The Metropolitan Opera: Puccini's La Rondine(2009)

Verdi Nabucco(it)

NABUCCO may be Verdi's first masterpiece, and not just because of that amazing Chorus of Hebrews which is justly beloved by everyone who hears it. Dramatically, this opera is tightly constructed, with believable characters in an intense conflict over values and beliefs. And Verdi's music, however early in his career, however distant from triumphs like LA FORSA DEL DESTINO or AIDA, is highly animated, revealing inner turmoil and outer passions with beauty and economy. The ensembles are especially impressive, building to satisfying heights of emotional release for the singers and the audience. And Placido Domingo is a wonder to behold and hear. Even though his original voice was baritone, which he managed to transform into a tenor voice, he doesn't SOUND like a baritone to me. B-U-T his performance is so committed, so deeply interfused with Verdi's music, so generously integrated to the younger singers around him, that the waters part.

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion(ja)

A strange meteor lands in Japan and unleashes hundreds of insect-like "Legion" creatures bent on colonizing the Earth. When the military fails to control the situation, Gamera shows up to deal with the ever-evolving space adversary. However the battle may result in Gamera losing his bond with both Asagi and humanity.

Taxi(en)

A young writer embarks on a journey to find out more about the taxi business in Lagos by becoming a taxi driver, he meets a young lady along the way and becomes fond of her.

Android Re-Enactment(en)

Ermus Daglek, retired Empathtek engineer, commandeers a defunct factory where he creates androids based on persons from his past and recreates a dinner party where he lost the love of his life - until they malfunction and escape.

Re/cycle(en)

With input from actor and writer Jan Hlobil, director and cinematographer Rene Smaal presents a film in the true surrealist tradition, in the sense that only 'found' elements were used, and that it defies interpretation based on ordinary cause-and-effect time sequence.

Change(en)

I was somewhere between the beggining and the end of life. After winter became spring, and summer became fall, and fall winter again. I always knew change would be constant.

Phas Gaye Re Obama(hi)

Phase Gaye Re Obama is a comedy set against the backdrop of global recession/meltdown that originated in USA. The film traces the journey of OM Shashtri, an American citizen of Indian origin, who loses all his wealth overnight to the global recession & has been asked to vacate his home by the bank unless he pays up $100,000 (mortgaged amount) within 30 days. Seeing no other option Om comes to India to sell a small piece of an ancestral property. But within days of landing in India he is kidnapped by a 'recession-hit' underworld gang those who think that he is still a millionaire. What happens to Om, is he able to save his home, how did the 'poor' gangster cope with their 'poor' catch & what do small town Indian gangsters have to say to President Obama...is largely forms the rest of the story. The film, showcases how global recession/ meltdown impacted lives from an America based businessman to underworld dons in the dusty plains of small town India.

Scooby-Doo: Mystery in Motion(en)

Scooby-Doo and friends are off on another adventure in this collection of 3 episodes from the various eras of Scooby-Doo TV shows.

Ghost Nursing(zh)

Jackie is a young woman determined to reverse her bad luck. She consults the God of Gold, who advises her to "nurse a ghost". She is given a small figure to worship, and the worship includes dripping three drops of her own blood every three days. At first, all goes well and she falls in love. But this new happiness causes Jackie to forget to worship the figure, and the spirit doesn't like it. With good intentions, her new boyfriend, Raymond, discovers Jackie's strange predicament and attempts an exorcism which goes horribly wrong. The spirit takes over Raymond, who starts doing nasty things.

Re-BORN(ko)

Synopsis 1. "Today's Superpower" (26min, 오늘의 초능력, o-neul-eui cho-neung-ryeok) by Lee Min-seob People who claim to be able to use superpowers once a day gathered! But why can't they use their superpowers? Do they really have superpowers in the first place? 2. "1+1" (30min, 1+1) by Han Jay "Toot! I'm 1+1!" One day, the same alter ego as me appeared! 3. "Jangah & Chichung" (35min, 장아치청, jang-a-chi-cheong) by Kim Tae-hoon-II "Burp!" Once you start burping, there's nothing you can do. A comedy action movie limited to 60 minutes, filled with real superpowers by superheroes. 4. "LOVE SICK" (23min, 러브씩, reo-beu-ssik) by Jung Seung-hoon A year after the end of the zombie crisis, Seung-beom prepares an unforgettable proposal for his girlfriend Ji-yoon who saved him.

Nosferatu: The Real Story(en)

Nosferatu was a silent horror film, an unauthorised Dracula adaptation. Despite a court order to destroy it, surviving copies became highly influential in cinema. This documentary traces its origins, impact, and legacy, leading to the 2024 remake.

Re-Elected(en)

Friends battle former U.S. presidents when they come back from the dead as zombies on the Fourth of July.

The Road to the Heart(en)

Miguel casts out his daughter when she marries a poor man, causing his wife to leave him, too. After he is unable to find a reliable cook, he reconciles with his daughter so he can get a good meal.

The Devil's Man(it)

Journalist Mike Harway decides to help his friend Christine in her search for her father, professor Baker, who mysteriously disappeared. The investigation brings them to Africa where they are captured and brought to the El Faium abandoned fort. It now hosts a laboratory designed by the twisted mind of Devilman, who dreams of swapping his natural brain with an artificial one that will make him perfect.

Leimert Park: The Story of a Village in South Central Los Angeles(en)

An extraordinary group of artists and musicians, in the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, creates an underground arts movement and transform a community.

The Wild Soccer Bunch 4(de)

With the victory against "The Beastly Beasts", "The Wild Soccer Bunch" showed it to everyone and then won every single game. Only one victory now separates them from the "Pott", the Freestyle Soccer Cup. For this they have to compete against the "Wolves of Ragnarök". But the wolves are not normal opponents! They have a dark secret - and behind them lurks a power stronger than all of them: the girl Horizon and the "Silver Lights" from the fog...

The Strange Portrait of the Lady in Yellow(xx)

A woman takes a shower when she suddenly hears something. What is causing the sound and what is it that we see?

Return of the Secaucus Seven(en)

Seven former college friends, along with a few new friends, gather for a weekend reunion at a summer house in New Hampshire to reminisce about the good old days, when they got arrested on the way to a protest in Washington, D.C.

Godzilla vs. Hedorah(ja)

An ever evolving alien life-form arrives on a comet from the Dark Gaseous Nebula and proceeds to consume pollution. Spewing mists of sulfuric acid and corrosive sludge, neither humanity nor Godzilla may be able to defeat this toxic menace.

Fight!! Spirit of the Sword(ja)

Yonosuke Hikura appears to be an ordinary high school student. Yet he has inherited the important role of protecting the harmony between Heaven and Earth. With the help of the magical sword Chitentai, and Tsukinojo Inbe, he courageously battles the demons, sending them back to the Earth World, from which they have escaped.

L'Enfant et les Sortilèges(fr)

The 1987 Glyndebourne production of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges, designed by Maurice Sendak and directed by Frank Corsaro.

Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin(ru)

The pain of unrequited love is portrayed unforgettably by two of today’s greatest stars. Renée Fleming is musically and dramatically radiant as the shy Tatiana, who falls in love with the worldly Onegin, played with devastating charisma by Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Their mesmerizing vocalism and chemistry explode in one of opera’s most heartbreaking final scenes. With Valery Gergiev on the podium conducting Tchaikovsky’s passionate score, this performance is one for the ages.

The Phantom of the Opera(en)

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

Teatro alla Scala: Joan of Arc(it)

"Giovanna d'Arco; ossia, la pulzella d'Orléans" is an operatic dramma lirico with a prologue and three acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The opera partly reflects the story of Joan of Arc and is based on a play by Friedrich von Schiller, although claimed by the librettist to be "an entirely original Italian drama." If the thought of Anna Netrebko strutting her stuff in a suit of armour and tin hat sets your factor tingling then this is a must. It's an inconsistent opera but has some quite wonderful music along the way. The rest of the cast is good and the production won't offend either. Get it for Ms Netrebko's incredible performance alone.

Gianni Schicchi(cs)

Verdi: Macbeth(it)

Recorded at the Paris Opera and co-produced with Siberia’s Novosibirsk Opera, this new Macbeth uses cutting-edge multimedia technology to give the viewer a fresh perspective on the work. Google Earth satellite images plunge us into the heart of the action: a gloomy square surrounded by soulless buildings, and the interior of an aristocratic residence.

Philip Glass: Akhnaten(en)

Akhnaten is set in Ancient Egypt, and based on the accession to the throne of the pharaoh Amenhotep IV – thought to have been around 1351BC – on his religious convictions, and the consequences of his actions. Presented as a combination of song, dance and music, the opera has a libretto by Philip Glass, Shalom Goldmann, Robert Israël and Richard Ridell, with the text drawing on ancient hymns, prayers and inscriptions, sung in their original Egyptian, Hebrew and Akkadian form. Produced by the Opéra de Nice Côte d’Azur as part of the Festival MANCA.

Macbeth(it)

This hard-edged postmodern production of Giuseppe Verdi's haunting masterpiece brings the story of Shakespeare's bloody tragedy to vivid life, characterized by spine-tingling atmospherics and a triumphant debut by American baritone Thomas Hampson in the title role. This Zurich Opera House production also features a mesmerizing turn by Paoletta Marrocu as the beautiful, power-hungry Lady Macbeth, while striking sets and costumes further enhance the duality of the main character whose rise and fall mirror the darkest impulses of man. Replete with supernatural mystery, sexual tension, and violent power plays, this timeless story remains gripping and chilling for today's audiences and boasts some of the most astonishing music of Verdi's legendary body of work.

The Metropolitan Opera: The Tempest(en)

Composer Thomas Adès conducts the Met premiere of his powerful opera based on Shakespeare’s last play, in Robert Lepage’s brilliantly inventive production. Simon Keenlyside is the magician Prospero, who conjures the storm that shipwrecks his enemies and sets in motion the course of events. Rising Met stars Isabel Leonard and Alek Shrader are the young lovers, Miranda and Ferdinand, Alan Oke sings the sinister Caliban, and Audrey Luna gives a memorable performance as the sprite Ariel.

The Metropolitan Opera: Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci(it)

Director David McVicar’s new production brings opera’s favorite double bill to new life, setting the two operas in the same Sicilian setting, separated by two generations. Marcelo Álvarez takes on the rare feat of singing both leading tenor roles. In Cavalleria, he is Turiddu, the young man who abandons Santuzza (Eva-Maria Westbroek) in his pursuit of the married Lola (Ginger Costa-Jackson)—and ends up being killed in a duel with her husband, Alfio (George Gagnidze). In Pagliacci, Álvarez is Canio, the leader of a traveling vaudeville troupe. Patricia Racette sings Nedda, his unfaithful young wife, whose plans to run away with her lover are foiled by her spurned admirer Tonio (George Gagnidze)—with equally tragic consequences. Met Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.

Verdi Macbeth Chailly(it)

Claude D'Anna's film of Verdi's Macbeth is a gloomy affair, stressing the descent into madness of the principal villains. It's acted by the singers of the Decca recording of the opera (with two substitutions of actors standing in for singers) and the lip-synching is generally unobtrusive. The musical performance is superb, conducted by Riccardo Chailly with admirable fire, and sung by some of the leading lights of the opera stages of the 1980s. Shirley Verrett virtually owned the role of Lady Macbeth at the time, and she delivers a terrific performance, the voice equal to the role's wide register leaps and it's suffused with emotion, whether urging her husband on to murder or maddened by guilt in the Sleepwalking Scene. Leo Nucci's resonant Macbeth may lack the ultimate in vocal color and steadiness (his last notes of the great aria Pietà, rispetto, amore are wobbly) but he compensates with intensity in both singing and acting.

The Metropolitan Opera: The Tales of Hoffmann(fr)

Norma(en)

Gaul has been conquered by the Romans. Oroveso, the Arch-Druid longs to lead a Gallic rebellion against the colonial forces. He and all the others wait for the signal to be given by his daughter, the Druid High Priestess Norma. But Norma has fallen in love with the Roman Proconsul, Pollione, and given birth to two children. They have been brought up in secrecy by her confidante Clotilde. Norma still loves Pollione but he has fallen in love with a novice priestess, Adalgisa.

Die tote Stadt(de)

Die tote Stadt tells the story of Paul, a young man torn between fidelity to the memory of his deceased wife and a growing attraction to her living look-alike. Paul enters a series of increasingly disturbing and violent visions, and the plot takes on the subtleties of a psychological thriller.

The Metropolitan Opera: Tosca(it)

Extraordinary soprano Lise Davidsen stars as the volatile diva Floria Tosca for the first time at the Met. David McVicar’s thrilling production also features tenor Freddie De Tommaso in his eagerly anticipated company debut as Tosca’s revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi, and powerhouse baritone Quinn Kelsey as the sadistic chief of police Scarpia. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro(it)

Le Nozze di Figaro New Production Teatro Real in co-production with Bilbao’s ABAO and Las Palmas Teatro Pérez Galdós. From the opening notes of the overture to the final curtain, Emilio Sagi’s classic, triumphant production brings to life all the elegant wit and theatricality of Mozart’s comic masterpiece Le nozze di Figaro. Leading baritone Ludovic Tézier shines as the lustful Count Almaviva who attempts to obtain the favors of Figaro’s bride-to-be, Susanna (Isabel Rey), while Luca Pisaroni gives a feisty performance as Figaro. Conductor Jesús López Cobos masterfully captures the enchanting score. A witty yet profound tale of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.

Turandot(it)

Valery Gergiev leads the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in this production of Puccini's opera, recorded live at the Salzburger Festspiele in 2002. David Pountney's production features performances by Gabriele Schnaut, Paata Burchuladze, Johan Botha and Cristina Gallardo-Domas. This production uses Luciano Berio's 2001 completion of this unfinished opera.

Tosca(it)

Tosca, suspecting his lover is seeing anothe woman, turn him, painter Mario Cavaradossi, to Baron Scarpia.

Carmina Burana: Dancing in Defiance(nl)

A live recording of Carl Orff's world-famous musical masterpiece Carmina Burana, performed by more than 100 singers and dancers of the National Opera and Ballet of Ukraine (Odessa).

Das Liebesverbot(en)

This Wagner opera is rarely performed because of the scandals that engulfed the Magdeburg Theatre when it was performed in 1836 under the title The Novice of Palermo, and became known as a cursed opera from which the composer had to distance himself. Wagner's adaptation of the story reflects the rebellious mood of a Revolutionary Germany, vindicating sensual love and attack the fanatical repression of sexuality by a puritanical and hypocritical authority. As the prose says, "Shame to him whose cruel striking/Kills for faults of his own liking!". One of the most extraordinary musicals based on a text by Shakespeare, especially worthy of a new performance as it is four hundred years since the death of the Bard.