Gala Performances (Opus Arte, 2 DVDs)

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Two spectacular gala concerts from the stage of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, are brought together here in their unforgettable glory. In the 1993 Winter Gala, world-leading singers (including Plácido Domingo, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Kiri Te Kanawa) and dancers (including Darcey Bussell, Lesley

Collier, and Irek Mukhamedov) celebrate the music of Tchaikovsky, in highlights from such opera and ballet favourites as The Queen of Spades and Eugene Onegin, The Nutcracker and The Sleeping Beauty. In the famously glittering 1996 gala concert, Domingo is joined by a cast of opera stars including Angela

Gheorghiu, Roberto Alagna and Susan Graham. Asher Fisch conducts this programme of great opera arias by composers including Bizet, Massenet, Gounod, Mozart and Donizetti.

These classic recordings are preserved in their original Standard Definition and 4:3 picture format, capturing The Royal Opera and The Royal Ballet at a memorable period in their long history.