Besides the landing on the moon by the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, Richard Nixon’s meeting with China’s leader Mao Zedong in February 1972 then represented one of the biggest media spectacles in history. Nixon himself established the reference between the two events: “We came in peace for all mankind” not only marked the lunar module Eagle’s landing spot – Nixon also spoke of it into the microphones just before his departure to China. It was not John Adam’s aim to create a superficial or even a caricaturing representation of Nixon’s visit when composing his opera. He attempted to create a “heroic opera” about the construction of modern myths by using archetypical characters and situations. Director Marco Štorman stages Adams’ minimal music opera as a deconstruction review about the power of images, the politics of staging and the staging of politics.

Götterdämmerung, the final instalment of Wagner’s Ring of the Nibelung, is a story of human passions...

In Siegfried, the “Second Day” or third evening of the Ring Cycle, we meet the pivotal hero of the e...

Imagine a window into the past. Imagine finally connecting singers' bodies to the voices you have al...

CARMEN is the classic tale of forbidden passion between a young man and a spoken-for woman, Carmen. ...

Just as a young woman is about to marry her sweetheart, she is discovered—by the entire village, to ...

The first-ever audio-visual recording of this opera – directed by Christof Loy, conducted by Marc Al...

A musical drama based on Giuseppe Verdi's opera Rigoletto.

Set in a South Bohemian village, this faithful film version of Smetana’s opera follows farmer Krušin...

Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert...

A village hires a priestess to pray for the safety of their pearl fishermen, but long lost love gets...

José Cura sings and acts here with an inwardness and intensity which make a profound impression. So ...

Premiered in 1787, “Don Giovanni” exposes the timeless theme of a man hovering between vitality and ...

The stupendous climax to Wagner’s four-part Ring cycle is brilliantly realized by the Otto Schenk/Gü...

This superb 2006 production of the Los Angeles Opera's La Traviata stars Renée Fleming, who joins th...

A 2002 live performance of Mikel Rouse's Dennis Cleveland, a multimedia opera set entirely on a tele...

Donald Runnicles directs the San Francisco Opera in this lavish production of Giacomo Puccini’s fina...

Live performance from Zürich Opera House, 2001. “Vesselina Kasarova’s Rosina turned this Barber int...

Mirella Freni, Placido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, and Robert Kerns star in this Jean-Pierre Ponnelle-d...