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Opera, Ballet and Classical Music discs - Page 3

post #61 of 1145
4/6/09 at 6:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fafner View Post

Which production of Das Rheingold is this?

Thanks.

fafner

It's the first installment in the new complete Ring from Weimar. Look a bit earlier in the thread (or check my site) for details.
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post #62 of 1145
4/6/09 at 9:04pm
I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that our friend fafner might have an interest in this title ...
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post #63 of 1145
4/7/09 at 8:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by R o d View Post

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that our friend fafner might have an interest in this title ...

You are correct. I am interested in any and all productions of the Ring cycle.

fafner
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post #64 of 1145
4/18/09 at 11:11pm
I justed watched the rented BD of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and it has only DD2.0 and DD5.1 tracks? I can't believe this...
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post #65 of 1145
4/18/09 at 11:28pm
Any word of something from Hilary Hahn coming to blu? I know some really don't care for her but I'd be very interested is something more the that Portrait dvd that cane out a while back.

Would also like to see the Carmina Burana.
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post #66 of 1145
4/19/09 at 2:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jheoaustin View Post

I justed watched the rented BD of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and it has only DD2.0 and DD5.1 tracks? I can't believe this...

No- it has Dolby TrueHD. All Opus discs have lossless audio.
If you use SPDIF you get just a core (which is standard DD). You need to have player with TrueHD decoder (most of them do it now) connected through analog or if your receiver supports TrueHD use HDMI cable and set player to bitstream mode.


Andrew
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post #67 of 1145
4/19/09 at 9:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew_HD View Post

No- it has Dolby TrueHD. All Opus discs have lossless audio.
If you use SPDIF you get just a core (which is standard DD). You need to have player with TrueHD decoder (most of them do it now) connected through analog or if your receiver supports TrueHD use HDMI cable and set player to bitstream mode.

Or if your player decodes TrueHD, and outputs multichannel PCM through HDMI.

--Andre
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post #68 of 1145
4/19/09 at 9:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew_HD View Post

No- it has Dolby TrueHD. All Opus discs have lossless audio.
If you use SPDIF you get just a core (which is standard DD). You need to have player with TrueHD decoder (most of them do it now) connected through analog or if your receiver supports TrueHD use HDMI cable and set player to bitstream mode.


Andrew

Thanks for the tip. My PS3 may not be set up to handle TrueHD correctly. BTW, the latest PS3 F/W update seems to have a bug of pop noises when stopping the BD playback. I wonder if the F/W update had another side effect of not handling TrueHD properly.
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post #69 of 1145
4/20/09 at 3:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jheoaustin View Post

Thanks for the tip. My PS3 may not be set up to handle TrueHD correctly. BTW, the latest PS3 F/W update seems to have a bug of pop noises when stopping the BD playback. I wonder if the F/W update had another side effect of not handling TrueHD properly.

I'm not sure about the update, but you have to set your PS3 to Linear PCM mode to have real lossless sound, but your amp needs to have an HDMI input.


Andrew
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post #70 of 1145
4/20/09 at 4:22pm
For those who may be interested -

I noted that the DVD of the recent La Boheme film with Netrebko and Villazon
is now available.

I emailed the distributor (Axiom Films) enquiring if/when it might be released on blu-ray.

They advised - before Christmas.
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post #71 of 1145
4/21/09 at 11:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrowley View Post

For those who may be interested -

I noted that the DVD of the recent La Boheme film with Netrebko and Villazon
is now available.

I emailed the distributor (Axiom Films) enquiring if/when it might be released on blu-ray.

They advised - before Christmas.

Thanks for the info. Do you know if they have or will acquire worldwide (or U.S.) distribution for this title? Or might this become the first region-coded opera on Blu-ray? (The DVD is region 2 only).
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post #72 of 1145
4/22/09 at 4:55am
I'm not sure if people are familiar with blu-ray.com site and their reviews, so here is the link to Opus Arte reviews:

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies.php?studioid=45


Most recent review is Torroba: Luisa Fernanda

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies...99&show=review


Andrew
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post #73 of 1145
4/22/09 at 10:36am
I was impatient for the BD Giselle, so I ordered it direct from Opus Arte. With the exchange rate the way it is, it's not a bad deal, and the shipping was quick, taking less than a week to get to California.

Artistically, this is a superb performance, and is probably the best one recorded in the last decade or three --- the Baryshnikov/Makarova tape from the 70s was probably the last milestone. The partnership of Cojocaru and Kobborg is one of the great ones of today, and their chemistry makes this performance all that much more special.

I was pretty impressed by the chapter markings, as many dance videos tend to skimp on them. The markings were placed at every moment a dance enthusiast would have wanted.

Technically, it's OK. It has the look of a broadcast video, in that they couldn't control every aspect of the production for video as well as possible. The lighting in the set design is pretty dark, and many scenes are brightened to make details show up resulting in excess noise and grain. There's at least one clumsy edit, presumably to get footage that would otherwise have been lost --- you see the same shot, but the camera looks like it suddenly jumps back, because they pasted together two shots where the camera was using different focal lengths

There was also a curious audio issue at one point with the sound skipping. I couldn't reproduce this, so the PS3 was probably just having a moment. I was listening to the 5.1 PCM soundtrack.

Anyway, I highly recommend this video for its artistic merits. The technical issues are mostly minor and don't detract from a wonderful performance.

edit: no motion blur!

--Andre
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post #74 of 1145
4/22/09 at 3:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndreYew View Post

I was impatient for the BD Giselle, so I ordered it direct from Opus Arte. With the exchange rate the way it is, it's not a bad deal, and the shipping was quick, taking less than a week to get to California.

Artistically, this is a superb performance, and is probably the best one recorded in the last decade or three --- the Baryshnikov/Makarova tape from the 70s was probably the last milestone. The partnership of Cojocaru and Kobborg is one of the great ones of today, and their chemistry makes this performance all that much more special.

I was pretty impressed by the chapter markings, as many dance videos tend to skimp on them. The markings were placed at every moment a dance enthusiast would have wanted.

Technically, it's OK. It has the look of a broadcast video, in that they couldn't control every aspect of the production for video as well as possible. The lighting in the set design is pretty dark, and many scenes are brightened to make details show up resulting in excess noise and grain. There's at least one clumsy edit, presumably to get footage that would otherwise have been lost --- you see the same shot, but the camera looks like it suddenly jumps back, because they pasted together two shots where the camera was using different focal lengths

There was also a curious audio issue at one point with the sound skipping. I couldn't reproduce this, so the PS3 was probably just having a moment. I was listening to the 5.1 PCM soundtrack.

Anyway, I highly recommend this video for its artistic merits. The technical issues are mostly minor and don't detract from a wonderful performance.

edit: no motion blur!

--Andre

Could you please give me timecodes for the video and audio issue?
There shouldn't be any audio problems on this disc. There is one "bad edit point", but there was no way to fix it.

Thank you,

Andrew
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post #75 of 1145
4/22/09 at 9:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stridonolassu View Post

Thanks for the info. Do you know if they have or will acquire worldwide (or U.S.) distribution for this title? Or might this become the first region-coded opera on Blu-ray? (The DVD is region 2 only).

Sorry, I have no information on this.
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post #76 of 1145
4/23/09 at 9:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew_HD View Post

Could you please give me timecodes for the video and audio issue?
There shouldn't be any audio problems on this disc. There is one "bad edit point", but there was no way to fix it.

Yes, and I managed to find the audio issue again.

Audio dropout: 11:22. The woodwinds are playing and they kind of drop in and out. There was some other weird noises before that starting around 11:10, but they seem to be performance noises, and I noticed them on a recording of the BBC broadcast as well. The dropouts are not on the broadcast.

Edit glitch: 1:30:56. I don't know how I missed this in the broadcast, but it's there too, so it's in the original material.

BTW, the broadcast had really good extra materials like interviews and historical material during intermission. It's too bad OA couldn't include them on the disk.

--Andre

edit: PS3 running 2.60 firmware
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post #77 of 1145
4/23/09 at 3:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AndreYew View Post

Yes, and I managed to find the audio issue again.

Audio dropout: 11:22. The woodwinds are playing and they kind of drop in and out. There was some other weird noises before that starting around 11:10, but they seem to be performance noises, and I noticed them on a recording of the BBC broadcast as well. The dropouts are not on the broadcast.

Edit glitch: 1:30:56. I don't know how I missed this in the broadcast, but it's there too, so it's in the original material.

BTW, the broadcast had really good extra materials like interviews and historical material during intermission. It's too bad OA couldn't include them on the disk.

--Andre

edit: PS3 running 2.60 firmware


Thank you,


edit: I've cheked it and there is nothing at 11:22 (some background, stage noise). There is something at 11:25, but it's not a proper dropout. It almost unaudible and most people won't even notice it, so well spoted. There will be always some small distortions- it's a live recording and there is no way to avoid them- it will never be as clean as studio recording.

I don't know about these extras, but I would assume that Opus doesn't have rights to them.

We have 2.70 firmware.

Andrew
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post #78 of 1145
5/1/09 at 7:09am
http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/movies...98&show=review


Review for Handel: Giulio Cesare- as I remember first OA dual disc release (2xBD50).


Andrew
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post #79 of 1145
5/1/09 at 7:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew_HD View Post

Review for Handel: Giulio Cesare- as I remember first OA dual disc release (2xBD50).

I saw Giulio Cesare at Lyric Opera in Chicago, also with Danielle de Niese. While I'm not a big Handel opera fan, she makes purchase of this set rather tempting.
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post #80 of 1145
5/1/09 at 6:57pm
Operas coming out in the U.S. on June 30th, 2009:

From Arthaus Musik: Die Walküre (Weimar 2008)
From Opus Arte: Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk (Amsterdam 2006), Marco Polo (Amsterdam 2008)
From TDK: Ariadne auf Naxos (Zurich 2006)

Plus two ballets:

La Dame aux Camélias (Paris 2008) on Opus Arte (already mentioned here).
The other one is on Arthaus Musik and I include the details since I don't list ballet on my site:

CARAVAGGIO
Music: Bruno Moretti (based on Claudio Monteverdi)
Choreography: Mauro Bigonzetti
with Vladimir Malakhov, Polina Semionova, Beatrice Knop, Mikhail Kaniskin, Dimitry Semionov, Elisa Carrillo Cabrera, Shoko Nakamura, Michael Banzhaf, Leonard Jakovina
Conductor: Paul Connelly
Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Berlin, December 2008

All are simultaneous DVD/BD releases except for Lady Macbeth and Ariadne, which have already been released on DVD.

Bernal

Opera on DVD and Blu-ray List:
http://stridonolassu.googlepages.com
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post #81 of 1145
5/7/09 at 1:02pm
Thread Starter 
I watched a few snippets of Tosca from the 2007 Bregenz Festival in High Definition last night in the latest James Bond film Quantum of Solace. Rather nicely integrated into the Bond film.

I watched the DVD of this most unusual Tosca production two months ago. Perhaps it will show up on Blu-ray at one point.

Photo at: http://www.naxosdirect.com/PUCCINI-G...TSC/title/801/
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post #82 of 1145
5/12/09 at 1:37am
I hear the Italian label Dynamic might jump into the Blu-ray arena as early as this coming fall. Early candidates for release include the latest productions of La traviata from Liège and Il barbiere di Siviglia from Venice.
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post #83 of 1145
5/12/09 at 7:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by stridonolassu View Post

I hear the Italian label Dynamic might jump into the Blu-ray arena as early as this coming fall. Early candidates for release include the latest productions of La traviata from Liège and Il barbiere di Siviglia from Venice.

Viva La Fenice!
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post #84 of 1145
5/14/09 at 2:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by R Johnson View Post

I saw Giulio Cesare at Lyric Opera in Chicago, also with Danielle de Niese. While I'm not a big Handel opera fan, she makes purchase of this set rather tempting.

R Johnson: Well said. Danielle de Niese energizes this opera from standard Handel fare (two pants roles, two countertenors, cross dressing, "ambiguous" dressing, long arias, non-stop harpsichord) to something special. I enjoyed the opera most whenever she was on stage, and tolerated the rest until she reappeared. This lady has enormous talent, and I can't wait to see what else she can do in opera.
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post #85 of 1145
5/15/09 at 2:45pm
I listened to this Decca release with Florez/Bayo now twice and picture and audio are first rate. Highly recommended.
I have a 7.1 setup and to my ears the audio is flawless. Orchestra is very detailed. The singers are wired, you can see at the end of act 2 some wires on the back of Rosina's neck. Unless you look for it, it's hardly noticable and it pays big dividends in the sound.
As for the direction, it is a bit quirky. Did they need to sing under the table or did the police need to enter the house through a tunnel and thus through the orchestra? Never mind, enjoy the sound.
My other Barbiere is the more conventional DG/Ponnelle production from 1972 with Hermann Prey/Teresa Berganza. It has a DTS 5.1 audio track and is also still quite watchable. (I might be a bit prejudiced, as Prey was one of my father's favorite tenors and on the turntable Sunday afternoons...)
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post #86 of 1145
5/18/09 at 4:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by RKreutzer View Post

Il Barbiere Di Siviglia... I listened to this Decca release with Florez/Bayo now twice and picture and audio are first rate. Highly recommended.

Thanks for the recommendation. I'll check it out in the near future.

The June issue of BBC Music Magazine gave the new Opus Arte Don Giovanni DVD five stars for Performance and five stars for Picture and Sound. (Only three for Extras.) The Blu-ray releases on May 26 in the USA.

Not a disc, but... I attended a performance of Britten's Owen Wingrave given by Chicago Opera Theater last Saturday. I enjoyed it very much, though I hadn't really expected to do so. The newspaper critics gave it good reviews too. It runs through May 26.
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post #87 of 1145
5/19/09 at 4:06am
Fanfare Review:

From the first moments of this performance, I was in shock. By the third scene I had to check the DVD box to assure myself that this was indeed the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. This is as stiff, over studied, and amateurish-looking a performance of Giselleor any ballet, for that matterI have ever seen. It was ladylike in a way that is not complimentary. Bobbles among the dancers were frequent, the corps de ballet looked unsynchronized. The performance had no élan; it looked like a run-through by a company that didn't even know the choreography, which is inconceivable since it's been around since, oh, 1841.

The sets are prosaic and unimaginative, the lighting far too dark. No particular thought seemed to be put into the dancers' entrances and exits. As the dancing errors mounted, I almost couldn't wait for it to be over. Boris Gruzin's conducting was the most professional thing about this performance, and that, too, was lackluster.

Another opinion?
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post #88 of 1145
5/19/09 at 9:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by filemile View Post

Fanfare Review:
...
Another opinion?

Fanfare is wrong, and from the reviewer's comments on the dancing style, he doesn't appear to know much about ballet. This is one of the greatest Giselle performances recorded in recent times.

--Andre
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post #89 of 1145
5/21/09 at 7:51am
Mahler: Symphony No.1, Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique (Ozawa/Saito Kinen Orchestra) from Japan.
http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/product/detail/3570515
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post #90 of 1145
5/21/09 at 2:32pm
"Kultur to Release Its First Performing Arts Program on Blu-Ray"

http://www.pr.com/press-release/153363

Out on 28 July 2009, it's the 2007 The Pirates of Penzance from Opera Australia that has already been released on DVD.
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