Notable CD and DVDs for the Month of August

August sees the release of number of DVDs and CDs from around the world with Opera's greatest stars.

One of the most intriguing releases is Meyerbeer's opera Robert Le Diable. The cast includes breakout star Bryan Hymel, Patrizia Ciofi, John Relyea, and Marina Poplavskaya. Daniel Oren conducts Laurent Pelly's colorful production which received mixed reviews at the premiere at the Royal Opera House.  

A New Simon Boccanegra

Kristine Opolais has recently posted a picture to her new recording of Simon Boccanegra with Thomas Hampson and Joseph Calleja. The recording is slated for a September release on Decca Classics. 

Anna Netrebko's First Desdemona Live Stream

Anna Netrebko sings her first Desdemona at the Verbier Festival on July 25 along with Aleksandrs Antonenko as Otello. The performance will only include the first act of the opera and will also feature Alexy Markov as Iago. The second half of the concert will include Bryn Terfel in the third act of Die Walkure with Irene Theorin and Eva Maria Westbroek. Valery Gergiev will conduct the concert. For more information click here and for the live stream click here.

Danny Burstein to Make Met Debut

The Met press office has revealed that Danny Burstein will make his Met debut. Here is what they released: “Broadway actor Danny Burstein will make his Metropolitan Opera debut in the non-singing role of Frosch in this season’s performances of Die Fledermaus. The new production of Johann Strauss II’s operetta, conducted by Adam Fischer and directed by Jeremy Sams in his Met directorial debut, features new English-language lyrics by Sams and dialogue by acclaimed Broadway playwright Douglas Carter Beane.”

Damrau's Lucia Live Stream

Diana Damrau's famous Lucia di Lamermoor will be live stream on sonostream from Munich. The opera will also star Joseph Calleja and Ludic Tezier and will be conducted by Jose Lopez Cobos.  For more information on the live stream click here.

Il Trovatore Live Stream

On July 5th the Bayerische Staatsoper will present Il Trovatore on their Live Stream TV. The opera stars Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Elena Manistina and Alexey Markov. Paolo Carignani conducts the new production by Oliver Py. For more information on the Live stream click here.

The Tempest DVD

Deustche Grammophon has announced the release of The Metropolitan Opera's production of "The Tempest." The DVD is slated for release in August and stars Audrey Luna, Simon Keenlyside, Isabel Leonard, Alek Shrader and Alan Oke. 

Villazon Wants To Sing With Netrebko Again!

Rolando Villazon was recently profiled in Opera News. In the interview Villazon spoke about his vocal crisis and also about his partnership with Anna Netrebko. He stated, ""It was great! But I don't think either of us wanted to be primarily a singing duo. I would love to sing with her again, and I recently sang for her Verdi CD, but our voices have gone in very different directions now." The singer also revealed that he continue singing Mozart and potentially adding some Verdi roles. For the Full interview click here.

Werther Preview 2012-2013

The world's leading tenor Jonas Kaufmann and mezzo soprano Elina Garanca team up for the first time at the Metropolitan Opera for Massenet's Werther

Richard Eyre will direct one of the years most anticipated operas of the season. The Carmen director returns to the Met in a production that will be set in the 1890s. Richard Eyre has described Werther as a "chamber opera" and therefore will attempt to bring the characters "as close to the audience as possible." He will reduce the space to focus on the characters.