Siegfried (Longborough Opera Festival 2022)(2022)

Giacomo Puccini: Turandot(it)

Lovely but lethal, the evil Princess Turandot comes to life through the performance of Luana De Vol in this visually stunning production of Giacomo Puccini's Peking-set opera directed by Nuria Espert and conducted by Giuliano Carella. In this 2004 performance at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, all the subtleties of Puccini's unique tonality and unconventional instrumentation are in ample evidence.

James Brown & BB King: One Special Night(en)

Two music legends, James Brown and B.B. King, join forces for one unforgettable evening of blended soul and blues, igniting the stage with a set of nearly 20 songs including "Let the Good Times Roll," "Payback" and "The Thrill Is Gone." Also featured are their inimitable versions of the crowd-pleasers "It's a Man's Man's World," "Prisoner of Love," "Gonna Have a Funky Good Time" and "Guess Who."

Solomon Burke & Friends: Live in Nashville(en)

R&B legend, Grammy winner, and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Solomon "The King" Burke makes a once in a lifetime trip to Nashville in an evening of country and roots music at the famed Belcourt Theatre. Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, Gillian Welch and band leader Buddy Miller join Solomon along with songwriters Jim Lauderdale, Paul Kennerley, Kevin Welch and Shawn Amos in a soul inspiring night of collaboration and music.

Fidelio(de)

Beethoven’s only opera is a masterpiece, an uplifting story of risk and triumph. In this new production, conducted by Antonio Pappano, Jonas Kaufmann plays the political prisoner Florestan, and Lise Davidsen his wife Leonore (disguised as ‘Fidelio’) who daringly sets out to rescue him. Set in strong counterpoint are the ingredients of domestic intrigue, determined love and the cruelty of an oppressive regime. The music is transcendent throughout and includes the famous Act I Quartet, the Prisoners’ Chorus and Florestan’s impassioned Act II cry in the darkness and vision of hope. Tobias Kratzer’s new staging brings together the dark reality of the French Revolutionary ‘Terror’ and our own time to illuminate Fidelio’s inspiring message of shared humanity.

Joe Bonamassa: Live from the Royal Albert Hall(en)

Award-winning blues rock star, guitar hero and singer-songwriter Joe Bonamassa's new release, Joe Bonamassa Live From The Royal Albert Hall, a 2-DVD live set, just made it s debut at #6 on Billboard Magazine s Top Music DVD Chart and #10 on the Top Blues Album Chart. The film, released on October 6 by Bonamassa s record company J&R Adventures, captures the intensity and excitement of the May 2009 show that marked Bonamassa s headlining debut at arguably the most prestigious concert venue in the world. May 4, 2009 was a day 20 years in the making, says Bonamassa. I have never been so honored in my life. It was truly larger than the sum of its parts.

The Metropolitan Opera: Norma(it)

Deep in a forest where druids and warriors seek revenge against the conquering Romans, Norma is scorned by the Roman proconsul Pollione, with whom she has two children. Her kindness turns to fury when she discovers that Pollione has taken Adalgisa, a novice priestess, as his new lover. When Pollione loses his high rank in the army and is offered as a sacrifice, Norma promises him freedom under one condition.

The Metropolitan Opera: The Exterminating Angel(en)

After the acclaimed Met premiere of Thomas Adès's "The Tempest" in 2012, the composer returned with another masterpiece, this time inspired by filmmaker Luis Buñuel's seminal surrealist classic "El Ángel Exterminador", during the 2017–18 season. As the opera opens, a group of elegant socialites gather for a lavish dinner party, but when it is time to leave for the night, no one is able to escape. Soon, their behavior becomes increasingly erratic and savage. The large ensemble cast tackles both the vocal and dramatic demands of Adès's opera with one riveting performance after another. Tom Cairns, who also penned the work's libretto, directs an engrossing and inventive production, using a towering wooden archway to trap the characters onstage. And Adès himself takes the podium to conduct the frenzied score, which features a host of unconventional instruments, including the eerie electronic ondes Martenot.

The Metropolitan Opera: Tosca(it)

Sir David McVicar’s bold new staging of Tosca, Puccini’s operatic thriller of Napoleonic Rome, thrilled Met audiences when it rang in the New Year in 2018. Only weeks later, the production was seen by opera lovers worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series of cinema presentations. In this performance, Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva is the passionate title diva, opposite charismatic tenor Vittorio Grigolo as her lover, the idealistic painter Mario Cavaradossi. Baritone Željko Lučić is the menacing Baron Scarpia, the evil chief of police who employs brutal tactics to ensnare both criminals and sexual conquests. On the podium, Emmanuel Villaume conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies.

Bluebeard(fr)

When Barbe-bleue loses his fifth wife, the turbulent Boulotte is selected at random to be the next one. But Barbe-Bleue falls in love with Hermia – who loves the shepherd Saphir – and soon wearies of Boulotte. So, he asks his alchemist to concoct for him an “anti-wife” philtre. But, as on the previous occasions, it is merely a sleeping potion and Boulotte wakes up the other five “dead” wives. They reappear, dressed up as gypsies and bring the truth to light.

Dire Straits: On The Night(en)

Music from Dire Straits, recorded live in concert in 1991. Tracks include: "Calling Elvis", "Walk Of Life", "Heavy Fuel", "Romeo And Juliet", "Private Investigations", "Your Latest Trick", "On Every Street", "You And Your Friend", "Money For Nothing", "The Bug", "Solid Rock", "Local Hero", "Wild Theme" and "Brothers In Arms".

a-nation online 2020(ja)

Ayumi Hamasaki's online performance from a-nation 2020 recorded and performed live on 8/29/2020 as a part of avex trax's summer concert series.

Puccini: Gianni Schicchi(it)

Opera in one act, libretto by G. Forzano based on Dante's Divine Comedy. Third part of his opera Triptych. The plot is based on canto XXX of "Inferno" from "The Divine Comedy", which are dedicated to the rogue and deceiver Gianni Schicchi, who was punished for his sins: he impersonated a dying rich man in order to make a forged will on his behalf. Gianni Schicchi is Puccini's only comic opera, a brilliant example of a modern opera buffa based on the tradition of Verdi's Falstaff. The most expressive recitative, bubbling melody, sharp character, impetuous tempo distinguish her music. Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Sussex, UK on 11 July 2004.

Bette Midler: Divine Miss Millennium(en)

Only the Divine Miss M could ring in the new millennium with such grandeur and style. Bette Midler's 1999-2000 concert tour to promote her Bathhouse Betty album. Live from Seattle.

Peter Maffay: Deutschland '84 Live(de)

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”.

Maria Callas Sings Tosca, Act II(en)

At the beginning of 1964, the music world experiences something completely unexpected. Maria Callas returns to the opera stage as the prima donna. Her “Tosca” at the Royal Opera House becomes a sensation. Maria Callas wants to show everyone once again that she deserves the title of “prima donna assoluta.” On the condition that star director Franco Zeffirelli take over the direction, the exceptional singer agrees to sing the role of Tosca. The BBC recorded the 2nd act of the opera for television. It is one of the most dramatic acts in opera history: in order to free the painter Cavaradossi from the hands of torturers, Tosca ends up murdering the police chief Scarpia. The film footage is one of the rare opportunities to see Maria Callas in an opera performance and to experience her highly emotional performance art and vocal abilities...

OXO 86 - Menschen. Tiere. Sensationen. (Live in Leipzig)(de)

Prodaná nevěsta(cs)

Serrat & Sabina: dos pájaros contraatacan(es)

These two birds back to join their voices, between lyric and tear, Serrat and Sabina. During a previous tour viewers could overthrow them both with one shot, but this time that these birds will soar on shotguns. Each with its splendor, with its poison. Joan Manuel Serrat keeps intact the moral, tough, committed contempt of difficult times, but always wrapped in the aura of a joy of living, in favor of simple pleasures, the melancholy of those trams transported to the beaches on Sunday to overcome people and returned to the city only defeated by the sun, with salty lips and burned skin. And among so many words of love Serrat, the hoarse cries of Sabina, both fused, and although the two crossing their songs, one with guitar and the heart will scratch another liver.

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)