Der fliegende Holländer by R. Wagner, performed at Theater an der Wien, 2015. Directed by Olivier Py, conductor Marc Minkowski, starring Manuel Günther, Lars Woldt, Ingela Brimberg, Ann-Beth Solvang, Bernard Richter, Pavel Strasil. Performed in German and subtitled in English, German, French and...

"In June and July 1967 the opera ensemble toured North America, with visits to the World Exposition in Montreal (Canada) and New York. In addition to six modern works (including Jenufa and Mathis der Maler) the programme also featured Der Freischütz, which according to Liebermann “was virtually u...

Der Prinz von Homburg by H. W. Henze, from Staatsoper Stuttgart, 2019. Directed by Stephan Kimmig, conductor Cornelius Meister, starring Helene Schneiderman, Vera-Lotte Böcker, Robin Adams, Moritz Kallenberg, Michael Ebbecke, Stefan Margita. Performed in German and subtitled in English, German, J...

Der Ring des Nibelungen: Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner, from Staatsoper Stuttgart, 2002. Directed by János Darvas and Thorsten Fricke, conductor Lothar Zagrosek. Starring Wolfgang Probst, Motti Kastón, Bernhard Schneider, Robert Künzli, Esa Ruuttunen, Eberhard Francesco Lorenz, Roland Bracht.

Outside Germany, the name Weimar tends to evoke mixed feelings and pictures of German history of the last hundred years. Within Germany, Weimar means a town in the state of Thuringia arguably saturated with the “Deutsche Kultur” of the “Weimarer Klassik”, the legendary Bauhaus, and finally the li...

Der Ring des Nibelungen: Die Walküre by Richard Wagner, from Staatsoper Stuttgart, 2002. Directed by János Darvas and Thorsten Fricke, conductor Lothar Zagrosek. Starring Robert Gambill, Attila Jun, Jan-Hendrik Rootering, Angela Denoke, Renate Behle, Tichina Vaughn, Eva-Maria Westbroek, Wiebke Gö...

"“The free man must be his own maker”
Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung reflects the composer’s autobiography as much as the political turmoil of his times. As work progressed, another figure grew to be as important as the hero Siegfried, the god Wotan, the mouthpiece for Wagner’s ideas. “He...

Der Ring des Nibelungen: Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner, from Staatsoper Stuttgart, 2002. Directed by Hans Hulscher, conductor Lothar Zagrosek. Starring Albert Bonnema, Roland Bracht, Hernan Iturralde, Franz-Josef Kapellmann, Luana DeVol, Eva-Maria Westbroek.

A bleak wind chord of E flat minor opens Richard Wagner’s Götterdämmerung. It establishes the dominant atmosphere of the piece from its first bar: twilight, a deceptive half-light, prevails. Shadowy figures stumble towards the abyss. The last evening of the Ring is one of plotting and betrayal, o...

Der Ring des Nibelungen: Siegfried by Richard Wagner, from Staatsoper Stuttgart, 2002. Directed by Hans Hulscher, conductor Lothar Zagrosek. Starring Jon Frederic West, Heinz Göhrig, Wolfgang Schöne, Björn Waag, Attila Jun, Gabriela Herrera, Helene Ranada, Lisa Gasteen. Performed in German.

Richard Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung reflects the composer’s autobiography as much as the political turmoil of his times. As work progressed, another figure grew to be as important as the hero Siegfried, the god Wotan, the mouthpiece for Wagner’s ideas. “He’s exactly like us: he is the sum of to...

Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, from NHK, Hall Tokyo, 2008. Directed by Eiji Yoshida, conductor Fabio Luisi. Starring Anne Schwanewilms, Kurt Rydl, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Anke Vondung. Performed in German.

Der Rosenkavalier by R. Strauss from Glyndebourne Festival Opera, performed at Glyndebourne Festival Theatre, Glyndebourne, 2014. Directed by Richard Jones, conductor Robin Ticciati. Starring Tara Erraught (Octavian), Kate Royal (The Marschallin), Lars Woldt (Baron Ochs auf Lerchenau), Teodora Gh...

Der Zwerg by A. V. Zemlinsky, from Deutsche Oper Berlin, 2019. Directed by Tobias Kratzer, conductor Donald Runnicles, starring Emily Magee, Elena Tsallagova, Mick Morris Mehnert, David Butt Philip, Philipp Jekal, Flurina Stucki, Amber Fasquelle, Evgeny Nikiforov, Adelle Eslinger, Margarita Grein...

Penderecki’s first opera “The Devils of Loudun” had its world premiere in 1969 at the Hamburg State Opera. This film adoption, recorded in the same year shortly after the premiere, reunified the original cast of this premiere – e.g. Tatiana Troyanos with an amazing and breathtaking interpretation...

Dialogue des Carmelites by Poulenc from Bayerische Staatsoper, performed at Bavarian State Opera, Munich, 2010. Directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, conductor Kent Nagano. Starring Susan Gritton (Blanche de la Force), Sylvie Brunet (Madame de Croissy), Soile Isokoski (Madame Lidoine), Susanne Resmark ...

Didone by Cavalli, from Venezia Teatro La Fenice, performed at La Fenice, 2006. Directed by Francesca Cabrini and Davide Ortelli, conductor Fabio Biondi, starring Isabel Álvarez, Antonio Lozano, Claron McFadden, Manuela Custer, Jordi Domènech, Maria Grazia Schiavo, Marina De Liso, Magnus Stavelan...

Didone abbandonata by L. Vinci from Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, performed at Teatro Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, 2017. Directed by Deda Cristina Colonna, conductor Carlo Ipata. Starring Roberta Mameli (Didone), Carlo Allemano (Enea), Raffaele Pé (Iarba), Gabriella Costa (Selene), Marta Pluda (Aras...

Didone Abbandonata by G.S. Mercadante from Innsbruck Festival of Early Music, performed at Landestheater Innsbruck, 2018. Directed by Jürgen Flimm, conductor Alessandro De Marchi. Starring Viktorija Miškūnaitė (Didone), Katrin Wundsam (Enea), Carlo Vincenzo Allemano (Jarba), Pietro Di Bianco (Osm...

Mozart composed his Singspiel “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” in 1781, encouraged by no one less than the Austrian emperor Joseph II in order to emphasise the importance of this “national” form of music theatre as opposed to the Italian opera. It was a great success during Mozart’s lifetime and h...

Set in the exotic seraglio of the Pasha Selim, the story revolves around the rescue of the lovely Constanze by her lover Belmonte – a tale of love, bravery and forgiveness. In this work, Mozart breaks new ground in introducing dramatically rounded characters with recognisably human feelings and w...

"Opera as never experienced before: a world-class cast, stylish haute couture outfits, the spectacular setting of Hangar-7 with more than 10 different locations and state-of-the-art technology. All of this cut together as a live opera film: a modern and unique production of Mozart’s “Die Entführu...

Die Entführung aus dem Serail by W.A. Mozart from Glyndebourne Festival Opera, performed at Glyndebourne Festival Theatre, Glyndebourne, 2015. Directed by David McVicar, conductor Robin Ticciati. Starring Edgaras Montvidas (Belmonte), Tobias Kehrer (Osmin), Brenden Gunnell (Pedrillo), Franck Saur...

After its first performance in Vienna, the operetta Die Fledermaus set out to conquer the world. It is one of the few operettas which are regularly staged by the great opera houses of the world such as the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Milan Scala, The Staatsoper in Vienna and the Royal Opera ...