This atonal 20th century opera deals with the fatal dissolution of a young woman at the hands of her many lovers. Minimalist sets and monochromatic costumes do little to clarify the characters or their situations for first-time viewers. This is unfortunate as the singing and musical direction is consistently first-rate.
The biblical account of Salome and her attraction to John the Baptist is transported to 1930’s Germany. The famous Dance of the 7 Veils is considerably downplayed while the elements of sex, sadism, and incest are overplayed. Vocal performances and music direction are generally quite good.
Opus Arte puts forth a young and lively addition to the La Boheme catalogue on Blu-ray.
We want the folk, give us the folk! And 2L shall provide in glorious high-res with this marvelous Grieg-inspired outing from the Norwegian label.
Beautifully recorded music played with authority mark label AIX’s entrance into the multichannel Blu-ray arena.
Can there be any word other than “spectacular” to describe the Pure Audio Blu-ray recordings of Norwegian label 2L? This set of violin pieces by romantic virtuoso Ole Bull continues the label’s standard setting trend.
![Handel: Acis and Galatea [Royal Opera/Hogwood] Blu-ray Review](http://www.blu-raydefinition.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/handel-acisandgalatea-thumb.jpg)
Handel’s pastorale “masque” comes to life in a refreshing interpretation from Christopher Hogwood and the Royal Opera in an excellent high definition capture from Opus Arte.
Riccardo Muti and the Wiener Philharmoniker were more than up to the task in 2008 for this staging of Verdi’s Otello at the Salzburg Festival, the first since Karajan and the orchestra’s in 1970 — see and hear it in hi-res from Unitel Classica.
![Schumann: Symphony No. 4/Piano Concerto [Argerich/Chailly] Blu-ray Review](http://www.blu-raydefinition.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Schumann-thumb.jpg)
Bravo to this all-Schumann night of exhilarating performances, but why is this Blu-ray utilizing 48kHz/16-bit PCM audio?
![Cavalli: Ercole Amante [Concerto Köln/Bolton] Blu-ray Review](http://www.blu-raydefinition.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/ercole-thumb.jpg)
De Nederlandse Opera and Opus Arte bring this lavish and humorous revival of Francesco Cavalli’s baroque opera to Blu-ray in a superb high definition production.
