“Heavenly Voices” tells the story of the castrato phenomenon, and how the most gifted amongst these singers rose to international stardom. Names like Farinelli, Senesino, Caffarelli and Carestini come to mind, to name but the most famous ones, who enjoyed great popularity during the time of the g...

Stradella by C.Franck, from Opéra Royale de Wallonie, 2012. Directed by Jaco van Dormael, conductor Paolo Arrivabeni, starring Patrick Mignon, Marc Laho, Werner van Mechelen, Isabelle Kabatu, Philippe Rouillon, Xavier Rouillon, Giovanni Iovino, Roger Joakim . Performed in French and subtitled in ...

The Gambler by Sergei Prokofiev, from Mariinsky Theatre, 2012. Directed by Laurent Gentot, conductor Valery Gergiev. Starring Sergei Aleksashkin, Tatiana Pavlovskaya, Vladimir Galuzin, Larisa Dyadkova, Nikolai Gassiev, Alexander Gergalov, Nadezhda Serdyuk, Andrei Popov, Oleg Sychev, Andrei Spekhov.

Dead Souls by Rodion Shchedrin, from Live recorded from the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, 2012. Directed by Henning Kasten.

Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss, Libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, from Live recorded from the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, 2012. Directed by Henning Kasten, starring Avgust Amonov, Mlada Khudoley, Edem Umerov, Olga Sergeyeva. Performed in German.

Iolanta by Piotr Tchaikovsky, from Teatro Real, Madrid, 2012. Directed by Peter Sellars, conductor Teodor Currentzis. Starring Ekaterina Scherbachenko, Iolanta; Dmitry Ulianov, King René; Alexey Markov, Robert; Pavel Cernoch, Vaudémont; Willard White, Ibn-Hakia; Vasily Efimov, Alméric; Pavel Kudi...

Perséphone by Igor Stravinsky, from Teatro Real, Madrid, 2012. Directed by Peter Sellars, conductor Teodor Currentzis. Starring Dominique Blanc, Perséphone; Paul Groves, Eumolpus. Performed in French.

Rusalka by Antonín Dvořák, from La Monnaie/De Munt, Brussels, 2012. Directed by Stefan Herheim, conductor Willy Vanduren. Starring Myrtò Papatanasiu, Rusalka; Pavel Černoch, Prince; Annalena Persson, Foreign princess; Willard White, Vodnik; Renée Morloc, Ježibaba; Ekaterina Isachenko, YoungHee Ki...

L'elisir d'amore by G. Donizetti from Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, performed at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden / Baden-Baden Festival Hall, 2012. Directed by Rolando Villazón, conductor Pablo Heras-Casado. Starring Miah Persson, Rolando Villazón, Roman Trekel, Ildebrando D'Arcangelo and Regula Mühlemann.

"In 2012, the Hamburg State Opera presented a new production of Giacomo Pucciniís masterpiece ìMadama Butterflyî. The internationally renowned director Vincent Boussard stages the opera, collaborating with star fashion designer Christian Lacroix and set designer Vincent Lemaire. Together they suc...

The Cunning Little Vixen by L. Janáček from Glyndebourne Festival Opera, performed at Glyndebourne Festival Theatre, Glyndebourne, 2012. Directed by Melly Still, conductor Vladimir Jurowski. Starring Lucy Crowe (Vixen Sharp Ears), Emma Bell (Fox), Sergei Leiferkus (Forester), Jean Rigby (Forester...

Artaserse by J.A. Hasse from Festival della Valle d'Itria, performed at Palazzo Ducale, Martina Franca, 2012. Directed by Gabriele Lavia, conductor Corrado Rovaris. Starring Anicio Zorzi Giustiniani (Artaserse), Franco Fagioli (Arbace), Maria Grazia Schiavo (Mandane), Sonia Prina (Artabano), Anto...