The French have occupied Sicily, and Hélène is held hostage by Montfort, the French governor, who has had her brother executed. She turns to the partisan Jean Procida and the rebellious patriot Henri in her bid for vengeance. Les Vêpres siciliennes is one of Verdi’s lesser-known mature operas, but was vital to his development as a composer. It was created for the Paris Opéra in 1855, providing Verdi with an opportunity to embrace the elaborate style and traditions of French grand opera. First seen at the Royal Opera House in 2013, this staging of Verdi's rarely-performed opera Les Vêpres siciliennes – directed by Stefan Herheim and conducted by The Royal Opera’s Music Director, Verdi specialist Sir Antonio Pappano – went on to win the prestigious Olivier Award for Best New Opera Production.

Richard Strauss's opera, from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
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...

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

Jean-Marie Villegier's modern interpretation of Handel's "Rodelinda" – filmed live at the world-reno...

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

Live 2001 production from the Zurich Opera House of the classic Mozart/Da Ponte opera, with Nikolaus...

Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep...

In a small Japanese town, Ko-Ko is appointed to the unenviable position of executioner. Knowing he m...

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

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

David McVicar's exhilarating new production, with Anne Sofie von Otter in the title role, restores t...

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

This is a joy from beginning to end. Although there are many tricks and ideas from Laurent Pelly, as...

Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili gives a dynamic performance as Bizet’s iconic gypsy, the...

A Victor Hugo play, haunting and scandalous, provided the inspiration for Verdi’s mid-career masterp...

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), WWV 86B, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner with a German libre...

"Manon", wrote Puccini to his publisher Giulio Ricordi in 1889, "is a heroine I believe in and there...