Puccini Festival, Torre del Lago - Turandot(2016)

Cro: MTV Unplugged(de)

Bandit(en)

After escaping a Michigan prison, a charming career criminal assumes a new identity in Canada and goes on to rob a record 59 banks and jewellery stores while being hunted by a rogue task force. Based on the story of The Flying Bandit.

Deadpool & Wolverine(en)

A listless Wade Wilson toils away in civilian life with his days as the morally flexible mercenary, Deadpool, behind him. But when his homeworld faces an existential threat, Wade must reluctantly suit-up again with an even more reluctant Wolverine.

Star(fr)

Star follows the path of Tito and Jay, two brothers living in the Montreal neighborhood of Park Extension. Accompanying these young people in their daily life marked by complicity and intimidation, Star tackles themes dear to teenagers: identity and friendship.

Star(en)

The Driver now carries an arrogant rock star who is visiting a major city (not Pittsburgh as earlier believed). Played by Madonna, this title character wants to get away from her bodyguards in the Driver's BMW. He soon gets tired of her and decides to have a bit of fun.

Father There Is Only One 2(es)

The success of the Conchy virtual assistant (which was developed by Javier) has earned him a favorable spot in the parents chat room - until something unexpected ruins it all.

Grisaia: Phantom Trigger The Animation - Stargazer(ja)

While Rena and Maki recover from their injuries, the other SORD members jet off overseas for a school trip. Within moments of their arrival, though, the Mihama gang are pulled into a manhunt for a SORD deserter, assisted by student Sylvia and Velvet of St. Aile's International School. Tohka's the star of the show this time round, but she's wrestling with her own issues - old memories of her parents, and a promise to a friend that she wasn't able to keep...

Staring at Strangers(es)

Carpenter Sergio runs away and hides in a closet after his boss fired him. When the closet arrives at its buyer's house, he decides to stay there, hiding in his new home living with an unknown family.

Kalki 2898-AD(te)

In the year 2898 AD, around 6000 years after Kurukshetra war, Ashwatthama gears up for his final battle of redemption at the sign of hope in a dystopian world and Bhairava, a wisecracking and self-interested bounty hunter, tired of the perilous life becomes the hurdle in the process.

Pirates Down the Street II: The Ninjas from Across(nl)

The pirates feel right at home in Sandborough, but the atmosphere cools right down when the ninjas come to live in the street. After all, pirates and ninjas are sworn enemies! While pirate captain Hector Blunderbuss struggles to get rid of his new neighbours, son Billy and ninja daughter Yuka become friends. The pirates challenge the ninjas to the ultimate battle at the village's annual hexathlon. Who will win the match? Ninjas are faster and more agile of course, but pirates are the best cheats in all of the seven seas...

The Black Phone(en)

Finney Blake, a shy but clever 13-year-old boy, is abducted by a sadistic killer and trapped in a soundproof basement where screaming is of little use. When a disconnected phone on the wall begins to ring, Finney discovers that he can hear the voices of the killer’s previous victims. And they are dead set on making sure that what happened to them doesn’t happen to Finney.

Mission: Cross(ko)

In the ultimate test of marriage, an agent-turned-househusband gets tangled in a perilous mission with his detective wife, who's clueless about his past.

Freestyle(pl)

Trying to check out a recording from his debut album, a street rapper and his friend run into trouble when a major drug deal turns into a total disaster for them.

There Are No Saints(en)

A man is imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit. When his wife is murdered and his son kidnapped and taken to Mexico, he devises an elaborate and dangerous plan to rescue his son and avenge the murder.

Noryang: Deadly Sea(ko)

The Imjin War reaches its seventh year in December of 1598. Admiral Yi Sun-shin learns that the Wa invaders in Joseon are preparing for a swift withdrawal following the deathbed orders of their leader Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Determined to destroy the enemy once and for all, Admiral Yi leads an allied fleet of Joseon and Ming ships to mount a blockade and annihilate the Wa army. However, once Ming commander Chen Lin is bribed into lifting the blockade, Wa lord Shimazu Yoshihiro and his Satsuma army sail to the Wa army’s rescue at Noryang Strait.

Inside Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer(en)

A look behind the scenes of Christopher Nolan's film "Oppenheimer" about an American scientist and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.

Battle for Saipan(en)

On July 7, 1944, a U.S. Army hospital on the remote island of Saipan is overrun by Japanese forces during a relentless attack. Outgunned and surrounded by the enemy, a lone medic puts it all on the line to lead a band of wounded soldiers to safety.

The Year I Started Masturbating(sv)

Ambitious overachiever Hanna just needs one more kid before her life is perfect. Instead, her baby daddy unexpectedly dumps her. Suddenly, she finds herself without a place to live, job or family. With every fiber of her being set for victory, Hanna refuses to give up and decides to win him back. But to get there means having to win something much more important, love and desire for herself and who she is.

The Hawk(es)

Criminals control Mexico and wrestling is now illegal. A retired fighter and a policewoman join forces to stop the perfidious criminal who has kidnapped her son.

LEGO Scooby-Doo! Knight Time Terror(en)

Mystery Inc. is summoned to investigate occurrences in a haunted villa, where a black knight terrorizes anybody who tries to get close to treasure hidden by the former owner of the building.

Beethoven: Fidelio(en)

Beethoven Fidelio(de)

This production is a gala affair; the sets are traditional (evocative of 18th-19th century Spain); the lighting is bright, so colors are good and one can see all of the action. Singers are generally well chosen and perform admirably. However, at this point, slight reservations creep in; although Janowitz (Fidelio/Leonore) and Kollo (Florestan) look "good" and act well, the singing parts tax them a bit when pushed to the limit. Most of the time that doesn't matter, and an argument can be made that a little vocal strain is in character with their dire plight. Ideally, for me, Vickers as Florestan would have added extra vocal heft and more sensitive acting than Kollo.

Bizet: Carmen(fr)

Richard Eyre’s stunning new production of Bizet’s opera was the talk of the town when it was unveiled on New Year’s Eve 2009. Elīna Garanča leads the cast as the iconic gypsy of the title—a woman desired by every man but determined to remain true to herself. Roberto Alagna is Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell and sacrifices everything for her love, only to be cast aside when the toreador Escamillo (Teddy Tahu Rhodes) piques Carmen’s interest. With dances created by star choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and conducted by rising maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, this Carmen brings every aspect of Bizet’s tale to thrilling life, from its lighthearted beginning to its inevitably tragic climax.

Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann (Bregenz Festival)(fr)

Bregenzs Tales of Hoffmann is different from everything you saw before. The New York Times praised the thoughtfulness and creativity of Stefan Herheims new production, devised by the director as a search for ones own self in a sparkling drag show. A shining-toned (NYT) Hoffmann is embodied by tenor Daniel Johansson in the title role. He is supported by a fantastic cast: Rachel Frenkel is positively ideal as Muse and Niklausse (Kurier), Kerstin Avemo as Olympia is endowed with brilliant, cheekily extemporized coloraturas (Neue Zürcher Zeitung), Michael Volle sings the parts of Lindorf, Coppelius, Dr. Miracle and Dappertutto, the works four villains, with warmth and intensity (NYT) and Mandy Fredrich is a finelyphrased Antonia (Kurier).

Puccini La Rondine(en)

La Rondine (The Swallow) is possibly the least performed of Giacomo Puccinis later operas, but is still just as much a masterwork as its more performed counterparts. Originally conceived as the composers first operetta, the work is an artful blend of opera and operetta, with a lighter mood than Puccinis other works. This live production filmed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin stars Dinara Alieva and Charles Castronovo in the lead roles. Renowned stage director Rolando Villazon sets this rendition, and the Orchestra and Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is conducted here by acclaimed Maestro Roberto Rizzi Brignoli.

Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice(it)

Based on Gluck's masterpiece and performed entirely on location in and around the environs of the Baroque Theatre at the Cesky Krumlov Castle in the Czech Republic; it's an opera production designed specifically for the film with outstanding sets and production values. Countertenor Bejun Mehta sings the role of the torn main character and acts as an artistic advisor, making for an involving and impeccably performed opera.

Lisa Limone and Maroc Orange: A Rapid Love Story(et)

Main hero is a singing boat refugee – orange boy Maroc. He dreams about freedom. Lemon girl Lisa collects singing seashells and dreams about love. Lisa’s father is a businessman, owner of a ketchup factory and tomato plantation. He loves money. And so the opera begins: Poor Maroc escapes from his homeland and defying stormy waters take a boat across the sea to the “promised land”. Upon arrival he is forced into being a slave worker in a tomato plantation instead of freedom, democracy, wealth and parties he had hoped for. Despite the initial let down our orange boy is destined to gain happiness – selfish Lisa falls in love with him and sets him free. We see an orange revolution – houses are blown up and tomatoes are made from ketchup, all in the name of democracy! Movie that is full of rebellion and love has happy ending – we will see sour-sweet culmination of lemon girl’s and orange boy’s love.

Soprano : le documentaire événement(fr)

French rapper Soprano opens up like never before. He has become the artist with the highest album sales in France. With over 700,000 spectators, he also leads the biggest tour in 2017 and becomes the first rapper to perform at the Stade Vélodrome. Beyond the numbers and records that illustrate Soprano's success, it is the artist's extremely endearing personality that is revealed.

Falstaff(en)

The Graham Vicks production of FALSTAFF opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and was not to everybody's taste; the garish primary colours of the costumes. The staging is effective--the complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate, especially in the final fugue. Bryn Terfel's Falstaff is a memorable creation, self-mocking and self-aggrandising at the same time--so much so, in fact, that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for the part. Desiree Rancatore is an admirably sweet-toned Nanetta; Bernadette Manca di Nissa an appropriately sardonic Mistress Quickly; Roberto Frontali as Ford, in his Act 2 scena, perfectly distils and parodies every jealousy aria ever written, including Verdi's own. Haitink's conducting is exemplary in the lyrical passages, gets almost everything out of the fast and furious comic sections.

Benjamin: Lessons in Love and Violence(en)

Opera based on the story of Edward II and Piers Gaveston. Music by George Benjamin, libretto by Martin Crimp. BBC broadcast of the 2018 premiere at the Royal Opera House, the composer conducting, prefaced by commentary and interviews.

Glass: Kepler(en)

Live performance of Philip Glass's opera Kepler (2009) by the Landestheater Linz Upper Austrian State Theater in 2011, conducted by Dennis Russell Davies.

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.

Rossini: La Cenerentola(it)

This occasionally off-the-wall but finely sung and colourfully staged La Cenerentola was Rome Opera’s first foray into the media market, shown on television and in cinemas across Italy in 2016. It clearly had the funding. Emma Dante’s production will not have come cheap – Vanessa Sannino’s costumes are a particular feature – nor would the singers, given that this is as good a Cenerentola cast as any international house might currently muster.

Verdi: Il Trovatore(it)

Alex Ollé, one of the famous La Fura dels Baus, recreates the conflict and places principal protagonists in clear, transforming set with supporting lighting – facing all primal emotions directly, with no place to hide. The set design (smart and impressive solution of scenography by Alfons Flores) encased in mirrors and accented with silently moving columns, creating cloister, battlefield, cemetery or castle with minimalistic hints (impressive lighting design by Urs Schönebaum), gives us the opportunity to keep full attention on the vocal performance of main characters.

Victor/Victoria(en)

A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.

Svätopluk(sk)

7 Deaths of Maria Callas(en)

A meditation on the female body as a source of both power and pain that focuses on the tragic figure of renowned American-Greek opera singer Maria Callas (1923-77), whose stunning soprano voice captivated audiences around the world in the mid-20th century while her life was wracked by scandal and personal suffering.

Rigoletto(en)

Kraus - Nucci - Serra - Pertusi - Vespasiani ... Chour du Théâtre Regio de Parme Orchestre Symphonique dell'Emilia Romagna "Arturo Toscanini" ANGELO CAMPORI - Parme, 02/1987

La Traviata(en)

Few singers have plumbed the depths of the role of Violetta as did she incomparable soprano Renata Scotto. Her interpretation surprises with fresh insights at every turn, illuminating aspects of the character that are latent in the libretto and the schore but rarely dramatized with such completeness. For example, when Germont meets Violetta, he is immediately struck by her strong bearing ( Quai modi! , he exclaims in an aside).