Rued Langgaard’s remarkable opera Antikrist confronts the decline and fall of Western civilisation, critiquing modern lifestyles and ways of thinking, which resonates with our times more than ever before. Never performed in the composer’s lifetime, Antikrist blends Romantic and contemporary styles to create a score that is both seductive and opulent, while the lack of a conventional plot creates space for an ironic and sarcastic exposé of contemporary civilisation’s weaknesses. This spectacular Deutsche Oper Berlin production was acclaimed in The New York Times as a ‘riotously colourful, boldly stylised staging [in] a near-breathless swirl’.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (NBD0176V)

In the early 1670s, soon after Venetian opera became established in Naples, a series of comic figures began to inhabit secular but also sacred operas. These stock characters included the Neapolitan, the Calabrian and the Boy, and all three plus a fourth, ‘The Spaniard’, appear in a comic intermezzo inserted in the 1673 opera Il disperato innocente by the little-known Francesco Antonio Boero. This is the oldest surviving Neapolitan comic intermezzo, and, along with its Prologue, seems to have been written by other authors. This video preserves a historically informed performance given by Antonio Florio with Pino De Vittorio that explores the tradition of the intermezzo in 17th-century plots.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (DYN-58016), Disc and Streaming (CDS8016)

Glyndebourne’s Saul stole the summer and had critics raving. The Guardian (★★★★) applauded ‘virtuoso stagecraft’ from director Barrie Kosky in his Glyndebourne debut, calling the show ‘a theatrical and musical feast of energetic choruses, surreal choreography and gorgeous singing’. For The Independent, which ranked it amongst the five top classical and opera performances of 2015, there was ‘no praise too high’ for the cast. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under Ivor Bolton sparkles from the pit with period panache, and designer Katrin Lea Tag’s ‘exuberant costumes’ (The Times ★★★★) set the Old Testament story in Handel’s time, with a witty flavour of the contemporary.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (OABD7205D)

Thea Sharrock’s irresistible new production of Shakespeare’s popular romantic comedy stirs wit, sentiment, intrigue and love into a charming confection which challenges the traditional rules of romance. At its heart, a feisty but feminine Rosalind (Naomi Frederick), in love with the endearingly naive Orlando (Jack Laskey), uses her disguise as Ganymede to counsel him playfully in the art of wooing. Distraction is provided by Dominic Rowan, a remarkably funny Touchstone, and Tim McMullan, whose sonorous tones are perfectly suited to the lugubrious wit of Jaques. Filmed in High Definition and true surround sound.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (OABD7066D)

Passion, tragedy, fierce devotion. Queen Victoria’s diaries revealed a life so fascinating that her daughter Beatrice tried to rewrite history.

Her irrepressible love for Albert sparked a royal dynasty. But his untimely death brought the world’s most powerful woman to her knees with grief.

Northern Ballet’s new biopic, choreographed by Cathy Marston, “one of Britain’s most interesting choreographers” (Evening Standard), brings the sensational story of Victoria to life in dance.

Also available on Blu-ray Video (OABD7264D)