Purcell's msterpiece as performed in 1996, Amsterdam by the Nederlandse Opera
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Franco Zeffirelli's magnificient staging of Puccini's final opera - a fairy tale set in a mythical China - is one of the most popular in the Met repertory. In this Live in HD production, Maria Guleghina takes on the title role and Marcello Giordani is Calaf, the unknown prince. Marina Poplavskaya and Samuel Ramey co-star, and Andris Nelsons conducts in his Met debut.
Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Opera at La Scala Milan
Tan Dun portrays the Venetian explorer's travels to the Far East as a journey of both inner and physical discovery, a voyage depicting spiritual experiences as well as a geographical expedition. Pierre Audi's mythical staging and Jean Kalman's fabulous set design complement the composer's own musical direction, forging the dazzlingly versatile soloists, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Cappella Amsterdam to a stunning symbiosis of elements across time and space, a true testimony to cultures intertwined in globalization.
In Rigoletto, the deformed figure of the hunchbacked jester at the Mantuan court acts as a foil to his cynical and powerful master, an unscrupulous philanderer contrasted with his cruel and unforgiving fool. Rigoletto encourages and welcomes the Duke's conquests, pitilessly mocking his victims until he discovers that the Duke has abducted the one person he genuinely loves, his own daughter. As a result, the character of the court jester is transformed into a tragic figure who, in spite of his evident immorality and malice, allows us to sense the devotion he feels for his daughter and his horror at being destroyed by the same despotic world as that which he himself has helped to create.
Arabella, Op. 79, is a lyric comedy or opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.
Dvořák's "Rusalka" in a production by David Pountney at the English National Opera in 1986. Mark Elder conducts the orchestra, accompanied by the English National Opera Chorus in English.
This filmed version of Strauss' shocker features Teresa Stratas as opera's most depraved teenager, and she's as perfect a Salome as one would ever hope to see or hear. Stratas inhabits the role, exploring the character's sensuousness as she vainly woos Jochanaan, her venomous hatred when she's rejected, the crazed look in her eyes when she demands his head--on a silver platter, no less. Such complete identification with a role, especially of a character so malignant helps make this 1974 Salome stand out among the many fine DVDs of the opera.
A lonely mother and her son go to the opera where a performance of Cherubini’s opera Medea is given. It is the mother’s birthday and she wanted to surprise her son by inviting him to the opera. But, the son’s plan were different and he is quite upset about it. His mother tries to break the silent barrier behind which he hides. A semblance of discussion begins, not without humour. Tension is present but, as the performance goes on, both find themselves astounded, captured, alone in the opera house.
Benjamin Britten’s opera of the Henry James novel. An inexperienced governess is sent to a country house to care for two children, whom she is gradually convinced have been corrupted by the ghosts of a previous manservant and governess…
Based on Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci. The film recounts the tragedy of Canio, the lead clown (or pagliaccio in Italian) in a commedia dell'arte troupe, his wife Nedda, and her lover, Silvio. When Nedda spurns the advances of Tonio, another player in the troupe, he tells Canio about Nedda's betrayal. In a jealous rage Canio murders both Nedda and Silvio. The only actor in the cast who also sang his role was the celebrated Italian baritone, Tito Gobbi, but the film is largely very faithful to its source material, presenting the opera nearly complete.
Experience the story of seamstress Esther who begins writing to a mysterious suitor laboring on the Panama Canal. Featuring a libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, this powerful opera is directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher.
In Benjamin Britten's operatic adaptation of Henry James' masterwork, a naive governess (Helen Field) arrives at a country manor and soon discovers that it holds a murky secret involving her charges and two ghostly servants who wield a sinister influence on them. The taut, atmospheric production also stars Sam Linay, Machiko Obata, Menai Davies and Phyllis Cannan, with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra providing accompaniment.
Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1995, this acclaimed presentation of composer Gioachino Rossini's epic opus ERMIONE is based on Jean Racine's play "Andromache." Set in Troy after the city fell to the Greeks, the production recounts the rancorous battle between widow Andromache and Helen of Troy's green-eyed daughter, Ermione for the love of Pyrrhus
While a roaring ball stirs up spirits inside, a boy and a girl meet on the sidelines – and fall in love at first sight. But because they belong to warring families, Romeo and Juliet's love may be immortal, but it is above all forbidden. The chamber opera by the German-Baltic composer Boris Blacher, written in 1943, condenses Shakespeare’s famous tragedy to its essence: the fate of Romeo and Juliet. Scenic miniatures conjure a foggy world hostile to love. Characters occasionally materialise like ghostly apparitions, while a Brechtian chansonnier comments with humour and with harshness on the failure of the greatest love story of all.
John Adams’s groundbreaking work vividly brings to life US President Nixon’s 1972 visit to the People’s Republic of China. Peter Sellars’s Metropolitan Opera production, based on his 1987 world-premiere staging, features choreography by Mark Morris and stars James Maddalena as Nixon, Robert Brubaker as Chairman Mao, Janis Kelly as First Lady Pat Nixon, Russell Braun as Chinese Premier Chou En-lai, and Kathleen Kim as Chiang Ch’ing, Mao’s wife. From the pomp of the public displays to the intimacy of the protagonists most private moments, Adams, Sellars and librettist Alice Goodman reveal the real characters behind the headlines in this landmark American opera.
Handel's 1724 opera Tamerlano followed the success of his previous year's Giulio Cesare with another colourful historical costume drama. This time the setting is the court of "Timur the Tartar", who has just defeated the Turkish Sultan Bajazet at the battle of Angora. There are, naturally enough, romantic complications when both Tamerlano and his ally, the Greek Prince Andronico, fall in love with Bajazet's daughter Asteria. She, however, has plans to revenge her father's defeat. This production was directed by Jonathan Miller and staged in the intimate surroundings of the Goethe Theatre of Bad Lauchstadt as part of the 2001 Halle Handel Festival.
Live performance from Cologne Opera. Conlon conducts a skittishly dynamic performance of Don Giovanni. He relies on Thomas Allen’s tough Don to give the work much of its dark menace and on Holle’s terrifying Commendatore to provide the moral outrage – his job is to keep things moving, and he does. The exteriors – blank city spaces reminiscent of the paintings of Giorgio De Chirico – and moodily claustrophobic interiors mirror effectively the anguish of the orphaned Anna and the abandoned Elvira; this is a performance in which the two women victims of the Don function effectively as correctives to his libertine charm. Andrea Rost as Zerlina brings real delicacy to her role, reminding us that “La ci darem la mano” is a duet about her flirtation with Don Giovanni and not just a famous stand-alone moment. This is an admirable presentation of a fine performance.
The oratorio concerns the Christian martyr Theodora and her Christian-converted Roman lover, Didymus.
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
A pair of star-crossed dancers in New York find themselves at the center of a bitter rivalry between their brothers' underground dance clubs.
The Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls when they get mixed up with gangsters due to a tin of sardines containing Romanoff diamonds.
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.
Taylor Swift takes the stage in Dallas for the Reputation Stadium Tour and celebrates a monumental night of music, memories and visual magic.
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Graced with a velvet voice, 21-year-old Violet Sanford heads to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter only to find her aspirations sidelined by the accolades and notoriety she receives at her "day" job as a barmaid at Coyote Ugly. The "Coyotes" as they are affectionately called tantalize customers and the media alike with their outrageous antics, making Coyote Ugly the watering hole for guys on the prowl.
Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
In the town of Normal Valley, an eccentric magician named Maestro entertains the local children every day in his spooky mansion. One stormy night, the town's mayor leads a group of angry citizens to the mansion in an attempt to run Maestro out of town.
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
A girl is engaged to the local richman, but meanwhile she has dreams about the legendary pirate Macoco. A traveling singer falls in love with her and to impress her he poses as the pirate.
Gertrude Lawrence rises to stage stardom at the cost of happiness.
When the beloved cellist of a world-renowned string quartet is diagnosed with a life threatening illness, the group's future suddenly hangs in the balance as suppressed emotions, competing egos and uncontrollable passions threaten to derail years of friendship and collaboration. As they are about to play their 25th anniversary concert — quite possibly their last — only their intimate bond and the power of music can preserve their legacy.
In the tradition of Fantasia, Make Mine Music is a glorious collection of musically charged animated shorts featuring such fun-filled favorites as "Peter and the Wolf", narrated by the beloved voice behind Winnie the Pooh. In addition you'll enjoy such classic cartoon hits as "Casey at the Bat," "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met" and "Johnnie Fedora and Alice Bluebonnet."
Upon learning that he is from New York City, a wide-eyed boy, who is half human and half alligator, decides to leave his sheltered life in the swamp and search for his long lost father. A musical adventure.
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.
Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.