
This 1981 Bolshoi production performed in the concert hall of The Kremlin is by far the best available, despite the more ‘historical’ picture and mono sound. The production itself is a very classic period production, with utterly authentic costumes and aptly dramatic sets. There are even horses on stage. The depiction of the Don Cossacks’ Khan Konchak and his tribe is colourful and historically informed in one. Needless to say, the scene of the Polovtsian Dances is spectacularly presented with great choregraphy and terrific dancing, in the league of the Spartacus of Bolshoi, no less.
5.9Amber, a mean popular girl who gets electrocuted and dies, is not allowed to enter into heaven unless she helps the least popular girl in school become Prom Queen within a week, but things do not go as planned.
10.0Ansio Bruselas must overcome the phobia that keeps him prisoner in his tidy, comfortable and safe home, because of the certain possibility that her sister will have her breasts amputated with a tool as unsubtle as a saw. The journey does not seem difficult: find a box with a mysterious content and take it to where Ana Ele, the sister , is held captive. He only has to arrive as quickly as possible to his destination, with box and its contents intact. However, Ansio's innocent curiosit , and phobia will turn his simple journey into an endless succession of strange and incoherent events. Because reality is reality until it's not anymore, you know?
6.4Po and the Furious Five uncover the legend of three of kung fu's greatest heroes: Master Thundering Rhino, Master Storming Ox, and Master Croc.
6.5John Falk is on a routine mission with the Gothenburg police special unit GSI. With the help of a Norwegian undercover police and a civilian infiltrator in one of Gothenburg's heaviest criminal gangs, the GSI are trying buy six assault rifles and thus get them off the street. But suddenly everything changes when a new unknown player suddenly and immediately wants to buy not only those weapons but even more, including armor-piercing shells. GSI realizes that this can not be any ordinary robbers. Someone will start a war on the streets of Gothenburg. At the same time as the situation gets more and more complicated for John Falk's infiltrator Frank Wagner when the leader of the gang he infiltrated realize that one of his own leaking to the police.
7.1It's Christmas Eve, 1938, when Madge Arwell comes to the aid of an injured Spaceman Angel as she cycles home. He promises to repay her kindness - all she has to do is make a wish.
9.1SCOOBY-DOO fans have spoken! 4 of SCOOBY-DOO'S most popular mysteries - selected by the fans themselves - are now available in this fun DVD. Watch as Scooby-Doo gets into a mixed-up mystery when he unexpectedly meets the seaweed-covered ghost of Captain Cutler in "A Clue for Scooby-Doo!" Next, see the seafaring sleuths collide with a mystery ship and try to uncover clues to a vanished crew in "Hassle in the Castle!" Then, follow Scooby-Doo and the Mystery, Inc. gang as they outwit a bank robber in "Jeepers, It's the Creeper!" And finally, see them take to the stage to crack some crazy capers in "The Backstage Rage."
7.0Martin Scorsese’s portrait of writer and social commentator Fran Lebowitz, celebrated for her sharp wit and observations on modern life. Filmed at New York’s Waverly Inn and intercut with archival footage and interviews, the documentary captures Lebowitz’s distinctive worldview through her spontaneous monologues and public appearances.
5.5Europe and Russia are shocked by the unexpected death of the young Emperor Peter II. He died at the age of 14, leaving behind neither an heir nor a will. Who will get the crown of the Russian Empire? A fierce struggle for power begins. Having chosen Anna Ioannovna, the Privy Council hoped to use her as a puppet and a screen for the implementation of their own selfish plans. But the nobles were mistaken - the people do not like eight tyrants. Let there be a tyrant, but only ONE!
6.8A timid housewife is jolted into a fight for her survival or sanity when she thinks she hears her new partner at a weekly bridge game whisper a shocking threat.
7.5Adapted from a comedy of the brothers Alvarez Quintero, raised in a spirit rather routine and a remarkable lack of imagination. The minor nature of the adapted work greatly limited their chances, but there was no resolution film the slightest hint of creativity, merely a recreation under the sign of awkwardness.
9.4Chunauti is an action-packed romantic comedy that tells a story of love, struggle, and justice. Ajaya and his wife Prabha move to Kathmandu, where Ajaya starts working as a teacher. Later, his sister Gita joins them and enrolls in the same college. There, she meets a kind and charming student, but trouble arises when Madhav, a troublesome student, also starts liking her. One day, a fight breaks out in the college, and when Gita tries to stop it, an inspector arrives and brings the situation under control. Angered by this, Madhav and his group cause harm to Prabha and Gita. They also try to escape punishment through legal means. With no strong evidence, Ajaya takes a stand and challenges the court. In the end, he decides to take justice into his own hands, leading to a tragic ending where the inspector, fulfilling his duty, stops Ajaya. Chunauti is a story of love, courage, and sacrifice in the face of injustice.
5.3If exchanging lives would exchange family members, would you still be willing? After Zhong Da and Jin Hao went on a blind date, he accidentally changed bodies with Lu Xiaogu, a boy who had a crush on Jin Hao, and exchanged family members by mistake, opening a story that is hilarious and tearful.
8.0A devoted family man in rural Wisconsin gives up the security of a successful 20-year career to pursue his dream in the boom-or-bust world of pinball manufacturing. While trying to break into a tough competitive market and build a thriving business, he must navigate the bumpy roads that new startups inevitably face, without plunging his family into financial ruin. THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT: THE SPOOKY PINBALL STORY chronicles the journey of The Emery Family – Charlie, Kayte, Morgan (“Squirrel”), and Corwin (“Bug”) – as they meet the challenges of building their family-run business in the small community of Benton, Wisconsin. With no backup plan, Charlie and his Spooky Pinball team are all-in and committed to doing whatever it takes to succeed.
7.0When Margo, Edith, and Agnes chase after an ice cream truck, little Agnes struggles to keep up and takes a tumble while pedaling her bike. Seeing her disappointment, the Minions spring into action to lift her spirits. Using their quirky ingenuity, they construct a unicorn-themed motorcycle to help Agnes ride in style. With her new wheels, Agnes embarks on a whimsical and heartwarming ride through town, showcasing the Minions’ unwavering dedication to bringing joy to the girls’ lives. This short captures the charm of teamwork, creativity, and pure delight.
0.0After Tristan und Isolde (2016), Parsifal (2017) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2018) this is the fourth installment of the exclusive, multiyear partnership between Deutsche Grammophon and the Bayreuth Festival, in which the Yellow Label is the exclusive audiovisual partner of the mythical Wagner festival, releasing each edition's new production on Blu-ray. This year, we are proud to release on Blu-ray the celebrated production of Lohengrin which was premiered on 25 July 2018, featuring an illustrious cast including Piotr Beczala and Anja Harteros in their house debuts, as well as the acclaimed return of Waltraud Meier to the Bayreuth Festival. The New York Times praised Piotr Beczala’s Lohengrin as “outstanding”, Anja Harteros [making] her impressive Bayreuth debut” as Elsa, and Ortrud “played with dominant presence by the incomparable Waltraud Meier”.
3.0This filmed version of Strauss' shocker features Teresa Stratas as opera's most depraved teenager, and she's as perfect a Salome as one would ever hope to see or hear. Stratas inhabits the role, exploring the character's sensuousness as she vainly woos Jochanaan, her venomous hatred when she's rejected, the crazed look in her eyes when she demands his head--on a silver platter, no less. Such complete identification with a role, especially of a character so malignant helps make this 1974 Salome stand out among the many fine DVDs of the opera.
8.0A lonely mother and her son go to the opera where a performance of Cherubini’s opera Medea is given. It is the mother’s birthday and she wanted to surprise her son by inviting him to the opera. But, the son’s plan were different and he is quite upset about it. His mother tries to break the silent barrier behind which he hides. A semblance of discussion begins, not without humour. Tension is present but, as the performance goes on, both find themselves astounded, captured, alone in the opera house.
0.0Arabella, Op. 79, is a lyric comedy or opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.
0.0In Rigoletto, the deformed figure of the hunchbacked jester at the Mantuan court acts as a foil to his cynical and powerful master, an unscrupulous philanderer contrasted with his cruel and unforgiving fool. Rigoletto encourages and welcomes the Duke's conquests, pitilessly mocking his victims until he discovers that the Duke has abducted the one person he genuinely loves, his own daughter. As a result, the character of the court jester is transformed into a tragic figure who, in spite of his evident immorality and malice, allows us to sense the devotion he feels for his daughter and his horror at being destroyed by the same despotic world as that which he himself has helped to create.
8.0Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
IL CAMPANELLO DI NOTTE, Farce in one act by Gaetano Donizetti, is set in Naples. Don Annibale Pistacchio, an old apothecary, have just married the young Serafina. Enrico, former lover of Serafina, interrupts constantly the wedding night showing on several disguises and calling at Pistacchio's drugstore by ringing the night bell, asking the unfortunate groom a preposterous list of prescriptions.
0.0Richard Wagner called Die Walküre the “first evening” of the Ring of the Nibelung; he called Das Rheingold the prologue or Vorabend. Musically and dramatically, we are introduced to a radically new and different world when the opening bars of Die Walküre resound. A fully developed orchestral palette of Leitmotivs paints a wild storm scene, and the curtain rises on a modest dwelling: a fully human scene that has nothing to do with the gods, dwarves and nymphs of Das Rheingold. At the same time, however, the way Die Walküre portrays radical beginnings reveals some telling reminiscences of the unfolding of Das Rheingold. Die Walküre is exciting and deeply feeling drama.
8.0Gaetano Donizetti and his librettist Felice Romani kept the focus of their opera ANNA BOLENA on the personal rather than the political in this fictionalized Tudor tale: Henry VIII of England wants to get rid of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, so that he can marry her lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour. He brings Lord Richard Percy, Anne's first love, back from exile so that he can find an excuse to accuse her of adultery. With the unwitting aid of Smeaton, a court musician, and Lord Rochefort, Anne's brother, the trap is easily sprung. This 2011 live recording from the Wiener Staatsoper showcases Anna Netrebko as she "scored a personal triumph" in her debut as the hapless Tudor Queen, while her stage partners - notably Elīna Garanča as Jane Seymour and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Henry VIII - were likewise showered with critical acclaim.
8.0Finding the right librettos was not easy, but one month after the end of the First World War, his triptych – the grim tragedy Il tabarro, the lyrical and sensitive Suor Angelica, and the comedy Gianni Schicchi – premiered in New York. Three different eras, three different settings, three different ‘colours’; though for Puccini, it is through the contrasts between them that the unity of the work is revealed. For his second time directing at La Monnaie, Tobias Kratzer preserves the original order of the pieces, while weaving them together to form a narrative whole, like a circle with no end. With a cast of artists from the extended La Monnaie family, Alain Altinoglu is the ideal conductor to meet the daunting challenges posed by this triptych.
8.0A godforsaken village in Germany shortly after the Thirty Years’ War: The young scrivener Max loves Agathe, daughter of the head forester Kuno. But to marry her, the inexperienced marksman Max must participate in an archaic tradition and score in a shooting trial – an unfulfillable challenge for him. The dubious war veteran Kaspar knows about this. He convinces the scrivener to meet him at Wolf’s Glen at midnight to forge “free bullets” that never miss their target. Max, who does not see any other way out of his unfortunate situation, sells his soul to the devil. Not knowing about the catch behind this deal: while six of the cursed bullets will hit the desired target, the seventh lies in the devil’s hands.
6.8Who loves whom in Così fan tutte, Mozart’s and Da Ponte’s cruelly comic reflection on desire, fidelity and betrayal? Or have the confusions to which the main characters subject one another ensured that in spite of the heartfelt love duets and superficially fleetfooted comedy nothing will work any longer and that a sense of emotional erosion has replaced true feelings? Così fan tutte is a timeless work full of questions that affect us all. The Academy Award-winning director Michael Haneke once said that he was merely being precise and did not want to distort reality. In only his second opera production after Don Giovanni in 2006, he presents what ARTE described as a “disillusioned vision of love in an ice-cold, realistic interpretation”.
9.0La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant) is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, based on the fairy tale Cendrillon by Charles Perrault. The opera was first performed in Rome's Teatro Valle on 25 January 1817.---- IMDB id refers to Great Performances: Season 24, Episode 12 La Cenerentola (3 Apr. 1996) from Houston Grand Opera so release date is misleading.
6.7Based on a revolutionary play supposedly written by the Eternal President of the Democratic People's Republic, Kim Il-sung, and rumored to have been co-directed by Kim Jong-il. This revolutionary work is also popular among the Chinese, especially those who lived through the Cultural Revolution, and have fond memories of revolutionary antics.
6.5The operatic version of the famous story about a governess who fears her two charges are possessed.
0.0La Vie parisienne (Parisian life) is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, composed by Jacques Offenbach in 1866, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. This work was Offenbach's first full-length piece to portray contemporary Parisian life, unlike his earlier period pieces and mythological subjects. It became one of Offenbach's most popular operettas.
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.
0.0The 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.