Furlanetto, Ferruccio

An Evening With Joan Sutherland & Luciano Pavarotti

For the first time on DVD, enjoy the unforgettable Metropolitan Opera gala from 1987 with Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland! Two of the greatest opera stars of their time and long-time singing partners, Luciano Pavarotti and Joan Sutherland come together to perform four famous scenes from Acts I and III of Lucia di Lammermoor, Act III of La Traviata and Act III of Rigoletto. They are joined by the great Italian baritone Leo Nucci and conducted by Richard Bonynge. The scenes are complete and fully staged, making this unique from other DVDs of individual arias and ensembles.

Mozart - Cosi fan Tutte

Herbert Von Karajan - His Legacy for Home Video - Mozart - Don Giovanni

Herbert Von Karajan, Music Director of the Berlin Phiharmonic from 1956 until his death in 1989, is one of the pre-eminent musical figures of the century. He conducted some of the most technically precise, luxurious sounding recordings in all of classical music. The Karajan Legacy film series documents many of these definitive performances, were directed by Karajan, and are among his only digital recordings. The release of these films on DVD brings the superb artistry of this man to fuller expression than ever before. The wonderful opera "Don Giovanni" by Wolgang Amadeus Mozart is performed by Herbert Von Karajan with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Samuel Ramey and Anna Tomowa-Sintow, recorded live July 1987 at the Salzburger Festspiele.

Verdi - Don Carlo (remastered)

Verdi - La Traviata / Levine, Stratas, Domingo

Verdi - Simon Boccanegra / Gatti, Hampson, Gallardo-Domas, Furlanetto, Dvorsky, Wiener Staatsoper

Rossini - Il barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) / Cambreling, Ewing, Rawnsley, Glyndebourne Festival Opera

All the ingredients for Rossini's prime comedy are present and expertly mixed in this 1987 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production: a Figaro (John Rawnsley) extroverted, ingenious, energetic, and vocally resplendent; a Rosina (Maria Ewing) fresh and sweet but steel-sinewed in her determination to have her own way; a Count Almaviva (Max-Rene Cosotti) who has not only the vocal lightness and agility his bel canto music requires, but a fine sense of humor and the ability to perform a good drunk scene. Ferruccio Furlanetto and Claudio Desderi are equally adept in their supporting buffo roles.

This production is a joy to the eye as well as the ear. Everybody looks right for his or her part; the costumes are elegant and evocative of the story's time and place; the scenery, indoors and out, will evoke Seville for anyone who has seen that unique city. It is all brought together and given point and perspective by Sylvain Cambreling's idiomatic conducting and John Cox's deft staging. --Joe McLellan

Glyndebourne Festival Opera production of Rossini's classic opera. Starring Robert Dean, Max-René Cosotti, John Rawnsley, and Maria Ewing. London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sylvain Cambreling.

Donizetti - Don Pasquale

Verdi - Don Carlo / Levine, Domingo, Freni, Metropolitan Opera

Verdi - Rigoletto / Chailly, Pavarotti, Wixell, Gruberova, Vienna Philharmonic

This extraordinarily powerful 1983 production may be the best-sung performance by Luciano Pavarotti on DVD, but when acting values are counted in, Ingvar Wixell manages to outshine the tenor star. Verdi gave the Duke two of Italian opera's most brilliant arias ("Questa o quella" and "La donna e mobile"), but he gave the deformed jester Rigoletto a depth and complexity of character that is reflected in music of great variety and enormous emotional impact: the cruel mockery of the opening scene, the self-doubts inspired by his dialogue with Sparafucile, the paternal anxieties and final despair at his daughter's sad fate, and the burning, self-destructive thirst for revenge. All these motives work their way into music of great dramatic richness, variety, and intensity. Wixell rises to its challenges, not only in the title role but in a cameo appearance as Rigoletto's nemesis Monterone. Location filming provides an atmosphere unavailable in staged productions. --Joe McLellan