Britten: Billy Budd

Amadeus(en)

Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Salzburger composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Gianni Schicchi(en)

Woody Allen's production of the Puccini comic opera at LA Opera in 2015

Aida - Arena di Verona(it)

The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pageantry of Verdi's Egyptian opera, presented here in a staging that is true to the original 1913 production, framed by obelisks and sphinxes and filled with chorus and dancers. Chinese soprano Hui He has won international acclaim for her portrayal of the eponymous slave girl whose forbidden love for the war hero Radamés (Marco Berti, the experienced Verdi tenor) brings death to them both.

Werther(fr)

The production was the Vienna State Opera debut for the young Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan – the Argentinian tenor Marcelo Álvarez, took the title role. His Charlotte on this occasion was the young Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča. Her performances have been enthusiastically received and she has already been labelled as the new mezzo wonder. Staged by internationally sought-after Rumanian director, Andrei Serban, the apparently sentimental love story – normally presented in 18th century period costumes - reveals a study of personal relationships and a close observation of a woman, who comes of age too late. Serban’s aim was to rid the opera of the unjustified reputation of banality that clings to it despite its underlying tragic mood. By setting the production in the stiff, claustrophobic atmosphere of a small town in the 1950s, he aimed to make the audience more aware of its deeper levels of self-denial.

Rameau Hippolyte et Aricie(en)

Emmanuelle Haïm has established herself as one of the world’s leading performers, conductors and interpreters of Baroque repertoire, not only with Le Concert d’Astrée, the ensemble she founded in 2000, but with several of the world’s greatest orchestras. Known for her fresh and expressive approach to Baroque music, she has garnered critical acclaim and several international awards with her own ensemble, including Victoires de la Musique Classique, ECHOs, Gramophone Awards, and Grammy nominations.

Marcos Morau : La Belle au bois dormant(fr)

Mitridate Re Di Ponto(en)

The definitive version of this rare opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The costume and set design is truly visionary and other worldly and gives a convincing insight into what staged operas must have looked like during the Baroque and Rococo period. Singers are all excellent and well cast in their respective roles. One of the most thrilling things I have seen, just wish I could see this live.

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.

William Tell(fr)

“Let us assume that Switzerland is truly a paradise. The music hereto was written long ago. We have merely forgotten it.” (Daniel Schmid) This is the material from which the most Swiss of all operas is made: the legendary Wilhelm Tell – a Swiss hero: straightforward, a primus inter pares of the indomitable freedom fighters, a good shot, surefire. A myth that becomes a poetic playground: nature in turmoil, the struggle for freedom and forbidden love. A legendary overture at a gallop with an iconic post horn motif – all this and much more in the thirty-seventh and last opera by Rossini.

Andrea Bocelli - A Night in Tuscany(en)

A Night in Tuscany is the first DVD released by Italian singer Andrea Bocelli of a concert held in his native Tuscany, in 1997, highlighting the unique blend of Classical, Pop, and traditional Italian songs that made him a crossover success as an internationally acclaimed tenor. The concert takes place at the Piazza dei Cavalieri in Pisa. Bocelli performs two opera duets with soprano Nuccia Focile during the concert, before singing Miserere with Italian rock star Zucchero, who discovered him, and Time To Say Goodbye with English soprano Sarah Brightman

Tosca(it)

Live Metropolitan Opera performance March, 1985.

1984(en)

Inspired by one of the twentieth century's greatest novels, composer Lorin Maazel evokes Orwell's totalitarian nightmare, where "Big Brother" is always watching, and those guilty of "thoughtcrime" are condemned to face their worst fears in the infamous "Room 101". Filmed during world premiere performances of Robert Lepage's spectacular and psychologically gripping Royal Opera production and conducted by the composer, an international cast brings George Orwell's dark vision to shattering operatic life.

The Five Moons of Lorca(es)

A short opera about the assassination of poet and dramatist Federico García Lorca at the hands of Nationalist forces at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

The Threepenny Opera(de)

The Threepenny Opera proclaims itself "an opera for beggars," and it was in fact an attempt both to satirize traditional opera and operetta and to create a new kind of musical theater based on the theories of two young German artists, composer Kurt Weill and poet-playwright Bert Brecht. The show opens with a mock-Baroque overture, a nod to Threepenny's source, The Beggar's Opera, a brilliantly successful parody of Handel's operas written by John Gay in 1728. In a brief prologue following the overture, a shabby figure comes onstage with a barrel organ and launches into a song chronicling the crimes of the notorious bandit and womanizer Macheath, "Mack the Knife." The setting is a fair in Soho (London), just before Queen Victoria's coronation. In this production, Weill champion HK Gruber led the Ensemble Modern in a performance of Weill's complete original score, the first time it had been heard in Germany in many years. This production was broadcast on German television (3sat).

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.

Primadonna or Nothing(en)

From the first steps of an emerging singer to the final bow of a celebrated soprano, 'PRIMADONNA OR NOTHING' follows three relentless women who sacrifice everything to be an opera star.

Tosca(it)

Tosca is a melodrama of love, betrayal and death set in the revolutionary unrest of 1800. The story concerns the opera singer Floria Tosca who tries to save her lover, the painter Mario Cavaradossi, from the brutal chief of police, Scarpia. Through-composed and expertly orchestrated it contains some of Puccini’s best-known lyrical arias and remains one of his most performed operas. In this 2022 production, an eminent cast is directed by the acclaimed Australian director Barrie Kosky – ‘the Amsterdam audience was completely swept off its feet by Kosky’s stunning production’ (Opera News).

The Miracle of Heliane(de)

The 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

Ariadne auf Naxos(en)

Starring 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."

Farinelli(fr)

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

Matthew Bourne's Christmas(en)

This new Christmas ballet film was conceived by Matthew Bourne and directed by his long standing film collaborator Ross MacGibbon. The film celebrates Bourne's power to imaginatively transform ballet, taking dance and dancers off the stage into studio, bringing together projections, animation, and an intimate shooting style to produce a distinctive new way of presenting dance on screen. Those who know Bourne's stage work will spot extracts from many of his biggest hits (including Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhands, and Nutcracker!), but for audiences less familiar with his work this is simply a journey through a series of magical worlds where stories are told through dance.

Hello, Moscow!(ru)

At the amateur talent show the boy, accompanying himself on the accordion, sings a song about Moscow... The plot of the movie is based on the story of the director of the school about how this accordion, once belonging to a cadre worker who died during a demonstration in 1905, has been in many hands before it got to the guys.

Own(ru)

Kindergarten War(th)

Ohm is a kindergarten child, but because of some mushrooms he looks like a grown-up. Because of this he is the undisputed leader of the King-Kong gang. When he falls in love with a high-school student his leadership is called into question.

At the Stroke of Twelve(en)

This entry in Warner's "Broadway Brevity" series of shorts is based on Damon Runyon's short story, "The Old Doll's House". Racketeer Lance McGowan, on the night he has decided to go straight, finds himself caught between the gunfire of two rival gangsters and, wounded by a bullet, he finds refuge in the home of a wealthy recluse. One of the gangsters is found riddled with bullets from the gun Lance dropped while making his escape, and he is arrested and tried for murder. The reclusive widow comes to the trail and testifies that Lance was her guest that night when the clock struck twelve, the time of the killing. Lance, while innocent, is also lucky, as the widow had her all her clocks set to always strike twelve, as the time her husband had died.

Mad(fr)

Au temps pour nous(fr)

A young woman and a young boy will guide us through their eyes, offering a different and more poetic view of Montcalm Street in Gatineau. They will take the time to appreciate it and ask questions about it before time completely erases it.

Stripped Down: The Making of ‘Anora’(en)

Making of documentary surrounding the production of ‘Anora’

My Daughter Is Stupid(ko)

1945, the Year that Changed History(fr)

National Family(es)

Don Poli, the patriarch of a family embedded in politics, faces the change of party in his state - after a hundred years in power - losing all his privileges. Humiliated and angry, he threatens to disinherit his family and leave to rebuild his life. This forces his children (Kippy, Ramses and Belén) to take extreme measures to ensure their future, causing everything that could go wrong to turn out worse.

Kaspar(en)

Kaspar is drowning. Several people who want to save him rush forward. Some of them are filled with good will, others are pumped up with pretentiousness. They are all equally inefficient in this satirical animated film about public spiritedness.

Worst to First(en)

WORST TO FIRST is a feature-length documentary that portrays the against-all-odds inspirational story of the launch of the iconic and most successful radio station in history, New York City's Z100.

Une affaire de nègres(fr)

On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Search(en)

The second half of On the Trail of Bigfoot. The Search takes you deep into some of North America's densest forests in search of the legendary "Bigfoot".

Chizuru(ja)

I don’t know how to describe my sister. So instead of conveying with words, I decided to point a camera. The documentary 'Chizuru' was directed by Masakazu Akasaki of Rikkyo University's Department of Body Expression and Cinematic Arts in the School of Contemporary Psychology. This film, planned as his graduation project, is a fresh and gentle family story that continuously filmed Akasaki's sister, Chizuru, who has severe intellectual disabilities and autism, and their mother over the course of a year.

There Are Things You Don't Know(fa)

The film tells the story of a reclusive taxi driver in Tehran in the days leading up to an earthquake. He has chosen to distance himself from society and to be passive so as not to be hurt. Finally one of his passengers gives him enough motivation to act and bring about a change in his life.

That Orchestra with the Broken Instruments(en)

A broken string, fractured echo chamber, rusting valves. 100 musicians meet for four days of rehearsals. They speak different languages. Their instruments are broken.