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.

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

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

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

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make...

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

Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the...
Car Men is a collaboration between the renowned choreographer Jíri Kylían and filmmaker Boris Paval ...

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

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

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

Deep in a forest where druids and warriors seek revenge against the conquering Romans, Norma is scor...

After the acclaimed Met premiere of Thomas Adès's "The Tempest" in 2012, the composer returned with ...

A rarely performed bel canto gem, Rossini’s Semiramide returned to the Met for the first time in nea...

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

"Irresistible" (Opera News) rising-star mezzo Elina Garanca triumphs as Rossini's Cinderella in this...

The complete version of Verdi's Otello performed by Placido Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa, at the Royal...

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

Lucia’s brother Enrico is horrified to learn she has fallen in love with his sworn enemy Edgardo. He...

Cio-Cio-San, the young Japanese bride of dashing American officer Lieutenant Pinkerton, finds her ro...