Terfel, Bryn

Last Night Of The Proms / Bryn Terfel, Evelyn Glennie, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Andrew Davis

The Last Night of the Proms, at the Royal Albert Hall in London, is one of the world s most popular classical music concerts, watched and listened to by an audience of many millions around the globe.

In this DVD presentation of the Last Night during the 100th season, featuring Bryn Trefel and Evelyn Glennie, the concert has its usual party atmosphere, celebrating British tradition, while encapsulating the spirit of the Proms, with its all-embracing program bringing together the themes of the season.

Toccata and Fugue in D minor,

BWV 565 Bach orch. Wood

Belshazzar s Feast Walton

BRYN TERFEL

Colas Breugnon Overture Kabalevsky

Marimba Concertino, Op. 21 Creston

First and third movements

Marimba Spiritual Miki

EVELYN GLENNIE

Méditation from Thaïs Massenet

MICHAEL DAVIS, violin

Handel in the Strand Grainger arr. Wood

Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1 Elgar

Land of Hope and Glory (with encore)

Fantasia on British Sea Songs Wood

Rule Britannia! Arne arr. Sargent

(with encore)

BRYN TERFEL

Jerusalem Parry orch. Elgar

God save the Queen

Auld Lang Syne

Stravinsky - Oedipus Rex

Metropolitan Opera Gala - James Levine's 25th Anniversary

Vienna State Opera Gala Concert / Domingo, Terfel, Gruberova, Urmana, Hampson, Baltsa, Kirchschlager, Polaski, Struckmann, Schade, Furlanetto

Christmas Glory from Westminster

It's a marketer's dream to have two PBS superstars, Andrea Bocelli and Charlotte Church, singing in Christmas Glory from Westminster. Bocelli and Church (who don't sing together here) are among a handful of performers in this 1999 service from London's Westminster Abbey, including actresses Greta Scacchi and Joan Plowright and Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel.

Following an introduction to the abbey by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh (his wedding took place there), the first part of the hourlong service tells the Christmas story, alternating poetry and Bible readings with musical selections from the choir and soloists, including Messiah's "For unto us a child is born" and "But who may abide the day of his coming" by Terfel. Bocelli contributes two Schubert selections, "Mille Cherubino in Coro" and the beloved "Ave Maria," as well as "Sancta Maria," a version of Mascagni's famous melody from Cavalleria Rusticana. Church performs Stephen Adams's "The Holy City" (from her second CD) and shares "Silent Night" with Terfel. The program isn't all solemnity, however. Actor Richard Griffiths offers a spirited reading from A Christmas Carol near the abbey's famous Poets' Corner, where Dickens is buried. A blessing from the Dean of Westminster closes the distinguished evening. --David Horiuchi

The program:

1. "O Come O Come Emmanuel"--choir procession
2. Fanfare
3. "O Come All Ye Faithful"--choir and congregation
4. HRH intro
5. "Once in Royal David's City"--choir and congregation
6. First Reading: Isaiah--Trevor McDonald
7. Handel: "For unto Us a Child Is Born"--choir
8. Second Reading: Luke, Chapter 2--Betty Boothroyd
9. Handel: "But Who May Abide the Day of His Coming"--Bryn Terfel
10. Eddie's Service (Kipling)--Joan Plowright
11. William Matthias: Sir Christemas--choir
12. Reading: "And there were in the fields..."--Greta Scacchi
13. Schubert: "Ave Maria"--Andrea Bocelli
14. John Gardiner: "Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day"--choir
15. Christmas Campaign (Frederic Coleman reading)--Trevor McDonald
16. "It Came upon a Midnight Clear"--choir and congregation
17. Stephen Adams: "The Holy City"--Charlotte Church
18. "The Lamb" (William Blake reading)--Greta Scacchi
19. "Mille Cherubini in Coro"--Andrea Bocelli
20. "Tna Bethlehem Dref" (Welsh)--Bryn Terfel
21. Christmas Carols (Dickens reading)--Richard Griffith
22. "Silent Night"--Bryn Terfel and Charlotte Church
23. Archbishop of Canterbury
24. "Mascagni: Sancta Maria"--Andrea Bocelli
25. HRH reading: "In the beginning..."
26. Fanfare
27. "Hark the Herald Angels Sing"--choir and congregation
28. The Blessing: Dean of Westminster
29. Widor organ with credits

Richard Strauss - Die Frau Ohne Schatten

Cecila Baroli/Bryn Terfel: At Glyndebourne [Blu-ray]

No second names are needed in the title to tell music lovers who is singing in this gala recital. The original, audio-only Cecilia & Bryn: Duets, issued in 1999, had opera-lovers around the world echoing one Amazon.com customer's remark: "After listening to this album, all I could say was 'I want more.'" Here it is: a live performance with the same conductor, an even better orchestra, and a video dimension that brings out the singers' considerable acting skills. There is some duplication of the CD's contents: "La ci darem," "Dunque io son," and the "Pa-pa-pa-papagena" duet from The Magic Flute, as well as the opening numbers of The Marriage of Figaro. But the video cameras, the singers' gestures, and their facial expressions make the duplication worthwhile.

Cecilia Bartoli is most at home in mezzo-soprano material, where her tone is particularly rich and natural, her style exactly what the music requires. But she also slips easily into the soprano roles of Zerlina, Papagena, and Susanna. She takes a tantalizing step into promising, relatively unfamiliar territory with an aria from Haydn's L'anima del filosofo. Bryn Terfel shows a significant comic flair in the "catalog aria" from Don Giovanni and a heroic dimension in an aria from Judas Maccabeus--in either style, displaying a voice that is pure gold.

Still, vocal material is relatively scanty in this 90-minute production compared to the CD. Two overtures are included and are well played, but are not likely to appease fans who will continue to call for more singing. --Joe McLellan

Blu-Ray. Cecilia Bartoli as mezzo-soprano, Bryn Terfel as bass-baritone with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Myung-Whun Chung, conductor. Recorded live in Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, Sussex, on 24 April 1999. Picture Format: 1080i High Definition / NTSC 16:9 Anamorphic Sound Format: 2.0 and 5.1 PCM audio, Region Code: 0 (All Regions) Menu Languages: English, Subtitles: English, French, German. Programme: Mozart: Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 Overture/Cinque dieci/ Si a casa madonna / Se vuol ballare. Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621 Act I: Parto, parto. G. Rossini: Il Barbieri di Siviglia Overture / Dunque io son. Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 Act I: Madamina, il catalogo e questo. Haydn: L'anima del filosofo, Hob. XXVIII:13 Act III: Al tuo seno fortunato. G. Donizetti: L'elisir d'Amore Act II: Quanto amore! Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527 Act I: La ci darem la mano. Handel: Judas Maccabaeus, HWV 63 Part I: Arm, arm ye brave. Gioachino Rossini: Semiramide Act I: Bel raggio lusinghier. Mozart: Die Zauberfl"te, K. 620 Act II: Pa-pa-pa-pa.

Mozart - Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) / Jean-Louis Thamin · John Eliot Gardiner · Bryn Terfel · Rodney Gilfry · Théâtre du Chatelet

Puccini - Tosca

This stunning DVD of Puccini's masterpiece, Tosca, features an outstanding cast, including Catherine Malfitano in the title role, Bryn Terfel as Scarpia (his role debut), and Richard Margison as Cavaradossi. The visually spectacular staging by Nikolaus Lehnhoff brings the world of James Bond to Puccini's operatic thriller. Modern yet sinister sets and costumes create a fresh and at times horrifying interpretation, a bold departure from traditional stagings, of this classic work. Riccardo Chailly conducts the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the chorus of The Netherlands Opera.

Bryn Terfel Live in Concert