MEDIA RELEASE 7 April 2011

SEE NEXT PAGE FOR NEW LABEL PRODUCT DETAILS

THE MOST IMPORTANT AUSTRALIAN CLASSICAL MUSIC RECORDING EVENT OF 2011!

ACCLAIMED PRODUCTIONS now available through SELECT AUDIO-VISUAL DISTRIBUTION.

The first to be released on CD, DVD and BLU-RAY is the 2010 production of starring (Figaro), Taryn Fiebig (Susanna), Peter Coleman-Wright (Count) and Rachelle Durkin (Countess).

On CD come THREE CLASSIC PRODUCTIONS starring : (1986), (1990) and (1977). These beautifully re- mastered recordings of La Stupenda, were recorded LIVE AT THE , in conjunction with Op- era Australia and the Sydney Opera House.

A mixture of exciting new and popular previous Opera Australia productions is forthcoming, including both the latest season productions and classic archive footage featuring JOAN SUTHERLAND.

All these releases are of the HIGHEST QUALITY, the FIRST OPERA PRODUCTIONS TO RECORDED IN HIGH DEFI- NITION. Live recordings of new Opera Australia productions take advantage of cameras and audio equipment newly-installed in the Opera Theatre.

The new Opera Australia recordings are being made by EPCD, the world-leading production company for opera houses who are assisted by the world’s most respected opera and ballet recording producer, Hans Petrie, foun- der of the prestigious Opus Arte label who now works as Artistic Advisor for these outstanding recording pro- jects.

‘SELECT AUDIO-VISUAL DISTRIBUTION is proud to have been appointed the exclusive Australian distributor of Opera Australia’s new label,’ says Managing Director Andrew McKeich. ‘This is surely the most important initiative in Australian classical recorded music history and we look forward to a long and successful partnership.’

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Stephen Schafer Label Manager SELECT AUDIO-VISUAL DISTRIBUTION COMPANY PTY LTD PO BOX 691 BROOKVALE NSW 2100 • E [email protected] • T (02) 9948 1811 (SWITCH), (02) 8966 3136 (DIRECT) • F (02) 9948 5085 • W www.savd.com.au

NEW LABEL

FIRST FOUR TITLES AVAILABLE APRIL 2011

Mozart The Marriage of Figaro Teddy Tahu Rhodes (Figaro), Taryn Fiebig (Susanna), Peter Coleman-Wright (Count), Rachelle Durkin (Countess), Opera Australia Chorus, Australian Opera and Ballet Orchestra, Patrick Summers (conductor), (director) OPOZ56002BD | 5060266600012 | Blu-Ray OPOZ56001DVD | 5060266600005 | DVD2 OPOZ56003CD | 5060266600029 | CD3

Recorded in 2010. ‘A marriage of distinction. An energetic, fresh-voiced cast...Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Taryn Feibig were a vivacious, appealing pairing...vocally strong and agile’ ( The Australian ) ‘As the Countess, Rachelle Durkin mixed statuesque hauteur with girlish puppy love...refined phrasing and beautifully poised tonal control’ ( The Sydney Morning Herald )

Donizetti Lucia di Lammermoor Joan Sutherland (Lucia), Richard Greager (Edgardo), Malcolm Donnelly (Enrico), (Raimondo), Patricia Price (Alisa), Sergei Baigildin (Arturo), Robin Donald (Normanno), Australian Opera Chorus, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, (conductor), John Copely (producer) OPOZ56005CD | 5060266600043 | CD2

Recorded in 1986. ‘superb...incredibly moving’ ( The Australian ) ‘Exceptionally fine...Sutherland remains a splendid heroine...Malcolm Donnelly is an outstanding Enrico’ ( The Sydney Morning Herald )

Meyerbeer Les Huguenots Joan Sutherland (Marguite de Valois), Clifford Grant (Marcel), Amanda Thane (Valentine), Suzanne Johnson (Urbain), Anson Austin (Raoul de Nanglis), John Pringle (Comte de Nevers), John Wegner (Comte de Saint Bris), Richard Bonynge (conductor), Lotfi Mansouri (director) OPOZ56007CD | 5060266600067 | CD3

Recorded in 1990. Joan Sutherland's farewell performance of Les Huguenots . ‘Full of spectacle’ ( The Sun Herald ) ‘Incandescent...a wondrous, full-voiced performance that should be remembered for light years to come’ ( The Age ) ‘[Sutherland] sings effortlessly...remarkable’ ( The Sydney Morning Herald )

Donizetti Lucrezia Borgia Joan Sutherland (Lucrezia), (Don Alfonzo), (Maffio Orsini), Ron Stevens (Gennaro), Graeme Ewer (Rustighello), Australian Opera Chorus, Elizabethan Sydney Orchestra, Richard Bonynge (conductor), George Ogilvie (director) OPOZ56006CD | 5060266600050 | CD2

Recorded in 1977. ‘(Sutherland’s) extraordinary voice here not only scales the heights of coloratura but plunges with new ease into the depths of the mezzo range’ ( The Bulletin ) ‘Bonynge shapes the whole performance with assurance’ ( Canberra Times ) ‘delights the ear endlessly...ravishing’ ( Financial Review )