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After public and critical acclaim for his Eugene Onegin (available on DVD from BelAir), "Macbeth" on Blu-ray and DVD is the latest production from Russian stage director Dmitri Tcherniakov, recorded at the Paris Opera. Coproduced with Siberia's Novosibirsk Opera, this new Macbeth uses cutting-edge multimedia technology to give the viewer a fresh perspective on the work. Google Earth satellite images plunge us into the heart of the action: a gloomy square surrounded by soulless buildings, and the interior of an aristocratic residence. Witches are no more a part of Tcherniakov's Macbeth that the duel was of Onegin, but once again the atmosphere is one of brooding claustrophobia. Tcherniakov has chosen a great cast, beginning with the marvellous Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as Lady Macbeth. Greek baritone Dimitris Tiliakos is a powerful presence as Macbeth, while the Italians Ferruccio Furlanetto (bass) and Stefano Secco (tenor) are sumptuous as, respectively, Banquo and Macduff. In this, his second production at the Paris Opera, Teodor Currentzis, music director of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre conducts with verve and a splendid theatrical sense.

The Mahler Chamber Orchestra was Orchestra in Residence at the KlaraFestival 2013 which is known as a modern and international classical music festival far beyond Belgium’s borders. The concerts of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra formed one of the highlights of this year’s festival. Alongside young Greece conductor Teodor Currentzis, who is hailed as an “eccentric super-talented maestro”, the orchestra dedicates its performance to the two composers, contemporaries and friends Benjamin Britten and Dmitri Shostakovich. The programme includes Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No.1 at whose world premiere in London in 1960 the two composers met for the first time. The orchestra combines one of the most popular cello concertos of the 20th century with Britten’s Sinfonietta and Shostakovich’s Symphony No.1.