John Adams: Nixon in China (2019)

Mireille (2010)

In 2009, Frédéric Mistral’s tale of love and loss in Provence came to the Opéra de Paris with a new production of Gounod’s 1864 opera Mireille. Nicolas Joel’s naturalistic staging frames the accomplished performances of Albanian soprano Inva Mula as Mireille and American tenor Charles Castronovo as her ardent country lover Vincent.

Ernani (2017)

Stage director Jean-Louis Grinda and the Opéra de Monte-Carlo present Verdi’s early smash hit opera Ernani. Ramon Vargas heads up an incredible cast in the heroic title role and maestro Daniele Callegari leads the Monte Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra in the sumptuous melodies of Verdi’s score.

Because You're Mine (1952)

A famous opera singer falls for his sergeant's sister at boot camp.

The Marriage of Figaro (2010)

Charming, light-hearted and fizzing with subversive wit, Neil Armfield's sparkling production of the marriage of Figaro captures Mozart's most popular Opera. In this classic performance, recorded live at the Sydney Opera House, Patrick Summers conducts a energetic fresh-voiced cast, headed up by baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes and Taryn Fiebig who make a vivacious, appealing pairing as Figaro and Susanna, while Peter Coleman-Wright triumps as the lascivious Count Almaviva.

Peter Grimes (1994)

Benjamin Britten's opera as performed by the English National Opera, with Philip Langridge in the title role.

The Rake's Progress (2011)

The devil is hard at work in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress! The three-act opera was premiered at Venice’s La Fenice in 1951 and is whimsically staged and performed in this production from the 2010 Glyndebourne opera festival.

The Metropolitan Opera: Tosca (2024)

Extraordinary soprano Lise Davidsen stars as the volatile diva Floria Tosca for the first time at the Met. David McVicar’s thrilling production also features tenor Freddie De Tommaso in his eagerly anticipated company debut as Tosca’s revolutionary lover, Cavaradossi, and powerhouse baritone Quinn Kelsey as the sadistic chief of police Scarpia. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies. This live cinema transmission is part of the Met’s award-winning Live in HD series, bringing opera to movie theaters across the globe.

Carmina Burana: Dancing in Defiance (2024)

A live recording of Carl Orff's world-famous musical masterpiece Carmina Burana, performed by more than 100 singers and dancers of the National Opera and Ballet of Ukraine (Odessa).

Verdi: Rigoletto (1982)

Rigoletto is a jester in the court of the Duke of Mantua. He has a hunch-back and he's rather unattractive, but he's good at his job of humiliating the courtiers for the amusement of the Duke. The courtiers, of course, are not amused. The Duke is a ladies man who feels his life would be meaningless if he couldn't chase every skirt he sees. In fact, we learn as the opera begins that he's recently been noticing a young lady every Sunday on her way to church, and he's vowed to have his way with her. What nobody realizes is that the girl is the jester's beloved daughter, Gilda, and that Gilda has seen the Duke every Sunday and is smitten with him. Suddenly Count Monterone appears at court, furious that the Duke has seduced his daughter. Rigoletto ridicules Monterone, the Duke laughs, and Monterone casts an awful curse on both of them. Later, the courtiers discover that Rigoletto is secretly living with Gilda...

Philip Glass: Akhnaten (2020)

Akhnaten is set in Ancient Egypt, and based on the accession to the throne of the pharaoh Amenhotep IV – thought to have been around 1351BC – on his religious convictions, and the consequences of his actions. Presented as a combination of song, dance and music, the opera has a libretto by Philip Glass, Shalom Goldmann, Robert Israël and Richard Ridell, with the text drawing on ancient hymns, prayers and inscriptions, sung in their original Egyptian, Hebrew and Akkadian form. Produced by the Opéra de Nice Côte d’Azur as part of the Festival MANCA.

Wagner: Das Rheingold (2010)

Robert Lepage’s landmark staging of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen, unveiled over the course of the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, was the first new Met production of the complete cycle in more than 20 years. Combining state-of-the-art technology with traditional storytelling, it brings Wagner’s vision into the 21st century. In this first part of the epic, the theft of the Rhinegold treasure sets in motion the course of events that will change the world and end the rule of the gods. Met Music Director James Levine conducts a cast of some of the greatest Wagnerian singers of our time, including Bryn Terfel as Wotan, Stephanie Blythe as Fricka, and Eric Owens as Alberich.

Verdi: Macbeth (2011)

Recorded at the Paris Opera and co-produced with Siberia’s Novosibirsk Opera, this new Macbeth uses cutting-edge multimedia technology to give the viewer a fresh perspective on the work. Google Earth satellite images plunge us into the heart of the action: a gloomy square surrounded by soulless buildings, and the interior of an aristocratic residence.

Mussorgsky: Boris Godunov (2018)

There are elements of Macbeth in this political fable, in which the ghost of the child that Boris has had killed in order to seize the throne appears as an impostor. Adapting Pushkin's epic poem, Mussorgsky composed a meditation on the solitude of power, a populist drama in which the real protagonist is the Russian people with its burden of eternal suffering. Ivo Van Hove is no stranger to grand political frescos. This is his first production for the Paris Opera.

Donizetti: Don Pasquale (2018)

First performed in Paris in 1843, at the turning point of several eras, Don Pasquale, a composite and varied work, is the apotheosis of opera buffa. Performed for the first time at the Paris Opera, the production has been entrusted to the Italian director, Damiano Michieletto, who transports us directly to the sincerity and dramatic splendour at the heart of an apparently light‑hearted work.

Aida (2015)

Any performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida at La Scala, Milan, is guaranteed to be an experience – but, when it’s a new production, it becomes a major event, especially given the theatre’s notoriously critical audience. Legendary stage director Peter Stein succeeds in delivering a lucid production acclaimed in equal measure by the press and public: “a perfect coup de théâtre” (Giornale della musica). A “stellar cast” (La Stampa) contributes to the production’s success under the musical direction of Verdi specialist Zubin Mehta, who leads the orchestra in a “gorgeously colourful performance”, while “the entire ensemble is brilliant in its portrayal of the characters” (Die Presse).

Richard Wagner: Lohengrin (2020)

What are heroes made of and why do our societies need them so badly? At the Staatsoper Stuttgart, stage director Árpád Schilling tries to answer this mythological, political and existential question, lying at the core of Richard Wagners Lohengrin. A wonder! A miracle!, the men and women of Brabant agreed when, against all expectations, someone stood up for Elsa and invalidated the allegations made by the plaintiff Telramund. And yet he does the most normal thing in the world: to help a person in distress. So why is there a need for this savior, surrounded by the aura of mystery, whose name and origin even his new wife Elsa cannot ask? Why does the collective body abdicates its moral and political responsibilities and surrenders them to a single individual? And when does the providential man stops being a savior and becomes a threat?

Madama Butterfly - Macerata (2011)

The story of Cio-Cio-San, called Butterfly, a young Nagasaki geisha who, abandoned by her American lover after giving birth to their son, ultimately kills herself, continues to impress audiences today. In this outstandingly authentic and elegant production from the Sferisterio Opera Festival, Puccini's highly emotional music is expertly delivered. The superior cast is headed by Raffaella Angeletti, "certainly one of the best Butterflies of our time" (ForumOpera.com), who has performed this role in many Italian theatres, as well as in Madrid and at the Vienna Staatsoper.

Alcina (2011)

The setting of the opera is the enchantress Alcina's island: here by her magic powers she has created a magnificent palace in a beautiful landscape, to lure her many lovers into her power. One of these is Ruggiero, a warrior, who under Alcina's spell has forsaken his duty and his betrothed, Bradamante.

The Metropolitan Opera: Ariadne auf Naxos (2003)

Elijah Moshinsky’s witty production deftly walks the line between the lighthearted humor and the profound philosophical underpinnings of Strauss and Hofmannsthal’s opera, masterfully conducted here by Met Music Director James Levine. Deborah Voigt stars as Ariadne, the mythical heroine abandoned on the island of Naxos by her lover, and Richard Margison is Bacchus, the young god who eventually takes her away to a new life. The spectacular Natalie Dessay as Zerbinetta leads the troupe of comedians who unsuccessfully try to cheer Ariadne up. Susanne Mentzer is delightful as the young Composer of the opera-within-the-opera, and Wolfgang Brendel sings the Music Master.

Billy Budd (1997)

John Dexter’s brilliant production of Britten’s searing opera stars Dwayne Croft in the title role of the handsome young sailor whose kindness and innocence cause his downfall. The great James Morris is Claggart, master-at-arms on the 18th-century warship Indomitable, who falsely accuses Billy of inciting a mutiny. Philip Langridge sings Captain Vere, the honest commander who knows that Billy is innocent but finds himself unable to save him. Steuart Bedford, Britten’s close collaborator during the last years of the composer’s life, is on the podium.