In recent years there has been a proliferation of operas filmed and released on video, allowing the opera lover not just the audial but also the visual experience which is so integral to a performance - the lavish sets, the colourful costumes, the larger-than-life characters. In this companion to his "Opera on CD", Alan Blyth selects the best of these releases, taking into account sound and picture quality as well as the staging and performance of the operas. Blyth also wrote "Opera on Record".