Two friends are goaded into a wager by Don Alfonso, who says he can prove their girlfriends are not as faithful as they claim. The two men both attempt to seduce the other's girl, helped by Don Alfonso and the girls' servant, Despina.
To win Eva's hand in marriage, Walther must win First Place in the Nurnberg Singing Contest. He has a formidable opponent in stodgy old Beckmesser, but the cobbler Hans Sachs is on hand to help.
Former society matron Lulu has fallen on hard times, and gradually is forced to work her way down the social ladder. At first she's a dancer, then a kept woman, and finally a prostitute. One of her first clients is Jack the Ripper.
It's wedding day for Figaro and Susanna, servants in the Almaviva household. Obvious to all on the estate, Count Almaviva has been making advances toward Susanna. The Count's wife, with Figaro and Susanna, plots to expose and humiliate him.
A trio of operas in three short stories - the first a gruesome murder melodrama, the second is a passionate tearjerker, and the third is a dark comedy of death and an inheritance. Each story is strikingly different from the preceding one.
German soldier Wozzeck takes part in medical experiments to supplement his meager income. As time goes on, he becomes unhinged, suspecting his girlfriend Marie of carrying on an affair. It only gets worse from there.