Kaufmann's Otello at the Royal Opera House

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.

Alfredo Germont and the courtesan Violetta Valéry fall in love at a party in Violetta's Paris salon. Alfredo is determined to cure Violetta of her tuberculosis, and the couple leave Paris and begin a contented life in the country. But Violetta's happiness is destroyed when Alfredo's father Giorgio Germont pays her a visit. Richard Eyre's stunning naturalistic production contrasts the superficial glamour of 19th-century Parisian high life with intimate scenes for Violetta with Alfredo and Giorgio Germont, culminating in the heart-breaking final act.

Perfomance 24.06.2014 in ROH. In June 2014, London’s Royal Opera House presented Jonathan Kent’s new production of Manon Lescaut. With a stellar cast, including Kristīne Opolais and Jonas Kaufmann in the roles of the young lovers Manon Lescaut and Chevalier des Grieux, Jonathan Kent brings this 19th century classic to a 2014 setting, both non-naturalistic and theatrical. Supporting the action on stage is the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, with their venerable Music Director Antonio Pappano.

The French tale of a beautiful young woman destroyed by her conflicting needs for love and luxury.

After ten years battling in the Trojan War—and another ten on an epic journey homeward—Ulysses returns to his homeland. Disguised as a beggar, the king of Ithaca must recover his wife, his son, and his people... Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria (Venice, 1640), directed here by Klaus-Michael Grüber and conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt, achieves a perfect dramatic balance, stirring the imagination and instantly transporting the viewer to a long-ago time. The all-star cast features one of the earliest recorded appearances by the great Jonas Kaufmann, who makes his presence felt as Ulisse's son Telemaco.

Verdi's sweepingly ambitious opera on war, religion, love and fate is given a cinematic staging by Christof Loy. The Marquis of Calatrava forbids his daughter Leonora to marry the South American nobleman Don Alvaro. The lovers attempt to elope, but the Marquis catches them. In the ensuing altercation, Alvaro accidentally kills the Marquis, who curses his daughter as he dies. Leonora and Alvaro become separated during their escape. Leonora's brother Don Carlo di Vargas decides to find them and avenge his father.

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.

Under the baton of Kirill Petrenko, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's traditional New Year's Eve concert brings you an enchanting programme led by star tenor Jonas Kaufmann. A delightful medley of Verdi, Prokofiev, Nino Rota, Tchaikovsky and more.

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.

In June 2015, superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann walked onto the stage of La Scala in Milan to perform a concert of Puccini arias. The concert made national news in Italy with the audience demanding five encores and a forty minute standing ovation. The film of this legendary performance, Jonas Kaufmann An Evening with Puccini, will be shown nationwide in over 300 movie theaters on February 23, and is available as a DVD and Blu-ray. Directed by Brian Large, the film includes an introduction about Puccini the man, the musician, the superstar narrated by Jonas and featuring rare archive footage. The program features a selection of Puccini s world-famous tenor arias all of which appear on Kaufmann s latest recording, Nessun dorma The Puccini Album.

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 first words uttered by Carmen mark one of the greatest entrances in the history of opera and express all that need be said: “Love is a rebellious bird that no one can tame…” With a devilish sway of the hips and a hint of Andalusian flair, the beautiful cigar-maker sets her sights on a soldier: Don José. Fate will do the rest.

A machine that turns stones into bread, a bearded lady, a mental hospital and love. This is a journey down a delightfully dark spiral into the mind of a Tom Rakewell. For Tom, the combination of being lackadaisical and greedy is dangerous; and he learns the hard way. He is madly in love with the kind-hearted Anne Trulove, but there’s a hitch – her father wants Tom to have a job, but Tom feels he is not cut out for a life of drudgery! Fortunately, the diabolical Nick Shadow shows up and announces an opportune money inheritance from an obscure uncle, so Tom goes to London in search of happiness… and meets madness on the way.

Passion, loyalty and political conspiracy are the three pillars of Un ballo in maschera (1859), the 'most operatic of all operas'. Set in 19th-century Boston, Mario Martone's atmospheric production for the Teatro Real brings out all the innate theatricality and drama of Verdi's work. World famous Argentinean tenor Marcelo Álvarez, in the role of Riccardo, leads a fabulous cast including Lithuanian soprano Violeta Urmana as his lover Amelia, and Elena Zaremba as the witch Ulrica. Jesús López Cobos conducts the Madrid Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a performance that emphasises the lyricism and majesty of this wonderful work, in which grand opera and opera comique are woven into the Classical Italian Opera style.

The opera "Carmen" caused a scandal at its premiere at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Now the feisty Carmen returns to where it all began. Andreas Homoki sets his new production at the Opéra Comique in several eras. Mezzo-soprano Gaëlle Arquez shines in the leading role, with Louis Langrée as musical director. Georges Bizet's world-famous opera returns to the site of its world premiere in 1875. German director Andreas Homoki transposes the story of the beautiful Romani woman and the soldier Don José into three epochs corresponding to the opera: the year of its scandalous premiere; the time of the Resistance, which alludes to the secret love affair; and the present day with the #MeToo movement, which stands for the heroine's sexual emancipation. Recording from April 26, 2023 at the Opéra Comique, Paris

Prince Tamino promises the Queen of the Night that he will rescue her daughter Pamina from the enchanter Sarastro. He begins his quest, accompanied by the bird-catcher Papageno – but all is not as it seems… Tamino and Papageno discover Sarastro is a wise and kind leader. They undergo three ordeals. By the end they are united with their true loves: Tamino with Pamina, and Papageno with his Papagena.

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.

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.

Tosca returns to the Teatru tal-Opra Aurora in a completely new production, under the direction of the renowned Vivien Hewitt, following the recent successes of 2011 (Aurora's own production) and 2014 (a Gaulitanus chorus production). Attracting the greatest names in the opera world since its first performance in Rome in 1900, Tosca 2011 brought the Aurora its largest ever international cast, featuring soprano Michele Crider, tenor Neil Schicoff, and baritone Juan Pons. This time, the Aurora has made a point of enhancing the star-quality element in the cast beyond just the three leading roles. It is with pleasure, and a good dose of enthusiasm, that we announce our stellar cast, composed of Amarilli Nizza (Tosca), Stefano La Colla (Cavaradossi), Marco Vratogna (Scarpia), Frano Lufi (Angelotti), Matteo Peirone (Sacristan), Cliff Zammit Stevens (Spoletta), Joseph Lia (Sciarrone), and our own Mattia Grech (Shepherd Boy).

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).

Kirill Serebrennikov is staging *Das Rheingold* as a global post-apocalyptic drama for the 2026 Easter Festival. The director is known for his uncompromising productions. In this new interpretation, he transforms the material into a symbol-laden global theatre piece. Kirill Petrenko will be the musical director of *Das Rheingold*.

When a fairy king quarrels with his queen over a young changeling, he orders his servant, a mischievous sprite, to play a prank on her with hilarious consequences. Adapting Shakespeare’s classic comedy of confused identities, bewildered lovers and a startling metamorphosis, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream comprises the composer’s perhaps most atmospheric score. An entrancing orchestration of instrumental colours breathes life into a magic wood setting the scene for a mysterious dream world.

With “Antigone,” the Philharmonie de Paris serves as the setting for a world premiere: an “operatorio” by Pascal Dusapin, brought to life by Christel Loetzsch in the title role, conducted by Klaus Mäkelä and directed by Netia Jones.

At first it came as a delightful surprise to see this Simon Boccanegra (libretto: Francesco Maria Piave) from the Teatro Comunale di Bologna available on DVD. In November, 2007, thirteen opera lovers from Michael Tisma’s Ovations International opera tour travelled to Teatro Municipale Valli in Emiglia Romana to see Bologna’s production of Boccanegra. Without exception, everyone considered it an emotionally gripping performance of Verdi’s pessimistic tale of spiritual disturbance and foreboding. What is evident while watching the DVD is the difference between the confident execution and polish of the Teatro Valli performance and the unfinished, yet promising rendition caught at the opera’s prima in Bologna.

Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker draw their inspiration from Tosca, the most brilliant of all the Puccini operas. And that is deservedly so, since Tosca is not merely a work of art, but also a gripping suspense-packed story – Puccini at its best •In a spectacular staging by Philipp Himmelmann, this production offers a fresh, sexy view on this beloved classic •Kristine Opolais changes into the well-behaved pristine prima donna and shows how to wrap the men on stage round her finger, as she performs with fierce and full physical commitment •Marcelo Alvarez sings with powerful, but smooth tenor. Marco Vratonga’s modern take of Scarpia convinces with brutal elegance and a great voice

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. This Verdi masterpiece overflows with dramatic tension and musical geniality, resulting in a story that increases in intensity throughout. Maria Agresta plays the unfortunate Leonora alongside Ludovic Tézier and Francesco Meli as her rival admirers in this new production at the Teatro Real.

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.

Puccini’s operas are among the most beloved and best-known works in the classical repertoire, but Edgar may be unknown even to aficionados, at least as it is presented here. This original four-act version of Edgar, first performed in 1889, was believed lost for over a century when Puccini’s granddaughter Simonetta discovered the score fully intact in 2008. In addition to the third act’s funeral music, which Arturo Toscanini conducted at Puccini’s funeral in 1924, listeners may recognize the duet from the now-restored fourth act, cut by Puccini in subsequent revisions of the work: it bears more than a passing similarity to the third-act duet in Tosca.