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- An operatic adaptation of the 1963 Caldecott-winning classic book.
- In a time when operas are often set to different contexts from the ones they were intended for, a philological production has its merits, representing both a rediscovery and a provocation. This Barbiere di Siviglia, which at first sight might appear old-fashioned, restores, in fact, to perfection the setting of an early 19th-centrury Italian theatre. It was a time when the glorious tradition of popular comedy, a direct descendant of the 16th-century "commedia dell'arte", was very much alive, and the singers entertained the audience with humour that was direct and catchy. Bepi Morassi's direction witnesses to the importance of that heritage, based on the improvising skills of actors that came from the common people and needed to communicate concepts of common social life, through colourful costumes, musical instruments and masks modelled on the archetypes of the day. Humour, which here triumphs, makes of this Barbiere di Siviglia, a truly entertaining visual and audio experience.
- Mistaken identity, unrequited love, and the supernatural are combined in Shakespeare's classic set in the woods of Greece on a moonlit night.
- A philosopher demonstrates his theory by entrapping 2 sisters to abandon their recently departed soldier fiances for new men, really their fiances in disguise. Their maid assists in multiple roles, and by encouraging them to stray.
- Billy Budd is an innocent, naïve seaman in the British Navy in 1797. When the ship's sadistic master-at-arms is murdered, Billy is accused and tried.
- Titus Vespasian, Emperor of Rome, has succeeded to the throne that his father, Vespasian, usurped from the Emperor Vitellius. Vitellia, daughter of Vitellius, urges her boyfriend Sextus to join the conspiracy against Titus and his consort Berenice. Sextus, however, is loyal to Titus. The other players include Annius, Sextus's friend; Servilia, Sextus's sister; and Publius, captain of the guard. When Sextus sees the Capitol in flames, he runs to save Titus, but thinks himself too late when he comes upon a dying man wearing the royal purple. Sextus prepares to kill himself, but Annius tells him it is the conspirator Lentulus who is disguised in the robes. Sextus exchanges cloaks with Annius, since his own bears the badge of the conspirators. Unfortunately, this means that Annius is arrested for treason. He is willing to take the fall for Sextus, but the dying Lentulus tells the truth, Annius is freed, and Sextus is arrested. Sextus, too, maintains silence to protect Vitellia. Vitellia confesses everything to Titus to save Sextus from execution. Titus shows clemency and pardons everyone, and observes that since Vitellia and Sextus are so much in love, they should marry.
- Based on a pair of once-banned plays by the fin de siècle satirist Frank Wedekind, Alban Berg's operatic swan song charts the rise and fall of a femme fatale, a serial seductress, from life as a society hostess to prostitution and eventual death at the hands of Jack the Ripper.
- This 2013 Royal Opera House staging of Gaetano Donizetti's Don Pasquale stars the great Italian baritone Alessandro Corbelli in title role, with Danielle de Niese as his reluctant wife. The London Philharmonic Chorus and Orchestra is led by bel canto specialist Enrique Mazzola. Mariame Clément's sensitive and perceptive production was hailed by theFinancial Times as 'classic'.
- A French double-bill that opens with tragic heartbreak and ends with a riotous, surreal comedy.
- When Lady Billows realizes no girls in town are worthy of the May Queen title, she crowns virtuous Albert Herring, the greengrocer's son, as the village's May King.
- The process of writing the verses for Ermione was entrusted to the prolific librettist Andrea Leone Tottola, known also for the work he did with Donizetti, Bellini, Pacini and Mercadante. The subject was taken from Jean-Baptiste Racine's tragedy Andromaque (1667), in turn based on Euripides' masterpiece. Ermione was first performed at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples on 27th March 1819 with a quality cast. When first staged, Ermione was not very successful because probably Rossini moved too far away from the taste of Italian public at the time. Ermione was completely forgotten until 1977 when it was revived in concert form in Siena. In Ermione Rossini steps away from some of the stylistic features of belcanto and lays the foundations for some of the masterpieces of his maturity: there is clearly more continuity between the various closed pieces, the function of the chorus is strengthened, three-part arias are replaced by two-part ones, and we can find a more vigorous vocal expression as well as a generous use of declaimed recitative. Ermione is unquestionably the great protagonist of this opera, especially in the second act where she truly towers over the other characters. Rossini entrusts her with a magnificent scene in four sections punctuated by recitative passages, in the course of which she can express the most highly-contrasting emotions, from fierce anger to moving love. This immense collection of novelties and experimental touches makes Ermione an extremely interesting opera; we may state the Rossini's Ermione is one of the most finely drawn characters in all nineteenth-century opera.
- An American tourist on a day trip to Sussex from London inadvertently finds himself at Glyndebourne Opera House in Sussex where he learns to appreciate Opera.
- Live recording of Mozart's Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, from the Glyndebourne Opera Festival, 1980.
- Kiri Te Kanawa introduces a selection of some of her personal favorite operatic scenes.
- The prince is suffering from severe depression, and only laughter can save him.
- First performed in Moscow in 1879, Eugene Onegin is an opera in three acts drawing its inspiration from Alexander Pushkin's novel. Considered by many as the "archetypal work of Russian Romanticism", it explores the inner life of three romantic heroes: Tatiana, a Romanesque young woman, Onegin, a distant dandy hiding emptiness under affected haughtiness, and Lenski, the idealistic poet.
- When Prince Ramiro and Cenerentola meet, it is love at first sight.
- A young man turns his back on love in pursuit of pleasure and narrowly escapes with his soul, but descends into madness.
- Live stage performance of the opera 'Carmen', with minute set decors, realistic acting, intense and rich voices.
- The embittered widow, Kostelnicka, drowns her infant grandson to save her beloved stepdaughter Jenufa from the shame and hardship of raising an illegitimate child.
- King Saul goes mad with envy over his subjects' appreciation of David slaying Goliath. Consequences are fatal.
- Piracy, love and betrayal in a coastal village in Cornwall.