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.

Who loves whom in Così fan tutte, Mozart’s and Da Ponte’s cruelly comic reflection on desire, fideli...

La traviata (Italian: [la traˈviaːta], "The Fallen Woman"[1][2]) is an opera in three acts by Giusep...

La Cenerentola, ossia La bontà in trionfo (Cinderella, or Goodness Triumphant) is an operatic dramma...

A 12-year-old boy tries everything to join a music lovers club.

This is a good video of "Figaro", but there are a couple of better ones available. The Bohm and the ...

Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the...

A musician is offered a job in Vienna as stage director, but his disagreements with the aristocratic...

This telecast offers a rare opportunity to see the legendary Joan Sutherland in the role that first ...

Two years prior to the opening scene, the nobleman Florestan has exposed or attempted to expose cert...

All the throbbing eroticism—and ultimate heartbreak—of Puccini’s youthful score is unleashed by Jame...

The tale of a quick-witted fox and her escape from confinement for a life in the forest.

At first glance, the title of Shostakovich’s opera seems to speak for itself: Katherina, neglected a...

Opera in one act, libretto by G. Forzano based on Dante's Divine Comedy. Third part of his opera Tri...
The writer Dario Fo applies his inventive genius to Rossini's comic opera in its premiere DVD releas...

Desdemona in Verdi's Otello was a career role for soprano Renata Tebaldi, from her first operatic pe...
An anthology of four abbreviated operas: "William Tell" by Rossini, "The Marriage of Figaro" by Moza...

Kristine Opolais is the young woman whose conflicting desires for love and luxury lead to her tragic...

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make...
A colorful and comedic staging of the classic opera buffa by the Vienna State Opera.