Carmen - Opéra National de Paris

As per tradition, the 2021/22 season opened in December at La Scala in Milan, this time with a new production of Giuseppe Verdi's 'Macbeth' directed by Davide Livermore and conducted by Riccardo Chailly. Verdi's Shakespeare drama features a star-studded cast: Anna Netrebko and Luca Salsi embody the regicide Macbeth and his lady.

Gaetano Donizetti and his librettist Felice Romani kept the focus of their opera ANNA BOLENA on the personal rather than the political in this fictionalized Tudor tale: Henry VIII of England wants to get rid of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, so that he can marry her lady-in-waiting, Jane Seymour. He brings Lord Richard Percy, Anne's first love, back from exile so that he can find an excuse to accuse her of adultery. With the unwitting aid of Smeaton, a court musician, and Lord Rochefort, Anne's brother, the trap is easily sprung. This 2011 live recording from the Wiener Staatsoper showcases Anna Netrebko as she "scored a personal triumph" in her debut as the hapless Tudor Queen, while her stage partners - notably Elīna Garanča as Jane Seymour and Ildebrando D'Arcangelo as Henry VIII - were likewise showered with critical acclaim.

Visually this is a gripping production which captures the drama of this opera perfectly. It's downright exciting! and I found the singing, acting, and orchestral playing reasonably fine. I found only one major problem with it, a problem that kept Puccini for quite a few years. Turandot has been looking for an opportunity to kill Calif and Calif has singlemindedly tried to get Turandot to love and wed him focusing on her and ignoring a better looking girl who loves him truly. The problem is how to get the audience to applaud the match once Calif gets his wish. Puccini couldn't figure out how to do it. The traditional quick ending doesn't do it, and Berio's attempt is longer , tries its best, but ends up making it plain this is one wierd couple.

Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili gives a dynamic performance as Bizet’s iconic gypsy, the woman who lives by her own rules. Aleksandrs Antonenko is Don José, the soldier who falls under her spell, and Ildar Abdrazakov plays Escamillo, the swaggering bullfighter who takes Carmen away from Don José—an action that seals Carmen’s tragic fate. Anita Hartig is Micaëla, and Pablo Heras-Casado conducts Richard Eyre’s hit production, set in 1930s Spain.

A Verdi Requiem with a dream line-up of soloists and the forces of La Scala, Milan, directed by one of the greatest maestros of our time. Preceding acclaimed performances at the Lucerne and Salzburg Festivals, Barenboim and his magnificent partners recorded this masterpiece around a live performance at La Scala, Milan, in 2012. This marks the first audio recording by Barenboim in his role as La Scala’s Music Director. A superb quartet of soloists – Jonas Kaufmann, Anja Harteros, Elīna Garanča and René Pape – stamp their authority on this terrific performance.

A rarely performed bel canto gem, Rossini’s Semiramide returned to the Met for the first time in nearly 25 years during the 2017–18 season. Set in ancient Babylon under the reign of the mythic Queen Semiramis, the opera features political scheming, mistaken identity, divine intervention, and bloodthirsty revenge—not to mention one virtuosic vocal display after another. Soprano Angela Meade is the fierce title monarch, whose quest for power comes to a halt with the discovery that the object of her affection, the warrior Arsace—sung by mezzo-soprano Elizabeth DeShong—may actually be her long-lost son. Together, the two square off in a pair of dazzling duets and deliver some of the opera’s most challenging arias. Bel canto specialist Maurizio Benini takes the podium to lead a cast that also stars tenor Javier Camarena as the ardent prince Idreno, bass Ildar Abdrazakov as the scheming Assur, and bass Ryan Speedo Green as the stern high priest Oroe.

While working part-time as a food deliveryman, Antoine, an aspiring young rapper from the suburbs of Paris, meets Mrs. Loiseau, an eminent teacher at the Paris Opéra. Stunned by the young man's raw talent, she introduces him to the world of opera. As Antoine becomes one of Mrs. Loiseau's students, he hides his new dream from his friends and family, fearing that they won’t understand – this double life burdens him... Somewhere in between the gilded and uptight Parisian upper-class, and the harsh yet free-spirited and familiar suburbs he grew up in, Antoine will have to find his own voice.

Live from La Scala Wednesday 10 December 2003

As comparably short operas, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci are often billed together, but seldom is the lead tenor making his double role debut as Turiddu and Canio on the same evening. At the 2015 Salzburg Easter Festival, Jonas Kaufmann did just that to rapturous praise. Universally hailed as a coup for Kaufmann, the plaudits were also showered on Philipp Stölzl for his innovative staging which includes live video projections while referencing the era of black-and-white movies.

The Vienna State Opera celebrates the 80th anniversary of the Second Austrian Republic in the Burggarten gardens and offers a preview of the 2025–2026 season. The programme features the prestigious voices of Elīna Garanča, Jonas Kaufmann and Benjamin Bernheim, among others, with the Opera Orchestra conducted by Bertrand de Billy.

The Met’s spectacular production of Verdi’s Egyptian epic captures both the grandeur and the intimacy of this powerful tale of love and politics. Liudmyla Monastyrska is Aida, the Ethiopian princess-turned-slave in love with the Egyptian warrior Radamès, sung by Roberto Alagna. Olga Borodina is her rival, Amneris, daughter of the Pharao, and George Gagnidze sings Aida’s father, Amonasro, the King of Ethiopia. Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.

On the streets of Vienna, a musical interview with Latvian soprano Elīna Garanča, who shares some of her fondest memories of performing on stage. On the program: Mozart, Mahler, Bizet, and Wagner.

Roberto Alagna celebrates Christmas surrounded by his friends Christophe Willem, Nolwenn Leroy, Karine Deshayes, Aleksandra Kursak, and Patrick Fiori. They perform the most beautiful popular tunes and Christmas carols accompanied by the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Monte-Carlo Opera Choir under the direction of Yvan Cassar. Recorded at the Salle des Étoiles Sporting d'Été in Monte Carlo.

Against the backdrop of the Hanging Gardens, Semiramide, Queen of Babylon, defies bad omens and supernatural threats in her quest to find a worthy successor to her late husband. But she harbours more than one dark secret, and whoever gains the throne may find that he has lost more than he has won. Based on a story by Voltaire, this rarely performed tragic opera reveals 'The Barber of Seville' composer Giaochino Rossini in a whole new light. The title role—composed for Rossini’s wife, Isabella Colbran—features some of the most demanding vocal music he ever wrote. Angela Meade takes on the challenging vocal fireworks in this revival of a production last seen at the Met 25 years ago.

Live performance from the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, 23 July 2005.

Kristine Opolais is the young woman whose conflicting desires for love and luxury lead to her tragic end, and Roberto Alagna plays the man who falls for her in Puccini’s early hit. Richard Eyre’s elegant production, which sets the action in 1940s occupied France, was one of the highlights of the Met’s 2015–16 season. Massimo Cavalletti as Manon’s brother and Brindley Sherratt as her aging admirer co-star, and Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.

First staged at the Teatro La Fenice in 1846, Verdi’s ninth opera, Attila, returns to the stage of La Scala on December 7th. Following the inauguration of the 2015-2016 Season with Giovanna d’Arco and in anticipation of Macbeth, with Attila Musical Director Riccardo Chailly continues his study of Verdi’s early works, renewing a successful collaboration with creative director Davide Livermore that began with his acclaimed production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale for La Scala. In this complex opera Verdi experiments with fresh perspectives, featuring spectacular historical settings, introspective angles and moral uncertainties. Attila demands of its performers not only passion and confidence, but also the ability to find subtle accents and psychological nuances.

More than thirty years ago, in January 1993, Florent Pagny was part of the adventure of the very first "Taratata." Since then, his voice, his freedom, and his interpretive power have accompanied the history of the show. At La Seine Musicale, Nagui gives Florent Pagny carte blanche. Surrounded by his musicians and artist friends, he offers an exceptional interlude that is intimate, generous, and emotionally charged. This unique concert celebrates the release of his new album, Grandeur Nature, a personal, luminous record in which the singer evokes courage, resilience, and hope. True to the spirit of the show, this special is also punctuated by improvisations around Alain Lanty's piano and exchanges with Nagui for sincere and intimate moments.

A towering biblical epic, Saint-Saëns’s operatic take on the story of Samson and Delilah has many of the hallmarks of grand opera—show-stopping vocal displays, thrilling choruses, and an engrossing plot set against a sweeping, pseudo-historical backdrop. It’s fitting, then, that Samson et Dalila has been chosen to celebrate the opening of the Met’s season four times in the company’s history, including when Darko Tresnjak’s bold new production premiered on the first night of the 2018–19 season. A few weeks later, the opera was shown as part of the Met’s series of live cinema transmissions, featuring an exceptional cast. Tenor Roberto Alagna was the heroic Samson, who ultimately falls victim to the seductive power of Dalila—the captivating mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča. Bass-baritone Laurent Naouri sang the sinister High Priest of Dagon, with conductor Sir Mark Elder on the podium.

Bertrand de Billy conducts a cast led by Bryan Hymel and Kristin Lewis in Nicholas Hytner’s acclaimed production of Verdi’s opera on love, ambition and intrigue in 16th-century Spain.

"Irresistible" (Opera News) rising-star mezzo Elina Garanca triumphs as Rossini's Cinderella in this delightful Metropolitan Opera production. "As close to pure joy as you will find in a big-time opera house" (New Yorker), conquering audiences and critics alike, "Garanca has a gorgeous voice that she uses with exceptional skill, melting tenderness; but when the part calls for coloratura fireworks, she unleashes a flawless technique and ringing high notes of impressive power" (Associated Press). Filmed in High Definition Widescreen.

"This is Vienna State Opera live at home". April 2015. 'L'italiana in Algeri' (English: 'The Italian Girl in Algiers') is an operatic dramma giocoso in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Angelo Anelli, based on his earlier text set by Luigi Mosca. It premiered at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice on 22 May 1813. The music is characteristic of Rossini's style, remarkable for its fusion of sustained, manic energy with elegant, pristine melodies.

Cio-Cio-San, the young Japanese bride of American naval officer Lieutenant Pinkerton, finds her romantic idyll shattered when he deserts her shortly after their marriage. She lives in hope that one day he will return. Three years later, Cio-Cio-San and her son, Dolore, see Pinkerton’s ship in the harbour. She excitedly awaits his visit – but when Pinkerton and his American wife Kate arrive and learn about Dolore's existence, they ask to take the boy away, and raise him in America. Cio-Cio-San bids her son farewell and takes her own life.

Sacred composition (1984) dedicated to Alessandro Manzoni - with Maria Agresta, Daniela Barcellona, Piotr Beczala, Ildar Abdrazakov - Verbier Festival Orchestra, choir Teatro Regio di Torino - dir. Gianandrea Noseda (2013).

On a June night in 2017, opera lovers thronged to the Royal Opera House in London to hear tenor Jonas Kaufmann, recently acclaimed by The Daily Telegraph as the world s greatest tenor, make his eagerly anticipated debut in the title role of Otello Verdi s greatest and most demanding role for tenor voice. As the New York Times wrote Mr. Kaufmann made his debut in the part, and he calmly, confidently sang it for the ages.

In this new "Marriage of Figaro", Jérémie Rhorer revisits this composer and US film director James Gray makes his first foray into opera. This opera is recorded for broadcast by Louise Narboni.

In Giuseppe Verdi's little-known early tragedy, a despairing father is torn between love for his family and his duty to a corrupt city. Jacopo Foscari, son of a 15th-century Doge of Venice, is convicted of murder and treason on a trumped-up charge. His wife Lucrezia is sure of his innocence. But the Doge, trapped by the machinations of the city, is forced to make a terrible decision.

Simon Stone's take on Arrigo Boito's Mefistofele, opening the 2023/2024 season at the Opera di Roma.

Few operas have enjoyed such an enviable fate as Gounod's Faust. Well received at its premiere, followed by international success, which still makes it the most performed French opera in the world today, just behind Carmen. But should we take this Faust literally? Or should we see it, in the twist of the fable, as a celebration of pleasures? The audience can enjoy all the excesses, intoxicated by the music... without risking damnation. In Opéra de Lille’s production, this contradiction does not escape astute analysis of director Denis Podalydès. Podalydès and his distinguished team tackles Goethe's tragic hero, using Jules Barbier's spoken dialogues, which were part of the work when it was first performed in 1859, to bring out all its ambiguities.

This Blu-ray is a splendid record of a creative production with terrific voices and direction, as good as the Met's videos any day. It also tends to be creepy and atmospheric, with music as good as anything Gounod wrote for his FAUST. Recommended to lovers of horror and opera!

As the world of opera begins to shift its rules, Elīna Garanča stands at the peak of her career, already starting to plan how to bring it to a close—while also continuing in new ways. Her talent, self-discipline, and strong character won’t allow her to stop, driving her instead to pursue an unfulfilled dream: to become a dramatic theatre actress.

In a kingdom where day is night and noon chills the blood, a prince suspects his mysterious wife to be in love with his half-brother. But where does Mélisande come from? And what do we really know about the two heroes' silent love? A single opera was all it took for Debussy to transform the history of music forever. Opéra de Lille presents us with a Mélisande full of vitality and determination, far from the familiar ethereal figure. In the pit, François-Xavier Roth and his internationally renowned ensemble Les Siècles, playing on period instruments, lend new colours to a score which we thought we knew.

Arthaus presents a truly new way of looking at La clemenza di Tito with this famous and star-studded production from the Salzburg Festival 2003. Here Nikolaus Harnoncourt, renowned for his analytical approach to the search for the core of the music, interprets Mozart’s last opera. Martin Kušej, who is acclaimed for his theatre productions directs the production. Nikolaus Harnoncourt identifies with Mozart’s score as both an extremely knowledgeable musician and a conductor who invariably plays an active part in helping to shape the drama. Together with the Vienna Philharmonic, he savours the miracles of Mozart’s late work, bringing out its instrumental colours and effects and at the same time stimulating his singers while proving a solicitous accompanist.

Donizetti's 'Gemma di Vergy' recorded live at the Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo in September 2011.

As Aragon descends into unrest, a count jealously fights for a noble lady's heart. But she has already given it to a passionate troubadour whose mother holds a terrible secret. Surpassing its hugely successful spiritual predecessor Rigoletto, Il Trovatore was an instant triumph. Verdi’s music is so passionate and transcendent that one almost loses sight of opera’s notoriously most implausible plot, complete with burning babies and bloodthirsty vengeance. NCPA's production of Verdi's opera Il Trovatore will be performing at Opera house of NCPA from October 23-27, 2019.

With a devilish sway of the hips and a hint of Andalusian flair, Carmen, the beautiful cigar-maker sets her sights on a soldier: Don José. Fate will do the rest. Composed to a libretto by Meilhac and Halévy based on Prosper Mérimée’s novella, the opera exploded the boundaries between tragedy and comedy with a modernity that caused a scandal at the time. Can we kill the one we love with love? The fiery beauty of Bizet’s music, where one unforgettable aria follows another, has worked year in, year out to make it the world’s most performed opera.