2017

This 18-opera collection displays the scope of The Royal Opera's work. From the sumptuous beauty of Richard Eyre's La traviata and the picturesque realism of John Copley's La boheme to the psychological intensity of David McVicar's Salome and Kasper Holten's Krol Roger, the impressive collection spans more than two hundred years of great operatic works from the classical period to the present day. <br/><br/>Featuring some of the Company's most popular guest artists, including Renee Fleming, Jonas Kaufmann, Joseph Calleja and Diana Damrau, and conductors including The Royal Opera's Music Director Antonio Pappano, The Royal Opera Collection is a dazzling tour of operatic treasures by Mozart, Verdi, Bizet, Wagner, Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Puccini, Richard Strauss, Szymanowski, Britten and George Benjamin. <br/><br/>"This production's slow journey from darkness into the light...works well on the small screen, not least thanks to high-definition camera work and Sue Judd's inspired direction for television. The real magic, though, is supplied by the onstage cast...In Dorothea Roschmann's hands, Pamina emerges not so much a powerless victim of Fate but more as a passionate woman prepared to suffer in the nameof love. Her natural command of the stage is sagely employed by McVicar...Diana Damrau's supremely sung Queen of the Night oozes class, while Simon Keenlyside's profoundly human, touchingly sympathetic view of Papageno deserves an Olivier Award." (Die Zauberflote - Classic fM) "This sexy, raunchy, romp of an opera is a triumph. <br/><br/>Director David McVicar has searched for the essence of the composer and found it; fun filled, sensitive, romantic and serious by turns, all reflected in this production.This is a 'Must See' opera! ... You'll regret it if you don't!" (Le Nozze di Figaro - Musical Opinion) "Kwiecien's eloquently sung Giovanni heads a strong cast. Particularly impressive is Malin Bystrom's Donna Anna, whose moving Non mi dir is addressed not to Don Ottavio but first to her dead father (via his bust) and then to Giovanni himself. Veronique Gens offers a sympathetic Donna Elvira, impassioned rather than hysterical in her inability to give up on Giovanni. Even in Leporello's Catalogue Aria she embraces Giovanni, willing it not to be true. <br/><br/>Alex Esposito's resourceful Leporello also seems to be smitten by Giovanni, as is Elizabeth Watts's lively, engaging Zerlina. Nicola Luisotti draws sensuous playing from the ROH orchestra, he and Paul Wingfield generating daring and witty dissonances in their keyboard continuo" (Don Giovanni - The Independent - 4 Stars) "Philippe Jordan seems to have balanced his orchestra extremely well for both house and cast and is especially alert to the most modern twists of Strauss's harmonies. <br/><br/>The filming (Jonathan Haswell) is sensitive to David McVicar's work while being much more than merely a static record." (Salome - Gramophone) "you know that Keenlyside is an accomplished lieder-singer by the dramatic precision in this phrase readings throughout (his Act 4 aria has such emotional transparency he almost breaks your heart)... Monastyrska unleashes such pent-up venom with her sharp-edged vocalism that the total package is almost too psychologically repulsive... the production is wonderfully atmospheric... Pappano is the most important artistic catalyst" (Macbeth - Gramophone) "Antonio Pappano's conducting of all three operas is exemplary, and all are well cast." (It trittico - BBC Music Magazine - 5 Stars) "Magic and irresistible ... It is the best opera written over the last twenty years." (Written on Skin - Le Monde) "The stage presence and immensely powerful voice of the American soprano Lise Lindstrom made the elusive Turandot the magnetic force that she needs to be. A willowy and imposing figure, possessing a voice replete with brilliance and focus - and without excessive wobble - Lindstrom is a fast-rising star of the dramatic soprano repertory and absolutely one to watch." (Turandot - The Independent) "The triumph of this new interpretation, directed by Stephen Langridge and designed by Alison Chitty, is that it de-sanctifies Parsifal: all trace of pseudo-sacred mumbo-jumbo is removed. What we get instead is a visual shorthand, contemporary but timeless, that illuminates the opera's philosophical complexity while keeping the narrative both straightforward and continually mesmerising. The agony of Parsifal is personified by Gerald Finley's Amfortas, a realisation of exceptional musico-dramatic size." (Parsifal - Financial Times - 5 Stars) "...a major artistic triumph. Nothing in the score is more beautiful than the spectral nocturne that opens the final scene; nothing more exciting than the orgy than brings the second scene to its climax. Antonio Pappano's conducting of its intensities is masterly, and the orchestra luxuriates in them... All praise to the cast too. Mariusz Kwieicien is imposing and impassioned in the title-role, vividly conveying Roger's anxiety about his sexual identity... ... directed with flair, clarity and intelligence by Kasper Holten. Steffen Aarfing's setting of a tiered arena dominated by a massive sculpted head is enormously impressive..." (Krol Roger - The Daily Telegraph - 5 Stars)