The Magic of Spirituals

Blending lively music and brilliant animation, this sequel to the original 'Fantasia' restores 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' and adds seven new shorts.

There was a time when the biggest names in pop music believed they could change the world for the better. Faced with the intolerance and excesses of the established authorities, music celebrities decided to use their prestige to draw attention to the problems that less favoured people in the world faced. Wembley Stadium, London, 1988: thousands of English people fill one of the most famous football arenas in the world to celebrate an unforgettable pop music festival, with a lofty goal above entertainment - the celebration of the seventieth birthday of African leader Nelson Mandela.

Any new Met production of Verdi’s beloved tragedy La Traviata would be noteworthy, but Michael Mayer’s dazzling staging, which premiered during the 2018–19 season, was doubly significant as it marked Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s first performances as the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director. On the podium for this Live in HD transmission, Nézet-Séguin leads a starry ensemble. As Violetta, the consumptive heroine fighting to find true happiness, soprano Diana Damrau delivers yet another compelling portrayal on the Met stage. Tenor Juan Diego Flórez sings his first Verdi role with the company, as Violetta’s ardent yet impetuous lover, Alfredo, and baritone Quinn Kelsey rounds out the principal cast as Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s implacable father.

William Kentridge’s multi-layered production of Berg’s masterpiece stars charismatic soprano Marlis Petersen in the title role—the enigmatic and alluring woman who is equal parts femme fatale, innocent girl, and abused victim. The men around her, whose lives she forever alters, are Johan Reuter as newspaper publisher Dr. Schön; Daniel Brenna as his composer son, Alwa; Paul Groves as the Painter; and Franz Grundheber as Schigolch. Susan Graham sings Countess Geschwitz, and Lothar Koenigs conducts Berg’s landmark score.

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.

Jessye Norman is a regal Ariadne, the mythological Greek heroine in this opera-within-an-opera, opposite the passionate Bacchus of the great James King. Kathleen Battle delivers the coloratura fireworks of Zerbinetta, the leader of a commedia dell’arte troupe that finds itself stranded on Ariadne’s island. Tatiana Troyanos and Franz Ferdinand Nentwig star as the young Composer and the Music Master in the opera’s prologue. James Levine brings out all the color and charm of Strauss’s brilliant chamber-sized score with its equal amounts of pathos and humor. Bodo Igesz’s production features sets by esteemed designer Oliver Messel.

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.

La Traviata’s sumptuous melodies and timeless depiction of doomed love have made the work a favorite of generations of operagoers. In his approach to this classic drama, director Willy Decker sets the action on a nearly bare stage, focusing the audience’s full attention on the three main characters. As Violetta, the ailing courtesan desperate to escape her past, soprano Sonya Yoncheva offers a fearless and sympathetic performance from beginning to end. American tenor Michael Fabiano sings with ardent longing as her devoted lover Alfredo, delivering emotionally wrought phrases and ringing top notes. Thomas Hampson brings a burnished baritone to Germont, Alfredo’s protective father whose stern demands spell disaster for the young couple. On the podium, maestro Nicola Luisotti leads an electric performance of Verdi’s unforgettable score.

Soprano Anna Netrebko appears in her highly anticipated Met role debut as Leonora, the tortured heroine who sacrifices her own life for the love of the Gypsy troubadour. Dmitri Hvorostovsky sings Count di Luna, Yonghoon Lee is Manrico in his Met role debut as the title character, Dolora Zajick sings her signature role of the gypsy Azucena, and Štefan Kocán is Ferrando. Marco Armiliato conducts Sir David McVicar’s Goya-inspired production.

An all-star cast assembled for the Met’s first-ever performances of Rossini’s romantic retelling of Sir Walter Scott’s epic poem The Lady of the Lake. Joyce DiDonato is Elena, the title heroine, who is being pursued by not one, but two tenors—setting off sensational vocal fireworks. Juan Diego Flórez is King James V of Scotland, disguised as the humble Uberto, and John Osborn sings his political enemy, and rival in love, Rodrigo Di Dhu. Complicating matters is the fact that Elena herself loves Malcolm, a trouser role sung by mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcellona, and that she is the daughter of Duglas (Oren Gradus), another of the king’s political adversaries. Paul Curran’s atmospheric production is conducted by Michele Mariotti.

Mozart’s allegorical fairy tale has charmed audiences and inspired artists, for more than 200 years. A few weeks before this telecast, the Met unveiled a new production of the opera featuring the colorful designs of acclaimed artist David Hockney. His bold colors and vivid images enchanted audiences and seemed to inspire the striking cast, led by James Levine’s affectionate conducting. Francisco Araiza is the young prince Tamino, who finds himself in a strange land, forced to undergo mysterious tests so he can rescue, then marry, the woman he loves, Pamina, played by Kathleen Battle. Kurt Moll is the compassionate Sarastro and Luciana Serra is the Queen of the Night.

The Gershwins’ modern American masterpiece has its first Met performances in almost three decades, starring bass-baritone Eric Owens and soprano Angel Blue in the title roles. Director James Robinson’s stylish production transports audiences to Catfish Row, a setting vibrant with the music, dancing, emotion, and heartbreak of its inhabitants.

Wembley Stadium hosts a concert featuring stars from the fields of music, comedy and film, in celebration of the 70th birthday of imprisoned ANC leader Nelson Mandela. Highlight of the evening is the one hour live performance of Dire Straits feat. Eric Clapton.

Herbert von Karajan, who led the Belgian Philharmonic for more than three decades until his death in 1989, conducts this moving June 1985 concert filmed in Rome's breathtaking St. Peter's Basilica. Karajan and the orchestra take on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Coronation Mass," which displays the considerable talents of the composer and of Karajan himself, who managed to tease scores of emotion out of every note.

John Copley’s colorful production, with designs by Beni Montresor, was created around the beloved superstar Luciano Pavarotti. As the simple, good-hearted Nemorino, he enchanted audiences with his larger-than-life personality as well as his golden voice. Enzo Dara as the quack Dr. Dulcamara provides the elixir of the title that helps Nemorino win the heart of Adina, the girl of his dreams, sung with youthful energy by Kathleen Battle.

A Carnegie Hall Christmas Concert is an 89-minute television film starring the opera singers Kathleen Battle and Frederica von Stade, the jazz trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, the Wynton Marsalis Septet, the American Boychoir, the Christmas Concert Chorus, the Orchestra of St. Luke's and the pianist and conductor André Previn. It first aired as part of PBS's Great Performances series in 1991, and was subsequently released on VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and CD. It was jointly produced by CAMI Video, Sony, PBS and WNET.

The concert setting of the Temple of Zeus in Athens could not be more atmospheric if it tried and those cosmic and Hellenic artefact images projected onto the backdrop are superbly integrated with the music.Whoever edited the footage deserves an oscar,because every fade,cut-away and image-meld is executed with a supremely expert eye and ear,and more than one image will stun you with it's breathtaking beauty.Very well done to all concerned!

Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison is America's first lady of literature. Her books encompass black American history but live and breathe in the present, rich in vivid characters, haunted by ghosts. Born poor in Ohio in 1931, she now lives in New York. She tells Alan Yentob how her father hated whites so much he wouldn't let them in the house. Her masterpiece, Beloved, shows the horrors of slavery perhaps better than any other artwork. She talks as she writes - with warmth and wit. Contributors include Angela Davis (whose biography she edited) and singer Jessye Norman.

At the Vienna Konzerthaus, the magical Christmas gala brings together Julie Fuchs and Ludovic Tézier to perform traditional carols. The programme includes Adolphe Adam's ‘Minuit chrétien’, ‘Les anges dans nos campagnes’ and ‘Entre le boeuf et l'âne gris’, followed by “Hallelujah” from Handel's ‘Messiah’.

This intimate portrait of the legendary conductor Seiji Ozawa focuses on the Japanese master and teacher's career, his advocacy of modern composers and the behind-the-scenes world of the symphony orchestra.

Admired as one of the best lyricists of pop rock, Bob Dylan has his name recorded in music history. During his four decades career, he has been through many facets: from acoustic to electric guitar; from politicized to religious lyrics; from minimalist to very highly sophisticated arrangements. And his characteristic voice, for some, hoarse and full of style, for others a little out of tune, still influences many musicians. In this presentation filmed at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia over February 24-25 1986, Dylan is accompanied by Tom Petty and the band The Heartbreakers, as well as a very fine selection of new compositions. To close the spectacle, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty perform a vocal duet in "Knockin' on heaven's door", one of the most famous songs of this compositor.

This recording of Karajan's 1987 New Year's Day Concert with the Vienna Philharmonic and the ballet of the Vienna State Opera at the Großer Musikvereinsaal in Vienna features the music of Josef Strauss and Johann Strauss, Jr. With an emphasis on the polka music of these celebrated composers, this exciting concert features acclaimed soprano diva Kathleen Battle performing "Frühlingsstimmen, Op.410", a waltz by Johann Strauss, Jr.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts Grammy Award–winning jazz musician and composer Terence Blanchard’s adaptation of Charles M. Blow’s moving memoir, which The New York Times praised after its 2019 world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as “bold and affecting” and “subtly powerful.” The first opera by a Black composer presented on the Met stage and featuring a libretto by filmmaker Kasi Lemmons, the opera tells a poignant and profound story about a young man’s journey to overcome a life of trauma and hardship. James Robinson and Camille A. Brown—two of the creators of the Met’s sensational recent production of Porgy and Bess—co-direct this new staging, which appears in cinemas on October 23. Baritone Will Liverman, one of opera’s most exciting young artists, stars as Charles, alongside sopranos Angel Blue as Destiny/Loneliness/Greta and Latonia Moore as Billie.

In its most ambitious effort yet to bring the joy and artistry of opera to audiences everywhere during the Met’s closure, the company presented an unprecedented virtual At-Home Gala, featuring more than 40 leading artists performing in a live stream from their homes all around the world.

The 1987 Vienna New Year's Concert was the first and only New Year's Concert conducted by Mr. Herbert von Karajan, the "Emperor of Conducting" and the "General Director of Music in Europe", and of course, the only New Year's Concert ever held.

Berlioz’s colossal masterpiece requires stupendous forces—dozens of soloists, enormous chorus, orchestra and ballet, a superb conductor who understands the uniqueness of the score—plus a production that does visual justice to the work. “A stupendous achievement” was one critic’s assessment of Peter Wexler’s inventive production. And with James Levine’s wizardry galvanizing the marvelous all-star cast, this is truly a gem. Plácido Domingo is the legendary hero Aeneas, Jessye Norman the obsessed prophetess Cassandra, and Tatiana Troyanos is Queen Dido, who commits suicide when Aeneas leaves her.

An impressive lineup of international stars puts on a spectacular "Symphony for the Spire" to kick off the world-famous Salisbury Arts Festival in 1991, held on the Salisbury Cathedral's West Green. Segments feature individual performances by Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, American soprano Jessye Norman and cellist Ofra Harnoy, as well as a special staging of Shakespeare's "Henry V" starring Kenneth Branagh and Charlton Heston.

Christine Goerke has wowed audiences as Turandot, the icy princess at the heart of Puccini’s grand final masterpiece. In this performance from the 2019–20 Live in HD season, Goerke stars alongside tenor Yusif Eyvazov (as Calàf) and soprano Eleonora Buratto (as Liù) in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic staging, which dazzles with its opulent visions of mythic China. Met Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin is on the podium, drawing a vivid array of musical colors from the incomparable Met Orchestra and Chorus.

Bill Morrison’s experimental short features decayed film reels from the lost, German silent film Pawns of Passion (1928).

In the early 1900s, the fictional Catfish Row section of Charleston, South Carolina serves as home to a black fishing community. Crippled beggar Porgy, who travels about in a goat-drawn cart, loves the drug-addicted Bess, who lives with stevedore Crown, the local bully.

In concerts performed the world over, the Harlem Gospel Singers have bowled over audiences with their powerful singing and professional musical accompaniment. This live performance -- with Queen Esther Marrow front and center -- demonstrates why. Beginning her career under the tutelage of Duke Ellington, Queen Esther performed with many of the world's greatest musicians before forming the Harlem Gospel Singers ensemble.

A young man searches for the "master" to obtain the final level of martial arts mastery known as the glow. Along the way he must fight an evil martial arts expert and rescue a beautiful singer from an obsessed music promoter.

It’s one of the most popular and beloved songs in the English language. Transcending race, creed, geography, generation, and social station, Amazing Grace has been recorded more times than any other hymn and is widely credited with transforming lives. Bill Moyers explores the song’s origins and enduring power in conversations with Johnny Cash, Judy Collins, Jean Ritchie, Jessye Norman and members of the Harlem Boys Choir.

Soprano Angel Blue makes her long-awaited Met role debut as the Ethiopian princess torn between love and country, one of opera’s defining roles.

American composer Gabriela Lena Frank’s first opera, a magical-realist portrait of Mexico’s painterly power couple Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, with libretto by Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Nilo Cruz. Fashioned as a reversal of the Orpheus and Euridice myth, the story depicts Frida, sung by leading mezzo-soprano Isabel Leonard, leaving the underworld on the Day of the Dead and reuniting with Diego, portrayed by baritone Carlos Álvarez. The famously feuding pair briefly relive their tumultuous love, embracing both the passion and the pain before bidding the land of the living a final farewell. Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducts the Met-premiere staging of Frank’s opera, a “confident, richly imagined score” (The New Yorker) that “bursts with color and fresh individuality” (Los Angeles Times).