23-year-old Gioachino Rossini completed his masterpiece IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA incredibly quickly – legend has it in just 13 days – which Rossini attributed to ‘facility and lots of instinct’. The opera, characterized by youthful energy and bold wit, has all the ingredients for comic chaos: an imprisoned young woman, her lecherous guardian and a young noble suitor. Skilfully plotting behind the scenes is Figaro, an irrepressible and inventive character in whom many have seen a resemblance to the young Rossini himself. The score fizzes with musical brilliance, from Figaro’s famous entrance aria to the frenzy of the Act I finale. This recording sees Joyce DiDonato (Rosina) bring literal meaning to the old theatrical motto Break a leg! She did just that in an earlier show but was determined to finish her commitment and was re-staged into the production to allow for the additional challenges that come when a leading lady in a lively physical role must wheel around the other performers...

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 ...

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

Maria Callas, the world's greatest opera singer, lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, as ...

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

The man looks back on a turbulent love life, which he does not dare to opt definitively for a perman...

Shortly after WWII, the DEFA Studios produced a series of operas and operettas which belonged to the...
A concert performance of the most famous parts of Dvořák's opera Rusalka in the park of Liteň Castle...

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

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

This Blu-ray is a splendid record of a creative production with terrific voices and direction, as go...

Visually this is a gripping production which captures the drama of this opera perfectly. It's downri...

Takarazuka Revue's Phantom based on the play by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit.

Carlos Álvarez takes the title role in the first of Verdi's Shakespearean operas, with Maria Guleghi...

Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 1995, this acclaimed presentation of composer Gioachi...

Originally commissioned to celebrate the completion of the Suez Canal and the opening of Cairos new ...

Sasha Regan’s award-winning All-male Company are set to lift everyone’s spirits with a treat in thei...

On May 21, soprano Nadine Sierra takes on one of the repertory’s most formidable and storied roles, ...