Rossini: La Cenerentola

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.

Die Walküre(de)

The gorgeous and evocative Otto Schenk/Günther Schneider-Siemssen production continues with this second opera in Wagner’s Ring cycle. Hildegard Behrens brings deep empathy to Brünnhilde, the favorite daughter of the god Wotan (James Morris) who nevertheless defies him. Morris’s portrayal of Wotan is deservedly legendary, as is Christa Ludwig, as Fricka. Jessye Norman and Gary Lakes are Sieglinde and Siegmund, and Kurt Moll is the threatening Hunding. James Levine and the Met orchestra provide astonishing color and drama. (Performed April 8, 1989)

Siegfried(de)

Siegfried is the third of the four operas that constitute Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner.

The Metropolitan Opera: Rusalka(en)

Renée Fleming sings one of her signature roles, the title character in Dvořák’s sumptuously melodic Rusalka. The story of the opera, which is about a water spirit’s tragic romance with a human prince, is drawn from several folktale sources including Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid.” Star conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin leads a cast that also includes Piotr Beczala as the handsome Prince whom Rusalka yearns to love; Dolora Zajick as the cackling swamp witch Ježibaba; Emily Magee as the Foreign Princess, Rusalka’s rival; and John Relyea as Rusalka’s father, the Water Sprite.

Berlioz: La Damnation de Faust(fr)

Radiant mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and dashing Italian tenor Marcello Giordani are unlucky lovers in La Damnation de Faust, Hector Berlioz’s classic take on dancing with the devil.

Tchaikovsky: Iolanta / Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle(ru)

Valery Gergiev conducts Mariusz Trelinski’s thrilling new production of these rarely heard one-act operas. Anna Netrebko stars as the blind princess of the title in Tchaikovsky’s lyrical work, opposite Piotr Beczala as Vaudémont, the man who wins her love—and wakes her desire to be able to see. Nadja Michael and Mikhail Petrenko are Judith and Bluebeard in Bartók’s gripping psychological thriller about a woman discovering her new husband’s murderous past.

Amadeus(en)

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

Così fan tutte(it)

Who 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”.

Il Barbiere di Siviglia(it)

The Metropolitan Opera: Turandot(it)

Christine Goerke has wowed audiences as Turandot, the icy princess at the heart of Puccini’s grand final masterpiece. In this performance from the 2019–20 Live in HD season, Goerke stars alongside tenor Yusif Eyvazov (as Calàf) and soprano Eleonora Buratto (as Liù) in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic staging, which dazzles with its opulent visions of mythic China. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is on the podium, drawing a vivid array of musical colors from the incomparable Met Orchestra and Chorus.

The Metropolitan Opera: Manon(fr)

Massenet’s tale of passion, excess, and their consequences stars rising soprano Lisette Oropesa in the effervescent title role. Tenor Michael Fabiano is her ardent admirer, Chevalier des Grieux, with Maurizio Benini conducting Laurent Pelly’s enchanting production.

The Metropolitan Opera: Madama Butterfly(it)

Ever since it opened the 2006–07 season, Anthony Minghella’s striking production of Madama Butterfly has been a Met classic. Drawing inspiration from traditional Japanese theater, Minghella’s staging retells this heartbreaking tale with brilliant stagecraft, bold colors, and bunraku puppetry. In this Live in HD performance from the fall of 2019, Chinese soprano Hui He stars as Cio-Cio-San, the young geisha who puts her trust in a visiting American naval officer, only to later be abandoned by him. In a feat of operatic heroics, tenor Bruce Sledge appears as the callous Pinkterton, stepping into the role on short notice to replace an ailing colleague. Pier Giorgio Morandi conducts one of opera’s most tragic masterpieces, leading a cast that also includes mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong as Cio-Cio-San’s loyal companion, Suzuki, and Tony Award–winning baritone Paulo Szot as the U.S. consul Sharpless.

The Metropolitan Opera: Akhnaten(en)

Philip Glass’ opera “Akhnaten”, premiered in Stuttgart in 1984, forms the third part of the portrait opera trilogy about personalities who have influenced the course of human history. The conclusion of the trilogy deals with the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten, who attempted to establish a kind of monotheistic cult around the god Aton during his reign in the 14th century BC, but failed due to the resistance of the priesthood. The production presented here was undoubtedly one of the very great successes of the 2019/20 season at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, due not only to the outstanding cast of singers (led by countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo) but also to Phelim McDermott’s imaginative staging, which captivates with sometimes breathtaking imagery.

Operette(de)

A musician is offered a job in Vienna as stage director, but his disagreements with the aristocratic opera manager end in abrupt firing in spite of a mutual attraction. He's quickly engaged by another theatre and becomes famous for his lavish stage productions and fine acting, which begins their golden age with Suppé and Strauss.

Arena di Verona: Il Trovatore(it)

It's an event that draws many thousands of music lovers to one of the most beautiful cities in the world every summer: the opera season at the ancient Arena di Verona. The 2,000-year-old roman amphiteatre with its gigantic stage dimensions is one of the largest and best preserved Roman construction of its kind, and with over 22,000 seats it is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular open-air venues of the world! The revered master of opera Franco Zeffirelli, who died shortly before the premiere of Il Trovatore, created a legendary scenery with groups of giant sized armoured knights, a fortress turning into a luminous cathedral, an enormous choir, horses, breathtaking fights: “his perhaps best arena production” (Opernglas). It brings Anna Netrebko to the Arena of Verona where she is giving her much-anticipated debut in one of Giuseppe Verdi’s most popular operas.

Strauss: Elektra(en)

It's hard to imagine confirmed Straussians not wanting this starry Metropolitan Opera performance of Elektra. Strauss and his librettist, Hugo von Hofmannstahl, transformed Sophocles' take on Homer's tale into a harrowing opera noir. Elektra lives for one reason, to kill her mother, Klytämnestra, and her stepfather, Aegisth, the murderers of her father, Agamemnon. In contrast to Elektra's vengeful obsession, her sister Chrysothemis desires to get on with life. When their long-missing brother, Orestes, returns to do the deed, Elektra celebrates with a dance of death and, her sole purpose in life fulfilled, dies. Strauss joined the hermetic plot to music of the utmost opulence, violent and yearning by turns, evoking the cardinal principles of Greek tragedy - pity and terror.

Car Men(xx)

Car Men is a collaboration between the renowned choreographer Jíri Kylían and filmmaker Boris Paval Conen. Based on the opera 'CARMEN' by Georges Bizet they shot a hilarious and poetic short film in the destroyed landscape of a Czech brown coal mine. The actors in this film are older dancers from Kylían's troupe (around 50 years old) and the main prop is a 'TATRA 87', a famous car from 1937.

The Marriage of Figaro(it)

This is a good video of "Figaro", but there are a couple of better ones available. The Bohm and the Pappano are better still due to the female members of the casts. The reason for buying this one is the "Figaro", Bryn Terfel. No one can top him today in that role. John Eliot Gardiner also stands out. Many of us have voiced their opinion that If the Metropolitan Opera would release it's 1998 version, that would be the one to get.

Puccini: Manon Lescaut(it)

All the throbbing eroticism—and ultimate heartbreak—of Puccini’s youthful score is unleashed by James Levine and his top-flight cast. Plácido Domingo is Des Grieux, the handsome, headstrong young aristocrat who falls head over heels for the enticing, impetuous Manon Lescaut (Renata Scotto). Manon returns his love, but her obsession with luxury ruins them both. Gian Carlo Menotti’s opulent production, with sets and costumes by Desmond Heeley, superbly captures the colorful world of 18th century France.

Rusalka(cs)

Kathleen Madigan: Madigan Again(en)

Kathleen Madigan drops in on Detroit to deliver material derived from time spent with her Irish Catholic Midwest family, eating random pills out of her mother's purse, touring Afghanistan, and her love of John Denver and the Lunesta butterfly.

Friday the 13th Part III(en)

An idyllic summer turns into a nightmare of unspeakable terror for yet another group of naïve friends. Ignoring Camp Crystal Lake's bloody legacy, one by one they fall victim to the maniacal Jason, who stalks them at every turn...

Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla(ja)

A mysterious extraterrestrial being resembling Godzilla rapidly approaches Earth. The monster, dubbed SpaceGodzilla, lands to challenge the King of the Monsters.

Sissi: The Young Empress(de)

Sissi is now the empress of Austria and attempts to learn etiquette. While she is busy being empress she also has to deal with her difficult new mother-in-law, while the arch-duchess Sophie is trying to tell the emperor how to rule and also Sissi how to be a mother.

Godzilla vs. Mothra(ja)

Mothra's dark counterpart, Battra, emerges to eliminate humanity on behalf of the Earth. Two tiny fairies called the Cosmos offer their help by calling Mothra to battle the creature. Unfortunately a meteorite has awoken a hibernating Godzilla as a three way battle for the Earth begins.

Monster's Battlefield(zh)

The soldier king Qin Yang's fiancée Ye Qin met with an unknown beast and died tragically. Gu Ping invites him to participate in Ye Qin's scientific research before her death. But Gu Ping is using Ye Qin's research results to combine the genes of unknown beasts to create the "Zero" dragon creature. The intelligent dragon creature, coupled with the extra-terrestrial beast evolved by devouring, an imminent city war is coming...

Fight!! Spirit of the Sword(ja)

Yonosuke Hikura appears to be an ordinary high school student. Yet he has inherited the important role of protecting the harmony between Heaven and Earth. With the help of the magical sword Chitentai, and Tsukinojo Inbe, he courageously battles the demons, sending them back to the Earth World, from which they have escaped.

Code Geass: Akito the Exiled 2: The Wyvern Divided(ja)

The war between Euro Britannia and the European Union continues. New orders are given to the W-0 Unit. To land in the middle of the enemy territory as a diversion. The pilots of the W-0 Unit consist only of the commanding officer, Leila, the only surviving Japanese from their last battle, Akito, and the three that escaped from the Eleven ghettos and lived in the underworld, Ryou, Yukiya, and Ayano. With everyone holding their respective expectations, the operation moves forward. On the other side in Euro Britannia, Shin, who made his benefactor commit suicide with the mysterious power of “Geass”, is appointed the leader of the Knights of St. Michael. As Shin steadily advances for the sake of his own ambition, he and his subordinates in the Ashura squad are given orders to deploy. The one that lives in order to fight, and the one that fights in order to live.

Red(ja)

A married woman with a lovely daughter lives a carefree life, until she meets her ex-lover at a friend’s wedding. They haven’t seen each other in ten years, but they begin an affair.

An Ideal Father(fr)

Michel, the jovial owner of the only café in a small Normandy town, sees his life turned upside down when his teenage daughter is murdered. The community has his back but soon rumor spreads and Michel is singled out. From the ideal father, he becomes the ideal culprit.

Batman: Year One(en)

A wealthy playboy named Bruce Wayne and a Chicago cop named Jim Gordon both return to Gotham City where their lives unexpectedly intersect.

Pokémon the Movie: Volcanion and the Mechanical Marvel(ja)

Ash meets the Mythical Pokémon Volcanion when it crashes down from the sky, creating a cloud of dust—and a mysterious force binds the two of them together! Volcanion despises humans and tries to get away, but it’s forced to drag Ash along as it continues its rescue mission. They arrive in a city of cogs and gears, where a corrupt official has stolen the ultimate invention: the Artificial Pokémon Magearna, created 500 years ago. He plans to use its mysterious power to take control of this mechanical kingdom! Can Ash and Volcanion work together to rescue Magearna? One of the greatest battles in Pokémon history is about to unfold!

War for the Planet of the Apes(en)

Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

The Librarian: The Curse of the Judas Chalice(en)

While on a dangerous mission to recover the historic Judas Chalice, Flynn is saved by Simone. But when double-crossed by a respected professor and ambushed by a ruthless gang, Flynn realizes Simone's secret, his true mission and a shocking discovery are all lying within a decaying New Orleans crypt.

Fantozzi in Heaven(it)

One by one, with a sweet but inexorable rate, Ugo's colleagues, go to a better life. When Ugo is attending at one of the innumerable funerals, he and the priest remain involved in an accident. The doctor says that Ugo as only one week left to live

Star Trek: First Contact(en)

The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.

Sundance Skippy(en)

'Skippy' seeks to win the love of celebrities and a women by getting his photograph taken with as many famous people as possible.

Terror of Mechagodzilla(ja)

A submarine expedition to salvage the remains of Mechagodzilla is thwarted by a massive dinosaur named Titanosaurus. An Interpol investigation leads biologist Ichinose to uncover the work of Dr. Mafune and his mysterious daughter Katsura. Aligned with the Black Hole Aliens, Katsura's life becomes entwined with the resurrected machine.

The Comics 2(it)

A poster worker must remove the poster of the original movie, when the figures of Renato and Paolo suddenly moves and leaves the poster driving an ambulance dressed as nurses.