Musicals on DVD - Discounted Musical DVDs

Rossini's classic take on the "Cinderella" story is a comic opera full of thrilling arias, beautiful melodies and lots of laughs. The Metropolitan's charming production was revived in 2009 for star mezzo, Elı¯na Garancˇa. The mezzo triumphs in the role and dispatches vocal fireworks throughout. She is joined by American tenor Lawrence Brownlee and a cast of bel canto singers. BONUS FEATURE: Interviews by Thomas Hampson

Renée Fleming finally appears on DVD in one of her greatest roles--the Marschallin, in Richard Strauss's magnificent comedy of ever-changing love, Der Rosenkavalier. Her peerless performance is supported by "a galactic cast" (conductor Christian Thielemann), which includes Diana Damrau, Sophie Koch, Franz Hawlata and Jonas Kaufmann as the Italian Tenor. Filmed in January 2009 at the Baden-Baden Festival, the production features a stylish pastiche of vast mirrors, Viennese Baroque decorations, Hollywood-esque staircases and early 20th century evening wear. Renée's eminent Strauss collaborator on her recent Four Last Songs album, Christian Thielemann, joins her once again, conducting the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. "...this performance with Christian Thielemann and the Münchner Philharmoniker is luscious, supremely confident, lived-in and well thought out...Fleming is in glorious voice, pouring out Strauss's long phrases with voluminous generosity and fearless commitment to the extremes of range." --Opera News on Four Last Songs

Gilbert and Sullivan's raucous operatic tale is captured in all its fun and glory in this production, recorded live at Central Park's Delacorte Theater. Kevin Kline sparkles as the swashbuckling and libidinous Pirate King while Linda Ronstadt makes her theatrical debut as the lovely and virginal Mabel. When Mabel and Frederic, a young pirate bound to serve the Pirate King, fall in love, complications arise and high spirited antics ensue. The incomparable cast offers the best in this boisterous romp. END

Tenor superstar Juan Diego Flórez adds the role of Prince Ramiro in Rossini's sparkling comedy La Cenerentola to his rapidly growing catalog of performances on Decca DVD. In Joan Font's strikingly colorful, toy-town staging, he is joined by one of today's great Cinderellas, the American mezzo-soprano, Joyce DiDonato. The two have wowed audiences with their virtuoso performances in the Metropolitan Opera's Il Barbiere di Siviglia which was broadcast live in HD to movie theaters and on PBS.

The tragic tale of a Spanish officer who throws his life away for the love of a gypsy temptress.
Genre: Performing Arts - Opera<br><b>Rating: NR<br><b>Release Date: 12-DEC-2000<br><b>Media Type: DVD

Jonas Kaufmann and Anna Caterina Antonacci bring rare erotic intensity to the drama of Don José and Carmen in this darkly passionate reading of one of the most popular operas. With an image up to six times sharper than conventional DVD and superior high-definition sound, Blu-Ray lets you watch opera and ballet performances from the front row of the theater. Experience every detail, no matter how small, in the highest quality possible. With five times the memory of standard DVDs, Blu-Ray is a completely new way to experience the theater at home.

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