When the most voluptuous, sought-after courtesan in the world meets an ascetic monk whose life is devoted to God, you know erotic sparks are going to fly. And when the clash takes place in a glorious, but rarely performed, opera by Massenet, it’s a delight to the ear just as much as to the eye. Renée Fleming is every inch the glamorous Thaïs, swathed in elegant gowns designed by Christian Lacroix. Thomas Hampson is Athanaël, the tortured man of God. This production by John Cox, which premiered in December 2008, brilliantly sets the stage for a confrontation as old as civilization itself.

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

Desdemona in Verdi's Otello was a career role for soprano Renata Tebaldi, from her first operatic pe...

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make...
An anthology of four abbreviated operas: "William Tell" by Rossini, "The Marriage of Figaro" by Moza...

Here is a rare and exceptional example in which the director and costume designer amuse themselves w...

The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pag...

This live version of Puccini s superbly dramatic opera was recorded in Rome in the exact locations a...

The director, Roland Schwab, has created his version of Hell. The set is like a high iron walled han...

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

Shortly after WWII, the DEFA Studios produced a series of operas and operettas which belonged to the...

A group of merchants and vikings navigate dramatic events both within and without in this epic music...

Take a perfect cast, a great conductor and a groundbreaking staging in-out makes a 'Tristan' for ete...

This May 2010 production of Massenet's 1910 opera "Don Quichotte" marked the opera's centenary and a...

Emmanuelle Haïm has established herself as one of the world’s leading performers, conductors and int...

The production was the Vienna State Opera debut for the young Swiss conductor Philippe Jordan – the ...

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

Acclaimed artist William Kentridge directed and designed this visually dazzling Met premiere product...

Star tenor Jonas Kaufmann brings aching intensity and vocal charisma to the tortured title hero of M...

With war and acts of violence in the background, Aida tells the story of a fascinating and tense lov...

Having disposed of his enemies, Lucio Silla is now all-powerful. He wants to marry Giunia, but under...