Commemorating the 155th anniversary of Robert Schumann’s death, this film, inspired by the book by Ernst Burger, reveals his human side through a chronicle of his life from 1828 to his death in 1856. While the music features prominently, Burger’s…

Sviatoslav Richter (1915–1997), one of the greatest pianists of all time, breaks his lifelong silence and allows himself to be interviewed for this autobiographical fi lm. We see his life on an epic scale as he evokes his wild childhood, his…

Pierre Boulez has already left an indelible imprint on the international music scene, not only as a composer and conductor but also as a music philosopher and teacher. This documentary, a homage on the occasion of his 85th birthday, shows his…

No-one did more to expand the audience for opera than the tenor Luciano Pavarotti. He reconnected an elite art-form with popular audiences throughout the world, through his unashamed enthusiasm for life and his unique ability to communicate to vast…

Violinist, composer and conductor, living through two world wars, caught between east and west, capitalism and communism: The remarkable and glittering life of German artist Paul Dessau is more than a good story – it cries out for the medium of film…

In Offenbachs's Secret, Academy Award winning director István Szabó throws new light on the timeless interplay between power, helplessness, courage and conformity in his character studies of two of the most scintillating personalities of France's…

New Year’s Eve Concert 2014 opens with Sir Simon Rattle conducting music by Rameau: a suite of instrumental pieces from the opéra-ballet Les Indes galantes show French Baroque music at its finest. For his appearance at this year’s New Year’s Eve…

World famous bass-baritone Ruggero Raimondi prepares for a staging of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni at Bolgogna’s historic Teatro Comunale, working alongside conductor Riccardo Chailly and stage director Luca Ronconi as well as a distinguished cast of…

‘My Favourite Opera – Barbara Hendricks’ intertwines three related strands: firstly the distinguished soprano Barbara Hendricks discusses her international career as a singer; secondly we follow the preparation for the 1990 production of Donizetti’s…

‘My Favourite Opera – Katia Ricciarelli’, which will be released in May 2013, portraits the Italian star soprano Katia Ricciarelli. Katia Ricciarelli is best known for her roles in Rossini, Verdi and Puccini Operas but also appeared as Desdemona in…