Les Troyens

After the destruction of Troy, the Trojan warrior Énée sets out on a journey to found a new dynasty. He meets Didon, Queen of Carthage, and falls in love. But will Énée's love for Didon prove stronger than his sense of duty? LES TROYENS ('The Trojans') is a tour de force of music that ranges from fiery military marches to intense choruses, passionate soliloquies – such as those of the prophetess Cassandre – and the lyrical love duets of Didon and Énée. It is Hector Berlioz's largest work and he wrote the libretto himself, drawing upon his intimate knowledge of Virgil's Aeneid. To the composer's disappointment, LES TROYENS was only performed once in full during his lifetime and was often presented in shortened form during the 20th century. The Royal Opera's production provides a rare chance to see this epic work in its entirety. David McVicar's staging is on an enormous scale, assembling one of the largest casts ever seen at Covent Garden.

The Tsarina's Slippers

Live from ROH 2009, TV relay 1/12/2009.

L'Incoronazione di Poppea

Live performance, part of Monteverdi cycle staged by Oper Zürich with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Zürich Opera House Monteverdi Ensemble. Staged and directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria

Live performance, part of Monteverdi cycle staged by Oper Zürich with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Zürich Opera House Monteverdi Ensemble. Staged and directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle

L'Orfeo

Live performance, part of Monteverdi cycle staged by Oper Zürich with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting the Zürich Opera House Monteverdi Ensemble. Staged and directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Filmed 28 March – 20 April 1978 in Vienna, sound recorded 1 – 25 December 1977 in Zürich.

Prodaná nevěsta

Rigoletto

When a sharp-tongued court jester Rigoletto is cursed for his spiteful words, he is forced to hide his unworldly daughter Gilda from his own licentious master the Duke. For Verdi’s wonderful ambivalent hunchback, paradise is the peaceful home and family that he struggles to protect.

Gianni Schicchi

Zaryadye Hall: A Diamond is Hatched

Concert and documentary celebrating the 1st Anniversary of Moscow’s Zaryadye Hall

Dido & Aeneas

Henry Purcell's opera Dido & Aeneas, completed in 1689, was the subject of a memorable and breathtaking performance at the Staatsoper Berlin in 2005. In Dido & Aeneas Sasha Waltz opens up new horizons in music theatre, creating a fusion of dance, singing and music the choreographic opera. The (extended, revised) libretto, the (reconstructed) music, vocal parts, dance, the stage set featuring a rousing underwater ballet combine to form a sublime total choreography and parallel action involving dancers, singers and musicians. In this choreographic opera, Sasha Waltz demonstrates not only her familiarity with Emile Jaques-Dalcroze and Pina Bausch, but also the confidence she has in her own style. Sensational!

Její pastorkyňa

Pfitzner: Palestrina

Requiring 38 soloists, chorus, and large orchestra, Hans Pfitzner's "Palestrina" is a challenging opera to stage. In Munich, the city in which it was premiered in 1917, director Christian Stückle, conductor Simone Young, and the Bavarian State Opera met those challenges with stunning success.

Il Trovatore

Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin in this production of Verdi's opera starring Anna Netrebko and Plácido Domingo. The Count Di Luna believes that his younger brother was murdered years before by a vengeful gypsy but still hopes that he may be alive. When he attempts to court the beautiful Leonora, he is enraged to discover that she has a lover – the troubadour, Manrico. Manrico and the Count duel, and afterwards Manrico reveals to Azucena, the woman he believes to be his mother, that when he had the opportunity to kill the Count he felt something holding him back.

Verdi: Attila

First staged at the Teatro La Fenice in 1846, Verdi’s ninth opera, Attila, returns to the stage of La Scala on December 7th. Following the inauguration of the 2015-2016 Season with Giovanna d’Arco and in anticipation of Macbeth, with Attila Musical Director Riccardo Chailly continues his study of Verdi’s early works, renewing a successful collaboration with creative director Davide Livermore that began with his acclaimed production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale for La Scala. In this complex opera Verdi experiments with fresh perspectives, featuring spectacular historical settings, introspective angles and moral uncertainties. Attila demands of its performers not only passion and confidence, but also the ability to find subtle accents and psychological nuances.

Das Rheingold

Prologue to Ring Cycle. DVD release June 2009.

Siegfried

Day 2 of the Ring Cycle. DVD release June 2009.

Götterdämmerung

Day 3 of the Ring Cycle. DVD release June 2009.

Fidelio

Leonore disguises herself as a man, "Fidelio," to infiltrate a prison and rescue her husband, Florestan, unjustly imprisoned by the tyrant Pizarro. Gaining the trust of the jailer, Rocco, and his daughter, Marzelline—who unknowingly falls for Fidelio—Leonore’s courage is tested when Pizarro orders Florestan’s execution. In a climactic moment, she reveals her identity and saves Florestan just as the king’s minister arrives, restoring justice. The opera celebrates themes of love, sacrifice, and freedom.

Der Rosenkavalier

A production of Strauss' opera 'Der Rosenkavalier' performed at the Saltzburg Festival in 1984. Includes the Vienna State Opera Choir, the Philharmonic Orchestra with singers Wilma Lipp, Anna Tomowa-Sintow and Agnes Baltsa. Conducted by Herbert Von Karaja

The Marriage of Figaro

Live from Glyndebourne 1994. The first production to be filmed Live in Glyndebourne´s new opera house May 1994. The Marriage of Figaro is a continuation of the plot of The Barber of Seville several years later, and recounts a single “day of madness” in the palace of the Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess; Dr. Bartolo is seeking revenge against Figaro for thwarting his plans to marry Rosina himself; and Count Almaviva has degenerated from the romantic youth of Barber into a scheming, bullying, skirt-chasing baritone. This follows the Count trying to obtain favours from Susanna, Figaro’s bride to be, under the nose of the Countess.