

“Kaufmann is performing the title role for the first time, and it’s hard to imagine him bettered. His striking looks make him very much the Romantic and romanticised outsider of Giordano’s vision. His voice, with its dark, liquid tone, soars through the music with refined ease and intensity: all those grand declarations of passion, whether political or erotic, hit home with terrific immediacy.” – The Guardian Presented in its Covent Garden premiere in January 2015, this staging – directed by David McVicar and conducted by the Royal Opera’s Music Director, Sir Antonio Pappano – shows a bloody tricolour daubed with the words “Even Plato banned poets from his Republic” – written by Robespierre on the death warrant of the historical Chénier, a poet and journalist sent to the guillotine in 1794 for criticising France’s post-revolutionary government.


Pietro Fleville
Roucher
The Incredible
Mathieu

“Kaufmann is performing the title role for the first time, and it’s hard to imagine him bettered. His striking looks make him very much the Romantic and romanticised outsider of Giordano’s vision. His voice, with its dark, liquid tone, soars through the music with refined ease and intensity: all those grand declarations of passion, whether political or erotic, hit home with terrific immediacy.” – The Guardian Presented in its Covent Garden premiere in January 2015, this staging – directed by David McVicar and conducted by the Royal Opera’s Music Director, Sir Antonio Pappano – shows a bloody tricolour daubed with the words “Even Plato banned poets from his Republic” – written by Robespierre on the death warrant of the historical Chénier, a poet and journalist sent to the guillotine in 1794 for criticising France’s post-revolutionary government.
2015-10-02
10
Giordano's Andrea Chernier at the Royal Opera House
10.0Giancarlo Del Monaco’s atmospheric production brings to colorful life a 19th-century mining camp during the California Gold Rush. At the center of the action is the good-hearted bar owner Minnie, sung by Barbara Daniels, who takes a motherly interest in the miners. Plácido Domingo is Dick Johnson, also known as the bandit Ramerrez, who falls in love with Minnie. Sherrill Milnes sings Jack Rance, the sheriff who is not only determined to capture Ramerrez but also wants Minnie for himself. Bloodshed, a crooked poker game, a snowstorm, and a near lynching ensue before Minnie and her bandit-turned-lover can ride off to start a new life. Leonard Slatkin conducts one of Puccini’s most colorful scores.
7.3A thrilling journey through legends, belief and folklore, this film goes behind the scenes with the British Library as they search to tell that story through objects in their collection, in an ambitious new exhibition: Harry Potter: A History Of Magic. J.K. Rowling, who is lending unseen manuscripts, drawings and drafts from her private archives (which will sit alongside treasures from the British Library, as well as original drafts and drawings from Jim Kay) talks about some of the personal items she has lent to the exhibition and gives new insight into her writing, looking at some of the objects from the exhibition that have fired her imagination.
5.8This Christmas, Thunder Mountain Ski Resort is abuzz when celebrity chef Shane Roarke is named the new head chef. Clara Garrison isn't as excited and is instead focused on getting resettled after her failed attempt at opening a restaurant in the city. With their paths constantly crossing, will their shared passion for cooking bring them together or will secrets keep them apart?
6.5Two ice skaters develop a love-hate relationship while dreaming of Olympic glory.
6.6The Kingdom of the People of the Earth once ruled over the land, but now all that remains is the Sword of the Earth. in the city of Eindoak. Satoshi, Iris, and Dent arrive in Eindoak during a harvest festival's Pokémon Tournament and meet the legendary Pokémon Victini who wishes to share its powers of victory to someone. Elsewhere in the city, a descendant of the People of the Earth named Dred Grangil has arrived who seeks to revive the kingdom's power with the Sword of the Earth, bringing them back into power over the land, and Satoshi and his friends must stop him before he destroys the land along with Victini.
5.3After a groundbreaking presidential election, Jeff Tuche becomes the new President of France and moves in the Elysee with his family to govern the country.
6.5Two high school students become stranded on a tropical island and must rely on each other for survival. They learn more about themselves and each other while falling in love.
6.7Seventeen year old, Emma joins a high school cheerleading team when she moves to Australia with her dad who is a former Air Force Officer.
4.9Six children genetically cross-bred with avian DNA, complete with wings, take flight around the country to discover their origins.
5.8Three pairs of friends relationships go from good to bad and back again. Several couple fall out over girls, boys and work. Can all these couples settle their differences and be friends again?
5.6Prevented from using mobile phones due to the non-existent reception of the location, a school trip to a rural town becomes a life-changing experience of friendship and love for a group of Italian kids and their teacher.
5.9Sara Shaw is the type of woman who prefers to sit on the sidelines at work, but when her big idea for a Christmas initiative is stolen, she makes a wish to Santa that she'll finally have the courage to stand up for herself. Santa grants her wish, but only gives her 48 hours. As the clock ticks, Sara will discover how to channel the Christmas magic and speak her mind all on her own.
6.7A depiction of the Wrangelkiez neighbourhood in Berlin. The people portrayed tell their life stories. One woman came to the neighbourhood a decade ago to work in Berlin’s still unfinished Brandenburger Airport, one man reminisces his childhood on a Tobacco farm in Kentucky, another speaks of an exceptional day in an otherwise monotonous workplace. These portraits are interwoven with the story of Elpi, a Greek woman who is waiting for the long overdue visit of an old important friend. The outcome of this mixture is a film which captures the lives and perspectives of some of Wrangelkiez’s most commanding citizens, while at the same time evoking the loss that change and time passing means for places and for people.
7.3In the fifth installment of the Cine Gibi series, Smudge and Jimmy Five find themselves engaged in a lively debate over the ultimate action film. Seeking a resolution, they turn to their friend Franklin, known for his inventive prowess, to organize yet another round of projected comic book film sessions using his colossal blender.
6.5Based on the original animated series Ben 10. Ben becomes targeted by an evil Mechamorph Warrior, named "Retaliator," who mistakenly blames Ben for something he did not do and attempts to destroy all aliens.
6.0A 16-year old vampire discovers she has the ability to withstand sunlight. Sensing an opportunity to round up new victims, her family enrolls her in high school, where her who-cares attitude quickly makes her the coolest girl around.
9.2Grab some popcorn and enjoy three magical adventures starring everybody's favorite characters from Canterlot High as they enter a music video contest, go behind the scenes of a movie and encounter an enchanted mirror!
6.2Old-school magic meets the modern world when young Alex stumbles upon the mythical sword Excalibur. He soon unites his friends and enemies, and they become knights who join forces with the legendary wizard Merlin. Together, they must save mankind from the wicked enchantress Morgana and her army of supernatural warriors.
6.8Bianca's universe turns upside down when she learns that her high school refers to her as a ‘DUFF' (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). Hoping to erase that label, she enlists the help of a charming jock and her favorite teacher. Together they'll face the school's mean girl and remind everyone that we are all someone's DUFF… and that's totally fine.
6.0Sam and Fordy run a credit card fraud scheme, but when they steal from the wrong man, they find themselves threatened by sadistic gangster. They need to raise £5m and pull off a daring diamond heist to clear their debt.
0.0Handel'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.
10.0Viva Vivaldi! is a concert by the Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli interspersing arias from the 20 surviving operas of Vivaldi with two concertos. Given with the early music ensemble Il Giardino Armonico before a very appreciative audience in the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the performance is part of Bartoli's exploration of the Venetian composer's opera music which also includes The Vivaldi Album. There is a startling dynamic energy, which contrasts powerfully with the more restrained interpretations by singers such as Emma Kirkby. Bartoli's natural Italian and the live atmosphere of Maria Grazia d'Alessio's oboe gives her interpretation of the quietly haunting and melodically rich "Non ti Lusinghi la Crudeltade" from Tito Manlio a particular piquancy. The Flautino Concerto is a most attractive interlude, while the more famous Lute/Violin Concerto beguiles with its exquisite lyricism.
9.0The celebrated mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli joins Bryn Terfel for a recital of arias and duets recorded at Glyndebourne Opera House in 1999. The programme features favourite pieces from Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Myung-Whun Chung.
0.0John Eliot Gardiner conducts Gluck’s 1776 French version of “Alceste” at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Soprano Anne Sofie von Otter takes the title role of Alceste, Queen of Thessaly, who offers to die at the hands of the gods in place of her husband, Admète (Paul Groves), so that the people will not lose their king. Alceste is then saved from the underworld by Hercule (Dietrich Henschel).
0.0In the awe-inspiring Teatro Olimpico,Vicenza, Cecilia Bartoli, recognised as one of the best singers of our time, gives the most outstanding recital of work from a variety of composers such as Caccini, Schubert, Handel, Vivaldi, Bellini, Donizetti,Mozart, Rossini, Viardot and Bizet.
0.0Performed live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Gluck's opera in three acts is conducted by Hartmut Haenchen. Performers include Jochen Kowalski, Gillian Webster and Jeremy Budd, alongside the Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra. When Orpheus mourns for his late wife Eurydice, the god Cupid offers him the chance to descend into the underworld and lead her back to the land of the living, on the condition that he does not look at her face. He sets out on his journey, but his path to the Elysian Fields is blocked by the fierce Furies.
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.
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.
0.0Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in Stepháne Braunschweig's production of Richard Wagner's Die Walküre. A Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2007 production, in coproduction with Osterfestspiele Salzburg. Directed for HDTV and video by Don Kent.
0.0This May 2010 production of Massenet's 1910 opera "Don Quichotte" marked the opera's centenary and also Jose Van Dam's operatic farewell at the Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels. It is beautiful in every way--vocally, scenically, sonically, and visually--and a worthy record of Van Dam's farewell. Van Dam is just shy of 70 in this production, but you would never guess it from his singing or stage movements--a consummate artist. His is a noble portrayal and deeply moving. The Act V death scene is a model of beautiful singing and acting.
4.0This set has Edita Gruberova singing in top form, all her scooping cast aside, which one finds in abundance in her Lucia under Richard Bonynge. Here, however, she makes ravishing use of those bits of tone that only she can produce: those instances of coloratura and dramatic legato with little asides and small florishes of style that suggest her intelligent approach and her high degree of musical involvement in this role. She does this in her I Puritani and her Anna Bolena, less so in Roberto Deveraux and Maria Stuarda(both sets). Listen to Addio del passato and the Sempre Libra...ravishing, yes, but there are again those nuances learned from Callas that she makes her own. A very singualr perform,ance, and extremely moving with its detail and cry for pity throughout..from the start even. Neil Schicoff is excellent, not an unworthy Alfredo at all! His is a great lyric tenor voice that should have been in the top line.
0.0Donald Runnicles directs the San Francisco Opera in this lavish production of Giacomo Puccini’s final masterpiece, which was left unfinished upon his death and was later completed by Franco Alfano. Declaring himself a suitor of the beautiful Princess Turandot (Eva Marton), the son of a conquered king (Michael Sylvester) must correctly answer three troublesome riddles. According to tradition, if he fails, it will mean his death.