January 2020

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Tim contributes some Purcell songs to Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s ‘Medusa’ with the Royal Ballet at Covent Garden

Due for release on 25 October, 2019

March, 2014

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Deborah Warner's beautiful and evocative production of Britten's final operatic masterpiece has been acclaimed as an 'exquisitely achieved marriage of music, drama and design' (The Independent). In Britten's luminous and compelling interpretation of Thomas Mann's classic novella, the ageing writer Gustav von Aschenbach's infatuation with the Polish boy Tadzio and his subsequent decline are portrayed in a 'remarkable and harrowingly believable' performance (The Guardian) by John Graham-Hall, who had already won golden opinions for singing the role of Aschenbach at La Scala. The superb ENO chorus and orchestra are conducted by Edward Gardner, a long-standing champion of Britten's music.

August, 2013

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Historian David Starkey presents this documentary exploring the role Britain's kings and queens have played in shaping the nation's music. In much the same way as artists from other fields, musicians were often reliant on royal houses for patronage - with the vast resources possessed by the rulers of the nation often necessary to fund or stage the most ambitious projects. Starkey explores the influence of such patronage on the growth of music in Britain, tracing how even composers such as Purcell, Handel and Elgar were influenced by royal requirements, and the political significance of much of the resulting music.

May, 2013

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French producer Jean-François Sivadier leagued up with Emmanuelle Haïm and the Concert d'Astrée in Lille in Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea. Among the numerous modern production of Monteverdi's popular opera, this 2012 one stands towering over other even more eminent ones. The production is imaginative and very beautiful, with costumes in a mixture of contemporary and historical attire. Thunder boards and jungle drums between the acts herald a rather gruesome, instead of romantic, tale.

July, 2012

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Skin-tight rubber and lacrosse sticks bring contemporary chic to this timeless fantasy of warriors and witches in Robert Carsen's fun-filled transformation of Handel's first London triumph. Conducting from the keyboard just as Handel himself did, Ottavio Dantone leads a youthful cast of today's luminaries in the dramatic art of Baroque opera, the 'affecting' Sonia Prina, the 'unadorned intensity' of Anett Fritschand 'fire-breathing flair' (The Observer) of Brenda Rae.

April, 2012

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Nicholas McGegan conducts the Festspieleorchester Gottingen in this production of Handel's opera, recorded live at the Internationale Handel-Festspiele Gottingen, with performances from Tim Mead, Marie Arnet and Kirsten Blaise.

February, 2012

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With Poppea's Coronation debuted the critically acclaimed stage director Ole Anders Tandberg in the Norwegian Opera & Ballet, and he lets blood flow. TV directors Anja Stabell and Stein-Roger Bull reinforces the impact by letting blodets bright colour compete against black and white images. Poppea like you've never seen it before! 

January, 2010

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This hilarious contemporary version of Francesco Cavalli s baroque opera Hercules in Love was commissioned on occasion of the marriage of Louis XIV, the Sun King, to Maria Theresa of Spain. The original production took two years to complete and was at the time the greatest show ever performed in Europe. Directed by David Alden, this surreal production is a triumph of commedia buffa resplendent with decorative and symbolic elements, and complemented by Constance Hoffman s exceptional costumes. Led by Ivor Bolton, a master of baroque music, the chorus of De Nederlandse Opera and Concerto Köln give a sublime performance. With Luca Pisaroni s (Ercole) singing being heroic and melodious in turn, and Veronica Cangemi as a splendid Iole, this is an outstanding production by the DNO. Filmed in High Definition and surround sound.

March, 2009

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Live performance of Handel's three-act opera, transposed to the setting of a modern hospital ward, recorded at the 2006 Halle Handel Festival. The cast includes Matthias Rexroth, Romelia Lichtenstein, Mechthild Bach, Tim Mead, Raimund Nolte, Melanine Hirsch and Gerd Vogel, who are accompanied by the Handel Festival Orchestra playing on historical instruments and conducted by Howard Arman.

September, 2008

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This world premiere of a gripping new work by composer Harrison Birtwistle and librettist David Harsent, commissioned by The Royal Opera, brings the monstrous, Greek mythological character to the stage. The Minotaur, part man, part beast, trapped in his labyrinth and constrained by his bloodthirsty role there, longs to discover his true identity and his own voice. Athens must pay a blood sacrifice to Crete and among the innocents is Theseus, who has come to challenge the violent Minotaur, but who also attracts the attention of Ariadne, half-sister and keeper of the monster; it is with her help he succeeds.