I wonder if anyone has dealt with them and what the results are. :)
http://store.operapassion.com/index.html
I did, in the past. It's a gamble because I have received good quality discs, and unfortunately bad ones, very bad ones; so I stopped buying from them. You take your chances because they don't refund. :-\
The quality of their recordings (both audio and video) is very often not of commercially merchantable quality. They regularly use masters that are many generations old – and the subsequent quality of their products is often unwatchable/unlistenable.
HOO are also a very difficult company to deal with; they often take months to respond to orders and their customer service/response is non-existent (at best), or downright rude (at worst).
If you are considering purchasing from House of Opera, my advice is:
1. Don't do it.
2. If you feel that you might chance dealing with them just once – see item 1.
Quote from: Sarastro on March 04, 2008, 02:51:06 PM
I wonder if anyone has dealt with them and what the results are. :)
http://store.operapassion.com/index.html
They are pirates which means the company is a bunch of thieves. I would not buy from thieves.
Just to add to the chorus, while I have not personally ordered from them, friends who have were not happy. The quality is apparently all over the map: sometimes good, many times not so good, and yes, I suspect many of the recordings are of dubious provenance. It's sort of a shame, since on paper, they offer some very tempting items.
--Bruce
I ordered from them exactly once - Roger Sessions's Montezuma, which was impossible to find otherwise. I received it with no problems, but their reputation is so bad I wouldn't consider using them again.
It's a shame that their reputation is so bad. I'm tempted by the DVD of Penderecki's The Devils of Loudun. I'm guessing it's the revised version of the score with two additional scenes and it's probably the only chance I'll get to hear it.