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VARIOUS TCT - Concerts for Teenage Cancer Trust at the Royal Albert Hall DVD Music Media ***

Teenage cancer? Surely not. Good for Roger Daltrey, then, to highlight such an under-the- radar disease as patron and promoter of the Teenage Cancer Trust. Daltrey's brief is to organise annual concerts, always high-quality, if towards the blokeish end of the musical spectrum. The likes of Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher feature in this compilation of the 2006 and 2007 gigs at London's Royal Albert Hall; the pair rip through a poisonous version of The Jam's Butterfly Collector, while Bloc Party tear the ass out of Like Eating Glass. The balance of Dadrock and younger, brighter acts such as The View and The Bees is just about right, while the psychedelia presence of Super Furry Animals' Gruff Rhys seems totally out of place in such traditional settings. www.teenagecancertrust.org   - TONY CLAYTON-LEA

LEONCAVALLO: PAGLIACCI; MASCAGNI: CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA Soloists: Vladimir Galouzine, Maria Bayo, Violeta Urmana, Vincenzo La Scola. Chorus and Orchestra of the Teatro Real, Madrid. Musical Director: Jesus Lopez Cobos  Opus Arte  *****  

Madrid's Teatro Real has undergone a renaissance in recent years, with a number of vivid and interesting productions released on DVD. These stagings are in that tradition. Both operas are well sung and conducted. The Cavalleria set is modern abstract with white shapes suggesting the locales, while the Pagliacci setting is realistic with credible circus mock-ups. These are imaginative productions of two well-loved verismo operas. A second disc contains interviews about the production with conductor and cast. www.opusarte.com - COLMAN MORRISSEY

© 2008 The Irish Times