In Mea Culpa, Christoph Schlingensief blurs a delicate line: he ignores the threshold that separates the healthy from the sick. By making his cancer the subject of an opera, premiering on the largest German-speaking theater, he is putting the art district under pressure: a wonderful institution like the Burgtheater must use its artistic resources lavishly to reveal the entire "truth" about us humans. At the end of the day, when the scenery on Janina Audick's revolving stage has finally come to rest, when Isolde's last Liebestad has been sung enchantingly beautifully by Elfriede Rezabek and indescribable jubilation breaks out, then Schlingensief is completely alone with his illness.
The Cat Above and the Mouse Below (1964)
Tom, famous baritone Signor Thomasino Catti-Cazzaza, enthralls a concert audience with his rendition of "Largo al factotum", from Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia", while Jerry strives for sleep under the stage.
Puccini Festival, Torre del Lago - Turandot (2016)
Recorded on the 13th. of August 2016 in the city Torre del Lago doing the Festival Puccini at the Gran Teatro Puccini venue.
On Such a Night (1956)
An American tourist on a day trip to Sussex from London inadvertently finds himself at Glyndebourne Opera House in Sussex where he learns to appreciate Opera.
The Metropolitan Opera: Anna Bolena (2011)
David McVicar's atmospheric and brooding production captures the drama of this riveting piece of British history, retold as only Donizetti could. International superstar Anna Netrebko is Queen Anne Boleyn, trapped in an unhappy marriage to King Henry VIII (Ildar Abdrazakov) whose roving eye has settled on another woman—Jane Seymour (Ekaterina Gubanova), Anna's friend, but now her unwitting rival. Add in Anna's early love, Percy (Stephen Costello), just returned to the court from exile, and the result is a haunting, explosive account of Queen Anna's tragic final days, before she goes to her execution in one of the most moving and dazzling final scenes in all of opera.
Verdi: Don Carlo (2013)
Verdi wrote this five act opera with a French Libretto for the Paris opera. Premiere 1867. Then there are three versions of this opera, the French 1867 version, the revised Italian four Act Don Carlo 1884, plus the Modena version 1886. This version is the 1884 version with Act One reinstated, as well as the original beginning of Act 2. To complicate matters the French opera was simply translated into Italian, and then the changes were made. There is an even newer edition completed in 1980 by Ricordi, and others floating around as well.
Il Trovatore (2013)
Daniel Barenboim conducts the Staatskapelle Berlin in this production of Verdi's opera starring Anna Netrebko and Plácido Domingo. The Count Di Luna believes that his younger brother was murdered years before by a vengeful gypsy but still hopes that he may be alive. When he attempts to court the beautiful Leonora, he is enraged to discover that she has a lover – the troubadour, Manrico. Manrico and the Count duel, and afterwards Manrico reveals to Azucena, the woman he believes to be his mother, that when he had the opportunity to kill the Count he felt something holding him back.
Scarlatti: Dove è amore è gelosia (2013)
Rebellious servants, capricious lovers, cross-dressing farce and a happy ending: the fast paced action of this comic Baroque opera had all the ingredients to please the self-confessed ‘low-brow taste’ of an Austro-German prince, who commissioned Giuseppe Scarlatti for a piece to celebrate his son’s wedding. This is the opera’s first revival in modern times, and it takes place in the very same Baroque theatre, impeccably restored to its original glory, which hosted the first performance. With a cast of young singers drawn from Prague’s National Theatre and a stylish period-instrument ensemble, this vivid reconstruction will delight audiences as much today as it did the aristocratic guests at Český Krumlov in 1768. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.
Giovanna d'Arco (1989)
Director Werner Herzog, one of the most highly acclaimed German film makers, joins forces with the great Italian conductor Riccardo Chailly to effect a masterful rendition of this rarely-performed opera involving spectacular scenes of alternating light and dark, pageantry and intimacy. Staged and recorded at Teatro Comunale di Bologna in Bologna, Italy.
Hippolyte et Aricie (2020)
In October 1733, the audience at the Académie Royale de Musique witnessed the birth of a revolutionary work: Hippolyte et Aricie. With its inventiveness and musical richness, Rameau’s opera marks a break in the history of French music. A similarly revolutionary duo – Jeanne Candel and Raphaël Pichon – get to grips with this work for the Opéra Comique.
Rigoletto (2006)
Live performance at Opernhaus Zürich in 2006. Nello Santi conducting Orchester der Oper Zürich and Chor der Oper Zürich. Directed for the stage by Gilbert Deflo.
let me come in (2021)
Bill Morrison’s experimental short features decayed film reels from the lost, German silent film Pawns of Passion (1928).
L'Elisir d'Amore (1981)
The Metropolitan Opera performance of L'Elisir d'Amore is conducted by Nicola Rescigno and features Luciano Pavarotti in the title role. Donizetti's graceful melodies have long endeared his L'Elisir d'Amore to operatic audiences and performers alike. Judith Blegen, Louise Wohlafka, Luciano Pavarotti, Nicola Rescigno, Sesto Bruscantini.