The Vienna Symphony Orchestra in Trieste Rossetti Theatre

Premiered in 1787, “Don Giovanni” exposes the timeless theme of a man hovering between vitality and destruction. Neither morality nor the law can stop this serial lover in his quest to conquer all women as he places his own pleasure above all other principles. Today, the rich depth of Mozart’s masterpiece still astonishes audiences with its mix of comedy and seriousness, pleasure and love, entertainment and murder. At the helm of this new Salzburg Festival production, in a near-live broadcast from the Great Festival Hall, director Romeo Castellucci promises to focus on the ambiguity and inner turmoil of this serial lover whose immoral behaviour condemns him to a deadly solitude. The exceptional cast – featuring Italian baritone Davide Luciano (Don Giovanni), Russian soprano Nadezhda Pavlova (Donna Anna) and Finnish bass Mika Kares (the Commendatore) – is accompanied by the chorus and musicians of the musicAeterna ensemble, conducted by Vitaly Polonsky and Teodor Currentzis.

Adolphe Adam’s Le Postillon de Lonjumeau was a great success at its premiere in 1836, and, along with the ballet Giselle, has remained one of the composer’s most popular works. Following the great French tradition, this opéra-comique has it all: 18th-century Rococo Parisian glamour and a perilous love story involving the dashing and flirtatious Chapelou and his opposite, the powerful and clever Madeleine. This lavish and spectacular production from the Opéra Comique in Paris received widespread critical acclaim and also features costumes by the iconic French fashion designer Christian Lacroix.

After marrying the emperor of the south-eastern islands, the daughter of the king of the spirits lost her magical powers without acquiring the shadow that would seal her place in the human world. Under the baton of Klaus Mäkelä, Barrie Kosky transforms Strauss’s most ambitious opera into an allegory of the awakening of consciousness.

The electrifying Lise Davidsen tackles one of the ultimate roles for dramatic soprano: the Irish princess Isolde in Wagner’s transcendent meditation on love and death. Heroic tenor Michael Spyres stars opposite Davidsen as the love-drunk Tristan. Mezzo-soprano Ekaterina Gubanova reprises her signature portrayal of Brangäne, alongside bass-baritone Tomasz Konieczny, who sings Kurwenal after celebrated Met appearances in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer and Ring cycle. Bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green makes an important role debut as King Marke.

Yehudi Menuhin was the child prodigy of the 20th century, but also a philanthropist who, after World War II, devoted his work to reconciliation. In 1966, he met Herbert von Karajan, who had built his career under the Nazi regime. Director Henri-George Clouzot filmed this historic moment.

To mark Music Day, ten European orchestras will perform some of the finest piano concertos alongside prestigious soloists and under the baton of renowned conductors from various cities across the continent. The programme for this exceptional concert features works by Brahms, Grieg, Chopin, Beethoven, Ravel and Mozart.

Beethoven's only opera came to the stage of the Opéra Comique in Paris in 2021 in a sensational production. The work of conductor Raphaël Pichon and director Cyril Teste reveals their appreciation for a work that is rarely performed in France. At the center of the plot is Leonore, who, disguised as a man, searches for her husband Florestan.

Priestess Julia watches over the eternal flame of the goddess Vesta. While the Great Vestal condemns to death every virgin who breaks her vow of chastity, Julia is delighted to be reunited with Licinius, who has returned from war as a victorious Roman general. One night, as the two lovers swear their love before the temple altar, the eternal flame goes out…

In 2020, for the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth, Philippe Jordan and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra recreated the mythical evening of December 22 1808, when the composer presented his Sixth Symphony, also known as his Pastoral.

A fictional story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's stay in Prague. The film, in no case, claims any historical facts. It only tries to evoke the spirit of that time by connecting Mozart's music with the architecture of Prague and by pointing up the changes in Prague during Mozart's two-hundred absence in the Czech metropolis.

Johannes Brahms spent the last 25 years of his life not far from where the Wiener Konzerthaus now stands. On 21 June 2026, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the young Russian pianist Yulianna Avdeeva perform the composer’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, under the baton of principal conductor Petr Popelka. Part of europiano, ARTE's special day celebrating the piano concerto across Europe.

The Biblical story of Belshazzar's hubristic arrogance, set against the valour of the young warrrior-leader Cyrus, provided the 20-year-old Rossini with a dramatic story enriched by West-Eastern implications which still speak to us today. For the title role of Cyrus, Rossini wrote what would be his longest-ever contralto role, to which the great Rossini singer Ewa Podles´ is both naturally attracted and ideally suited. She is partnered by two young stars of Rossini singing, Jessica Pratt and Michael Spyres, and a conductor-scholar, Will Crutchfield, of great experience and sympathy. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.

Karajan conducts rehearsal and performance of Schubert's Symphony No. 4 with the Vienna Symphony in Vienna, Nov. 1965, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 with the Berlin Philharmonic, January 1966. Henri-Georges Clouzot directs.

The popular Moravanka brass band performs at the fair. Vasek Pivoňka, the bandleader of the local brass band Kulatěnky, which broke up, decides to put the band back together. The village musicians are sceptical at first, but later they start rehearsing with vigour. Standa, a Prague resident who is working in a pig farm to cure his nerves, helps them to organise the concert. He really likes Evica Kocourková, but her father keeps an eye on her. Young Šišák tries to charm the teacher Olina. Before the performance can begin, the band must succeed before the cultural committee. However, they fail to do so. The disappointed musicians play for themselves at the station and suddenly they are successful. Standa comes up with an idea how to push Kulatěnka through without the permission of the commission. A concert of Moravanka is being prepared in nearby Nechvalin.

A comedy concerning a down on his luck bookshop owner with a penchant for women who decides to make some money by pretending to be a waiter and collecting cash from unsuspecting diners.

Symbols and political analogies abound in this dramatically frustrating first work by a recent film-school graduate. In the story, Vojtech has survived World War II in a Czech prison following an unjust sentence. Now he is free, and the world is full of possibilities.

Continuing its tradition of unearthing little-known 20th-century operas, the Bregenz Festival presented the first staged production of Polish-Russian composer Mieczysław Weinberg’s “The Passenger” in 2010. Written in 1967/68, the opera relates the chance meeting of a former concentration camp guard and one of her former inmates on an ocean liner years after the war.

This release from Erato consists of highlights from the live concert of April 15, 2017 in the city of Strasbourg in eastern France. A magnificent cast of singers, predominantly Francophone, assembled under the baton of John Nelson, an acknowledged master of Berlioz’s music who has conducted Les Troyens more frequently than anyone else over a period of more than 40 years; he made his name with the piece when he led performances at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1974 and enjoyed great acclaim for a production at the Frankfurt Opera shortly before the Strasbourg concerts.

Lying in the construction industry used to be a criminal offence, but skilful people could do a lot of things. This somewhat embarrassing tragicomedy convinces us that even builders should be honest. The protagonist here is a moral designer who occasionally drops in to sing to enjoy something other than work.

Even the best of friends can fall apart, often all it takes is a minor misunderstanding. That's exactly what happened to two village friends, children finishing elementary school, between whom hostility and suspicion suddenly set in. The mosaic-like plot contains a number of humorous observations, but overall it distances itself from any ambition to deeply affect the mentality of adolescents, much less the countryside.