L’Italiana in Algeri

This is the Ring cycle of the Dutch National Opera, directed by Pierre Audi. In the depths of the Rhine, the three Rhinemaidens guard the Rhinegold, a treasure of immeasurable value. The Nibelung dwarf Alberich is dazzled by the sight of it. The girls explain that whoever wins the gold and forges it into a ring will gain power over the world, but must first renounce love. Frustrated by his unsuccessful attempts to catch one of the girls, Alberich curses love and steals the gold. Wotan, lord of the gods, is reproached by his wife Fricka: he has promised to give Freia, goddess of youth, to the giants Fasolt and Fafner in return for their building a fortress for the gods. When the giants demand their reward, Loge, the god of fire, suggests an alternative payment: the ring Alberich has forged from the Rhinegold, and his other treasures. The giants agree, and Wotan and Loge leave for the Nibelungs’ underground home.

This is the Ring cycle of the Dutch National Opera, directed by Pierre Audi. Fleeing for his life, Siegmund seeks shelter at Sieglinde's house. Her husband Hunding happens to be one of Siegmund's pursuers, and the two of them must cross swords the next day. As Siegmund laments his lack of a weapon, Sieglinde directs him to the sword Nothung stuck in an ash tree. Despite discovering they are twin siblings, the two fall in love. The King of Gods Wotan, their father, sends his Valkyrie daughter Brünnhilde to aid Siegmund. Fricka protests, and Wotan uses his spear to break Siegmund's sword during the battle. Siegmund is slain, but Brünnhilde rescues both the sword fragments and Sieglinde who is pregnant with Siegmund's child Siegfried. Wotan is angry that she intervened, but since Brünnhilde is his favorite child, he merely strips her of immortality and sends her into an enchanted sleep, surrounded by fire.

This dramatic production by the brilliant German stage director Harry Kupfer marked Daniel Barenboim's appointment as the artistic director of the Berlin State Opera in 1992. The cast is made up of the finest Wagnerian singers of the period, all of whom enjoyed substantial international careers. Barenboim's superb conducting reveals Wagner's multi-layered score in all it's glory.

Most opera houses ring in the New Year with Johann Strauss Jr.'s most popular operetta--the festiveness of which is appropriate for the occasion--and this December 31, 1983, Covent Garden performance follows suit. An exceptional cast--led by Hermann Prey and Kiri Te Kanawa as the couple whose marriage survives the comic indiscretions of three long acts--obviously has as much fun as the audience. Plácido Domingo leads the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House through its paces with panache. Prince Orlofsky's Act II party is always a splendid opportunity to pull out all the stops with surprise "guests," and this performance makes the most of its chance: entering the proceedings to sing one of his tailor-made chansons, "She," is French crooner Charles Aznavour, who is followed by dancers Merle Park and Wayne Eagling, their delightful pas de deux flashily choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton.

Daniele Gatti (then not yet as chief conductor) started a new chapter of this collaboration. Their spectacular 2017 production of Richard Strauss’ Salome is another highlight in the already impressive list. "If you were going to see just one Salome in your life, this would be a good choice" ***** Shirley Apthorp, Financial Times "What a magma of sound!" ***** Merlijn Kerkhof, Volkskrant "The level of precision and the way Gatti gradually increases the tension is almost unbearable… The effect is overwhelming and leaves the listener breathless." ***** Peter van der Lint, Trouw

Drama lyrique in five acts, after the play by Maruice Maeterlink

At first glance, Hofmannsthal's libretto ARABELLA is a comedy of mistaken identity which, had it been composed by Rossini, could have been a snappy buffo opera. But the music of Richard Strauss, who pulls out all the stops of his orchestral art, from the late romantic intoxication to the most modern discord, creates a subtle, colorful panorama of a society in transition, whose late-bourgeois values ​​are crumbling. One's own identity and interpersonal relationships have to be tested from scratch. Central is – even more than the title character, who oscillates between romance and rebellion – Arabella's younger sister Zdenka, who, disguised as a man by her parents for lack of money for girls' clothes befitting their status, has to struggle all the more desperately with her/his role as an outsider.

Franz Woyzeck, a lowly soldier stationed in a mid-nineteenth century provincial German town, is the father of an illegitimate child by his mistress Marie.

A retelling of the story of John the Baptist, Salome, Herod Antipas and Herodias, but strikingly less psychological and bloody than Richard Strauss's opera "Salome".

The Nikolaus Lehnhoff production of Richard Strauss's "Elektra", recorded live at the Salzburger Festspiele in 2010. Iréne Theorin stars as Elektra, with Eva-Maria Westbroek as Chrysothemis, Waltraud Meier as Klytämnestra, Robert Gambill as Aegisth, and René Pape as Orest. Daniele Gatti conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker.

Richard Strauss's opera, from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

THIRD DAY OF THE RING CYCLE. Günter, the lord of the Rhine people, gives Siegfried a love potion that causes Siegfried to forget Brünnhilde and fall in love with Günter's sister Gutrane. Siegfried has given Brünnhilde the Ring as a token of their love, but her Valkyrie sister urges her to destroy it, because their father Wotan has lost his spear and power and is hiding out in Valhalla. Instead, Brünnhilde keeps it, and under the influence of the potion, Siegfried steals it from her. Enraged, Brünnhilde helps Alberich's son murder Siegfried, but Siegfried's memory returns, and he dies thinking of Brünnhilde. Brünnhilde repents and orders a funeral pyre to be built. She rides into the fire herself, and the Rhinemaidens get the ring back. The story closes with flames flickering about Valhalla in the background. Filmed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in June & July 1991.

Nina Stemme, Eva Marton, Victoria Cortez, Jorma Silvasti, and Par Lindskog star in this Gran Teatre del Liceu production of the Janacek opera conducted by Peter Schneider and directed by Olivier Tambosi.

PRELIMINARY EVENINING OF THE RING CYCLE. Upon the banks of the ageless river Rhine, the Rhinemaidens play. Alberich, a Nibelung dwarf, tries vainly to seduce one of them. To taunt him, they reveal their secret: out of the gold they guard one can forge a Ring to rule the world, but at the cost of giving up Love forever. Alberich steals the gold, makes the ring and plans his world take-over. Meanwhile, Wotan, King of the Gods, must figure out how to finance the construction of Valhalla. He has promised his sister-in-law as payment to the giant construction workers led by Fafner, but his wife Fricka disapproves. Loge (God of Fire) tricks Alberich and brings him to Wotan, who takes the Ring. In revenge Alberich curses it: lack of the Ring will fuel desire for it and possession will only lead to misery. Wotan gives the Ring to Fafner as ransom for Fricka's sister. Filmed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in June & July 1991.

Glyndebourne's celebrated production of Nikolaus Lehnhoff's Tristan und Isolde is a supremely intelligent achievement; gravely beautiful, haunting and meditative, it is deeply reflective rather than visceral, fortified by Roland Aeschlimann's stunningly effective set, a womb-like space through which the protagonists move like gods. Conductor Jiří Bělohlávek mirrors Lehnhoff's approach in his sophisticated plumbing of the score's depths, with every shift in texture carefully laid bare by an inspired London Philharmonic Orchestra. Nina Stemme's Isolde and Robert Gambill's Tristan, both gloriously lyrical, are matched by superb performances from René Pape as the betrayed and vulnerable King Marke and Bo Skovhus as Kurwenal, deeply touching in his helpless devotion to Tristan. This High Definition recording of a production of uncommon intimacy reveals the opera's music and drama in a new light.

Luciano Pavarotti live from the Piazza Grande, Modena.

SECOND DAY OF THE RING CYCLE. Alberich's brother Mime raises the orphan Siegfried, hoping that Siegfried will kill Fafner and enable Mime to gain the ring. Mime attempts unsuccessfully to reforge the Nothung. Fulfilling prophecy, Siegfried reforges the sword himself and kills Fafner, who has the form of a dragon. When he accidentally tastes the dragon's blood spilt on his hands, Siegfried understands the song of a woodbird, who instructs him to take the Ring from Fafner. Reading Mime's thoughts of betrayal, Siegfried kills the dwarf as well. The woodbird also informs Siegfried of a mysterious woman asleep in the midst of fire, and Siegfried sets off to find her. After defeating a disguised Wotan and breaking his spear, Siegfried successfully awakes Brünnhilde, and the two fall in love. Filmed at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus in June & July 1992.

The prologue to Wagner's giant masterpiece Der Ring des Nibelungen unfolds the beginning of an epic journey when Alberich seizes the ring of gold, its awesome power unleashing an unstoppable story of deceit, destruction, death and transfiguring love. Filmed at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2004, Harry Kupfer's stunning production first staged in Berlin, and recorded in sumptuous surround sound, numbers among the greatest productions of modern times.

This opera was filmed live at La Scala in 1992. The all-star cast includes Luciano Pavarotti, Samuel Ramey, aolo Coni, Daniela Dessi, Luciana d'Intio, and Alexander Anismov. Riccardo Muti conducts.

Live from La Scala Friday 22 December 1989

Esteemed Italian conductor Gianluigi Gelmetti leads the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra in a moving performance of Rossini's one-act opera "L'Occasione Fa Il Ladro." Singers Susan Patterson, Robert Gambill, Natale de Carolis and Monica Bacelli fill the theater with their soaring voices in this 1992 production staged by director Michael Hampe at the elegantly cozy Rococo Theatre, in the quaint town of Schwetzingen, Germany.

Simon Rattle conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in Stepháne Braunschweig's production of Richard Wagner's Die Walküre. A Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2007 production, in coproduction with Osterfestspiele Salzburg. Directed for HDTV and video by Don Kent.

Part of Stuttgart Ring Cycle 2002/2003 - First Day