Latest releases reviewed.

VERDI: FALSTAFF
Soloists: Jose Van Dam, Williamstone, Barbara Madra, Livia Budai. Theatre Royal de la Monniae de Bruxelles. Conductor: Sylvain Cambreling. Warner Music Vision
*****

Falstaff is the creation of Verdi's old age: the composer was 79 at the premiere of this miraculous comedy. The music flows like silk all through the opera, continuously supporting and illuminating the words, which themselves come from a fusing of scenes from two of Shakespeare's great plays. The quality of the Italian libretto is well worthy of its noble origins, and ensures that the characters on stage engage our emotions in a most profound manner. The cast in this live production (recorded at the Aix-La-Provence Festival in 1987) give the score the spontaneity it needs, and the result is a great performance of a wonderful score. The only caveat is that the set is rather dark sometimes, which obscures the facial expressions of the singers, so important in this work. www.wmg.com Colman Morrissey

JOHN LYDON
The Best of British £1 Notes Virgin
**

It's all in the eyes, or at least that's what the video makers of at least half of this collection - the first time former Sex Pistol and PIL's John Lydon's videos have been made available - would have you believe. And while the initial malevolence may have been replaced by a dreary pantomime cheek, there's still evidence to suggest that Lydon hasn't totally dried up like a prune. Some of the songs are still great: the evergreen Sex Pistols warning shots, Anarchy in the UK and God Save the Queen; PIL's debut, Public Image, and subsequent singles Rise, Home and Don't Ask Me. It all gets slightly bent out of shape with Sex Pistols reunion live clips from 1996 (Pretty Vacant at Finsbury Park; Bodies at Phoenix Festival) and 2002 (a version of Hawkwind's Silver Machine at Crystal Palace). Overall, though, this is decent, kicking-against-the-pricks stuff. Standard extras include mixes of Death Disco and Albatross, and a discography.

Tony Clayton-Lea