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.

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

Kristine Opolais is the young woman whose conflicting desires for love and luxury lead to her tragic...
A colorful and comedic staging of the classic opera buffa by the Vienna State Opera.

1989 recording of the San Francisco Opera production of Mefistofele: Boito's retelling of Goethe's F...

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...

Premiered immediately before the enduring masterpieces Rigoletto, Il Trovatore, and La Traviata, Lui...

From the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma Terme di Caracalla "Carmen" by Georges Bizet. Director Jesus Lope...

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 ...

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...

The Semperoper caused a sensation in November 2007 when it visited Japan for the first time in twent...

Stage director Emilio Sagi's production of the legendary Barber of Seville is enriched by a bright d...

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 ...

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