply too much fun. Get it.

CD-Charts Position 5
Average Rating:

Vivere Live in Tuscany [DVD/CD]

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Brightman, David Foster, Chris Botti, Heather Headley

Release Date January 29, 2008
This is the best andrea bocelli dvd, featuring many famous musicians. I enjoyed it very much!!!

CD-Charts Position 6
Average Rating:

Jules Massenet: Manon

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Anna Netrebko, Rolando Villazon, Daniel Barenboim, Alfredo Daza, Christof Fischesser
directed by: Vincent Paterson

Release Date September 23, 2008
The director admits in the documentary that he doesn't care for opera because too much attention too often is given to the singing and not enough to acting and staging. And he fixes that beautifully here in a Broadway-worthy theatrical presentation that should keep everyone glued to the action on screen. The updating to the 50's gives it a glitzy retro look similar to the Australian La Boheme. The sets, costumes, and especially the stars ("singing actors") make this a memorable piece, which viewers will want to watch repeatedly. No "stand-and-deliver" here.

CD-Charts Position 7
Average Rating:

Adams: Doctor Atomic

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Finley, Rivera, Owens, Fink, Maddalena
directed by: Sellars;Renes

Release Date September 30, 2008
John Adams' "Doctor Atomic" may well be a classic in the making. The San Francisco Opera premiered the work in October 2005. This DVD was recorded at the Netherlands Opera in June 2007, and the opera has also been performed by the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The Met will stage and record "Doctor Atomic" in October 2008.

Although this video has not yet been released in the U.S., it is already available in Europe, and you can see extensive excerpts on You Tube. Its cast largely duplicates that of the premiere--
J. Robert Oppenheimer: Gerald Finley
Kitty Oppenheimer: Jessica Rivera
General Leslie Groves: Eric Owens
Edward Teller: Richard Paul Fink
Jack Hubbard: James Maddalena
Robert Wilson: ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 8
Average Rating:

Baby Einstein - Numbers Nursery

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Baby Einstein
directed by: Jim Janicek

Release Date November 25, 2003
This has been a favorite of both my children. My 7-year old loved this video as a toddler and now my youngest enjoys it even more. My 22-month old loves to count with the number train and name the objects as they appear on the screen. Love that they use the same objects to show 1 item, then two, etc. it helps with counting and object recognition. We slowly started counting up to five with the video several months ago and are now starting to pass 10. Love the colors and consistency of the video. My son gets excited everytime he sees the tiger come on.

CD-Charts Position 9
Average Rating:

Tan Dun - The First Emperor (The Metropolitan Opera HD Live Series)

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Placido Domingo, Elizabeth Futral, Michelle DeYoung, Paul Groves, Hao Jiang Tian
directed by: Tan Dun

Release Date September 16, 2008
The last time I heard Placido Domingo, it was live in Handel's 'Tamerlano' in Washington DC, just a few months ago. Domingo was singing a baroque role well outside his comfort zone of technique, but his voice and his stage presence were so commanding that I loved him anyway. The last time I saw Domingo in a Chinese robe, it was in the DVD of the Met's 'Turandot.' He was superb, both vocally and dramatically. In this performance, alas, his voice is harsh and strained, and he stumbles about like a sick old man, not at all the persona of the great Qin Emperor. Even at his greatest, however, Domingo couldn't have made sense of this role. The character is implausibly foolish and the music assigned to the role has no gamut of expressiveness.

I expected good things ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 10
Average Rating:

Tchaikovsky - Eugene Onegin / Fleming, Vargas, Hvorostovsky, Gergiev, Carsen [Metropolitan Opera 2007]

CD-Charts > DVD > Classical
starring: Renee Fleming, Ramon Vargas, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Valery Gergiev, Jean-Paul Fouchecourt
directed by: Brian Large, Robert Carsen

Release Date December 18, 2007
This is a stellar performance by a superb cast and conducted expertly by Valery Gergiev. Hvorostovsky and Fleming are ideal as Onegin and Tatiana The stark set, indeed a "non-set", is at first disappointing, but does succeed in focusing attention on the human drama instead of toward lavish production elements. Color is used very effectively to saturate each scene and outline the singers. This production no doubt benefited from the close scrutiny of the camera because the performances were finely tuned and sublty nuanced. As an example, the usual "dance spectacle" accompanying the Polonaise which opens Act III is replaced here by Onegin attended to by his valet staff while changing from dueling attire to formal dress. Although I enjoy a lavish production as much as anyone, ... Read More: