Barry McDaniel

Hell bent on avenging the death of his father, Johnny Black vows to gun down Brett Clayton and becomes a wanted man in the process while posing as a preacher in a small mining town that's been taken over by a notorious Land Baron.

Staged by Sellner, conducted by Maazel with costumes by Sanjust and performed by the six soloists with consummate vocal elegance, Cimarosa's "Secret Marriage" offers unadulterated pleasure and triggers a kind of ecstasy with its combination of delicacy and opulence as well as its sophisticated humor. It brings Cimarosa's musical mastery to the fore - but also the visual impact of the opera. The stage is no longer a place of intellectual barrenness, but once again a playground, a sparkling showcase of wit and intellect.

A 1968 production of Hans-Werner Henze's comic opera filmed at Berlin's Deutsche Oper. With the plot centering around how a whole town is deceived into taking a dressed monkey as a young lord, the work features performances from, among others, Edith Mathis, Donald Grobe and Barry McDaniel. Christoph von Dohnányi conducts.

Opera in one act with prologue. Based on the production of the Vienna State Opera by Filippo Sanjust. Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal

The poor ghost of Sir Simon Canterville has been roaming his castle searching in vain for a brave descendant who will release him from the Canterville curse by performing a brave deed. An American family moves in and finds the ghost amusing, but a young girl in the family can release him - if she dares.

The wonderful Strauss-Zweig comic opera silent woman. This is the classic performance from Munich in 1971 with Kurt Moll, Reri Grist, Barry McDaniel and Kurt Grobe. The English subtitles allow those of us without German to enjoy the wonderful libretto by Zweig.

On stage, Christa Ludwig's Leonore puts all others in the shade. In this role, she achieves something rare: a perfect unity of stage character and singer. Her male disguise is believable; this Fidelio is a slender, lanky young man with whom it is easy to imagine the silly Marzelline falling in love.