Musicals on DVD - Discounted Musical DVDs

This third consecutive world cup musical event will include new three tenors repertoire and take place before up to a million fans along the historic champs-de-mars in front of the eiffel tower. The concert will be conducted under the baton of the esteemed james levine. Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 06/24/1997 Starring: Jose Carreras Luciano Pavarotti Rating: Nr

Studio: Sony Music Release Date: 09/21/2004 Run time: 81 minutes Rating: Nr

Studio: Wea-des Moines Video Release Date: 07/01/1997

Heralded as the biggest single musical event in history, three legendary tenors, Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo, come together for the ultimate opera performance.
Genre: Music Videos - Classical<br><b>Rating: NR
Release Date: 8-DEC-1998<br><b>Media Type: DVD

Maria Callas is the quintessential diva who changed the face of the opera in the 20th century. The repertoire in this performance shows Callas at her best, both in recital and as an operatic actress. Verdi, Rossini, and Bellini were three composers at the heart of Maria Callas's career. Her personal life was of tragic operatic dimensions and perhaps no role comes closer to the essence of Callas than Floria Tosca. The second half to the program comprises the complete Act 2 of this opera, with a brilliant performance by Tito Gobbi in the role of Scarpia. A genuine collector's item, this live recording documents Callas's Paris debut at the peak of her career. Also included is documentary footage about the performance and the opera house. 91 minutes.

No Description Available<br>No Track Information Available
Media Type: DVD
Artist: DOMINGO/BRIGHTMAN/LOTTI/COCCIA
Title: GALA CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA<br><b>Street Release Date: 11/24/1998<br><Domestic or Import: Domestic
Genre: XMAS CLASSICAL VOCAL

Among the more charming--and improbable--of pre-millennial success stories is the left-field crossover triumph for this Welsh soprano, 12 years old at the time of her debut, and still on the near side of her teens in this concert video derived from a hit PBS special. At a time when "teeny pop" reigns over MTV and radio playlists, Church's serene program of Welsh and Irish folk airs, devotional hymns, and generally tranquil classical melodies gives alternative music an entirely new meaning.

Then again, it's just possible that Church's very appeal rests on the delicate balance between the unapologetic sweetness of her music and the unforced girlishness she flashes between songs, rare qualities indeed against the harsher foil of sexualized pop culture. Given the degree to which various predecessors, from Brenda Lee to Tanya Tucker to LeAnn Rimes, have been groomed to transmit a precocious "maturity," Church's virginal typecasting may be methodically anachronistic, but at least it offers a calming refuge from the mixed messages and soft-core spin offered by Britney Spears.

Director David Mallet, who's become the DeMille of up-market music videos and a staple for PBS fund drive specials, applies a familiar balance of sure technical craft and slick sentimentality. He dresses the Brixton Academy concert site with a faux stained glass window, flickering candle light, and delicate laser lighting units that imbue Church with a backlit radiance, just so we won't miss the angel connection. Skeptics will also note her Andrew Lloyd Webber connection (the signature Pie Jesu), as well as canny nods to Celtic chic in the inclusion of such warhorse choices as "Danny Boy" and "My Lagan Love." Still, whether or not the young star achieves her dream of singing <I>Tosca at La Scala, for the moment Church achieves a poised lyricism that's no mean feat. <I>--Sam Sutherland

Continuing the pilgrimage she began in her 2000 Christmas video, <I>Dream a Dream: Charlotte Church in the Holy Land, the Welsh singing sensation performs a live concert from the Tower of David in Jerusalem. While no longer a 12-year-old cherub, the teenage Church retains her youthful giddiness as she breathlessly introduces numerous songs from her recording career--Parry's "Jerusalem," Puccini's "O Mio Babbino Caro," Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Pie Jesu" (in a duet with Marina Blumen), and the appropriate closer, Stephen Adams's "The Holy City." Uri Miles ("the only Uillean piper in Israel") accompanies "Last Rose of Summer," and the Cantus Choir backs up "The Lord's Prayer" and "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer." Conductor Julian Smith and the Ra'anana Symphonette Orchestra perform brief orchestral interludes from Carmen and <I>Cavalleria Rusticana, during which Church is shown rehearsing and preparing for the concert (in fast motion), then visiting various parts of the city. In fine voice, Church is always respectful, even reverential of her surroundings, and the concert setting, with the stone walls lit against the night sky, is nothing less than stunning. <I>--David Horiuchi

Studio: Uni Dist Corp (music) Release Date: 06/20/2000

Angela Gheorghiu first captured international attention in 1994 and rose rapidly to first-class star status. This 2001 recital, from the same opera house where her <I>La traviata set the audience and critics on fire, shows the qualities that have made her one of the most acclaimed opera singers working today.

Gheorghiu's best-known roles are in the romantic and verismo operas of the 19th and early 20th centuries, sampled here in beautifully interpreted arias of Massenet, Charpentier, Puccini, and Cilea. In this music, her identification with the role is total, her voice tonally opulent, emotionally expressive, and exquisitely controlled. When her selections venture outside that rather restricted category, the results are equally impressive. A charming novelty is the folk-flavored aria by Romanian composer Tiberiu Brediceanu. Gheorghiu's 18th-century arias give Handel and Mozart a refreshing energy, and she is captivating in "I could have danced all night." The disc is in widescreen anamorphic format with DTS, Dolby Digital 5.0, and PCM stereo sound, and EMI's booklet is a model of what all DVD releases should offer but seldom do. --Joe McLellan