Verdi: Falstaff (Teatro Regio di Parma)(2011)

Norma(en)

This new production of Bellinis Norma by Jürgen Rose (sets, costumes, stage direction, and lighting) to honor Edita Gruberovas first staged assumption of the title role was taped in January and February of 2006 in Munich. It does neither the opera nor the soprano any favors. In most ways, its a pretty gloomy affair.

LE CASO MIRASSOL 2(pt)

O Pesadelo do Cuscuz(pt)

Dionisos(en)

"I only say the sun goodbye." Dionisos captures the existential unease where insomnia echoes and shadows of past regrets linger. As days blend into unconsciousness, the night unveils a haunting struggle between personal demons and the unending flow of existence.

En Aaloda Seruppa Kaanom(ta)

The adventures of a young man who tries to trace the missing slipper of the girl he is in love with.

Mm(en)

Part-feminist linguistic investigation, part-child’s learning tool and celebration of motor sport, a voice-over of words and associations narrates 35mm verité footage of the Berwick Bandits, an all-male Speedway motorcycle team with the mantra ‘No Brakes, No Gears, No Fear’.

Boy(en)

Boy ('the helper') tells the story of an invisible member of our society, an illegal Filipino cleaner. He has no name. Moving continuously from one location to the other, he is living between being seen and being invisible, between his life with his boyfriend, an erotic dancer, and his role as financial provider of his family back home. All this changes when his boyfriend auditions for a dance-company and one of his employers commits suicide. A charming photographer shows interest in him. He wants him as a model for a photo series.

So Long Mr. Chumps(en)

The stooges are street cleaners who find some valuable bonds and return them to their owner. The man is so grateful that he offers them a big reward if they can find an honest man with executive ability. Their search leads them to a woman who's fiancée is honest, but he's in jail. The boys decide to commit a crime so they can go behind bars to find him. In prison the boys locate the man and help him escape, only to find out that their benefactor is a con man and on the way himself to the slammer.

Olivia Rodrigo Live at Glastonbury 2022(en)

Olivia Rodrigo live at Glastonbury 2022: a career and festival defining moment Powerful and political, Rodrigo’s Glastonbury debut shows just how big her omnipresent tunes have become – and she even brings out Lily Allen Setlist: ‘Brutal’ ‘Jealousy, Jealousy’ ‘Drivers License’ ‘Complicated’ (Avril Lavigne cover) ‘Hope ur ok’ ‘Enough For You / 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back’ ‘Happier’ ‘All I Want’ ‘Favourite Crime’ ‘Traitor’ ‘Fuck You’ (Lily Allen cover with Lily Allen) ‘Déjà vu’ ‘Good 4 U’

So long, Dracula!(et)

Occupied Estonia. Stalin and his time, when poets wrote stories and poems to Stalin. The tribunes appealed to Stalin as the "great friend of the Estonian people", but for the majority of the people Stalin's name embodies the violence and lies that hit Estonia, leaving no area untouched, invading every human being as a vampire.

The Tragedy of Richard III(en)

Richard Duke of Gloucester, youngest brother of King Edward IV, will stop at nothing to get the crown. He first convinces the ailing King that the Duke of Clarence, his elder brother, is a threat to the lives of Edward's two young sons. Edward has him imprisoned in the Tower of London; killers in Richard's pay then drown Clarence in a barrel of wine. When news of Clarence's death reaches the King, the subsequent grief and remorse bring about his death. Richard is made Lord Protector, with power to rule England while his nephew (now King Edward V) is still a minor. Before the young king's coronation he has his two nephews conveyed to the Tower, ostensibly for their safekeeping. Richard's accomplice, the Duke of Buckingham, then declares the two boys illegitimate and offers Richard the crown, which after a show of reticence he accepts. After Richard's coronation, he and Buckingham have a falling-out over whether or not to assassinate the two children.

Land of Darkness(en)

During the Mexican Revolution, a young and idealistic priest is forefuly recruited into the army where he faces the realities of war.

Zohra(fr)

Saved from shipwreck, a little girl is taken into the protection of the North-African tribal chief and named "Zohra".

Tea Date(en)

An English language student brings a little brightness into the life of her elderly, widowed tutor.

Cornouaille(fr)

A young woman inherits her family's historic home on the coast of Brittany, a house she has not been to since her father died there when she was age 12.

Four(th)

Introducing to you a new kind of horror and scary storytelling with the 4 thrills, 4 surprises, 4 emotions, and 4 enjoyable stories.

Les secrets de François Truffaut(fr)

Life is Beautiful(pl)

Where do we come from? Who are we? Where are we going? This experimental found footage film outlines the history of humanity in a few minutes. It is focused on the central theme of the 20th century - the Holocaust and the atomic bomb.

Sabotage Squad(en)

A police lieutenant and a patriotic professional gambler, rivals in life and love, combine efforts to corner a gang of Nazi saboteurs operating out of a barber shop, in which their mutual girlfriend works, and unmask its secret leader.

Gounod: Romeo et Juliette(fr)

The sensational hit of Salzburg's 2008 festival season arrives on DVD! Starring tenor Rolando Villazón in a stunning performance, this was the must have ticket of the season. Soprano Nino Machaidze, only 25 years old, burst upon the Salzburg stage with an emotionally vulnerable and vocally spectacular performance. With movie star good looks and a large, warm voice, Machaidze wowed the press and audiences alike. Tony Award winner (South Pacific) Bartlett Sher directs this production of Gounod's classic opera. With sets by Michael Yeargan and costumes by Catherine Zuber, the visually vibrant production is sure to become the benchmark. Bonus materials includes "Salzburg Impressions--Behind the Scenes of Roméo et Juliette," "Love and Death in Verona" and Villazón giving an introduction to the opera.

Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann (Komische Oper Berlin)(de)

Walter Felsenstein's staging of Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann at the Komische Opera Berlin.

The Fiery Angel(en)

Sergey Prokofiev's operatic tragedy The Fiery Angel was never performed in the composers lifetime the musics brittle energy, drama and eloquent lyrical tenderness would re-emerge in his Third Symphony. The narrative focuses relentlessly on Renata, who is haunted by an angel who turns out to be the devil. Director Emma Dante describes the opera as an explosive mix of fantastical realism and endless confusion of nightmares, madness, sexual impulses and cultural clashes, and this Teatro dellOpera di Roma production was acclaimed as a presentation of Prokofievs masterpiece which sparkles in all its grotesque glory (operawire.com)

Giuseppe Verdi - Nabucco(en)

The spectacular production from the 2007 festival at the historic Arena di Verona. Renowned Verdi singers Leo Nucci and Maria Guleghina take on the roles of Nabucco and his daughter Abigail. Daniel Oren conducts Verona's resident orchestra. Filmed in High-Definition.

Giordano: Andrea Chénier(it)

This live from the Met telecast from October 1996 of Giordano’s infrequently performed verismo gem is an absolute pleasure to watch and listen to and I highly recommend it. Nicholas Joel’s production is extremely elegant while at the same time being simple and uncluttered. Act I, for example, is dominated by an enormous gilt-framed mirror precariously tilted. I assume that it is a metaphor for the imminent downfall of the decadent aristocracy at the party given by the Contessa di Coigny. The costumes designs by Hubert Monloup are terrific. The prerevolutionary costumes in Act I are simply stunning each one individually tailored for the choristers and major performers.

Aida(de)

The Metropolitan Opera: Otello(en)

In Verdi’s retelling of Shakespeare’s towering tragedy, Renée Fleming gives a captivating performance as the innocent Desdemona, a role long considered one of her calling cards. Johan Botha as the title hero delivers an imposing portrayal of a proud warrior brought down by jealousy, and Falk Struckmann is thrilling as the villainous Iago. James Morris sings Lodovico. Elijah Moshinsky’s production is conducted by Semyon Bychkov.

Rossini Sigismondo(it)

Early Rossini has a youthful, buoyant vibrancy about it, even in the dark swirls of drammi per musica like Sigismondo. The work, centered on a mad king and his delusions, was rarely played after its premiere in 1814. This performance marked the first from the critical new edition at the 2010 Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro and was hailed as a "perfect symbiosis of music and stage work" resulting in "truly brilliant theatre." Complete with a cast of sought-after Rossini singers, this is not to be missed.

Donizetti: La Fille du Régiment(fr)

In January 2007, superstar soprano Natalie Dessay, joined on stage by acclaimed tenor Juan Diego Florez dazzled British audiences in Laurent Pelly's new production of Donizetti's "LA FILLE DU REGIMENT". The perfectly staged & cast production became the operatic event of the year, receiving rave press reviews & rapturous audience ovations.

Rossini La Cenerentola(it)

This is an excellent version of one of the greatest of all comic operas, featuring superb singing and orchestral playing. And it's not just the two headliners; listen, for example, to the entrance of the stepsisters at the beginning of Act One. Nevertheless, some viewers may find the staging problematic, with singers in clown-like costumes and sets featuring human-sized rodents. Those seeking a more conventional production might want to consider the Houston Grand Opera DVD, also on Decca, with Cecilia Bartoli and Raul Jimenez. Both sets are wonderful, but, for me, Joyce Didonato and Juan Diego Florez are slightly to be preferred. Highly recommended.

Rossini: La Donna del Lago(it)

An all-star cast assembled for the Met’s first-ever performances of Rossini’s romantic retelling of Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem The Lady of the Lake. Joyce DiDonato is Elena, the title heroine, who is being pursued by not one, but two tenors—setting off sensational vocal fireworks. Juan Diego Flórez is King James V of Scotland, disguised as the humble Uberto, and John Osborn sings his political enemy, and rival in love, Rodrigo Di Dhu. Complicating matters is the fact that Elena herself loves Malcolm, a trouser role sung by mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcellona, and that she is the daughter of Duglas (Oren Gradus), another of the king’s political adversaries. Paul Curran’s atmospheric production is conducted by Michele Mariotti.

Puccini: La Boheme(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

Britten: The Turn of the Screw(en)

In Benjamin Britten's operatic adaptation of Henry James' masterwork, a naive governess (Helen Field) arrives at a country manor and soon discovers that it holds a murky secret involving her charges and two ghostly servants who wield a sinister influence on them. The taut, atmospheric production also stars Sam Linay, Machiko Obata, Menai Davies and Phyllis Cannan, with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra providing accompaniment.

San Francisco Opera: Verdi's Rigoletto(en)

One of opera's most vivid and compelling characters, a vengeful court jester, desperately tries to protect his daughter from disaster in this heart-wrenching tragedy. The first of two world-class casts led by Music Director Nicola Luisotti stars Željko Lučić, "whose vocal artistry is exceptional" (The New York Times); Aleksandra Kurzak, "a superstar in the making" (The Guardian, London); and, as the lecherous Duke, Francesco Demuro, "whose open, bright, superbly focused tone was reminiscent of Pavarotti" (Opera News).

La forza del destino(it)

Live performance from the Teatro Comunale di Modena

La vie parisienne(fr)

Live performance from Opéra National de Lyon.

Les Contes d'Hoffmann(fr)

Live performance from the Opéra National de Lyon.

Manon Lescaut(it)

Manon Lescaut's production was updated and it worked. Highly professional production with two of the best performances I've ever witnessed in any opera. By the end of the third act I was crying and by the end of the fourth act I could not stop the tears. These two can not only sing up a storm they act one as well. This is the best Manon Lescaut I've ever seen and hope the upcoming one at the Met is as good. It truly was thrilling. Kaufmann and Opolais were unbelievably fantastic and the orchestra was superb. Pappano is the kind of maestro you want to sing for as he coaches as in the old days of maestros like Levine, etc. This is highly recommended as a keeper!

Beatrice di Tenda(it)

Live performance from the Zurich Opera House, January 2002.