
Self - Conductor

Self - Soprano

Self - Mezzo

Self - Tenor

Self - Bass

George Frederic Handel's oratorio Theodora, in its first-ever staged version at the Salzburg Festival, was among the highlights of Handel Year 2009. Acclaimed director Christof Loy presented Theodora as the profoundly moving tale of a woman who prefers death to denying her faith, an interpretation captivated with bravura by world-renowned video director Hannes Rossacher. A luminous Christine Schaefer and countertenor Bejun Mehta formed a perfect leading couple altogether suited to conductor Ivor Bolton's vigorus reading.

This is an exhilarating experience both visually and aurally. How wonderful that Barenboim is havng such success with Verdi this late in his career.The excitement and power is there in all the big movements and the tempi shouldn't upset anyone. There is clarity and drive in all the big choral fugues and the climaxes will knock your socks off. But it was the quiet moments I found most moving. The incredibly detalied camera work increases this sense of intimacy and the video quality is excellent. Really.

Deutsche Grammophon celebrates Nikolaus Harnoncourt's 80th birthday with this 2-DVD release of rare, vintage, period Bach performances for the first time. Never released on DVD and, to the dismay of fans, long unavailable--these glorious Bach pieces are conducted by period instrument pioneer, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, as only he can. Harnoncourt, a notable cellist, performs in two concertos and on gamba in one. Harnoncourt warns, "If we lose contact with the great works of Bach, we lose our contact with humanity." Vocalists Janet Perry, Robert Holl, and Peter Schreier sing with distinction in the Coffee Cantata. The Surround Sound makes clear that they revel in the acoustics of the visually magnificent Baroque library of Wiblingen Monastery.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s St John Passion with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle was one of the outstanding events of the past season. As before with the St Matthew Passion, star director Peter Sellars succeeded in creating a staging which made the spiritual and dramatic content of the Passion story even more intensive. The New York Times also praised the “brilliant and energetic” playing of the orchestra, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the “haunting, almost unsurpassable singing of all those involved.”

With influences from the Ramones, the Misfits, Buzzcocks, Pennywise, Green Day, and other old school punk and hardcore legends, CPM 22 recorded their first demo tape in 1998. Their popularity in the Brazilian underground scene led CPM 22 to record the independent album A Alguns Quilômetros de Lugar Algum (A Few Kilometers From Nowhere). Two years later they were included in the Brazilian MTV video-music award in the demo clip category with "Anteontem" (The Day Before Yesterday).

The battle to revive dying tradition comes to life through the young musicians of Southwest Louisiana in this powerful musical documentary. Amidst shuttered rural dance clubs and encroaching globalization, five Grammy award-winning artists lend their voices, examine the discrimination that almost erased their customs, and share the unique sounds created when the forces of fresh talent and deep history collide to fight for cultural survival.

At La Gaîté Lyrique, Paris is a two-hour performance recorded in Paris at La Gaîté Lyrique, making the set a must for Cult Of Luna completists. The set includes excellent videography, A-game band performances, and shots that alternate regularly between close-ups of band members and wide shots of the band from out in the crowd.