Cavalleria rusticana(1982)

L'Elisir d'Amore(it)

John Copley’s colorful production, with designs by Beni Montresor, was created around the beloved superstar Luciano Pavarotti. As the simple, good-hearted Nemorino, he enchanted audiences with his larger-than-life personality as well as his golden voice. Enzo Dara as the quack Dr. Dulcamara provides the elixir of the title that helps Nemorino win the heart of Adina, the girl of his dreams, sung with youthful energy by Kathleen Battle.

Box(en)

A doomsday pepper is surprised to find a mysterious box appear in his living room with no trace as to how it could've gotten there.

Six Hours: Surviving Typhoon Yolanda(en)

In the middle of a broadcast about Typhoon Yolanda's initial impact, reporter Jiggy Manicad was faced with the reality that he no longer had communication with his station. They were, for all intents and purposes, stranded in Tacloban. With little option, and his crew started the six hour walk to Alto, where the closest broadcast antenna was to be found. Letting the world know what was happening to was a priority, but they were driven by the need to let their families and friends know they were all still alive. Along the way, they encountered residents and victims of the massive typhoon, and with each step it became increasingly clear just how devastating this storm was. This was a storm that was going to change lives.

Box(en)

The execution was scheduled and the last meal consumed. The coolness of the poisons entering the blood system slowed the heart rate and sent him on the way to Judgement. He had paid for his crime with years on Death Row waiting for this moment and now he would pay for them again as the judgment continued..

The Super Bob Einstein Movie(en)

This documentary explores Bob Einstein’s unlikely discovery and enduring career, sharing the many evolving layers of his comedy from the people that knew him best.

Tujhe Dekhne Se Pehle(en)

Tujhe Dekhne Se Pehle tells the heartfelt journey of two friends, Vicky and Katrina, living in the United Kingdom. Katrina has secretly loved Vicky for a long time, but he remains unaware of her feelings. One day, Katrina invites Vicky to meet her at Tower Bridge in London. Over coffee and romantic conversations, their connection begins to deepen. Katrina takes Vicky on a memorable tour of the city, showing him iconic landmarks like Waterloo Underground Station, London Bridge, and the Parliament building. Their day ends with a car ride to Birmingham, where they stay overnight at a cozy hotel. The next morning, they visit Brean Down, a scenic coastal area. At the highest point of the walk, Katrina gathers her courage and proposes marriage. Touched and realizing his own feelings, Vicky accepts, and their bond blossoms into deep love. The music video delivers a heartfelt message: friendships can evolve into beautiful relationships, and life's unexpected turns often lead to love.

Mad, Mad, Mad Swords(zh)

The star in Mad Mad Mad swords is a common man with numerous weaknesses and a complete worthless student of a prestigious school. To the suprise of all, however, he manages to defeat a string of renowned swordsmen, including the one-armed swordsman and the blind swordsman, by tricks and luck.

Launder Run(en)

Launder Run tells the story of Jake, a man returning to his gritty hometown after years away, carrying the weight of a troubled past. The film opens on a rainy Saturday afternoon as Jake trudges through a bleak estate, visibly exhausted and clutching a plastic bag. Arriving at his sister Sue’s chaotic, unkempt flat, he confronts the ruins of his old life—a dirty fridge, a cluttered bedroom reduced to storage, and the ghosts of a once-close family. Seeking solace, he revisits his old pub, a place teeming with memories. As he steps inside, the bartender recognizes him with shock, hinting at Jake’s mysterious past and the reasons for his long absence. “Lounder Run” explores themes of homecoming, redemption, and the unshakable grip of one’s origins.

Just Ducky(en)

Jerry Mouse befriends a newly hatched duckling who can't swim and ends up protecting him against his feline nemesis, Tom.

Victor(sv)

Oscar nominated short film from 1998 about the boy Victor who is in the hospital and loves firetrucks and firemen over anything else. Someday he gets to meet real firemen.

Visionary Iraq(en)

Story about Incest and the Iraq war.

Box(en)

A group of friends try to defeat an evil king, and meet some quirky characters along the way.

13(ja)

The film is a continuous time-lapse with multiple exposures of the sunset from the same angle and position on 16mm film. The shoot was done in a span of 5 years. The title 13 is because the time-lapse has a 13-second interval per frame.

One Hundred and One(es)

“If you jerk off a 100 times, you die.” This threat rings through the ears of our main character. One day he has to choose between imminent hell and the impetuousness of adolescence.

Comedy of Lysistrata(ru)

Lysistrata led the women of ancient Greece in forcing men to stop the war, that was devastating the land for 21 years. At secret assembly of the women delegates from both sides of the conflict, Lysistrata declared: "We must refrain from the male altogether - till the men come to terms of peace". Her instruction to every wife or mistress was to refuse all sexual favors whatsoever, and sit prettily dressed in best transparent silks, till the men yield to peace.

Historias Breves 0: Un día con Ángela(es)

He is a writer and Ángela, a mature woman, is his domestic employee. Since he can't find inspiration, he decides to accompany her on her work day to other houses. Thus, delving into other people's lives, both begin to stop seeing each other as strangers and have fun, momentarily forgetting their own problems for a while. Without romantic tensions, the two simply enjoy sharing the day and, while Ángela cannot stop remembering Pedro, her dead husband, he only listens. Without advice or sermons, their two visions come together to make, at least that day, a different experience.

Shangku Shelter(en)

Zanskar is a remote kingdom in the northwest Indian Himalaya, where local people are snow-bound for six months of the year. About 10,000 Zanskaris live in the isolated valley. In winter, mountain passes are blocked, the summer Jeep road closes and buses stop. Two decades ago, three friends founded a ski school - to enable winter travel in the valley, improve quality of life, and to encourage young people to stay in Zanskar by helping establish a culture of mountain sports. The film tells the story of this friendship, the ski school and the development of skiing in the area. Along the way a bigger question is raised. Most recently, the federal government announced a major road building project that will provide year round access to Zanskar. How can Zanskar's wilderness be preserved? It is only a matter of time before the winter road is completed, and the "Big India" rushes in.

Espresso Depresso(en)

A coffee house calamity involving all types of crazy caffeinated characters

Rigoletto(it)

A musical drama based on Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto.

Farinelli(fr)

The life and career of Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time.

Arabella(de)

2014 marks a year of celebration recognizing the 150th birthday year of the German late-Romantic orchestral, operatic and lied master composer, Richard Strauss (1864-1949). Arabella (premiered 1933, Dresden) was the last of the half dozen Strauss works to feature a libretto by the great Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal. This production, from the most recent Salzburg Easter Festival is, after Capriccio, the second of three Richard Strauss operas C Major is releasing in honor of the composers birth, life and work. The star-laden cast includes soprano Renèe Fleming, baritone Thomas Hampson, Albert Dohmen (Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, MET) and Gabriela Beaková (Wiener Staatsoper, Covent Garden). With Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden, the music of Richard Strauss is in the best of hands. (ORF) Thielemann gets the best out of the cast...especially Renée Fleming with her luxurious soprano FAZ

Verdi: Otello(en)

Rarely has a production of Verdi’s Otello been staged in such a prestigious location: the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice! This special outdoor “event production” of the Teatro La Fenice takes place amidst genuine late-Gothic and Renaissance architecture highlighted by spectacular projections: “A set of singular fascination” (Il Corriere Musicale). Critics were full of praise for the musical performance, designating conductor Myung-Whun Chung as the “absolutely dominating force” of the performance (GB Opera). The lead role is sung by Gregory Kunde, who successfully interpreted both Verdi’s and Rossini’s Otello in one year, perhaps the first tenor ever to do so. He “reproduces every accent, every colour demanded by Verdi with sensibility and intelligence” (OperaClick).

Wagner: Götterdämmerung(en)

Götterdämmerung, the final instalment of Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung, is a story of human passions. Two essentially benevolent creatures, involved with and possibly doomed by their traffic with the gods, find treachery and evil in the world of the humans, and are ruined by the dark side of humanity. Iréne Theorin, acclaimed worldwide for her portrayal of Wagner’s heroines, stars as Brünnhilde opposite Lance Ryan, who continues his radiant portrayal of the tragic hero Siegfried. The strong cast also includes Mikhail Petrenko as the dark antagonist Hagen and Johannes Martin Kränzle, who once again shines as his father Alberich. Waltraud Meier has a memorable appearance as Brünnhilde’s sister Waltraute. With this 2013 recording of Götterdämmerung, the musically and visually compelling Scala Ring Cycle by Daniel Barenboim and Guy Cassiers was completed and proved to be one of the highlights of the Richard Wagner bicentenary.

Richard Wagner: Tannhäuser(de)

Witness 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.

L’Italiana in Algeri(it)

Live performance from the Schwetzinger Festspiele, 1987. At the age of 21, Italian composer Giacchino Rossini penned the masterful comic opera “L’Italiana in Algeri” (“The Italian Girl in Algiers”) in less than a month. The composer’s youthful exuberance comes across in this infectious 1987 performance. Though she’s known mainly for her Wagner roles, acclaimed German mezzo-soprano Doris Soffel shines in the title role of Isabella. Ralf Weikert conducts, and Mauro Pagano oversees sets and costumes.

Death in Venice(en)

Gustav 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.

Werther(fr)

Jules 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.

The Bartered Bride(cs)

Frantisek Filip film version of the Smetana opera.

Rigoletto(it)

This 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.

Tristan und Isolde(de)

Take a perfect cast, a great conductor and a groundbreaking staging in-out makes a 'Tristan' for eternity. The 1983 performance in Bayreuth was a great moment for the world of opera. The ensemble performance of René Kollo, Johanna Meier and Matti Salminen with, then as now the Wagner admirer, Daniel Barenboim conducting the Bayreuth orchestra inspired singers and instrumentalists to peak performance. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle created a dream-beautiful stage.

Giacomo Puccini: Turandot(it)

Lovely but lethal, the evil Princess Turandot comes to life through the performance of Luana De Vol in this visually stunning production of Giacomo Puccini's Peking-set opera directed by Nuria Espert and conducted by Giuliano Carella. In this 2004 performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, all the subtleties of Puccini's unique tonality and unconventional instrumentation are in ample evidence.

Libuše(cs)

Figaros Hochzeit(de)

Shortly 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.

Bastien a Bastienna(cs)

Prodaná nevěsta(cs)

Kui saabub õhtu(et)

Janáček: The Cunning Little Vixen(cs)

The tale of a quick-witted fox and her escape from confinement for a life in the forest.

Mussorgsky: Khovanshchina(ru)

Kent Nagano superbly masters the challenges presented by this score, shapes the dynamics with subtle intensity, and casts the score in a mellow glow. As Marfa, the spurned lover of Ivan Khovansky‘s son Andrei, Doris Soffel unfolds such a rich palette of sonorities, from the pathos of the lower ranges to shaded discant heights, that “one is tempted to speak of a Russian mezzo”. The final chorus, which Mussorgsky did not compose, is played in the orchestrally transparent version of Igor Stravinsky – the third great Russian composer who contributed to making “Khovanshchina“ a timeless, gripping stage work. With his stripped-down sets and historicising costumes, director Dmitri Tcherniakov, one of the new voices of contemporary Russian theatre, builds a bridge to the political present. A lesson in history and music!