Bean Maria

West Side Story is the award-winning adaptation of the classic romantic tragedy, "Romeo and Juliet". The feuding families become two warring New York City gangs- the white Jets led by Riff and the Puerto Rican Sharks, led by Bernardo. Their hatred escalates to a point where neither can coexist with any form of understanding. But when Riff's best friend (and former Jet) Tony and Bernardo's younger sister Maria meet at a dance, no one can do anything to stop their love.

When Donizetti’s comedy, updated to the mid-20th century by the Uruguayan-born director Mario Gas, was mounted at Barcelona’s magnificent Liceu opera house in 2005, Opera News wrote that: “The absolute hit of the production was … Rolando Villazón, a commanding, vulnerable and hilarious Nemorino. His stage presence dominated every scene he was in …[and] his lovable innocence was a joy to behold. Villazón’s perfect technique and creamy, malleable voice conquered the audience … His athletic and expressive body language–midway between Cantinflas and Mr. Bean–fits this role and this production perfectly.” The Mexican tenor, making his debut at the Liceu, was called upon the encore the opera’s most famous aria, the plaintive ‘Una furtiva lagrima’.

This 6 CD set contains an unrivalled collection of 100 favourite romantic classics, performed by some of the world’s leading artists. Among them are the singers Maria Callas, Natalie Dessay, Angela Gheorghiu. Barbara Hendricks, Luciano Pavarotti and Kiri Te Kanawa; instrumentalists Leif Ove Andsnes, Martha Argerich, Jacqueline du Pre, Yehudi Menuhin, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Maxim Vengerov; plus conductors Mariss Jansons, Riccardo Muti, Antonio Pappano, Andre Previn, Sir Simon Rattle and Herbert von Karajan.