Penguin Opera Guide

"This very fine account…features the most starry casts of soloists, all at their peak, and is strongly directed by James Levine. Jessye Norman is magnetic…Domingo is at his most heroic in both halves of the massive narrative… an obvious principal DVD recommendation for the foreseeable future.” - The Penguin Classical Guide

“Levine's version of Luisa Miller consistently demonstrates his Verdian mastery, and not just in the best-known masterpieces…Not only in Levine's conducting but also in the sets and costumes of Nathanial Merrill's production the attractive rustic element of the piece is effectively brought out.” (Penguin Guide)

Levine's powerful and starrily cast DVD of Aida brings a grandly traditional staging…Zajick is a vibrant, powerful Amneris,and Sherrill Milnes, only just past his peak, is a magnificent Amonasro…Levine is in his element, drawing warm and dramatic playing and singing from his formidable team at the Met. (The Penguin Guide)

While all four solo performances are superb, one has only to sample the finale to Act I to discover what an electrifying team they make…If Pavarotti dominates by the sheer ardour of his singing, overall this is a totally gripping performance, unlikely to be surpassed on DVD. (The Penguin Guide)

“Horne is the great star focus…She is predictably brilliant in the coloratura passages, with her commanding presence not getting in the way of a sense of fun…The production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle is brightly attractive, and the direction is at the service of the performance. Levine conducts with characteristic energy.” Penguin Guide

Piero Faggioni’s highly acclaimed Royal Opera production of The Girl of the Golden West, filmed in 1983, stars the incomparable Placido Domingo and American soprano Carol Neblett. It is considered by many the definitive production of this work. Faggioni’s amazing production brings the opera vividly to life. The realistic timbered sets are by Oscar-winning designer Ken Adam, whose film work includes Dr Strangelove and a number of James Bond films. Domingo’s heroic portrayal of Don Johnson is one of his most popular and one of his favourite roles. The Bible-bashing, gun-toting Minnie is a very taxing role not tackled by many sopranos. Carol Neblett made it her own with her gloriously rich voice and brilliant performance.

Raymond Leppard's second and more renowned contribution to the modern revival of Cavalli: a classic among Baroque opera recordings which won the coveted Rosette award from the Penguin Record Guide. In 1651, seven years after Ormindo (also reissued by Eloquence in Leppard's recording, 482 9382), Cavalli and his librettist Faustini scored another hit with the hungry but demanding Venetian opera public with a tale from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The change that all of Ovid's central characters undergo is in this case suffered by the nymph Calisto, who is rejected by the goddess Diana, turned into a bear by the Furies and back into a human by Jupiter, who finally sets her among the stars in reward for her patience and her love. Writing as editor of the Musical Times in the summer of 1970, Stanley Sadie observed that.