Henk Neven

Recorded at the Musiektheater, Amsterdam on 21 & 25 January 2008. Performed by De Nederlandse Opera, composer Jean-Philippe Rameau's renowned tragedy "Castor et Pollux" tells the myth-based story of the selfless love between two brothers: Castor, who is mortal, and the immortal Pollux. When Castor dies trying to prevent the kidnapping of the woman he loves, Pollux decides to become mortal and replace his brother in the Underworld. Finnur Bjarnason, Henk Neven and Anna Maria Panzarella star.

Messiaen's breathtakingly intense opera on the life of St Francis of Assisi stars Rod Gilfry as the charismatic visionary, beguiled by the glory of creation, yet fearful of both its imperfections and its transience. Pierre Audi's thoroughly engaging production for The Netherlands Opera brings out the naive imagery, the grandeur, and above all the vast tenderness of the resplendent score, revealed as a grandiose ritual with the meaning and purpose of life as its central theme. But the real drama of the work takes place in the orchestra. Elevated to stupendous heights by the sublimely inspired Ingo Metzmacher, The Hague Philharmonic and the Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera combine forces with a brilliant cast to produce the finest possible musical pilgrimage.

A beautiful, sensitive, reverent performance. Fischer allows Bach to speak with no unnecessary flourishes. Padmore as the Evangelist is superb, and the other soloists and choirs are near perfect. And of course the Concertgebouw orchestral musicians are absolutely first class.

After the success of the DVDs devoted to Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Cadmus & Hermione, Vincent Dumestre and Le Poème Harmonique continue their exploration of repertoires of the 17th century.This piece, combining theatre and music, allowed Purcell to achieve his dramatic ideal. In fact, he wrote only a single opera in his short career he died at the age of 36 , but with it, he left us a gem of rare beauty and extreme concision. The work's genius is also due in part to the quality of the libretto, skilfully put together by Nahum Tate.Cécile Roussat and Julien Lubek, stage directors coming from the arts of the circus and the mime Marceau, had already collaborated with Le Poème Harmonique on the Carnaval Baroque. Here, they combine mime, dance and acrobatics with the music in a moving, magical production.