As the 2013 season is about to open some recently released DVDs make a welcome addition to the ongoing work of the Opera House itself.

Janacek: The Cunning Little Vixen (2012) 

OPUS ARTE OA 1101 D

A favourite opera of mine, this recording from last summer certainly does justice to the enjoyment we felt at the time. Sergei Leiferkus is outstanding as the Forester and Melly Still’s direction is deft and convincing for a work which can so easily drift into sentimentality.

Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (2011)

OPUS ARTE OA 1085 D

Some of us had been waiting most of a lifetime for Glyndebourne to get round to Meistersinger. After the magnificent Tristan we knew that, however daunting the task, the house would overcome all obstacles to give us something special. Gerald Finley leads a cast which has no substantive weaknesses and the London Philharmonic Orchestra provide some of the finest Wagner playing under Vladimir Jurowski that I have ever heard. The DVD has the benefit of bringing much of the action into close-up, allowing us to enjoy details too easily missed on the larger stage. The sense of real human lives being played out and a living community is exceptionally well found in David McVicar’s humane approach. If the sets did not quite work in the opera house – the second act is uncomfortably close to a shopping mall, and Sach’s home is over-palatial – they seem far better within the confines of the DVD. The final act is a masterpiece of characterisation and musical structure. One recording you must have.

Handel: Rinaldo (2012)

OPUS ARTE OA 1081 D

Modern approaches to Handel tend to divide the audience. Setting Rinaldo in a school where the bullied hero dreams of being a knight to save his girl-friend may seem far-fetched but works remarkably well in terms of both music and story-line. Sonia Prina is a convincing hero and the humour of Robert Carsen’s direction never works against either character or vocal line.

Mozart: Don Giovanni (1977)

ARTHAUS MUSIK 102312

In the nineteen-seventies Sir Peter Hall brought a radically new approach to the presentation of Mozart’s core works. Where most directors would concentrate on the arias and ensembles, he focussed attention on the recitatives which carry so much of the dramatic weight. As a result these productions have an integrity and pace which is second to none. Recorded originally for Southern Television, the quality is more than acceptable, and it is good to have recordings of the whole production rather than clips.

Verdi: Falstaff (1976)

ARTHAUS MUSIK 102315

John Pritchard’s career as an opera conductor is not widely represented on either CD or DVD so it is very good to get this Southern Television recording with a fine cast directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. A traditional approach to the work does not inhibit the enjoyment and there is much sensitive detail.