The Ring Cycle: Gotterdammerung

Leos Janácek - Kát'a Kabanová(de)

Janáček's three-act opera Katya Kabanova, staged by Barrie Kosky and staged at the Felsenreitschule by Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša with an international cast of soloists, was performed on August 7 at the 2022 Salzburg Festival. The opera is based on the play The Storm by Aleksandr Ostrovsky. Set in a small Russian town, the story revolves around Káta, who is trapped in a loveless marriage to an abusive man named Boris. When she meets and falls in love with a young man named Vána Kudrjáš, she finally experiences happiness and passion. But their relationship is short-lived, as Boris finds out and forces Káta to confess her infidelity in front of the entire town. The opera explores themes of social conformity, oppression, and the consequences of forbidden love. Stage director Barrie Kosky creates an intimate but impressive setting in the magnificent Felsenreitschule.

Antikrist(en)

A religious mystery opera; a magnificent doomsday vision. Composer Rued Langgaard's opera on the moral decay of modern society features the Royal Danish Opera and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Thomas Dausgaard. Performers include Sten Byrel, Anne Margrethe Dahl, John Lundgren and Camilla Nylund. A Danish co-production by the Royal Danish Opera and the Danish Broadcasting corporation from 2002.

Zvonek(cs)

Mozart: La clemenza di Tito(it)

How do we live together in an age of conflict? How do you heal a divided and angry people? In their 2017 production of Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, Peter Sellars and Teodor Currentzis examine these questions through the story of a warrior-emperor who brings peace to his divided land and pardons his own would-be assassins. Written under a time crunch (legend has it that it was written in only 18 days, although it is likely an exaggeration) during the last year of Mozart’s life, the opera is based on a libretto written more than half a century earlier by Pietro Metastasio. It was commissioned for the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia, and received its first public performance at the Estates Theatre in Prague on September 6, 1791.

Rusalka(cs)

Die Frau ohne Schatten(en)

In October 2013, the Mariinsky label releases a DVD & Blu-ray of Strauss most Wagnerian of operas, Die Frau ohne Schatten. Filmed in the historic Mariinsky Theatre in 2011, it stars Russian tenor Avgust Amonov as The Emperor, Mlada Khudoley as The Empress, Olga Savova as The Nurse, and is conducted by Valery Gergiev. The Mariinsky Theatre is one of the few opera houses capable of staging Die Frau ohne Schatten, due to the demanding soloist roles, elaborate sets and large orchestral forces required. This epic production, premiered in 2009, is a collaboration between two British artists, director Jonathan Kent and designer Paul Brown, and has become a regular fixture in the opera company s schedule.

Salome(de)

Based on Oscar Wilde's lurid play, it is an intense exploration of the Salome story. Its sumptuous vocal and orchestral writing seethes and pulsates as Strauss conjures up the brutality of Herod's corrupt court. Richard Strausss opera at the Salzburg Festival, staged by Romeo Castellucci at the Felsenreitschule, was nothing short of a sensation. Debuting in the title role, Asmik Grigorian propelled herself to international stardom with her mesmerizing singing and acting abilities. The exceptional soprano recently won the International Opera Award as best singer.

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.

Massenet: Thaïs(fr)

When the most voluptuous, sought-after courtesan in the world meets an ascetic monk whose life is devoted to God, you know erotic sparks are going to fly. And when the clash takes place in a glorious, but rarely performed, opera by Massenet, it’s a delight to the ear just as much as to the eye. Renée Fleming is every inch the glamorous Thaïs, swathed in elegant gowns designed by Christian Lacroix. Thomas Hampson is Athanaël, the tortured man of God. This production by John Cox, which premiered in December 2008, brilliantly sets the stage for a confrontation as old as civilization itself.

Che Si Può Fare?(en)

Explores the Opera music genre in the world of cinema.

The Raft of the Medusa(de)

Hans Werner Henze’s “The Raft of the Medusa” is directly inspired by Théodore Géricault’s famous painting. The German composer sets to music the fate of 150 people who have been shipwrecked and abandoned to their destiny. This is a radical work that fluctuates between hope and inevitability, agony and sudden bursts of life. The Raft of the Medusa is an oratorio that was first performed in 1968. Fifty years on, the Italian director Romeo Castellucci underscores its immense modernity, drawing a striking parallel between Hans Werner Henze’s work and the current migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.

Puccini: Tosca (Arena di Verona)(it)

Puccini’s melodrama about a volatile diva, a sadistic police chief, and an idealistic artist has offended and thrilled audiences for more than a century. Critics, for their part, have often had problems with Tosca’s rather grungy subject matter, the directness and intensity of its score, and the crowd-pleasing dramatic opportunities it provides for its lead roles. But these same aspects have also made Tosca one of a handful of iconic works that seem to represent opera in the public imagination.

Svět na Měsíci(cs)

Abesalom and Eteri(ka)

Prince Abesalom runs into an orphaned Eteri while hunting, falls for her and brings the woman to his palace as his fiancé. The Prince’s aid Murman loses his self-control at Eteri’s beauty and gives her a spelled necklace as a wedding gift. Eteri contracts a mysterious disease that only Murman is capable to heal.

Lili Elbe(en)

The painter Lili Elbe was the first person to have gender confirmation surgery in the 1930s. The homonymous opera is a glimpse into the life of Lili Elbe and her wife Gerda Wegener (also a famous painter) through Lili's transition at a time when such surgery was still completely uncharted territory.

Gounod: Faust(fr)

Tenor Jonas Kaufmann is riveting as the title character of Gounod’s popular opera, seen in this Live in HD presentation of Des McAnuff’s thrilling 2011 production that places the mythical and timeless story in an early 20th-century setting. René Pape as Méphistophélès is menacing and elegant in equal measure, and Marina Poplavskaya delivers a searingly intense portrayal of the innocent Marguerite. Russell Braun as her brother, Valentin, shines in his Act II aria. On the podium, Yannick Nézet-Séguin brings out all the lyricism and drama of Gounod’s score.

Norma: Live from the Royal Opera House(it)

The priestess Norma loves Pollione, leader of the occupying force suppressing her people, and has borne two children by him. But Pollione’s love has withered, and he now loves Norma’s fellow priestess Adalgisa. Meanwhile, the people urgently look to Norma to lead their rebellion.

The Metropolitan Opera: Tristan und Isolde(de)

Met audiences were fascinated by Mariusz Treliński’s gripping, visionary production of Wagner’s epic opera. In the daunting title roles of the doomed lovers, Nina Stemme and Stuart Skelton are passionate, overwhelming, and heartbreaking as they battle every obstacle that separates them from their true destiny. René Pape is King Marke, betrayed not only by Isolde but by Tristan, the man he most trusts and loves like a son. With Ekaterina Gubanova as Isolde’s confidante Brangäne and Evgeny Nikitin as Kurwenal, Tristan’s loyal lieutenant. Simon Rattle conducts a surging, shimmering account of Wagner’s monumental score.

MacBeth(en)

Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

Nabucco(en)

Set during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (Nabucco), King of Babylon, the opera tells the tale of Nabucco's fictitious daughters, Abigaille and Fenena, who are rivals for the love of Ismaele, nephew of the King of Jerusalem.

Bring Me the Head of Lance Henriksen(en)

When '80s B-movie icon Tim Thomerson wakes up one day to realize the acting roles are not coming his way any more, he sets out on a quest to find his former co-star Lance Henriksen to discover his secret of Hollywood longevity and gets more than he bargained for in the process.

Doctor Who: The Time of the Doctor(en)

Orbiting a quiet backwater planet, the massed forces of the universe's deadliest species gather, drawn to a mysterious message that echoes out to the stars. And amongst them, the Doctor. Rescuing Clara from a family Christmas dinner, the Time Lord and his best friend must learn what this enigmatic signal means for his own fate and that of the universe.

WWE Wrestlemania XXVI(en)

WrestleMania XXVI was the twenty-sixth annual WrestleMania PPV and was presented by Slim Jim. It took place on March 28, 2010 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The first main event was a No DQ, no count-out match that featured The Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels. The second was a singles match for the WWE Championship that saw Batista defend the championship against John Cena. The third was a singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship featured the champion, Chris Jericho, defending against Edge for the title. Featured matches on the undercard included a 10-Diva tag team match, Bret Hart versus Vince McMahon in a No Holds Barred match, Rey Mysterio versus CM Punk, Triple H versus Sheamus, the sixth annual Money in the Bank ladder match, a Triple Threat match between Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Cody Rhodes, and a WWE Tag Team Championship match between Big Show and The Miz, against John Morrison and R-Truth.

ACT UP at the FDA(en)

ACT Up's closing down of the FDA in October 1988 is dramatically recorded by Ellen Spiro.

MAN(lv)

A story about several hours, which significantly change the adolescent boy's life. In a small town in Latvia, there is an old Ferris wheel near a bar, in which the protagonist meets a female truck driver, and soon the wheel of fate of the adolescent boy is set in motion.

Hello, Moscow!(ru)

Lake of Dracula(ja)

A young girl suffers a terrifying nightmare of a vampire with blazing golden eyes. Eighteen years later, it is revealed to be a hellish prophecy when a strange package containing an empty coffin mysteriously turns up at a nearby lake.

ESCAPE(en)

Escape is a short film that was made in 48-hours for the 2880 Film Challenge in Mississippi in November of 2019. It went on the be selected as the winner for the challenge. Written and Directed by Jake Cockrell and Sam Graef. Robert Smith goes to work every day and does his job. But the mundane work, overtime, and high-pressure demands from his boss can't compete with his true passion.

GCW: Fight Club Houston(en)

On July 9th GCW presents Fight Club Houston straight from Premier Arena in Houston, Texas. The lineup is almost completed, check it below: AJ Gray vs Bryan Keith Nick Gage vs Sadika Joey Janela vs Dante Ninja Mack vs Jack Cartwheel Effy vs Gino Jimmy Lloyd vs Carter Lucha Scramble .... more to be added soon!

Fast & Furious 6(en)

Hobbs has Dominic and Brian reassemble their crew to take down a team of mercenaries; Dominic unexpectedly gets sidetracked with facing his presumed deceased girlfriend, Letty.

Kanchenjungha Express(bn)

Kanchanjungha Express is the story of Nandini's life. Inspector Surya Sekhar Gupta meets Ranjana in the train Kanchanjungha Express. Ranjana shares the story of her friend Nandini whose two husbands Bhaskar Majumdar and Raj Burman and live-in partner Vikram Sinha died under suspicious circumstances.

Oppenheimer After Trinity(en)

This captivating documentary on J. Robert Oppenheimer, the architect of the atomic bomb, explores his journey before the historic test and reveals the burden he carried after. De-classified documents, rare film footage and exclusive interviews, including Oppenheimer's grandson, show an intimate exploration of the burden Oppenheimer carried and the profound global impact still being debated today.

A Quarter to 4(es)

Darío (54) has been working for 30 years as a taxi driver in Bogotá. Day by day, he faces the dangers in the streets amidst funny stories he tells his passengers. The journey he most remembers happened on a cold morning in 1999 when a mysterious doctor asked him to take her to the San José hospital.

Anaconda 3: Offspring(en)

Cancer-terminal tycoon Peter Murdoch's secret Wexel Hall Pharmaceuticals lab has developed a blood orchid extract cure. To examine why it works optimally in snakes, they also bread a super-anaconda strain. But the original pair escapes, leaving a bloody trail of human corpses. Murdoch runs, instructing his staff to clean up. They keep failing and being eaten like unsuspecting locals, some alive, even after enlisting ruthless big game hunter Hammett. The fast-growing pregnant monster sheds its skin, thus disabling the only tracking device they have.

Mutiny on the Buses(en)

Bus driver Stan Butler agrees to marry Suzy, much to the anguish of Mum, her son-in-law, Arthur, and daughter Olive. How, they wonder, will they ever manage without Stan's money coming in? Then Arthur is sacked, and Stan agrees to delay the wedding. Meanwhile, he hits on an idea: Arthur should learn to drive a bus. Somehow he does just that, and even gets a job. Stan then blackmails the Depot Manager into giving him the job of driver on the new money-making Special Tours Bus. A great idea ...if only the inspector hadn't taken Stan on his trial run to the Windsor Safari Park

I am Simply Starving(en)

A aspiring housewife wishes to care for her husbands but fails to do so due to her mothers influence and temptations.

Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District(ru)

Katerina Izmailova, a beautiful and uneducated merchant's wife, feels lonely and bored somewhere in the Russian provinces while her older husband is often away. Years go by in her childless marriage, without an outlet for her youthful energy, resulting in constant idleness and frustration. Along comes Sergei, an unscrupulous young worker who is happy to improve his lot by seducing Katerina as he has done with others before. Katerina falls for Sergei, and this love quickly becomes her only reason for living, turning to destructive passion and ultimately to tragedy for many.

House of Boys(en)

It is 1984. Frank is a determined English teenager who runs away from high school to find an alternative gay lifestyle in Amsterdam. He finds a home and a job at the "House of Boys", a bar-cum-brothel run by a strict Madame who has an eye for what his punters crave. Frank works his way up from barman to on-stage dancer and falls in love with some of his housemates, Jake. The first intimations of what is described as 'the gay cancer', casts a long shadow over Frank's tight-knit group of friends. Yet despite the troubles that cloud the hopes and dreams of young Frank, his perseverance, along with support from a willing doctor, will carry him through.

Late Night Repairs(en)

A hitman for the mafia is tasked with killing a new target, however the task proves to be difficult due to unforeseen reasons.