

Renée Fleming has matured into one of the finest sopranos around at the moment, a true star with a sparkling personality and a velvet-toned voice that is capable of wringing the finest emotions out of works by Strauss and Tchaikovsky that from a lesser singer could sound rather cold and clinical. I wouldn't have thought her voice would be so well suited to Violetta Valéry in La Traviata, and it does take some getting used to, but I think she at least brings a distinct quality to the role with an emotional heart that isn't always necessarily there when a leading diva uses it primarily as a display for her vocal talents. It's served well also by Antonio Pappano's conducting of the Royal Opera House Orchestra in a traditional, but effective production by Richard Eyre.


Flora Bervoix
Il barone Douphol
Il dottor Grenvil
Self - Orchestra
Gastone de Letorières
9.5Mirella Freni, Placido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, and Robert Kerns star in this Jean-Pierre Ponnelle-directed version of the Puccini opera, with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. Madama Butterfly is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire for companies around the world, ranking 7th in the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.
5.3The family is pleasantly surprised and puzzled when Beethoven suddenly becomes obedient. Turns out it's a prince and the pauper scenario, with the real Beethoven now living with a pompous rich family.
7.3The U.N.G.C.C. (United Nations Godzilla Countermeasure Center) recovers the remains of Mecha-King Ghidorah and construct Mechagodzilla as a countermeasure against Godzilla. Meanwhile, a giant egg is discovered along with a new monster called Rodan. The egg is soon found to be none other than an infant Godzillasaurus.
Let’s get SICK’NING for the Holidays! RuPaul’s Drag Race legend Laganja Estanja is here for Hey Qween’s Very Green Christmas Special!
Delves deep into the anxiety, thrill and uncertainty of six aspiring animation artists as they are plunged into the twelve-week trial-by-fire that is the NFB's Hothouse for animation filmmakers.
7.4Bekir loves Uğur, who loves Zagor, who is about to get out of jail. An already tense love triangle is thrown into turmoil on a hot summer night, when Zagor kills someone, and Uğur disappears.
7.0A young psychic experiences a horrifying vision during her walk home.
3.5Two friends in Mexico discover the Lament Configuration and unleash Pinhead, but one decides to try to survive by swapping himself with someone else. Once they go missing, family members go in search of them, but find Pinhead instead.
4.2In the background of a lot interest being shown in music groups, a group of young Indian men, calling themselves "Band of Boys", decide to perform publicly, to share their talents India-wide, as well as to make a career for themselves. They run into problems - it seems the public is only interested seeing a group of sexy young girls perform. This group must now compromise to include a young, sexy girl to be included in their band.
7.4The Rock returns home to be The World’s Most Electrifying Host of WrestleMania XXVII from Atlanta, GA. The Great One will lay the SmackDown on all of the pomp and festivities that makes WrestleMania the world’s greatest, annual pop culture extravaganza. John Cena looks to dethrone the self-proclaimed “most must see WWE champion in history” the Miz. Undertaker’s legendary 18-0 WrestleMania winning streak has never been in greater peril when Triple H challenges the Phenom. Alberto Del Rio looks to fulfill his destiny and take Edge’s World Heavyweight Championship. A bitter and personal rivalry comes to a head when Randy Orton battles CM Punk.. All this and more when the Superstars of WWE invade the Georgia Dome for WrestleMania XXVII.
4.8Vasu, a gifted animator with a troubled past, is forced to face his commitment issues when his partner Manu reveals her pregnancy.
10.0A sensitive portrait of flour production and fishing in the community of Pedras Grandes in Curuçá in the state of Pará. In addition to daily nutrients, these foods are cultural and social pillars, which connect the knowledge and traditions of the families that form this community.
6.5Set in a near future where Earth has been turned into a planetary ghetto by an alien species (informally called the 'Boogeys'), our story follows Jack Dawkins, a former-cop-turned-pickpocket as he tracks down a missing child about to be sold to an alien overlord. The encounter will determine the fate of the child's life, and Dawkins' redemption from the failures of his past.
4.8Vampire fledgling Michelle Morgan has escaped the grasp of her master Radu Vladislas. Found by a woman named Ana, she is taken to a hospital where a doctor claims to be able to cure her vampirism. Radu, recovering from the near-death delivered by Michelle and her friends, travels to Bucharest to follow his fledgling. He visits the vampire Ash's stronghold. Ash and his protege Serena plot to destroy Radu and employ the help of the humans, Ana and the Doctor.
10.0A political fable. A tragicomedy set in Marseille during the municipal elections of June 1995. In populist northern districts, they rally around the "Nord Ambition" of Bernard Tapie. In pushing for Tapie to take town hall, they count on his support for the northern districts, but difficulties and disappointments follow. Tapie ends up backing the very enemies of his followers, so what happens then? Big fish eat small ones. This is the fourth installment of the Marseille political saga which began with, "Marseille from father to son" (1989).
8.0Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
0.0Originally commissioned to celebrate the completion of the Suez Canal and the opening of Cairos new opera house, Verdis Egyptian epic Aida is here seen in a spectacular new staging in the Teatro Regio Torino by the Oscar-winning American film director William Friedkin, creator of such famous movies as The Exorcist and The French Connection. The cast features American soprano Kristin Lewis who has been heralded for her remarkable voice, which she uses with powerful dramatic instinct, and Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, whose Amneris dominates the stage with her dark, rounded, irresistible voice and extraordinary stage presence. Gianandrea Noseda leading the Orchestra and Chorus Teatro Regio Torino received accolaides from all: he controls everything- orchestra, singers, chorus, dancers, acrobats- with an all-encompassing overview. He knows exactly when its time to linger over a timbre, a color, an expressive chord.
0.0Tan 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.
1.0Gustav Von Aschenbach, a passionate composer, arrives in Venice as a result of wanderlust and there meets a young man by whose beauty he becomes obsessed.
0.0Jules Massanet's lyrical opera is transformed into a superb film production by Petr Weigl, shot on location in Prague, with music conducted by Libor Pesek. First produced by the Vienna Opera in February 1892, "Werther" rapidly confirmed Massanet's position on the French opera scene and achieved enormous popularity outside France, notably in Italy, America and England. The tragic story tells of Werther's intense passion for Charlotte, who has married his best friend, Albert, fulfilling a pledge to her now deceased mother. But Werther's letters of love bring Charlotte to his side when he promises to take his own life.
5.0This tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigoletto, and Rigoletto's beautiful daughter Gilda. The opera's original title, La maledizione (The Curse), refers to the curse placed on both the Duke and Rigoletto by a courtier whose daughter had been seduced by the Duke with Rigoletto's encouragement. The curse comes to fruition when Gilda likewise falls in love with the Duke and eventually sacrifices her life to save him from the assassins hired by her father.
6.0It took Anna 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, Sean, but now she's on the verge of marrying her boyfriend, Joseph, and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean turns up, saying he is her dead husband reincarnated. At first she ignores the child, but his knowledge of her former husband's life is uncanny, leading her to believe that he might be telling the truth.
9.0The first-ever audio-visual recording of this opera – directed by Christof Loy, conducted by Marc Albrecht and with Sara Jakubiak, Brian Jagde and Josef Wagner in the leading roles
0.0Starring Jonas Kaufmann as Bacchus and featuring Emily Magee with Daniel Harding conducting the Vienna Philharmonic, Ariadne auf Naxos was filmed at the acclaimed Salzburg Festival in 2012. This release also includes "Le Bourgeois gentilhomme."
0.0A production of Mozart's opera recorded live at Zurich Opera House in 2000. Cecilia Bartoli leads an all-star cast including Roberto Saccà, Liliana Nikiteanu, and Agnes Baltsa. The conductor is Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Filmed live at the Zurich Opera House in February 2000 on a set which visualises the subtitle "The School for Lovers", the plot revolves around two army officers arguing about the fidelity of their brides, then setting out to test their chastity. Despite the often playful humour, this is not only psychologically telling music-making, but reveals Mozart exploring the structure of opera, discarding convention to mix large ensemble sections with arias for as many different combinations of singers as possible. With Liliana Nikiteanu attractively contrasted with Bartoli, and thoroughly convincing performances by Roberto Sacca (Ferrando) and Oliver Widmer (Guilelmo), this Così has a freshness and flow which, coupled with the timeless romantic themes, feels very contemporary.
0.0Officers Ferrando and Guglielmo are certain that their lovers Dorabella and Fiordiligi are faithful to them, but the cynical Don Alfonso challenges them to a bet that the women will be unfaithful given the chance. The officers thus pretend to go off to war, and return in disguise as Albanian strangers, to woo Dorabella and Fiordiligi incognito. The ladies are initially frosty, but soon warm to their new suitors, spurred on by their maid Despina. Performed at the La Scala Theatre in Milan.
6.5Woody Allen's production of the Puccini comic opera at LA Opera in 2015
0.0Opera in one act, libretto by G. Forzano based on Dante's Divine Comedy. Third part of his opera Triptych. The plot is based on canto XXX of "Inferno" from "The Divine Comedy", which are dedicated to the rogue and deceiver Gianni Schicchi, who was punished for his sins: he impersonated a dying rich man in order to make a forged will on his behalf. Gianni Schicchi is Puccini's only comic opera, a brilliant example of a modern opera buffa based on the tradition of Verdi's Falstaff. The most expressive recitative, bubbling melody, sharp character, impetuous tempo distinguish her music. Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Sussex, UK on 11 July 2004.
The writer Dario Fo applies his inventive genius to Rossini's comic opera in its premiere DVD release. Recorded in 2005 under the musical direction of Maurizio Barbacini, Fo's production brings fresh vitality and colour to the story of Lisetta, and of her father Don Pomponio's increasingly ridiculous attempts to find a husband for her through an advertisement in the newspaper LA GAZZETTA. Filmed using high definition cameras with multitrack sound.
7.0On a June night in 2017, opera lovers thronged to the Royal Opera House in London to hear tenor Jonas Kaufmann, recently acclaimed by The Daily Telegraph as the world s greatest tenor, make his eagerly anticipated debut in the title role of Otello Verdi s greatest and most demanding role for tenor voice. As the New York Times wrote Mr. Kaufmann made his debut in the part, and he calmly, confidently sang it for the ages.
0.0Witness the Zurich Opera's stunning production of Richard Wagner's masterpiece "Tannhauser," conducted by Franz Welser-Most and featuring Peter Sieffert (Tannhauser), Solveig Kringelborn (Elisabeth) and Roman Trekel (von Eschenbach). Initially produced in Dresden in 1845, "Tannhauser" instilled a sense of wonder in a few of Strauss's ardent friends and admirers, among them Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt. Opera buffs will love it.
0.0Shortly after WWII, the DEFA Studios produced a series of operas and operettas which belonged to the classical German musical heritage. This enchanting film, the very first opera production of DEFA, stands out because of its lavish decor and costumes, its outstanding actors and their masterful voices of that time.
