Madama Butterfly - Macerata

La Vie parisienne(fr)

La 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.

La Bohème(fr)

Puccini: Turandot (San Francisco Opera)(it)

Donald 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.

Rigoletto(it)

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

The Art of Singing: Golden Voices of the Century(en)

Imagine a window into the past. Imagine finally connecting singers' bodies to the voices you have always treasured on record, watching footage of performances from another era. All of singers featured here have something in common (with one exception, Sutherland): they sang and performed on stage before the advent of filmed opera. . And it shows, for the first time, a few tantalizing minutes of recently recovered footage from Callas' legendary Lisbon Traviata, featuring Addio dal Passato and Parigi oh cara with Alfredo Kraus. This DVD will leave you asking for more.

The Bleeding Nun(en)

This Blu-ray is a splendid record of a creative production with terrific voices and direction, as good as the Met's videos any day. It also tends to be creepy and atmospheric, with music as good as anything Gounod wrote for his FAUST. Recommended to lovers of horror and opera!

Mose in Egitto(en)

This thought-provoking, modern-day interpretation of Rossini's 'Mosè in Egitto' sets the scene for superior music-making at the prestigious Rossini Festival in Pesaro. For conductor Roberto Abbado, the transposition of the action to the present day releases the energy of Rossini's music. At his disposal is a cast of top-quality vocalists such as the “refined bel canto artist(Bresciaoggi) Sonia Ganassi as Elcia, and the “outstanding” Dmitry Korchak as the Pharaoh's son, two lovers fatefully drawn into the political turmoil and catastrophes of their time. Also among the protagonists are the “thoroughly brilliant” (DeutschlandRadio Kultur) baritone Alex Esposito as Faraone and, in his Rossini Festival debut, young, full-bodied bass Riccardo Zanellato as Moses. Conductor Roberto Abbado “inspired his musicians to deliver a spectacular performance” (Salzburger Nachrichten).

Turandot(en)

Visually this is a gripping production which captures the drama of this opera perfectly. It's downright exciting! and I found the singing, acting, and orchestral playing reasonably fine. I found only one major problem with it, a problem that kept Puccini for quite a few years. Turandot has been looking for an opportunity to kill Calif and Calif has singlemindedly tried to get Turandot to love and wed him focusing on her and ignoring a better looking girl who loves him truly. The problem is how to get the audience to applaud the match once Calif gets his wish. Puccini couldn't figure out how to do it. The traditional quick ending doesn't do it, and Berio's attempt is longer , tries its best, but ends up making it plain this is one wierd couple.

Farinelli(fr)

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

The Pirates of Penzance(en)

Sasha Regan’s award-winning All-male Company are set to lift everyone’s spirits with a treat in their new West End pirate’s cove. The swashbuckling pirates and their winsome lasses sail into the Palace Theatre with their inventive new take on W. S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan’s classic operetta THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. Featuring a dazzling cast singing songs including: “I am a Pirate King”; “Oh, happy day, with joyous glee” and “A rollicking band of pirates we”, they are sure to raise the roof off the Palace Theatre!

Traviata – You deserve a better future(en)

The audience is invited into Violetta’s privacy to have a close look at the fire to which she abandons herself among the guests of this musical and phantasmagorical celebration that blends theatre and opera, voices that speak and sing, and where the distinction between the instrumentalists and the singers becomes blurred, where Charles Baudelaire is seated next to Christophe Tarkos, and where the phantoms of this Paris in full industrial boom whose future we are living at present, sing and die.

Mefistofele(en)

The director, Roland Schwab, has created his version of Hell. The set is like a high iron walled hanger and the stage is continually occupied with people who look like fugitives from Mad Max and who interact with Mefistofele. The orchestra and choir are wonderful. Rene Pape gives a nuanced interpretation with a certain amount of sardonic humour under the evil. His singing and acting are first rate, as is that of Kristine Opolais and Joseph Calleja.

Tosca(en)

This live version of Puccini s superbly dramatic opera was recorded in Rome in the exact locations and at the precise times of day as Puccini had written into his score. The action opens in Rome's beautiful 16th-century church of Sant Andrea della Valle, where Cavaradossi (Plácido Domingo) is innocently painting, moves to the Farnese Palace where Tosca (Catherine Malfitano) dramatically stabs the lustful Scarpia (Ruggero Raimondi), and finally to the battlements of the Castle Sant Angelo at dawn the following day where Cavaradossi is cruelly killed, and Tosca takes her own life.

Cosi Fan Tutte(en)

There are elements of Eurotrash in this outdoor Aix-en-Provence summer opera production. Nevertheless, the splendid singing and acting transform the story, normally treated as farce, into something considerably more serious. As many other critics have noted, the young lovers have not yet sorted everything out as this performance ends. Act One begins with the principal characters running around in the outdoor theater -- while the audience takes it in as if they had been advised to sit back and enjoy the novelty. Very likely they were also asked to refrain from applauding at the end of arias and ensemble pieces, in which the three-hour opera abounds.

Macbeth(en)

Carlos Álvarez takes the title role in the first of Verdi's Shakespearean operas, with Maria Guleghina as the manipulative wife whose desire to gain the Scottish throne drives her husband to murder and leaves both with blood on their hands. Bruno Campanella conducts the Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in the 2004 recording of Phyllida Lloyd's powerful production, first staged at London's Royal Opera House.

Verdi Aida(en)

Originally commissioned to celebrate the completion of the Suez Canal and the opening of Cairos new opera house, Verdis Egyptian epic Aida is here seen in a spectacular new staging in the Teatro Regio Torino by the Oscar-winning American film director William Friedkin, creator of such famous movies as The Exorcist and The French Connection. The cast features American soprano Kristin Lewis who has been heralded for her remarkable voice, which she uses with powerful dramatic instinct, and Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili, whose Amneris dominates the stage with her dark, rounded, irresistible voice and extraordinary stage presence. Gianandrea Noseda leading the Orchestra and Chorus Teatro Regio Torino received accolaides from all: he controls everything- orchestra, singers, chorus, dancers, acrobats- with an all-encompassing overview. He knows exactly when its time to linger over a timbre, a color, an expressive chord.

Puccini: La bohème(it)

"La Bohème" is one of Giacomo Puccini's most popular and timeless works and the second-most performed opera at New York's Metropolitan Opera. This production, directed by the legendary Franco Zeffirelli, features José Carreras, Teresa Stratas, Renata Scotto and Richard Stilwell. The opera is replete with extraordinary visual beauty as it presents the tragic story of young bohemians struggling to make it in the world.

Ermione(it)

Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1995, this acclaimed presentation of composer Gioachino Rossini's epic opus ERMIONE is based on Jean Racine's play "Andromache." Set in Troy after the city fell to the Greeks, the production recounts the rancorous battle between widow Andromache and Helen of Troy's green-eyed daughter, Ermione for the love of Pyrrhus

Meyerbeer: Les Huguenots(en)

Joan Sutherland's farewell performance to the operatic stage offsets this story of the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and the magnificence of 16th century France.

Manon Lescaut(fr)

The sets and costumes by Ponnelle are truly reflective of the 'grand style'. Plus the fact that the two lead characters are portrayed by top singers in their absolute prime - both Gruberova and Araiza weren't even 35 years old at the time of this performance, makes this production the most convincing both dramatically and musically. The conducting of Fischer is good - he makes the music come alive, much more so than the MET version.

Riddle of the Sphinx(ru)

Soviet animation inspired by the ancient Egyptian paintings.

Ants in the Plants(en)

A classic about an anteater who makes life rough for a colony of ants. In the ant community, the queen spreads warnings of their greatest enemy, the Anteater. "He's a menace, he's a brute, he will scoop you with his snoot." Their motto is "make him yell uncle," which they do when the anteater invades them.

O Aborto Não É um Crime(pt)

Polemical short documentary, produced by Cinequipe.

Skin of a Mandarin(et)

The film delicately follows 25-year-old Anna, whose mother has died suddenly. She wants to send her Orthodox mother on her last journey according to customs, but she runs into bureaucratic rules that do not allow Anna to dress her departed mother herself. This conflict brings her together with Maria, a 45-year-old funeral home worker, who in this story represents the hidden fears of death and grief on a deep emotional level.

Four Jacks(en)

Four guys plot revenge on the businessman who ripped them off.

Red Rebirth(es)

The Peasants(az)

A historical revolutionary film depicting the struggle of peasants and the Baku proletariat against landowners and Musavatists in 1919.

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.

Kelly Chen Paisley Galaxy Live In Concert Karaoke DVD(cn)

After earning numerous musical accolades in the early 2000s, Kelly Chen's confidence in her creativity and style truly shines on her Paisley Galaxy album. Kelly Chen Paisley Galaxy Live in Concert Karaoke DVD features a thrilling karaoke version of Kelly Chen's unforgettable performance at the Hong Kong Coliseum, allowing fans to sing along to her hit tracks and relive the excitement of the live show.

KL Menjerit(ms)

The film revolves around Shahrol, a 28 year-old bike enthusiast, who comes to Kuala Lumpur (KL) in search of a better life. It was there that he meets Ayu, a naive village girl, in search of her boyfriend. The two began to bear feelings for each other, but the road was not without thorns. Shahrol finds himself being challenge by Pit, who wants to upstage the one skill that Shahrol is passionate about... motor-racing.

Onihei: That Man, Hasegawa Heizou(ja)

Edo period, Heizo Hasegawa was feared by thieves and villains as "Heizo the Oni". A young man inspects Heizo's surroundings to find out more about him, visiting Kumehachi, Hikoju, and Omasa. Heizo's true colors as a person start to become apparent.

El Asesino del Zodiaco(es)

Princess(hu)

Downbeat, documentary-style examination of a teenager facing a succession of disappointments.

Nevada(en)

In this stop-motion animated comedy, a young couple's romantic weekend getaway is interrupted by a birth control mishap.

MIRÊ(pt)

Hlídač č. 47(cs)

A young village shopkeeper, Ferda Zuska, wants to jump in front of a train because his girlfriend has married someone else. At the last moment, he is saved by the railway guard Douša and his wife Anna. Ferda soon forgets his sadness and starts courting Anna. The unsuspecting Douša is the laughing stock of the whole village. Moreover, during Ferda's rescue, he slipped on the embankment, injured himself, and has had difficulty hearing since then. One day, he even discovers with horror that he has gone completely deaf and that he must therefore leave his job...

Evolution(no)

Dagfinn Lyngbø is finally back with a new evolutionary stand-up show! The show has already sold over 140,000 tickets! Three years have passed since the acclaimed show "Ka e point?", Which was seen by over 110,000 people in approximately 300 performances. This time Dagfinn Lyngbø for his human development, the theme is Evolution. It's just to get ready for yet another laugh bomb!

Uli Hoeneß - Der Patriarch(de)

Karel Zeman for Children(cs)

Seventy-year-old filmmaker Karel Zeman recapitulated his thirty years of work in the field of animated and trick films. The film Karel Zeman for Children includes excerpts from Baron Prášil, The Tale of Hansel and Gretel, Mr. Prokouk, King Lávra and Journey to the Prehistoric Times. The film is presented on the 100th anniversary of the birth of this important figure of Czech cinema.