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.

Running through Bartók’s disenchanted tale, whose haunting music was initially condemned as unplayab...

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

A godforsaken village in Germany shortly after the Thirty Years’ War: The young scrivener Max loves ...

Wagner’s mystic masterpiece Parsifal at the Staatsoper Berlin, staged by Dmitri Tcherniakov and cond...

Axel Köhler’s production of Der Freischütz at the Dresden State Opera was described by Die Presse as...

A return to its roots for Castor et Pollux, Jean-Philippe Rameau’s lyric tragedy first performed in ...

A production of Mozart's opera recorded live at Zurich Opera House in 2000. Cecilia Bartoli leads an...

In the awe-inspiring Teatro Olimpico,Vicenza, Cecilia Bartoli, recognised as one of the best singers...

Viva Vivaldi! is a concert by the Italian mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli interspersing arias from the...

The celebrated mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli joins Bryn Terfel for a recital of arias and duets reco...

John Eliot Gardiner conducts Gluck’s 1776 French version of “Alceste” at the Théâtre du Châtelet in ...

Officers Ferrando and Guglielmo are certain that their lovers Dorabella and Fiordiligi are faithful ...

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

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

A musical drama based on Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto.

Dynamic are proud to present, for the first time on Blu-ray, Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra ‘The Thieving ...

The world premiere of composer Kaija Saariaho's opera, "Innocence", at the 2021 Aix-en-Provence Fest...

German composer Richard Wagner wrote Parsifal, which is a three-act opera that tells the story of th...

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In Siegfried, the “Second Day” or third evening of the Ring Cycle, we meet the pivotal hero of the e...