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.

The dark world of Tchaikovsky’s penultimate operatic masterpiece Queen of Spades hinges on obsession...

Recorded at the Musiektheater, Amsterdam on 21 & 25 January 2008. Performed by De Nederlandse O...

Mythological hero Scipio must choose between Fortune and Constancy in this superb 2006 Salzburg Fest...

Wiener Philharmoniker and Wiener Philharmonia Chor Conducted by Karl Böhm Directed by Vaclav Kasli...

Set in a Siberian prison camp, Janacek's final opera centers on the experiences of recent arrival Al...

The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly busin...
The boys' group of Rychlé pípy goes to the Wasp Meadow to observe insects. However, a seemingly dead...

Frantisek Filip film version of the Smetana opera.

This tragic story revolves around the licentious Duke of Mantua, his hunch-backed court jester Rigol...

Mozart's La Clemenza Di Tito was originally commissioned to celebrate the coronation of the Emperor ...

Charles Mackerras teases the romantic beauty from Gounod's score, which has been widely admired sinc...

Turn of the century Paris provides the glittering setting for this light hearted tale of political a...

Taped live at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Valery Gergiev conducts this landmark product...

Recorded live at the Festspielhaus, Baden-Baden, Germany, August 2004. Kent Nagano, conductor. Nikol...

The life and career of Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singe...

Handel's 1724 opera Tamerlano followed the success of his previous year's Giulio Cesare with another...

What happened to Figaro and his friends after the events told in Rossini’s and Mozart’s operas? One ...

Starring Jonas Kaufmann as Bacchus and featuring Emily Magee with Daniel Harding conducting the Vien...

Inspired by one of the twentieth century's greatest novels, composer Lorin Maazel evokes Orwell's to...