136 results
Franz Liszt described the art of conducting as less than a task to be in evidence but rather a feat in disappearing behind the function itself. Conductors are pilots, not servants. Looking back at the past two centuries, we have been blessed with the…
Total running time
3515 mins
The poet E. T. A. Hoffmann as the protagonist of his own fantastic tales: In his encounter with three women - Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta - he searches in vain for love and for himself. Will he draw the strength for art from his failure in life…
Total running time
180 mins
Richard Wagner’s three-act opera Lohengrin is characterised by the composer’s romantic vision of the individual’s struggle for freedom under an oppressive rule. The title role is particularly suited to the dramatic and musical talents of Peter…
Total running time
200 mins
Directed by Wolfgang Wagner, Richard Wagner’s grandson, this production of Tannhäuser was one of the highlights of the Bayreuth Festival during the latter part of the 1980s. The abstract starkness of Wolfgang Wagner’s production is underscored by the…
Total running time
188 mins
Founded in 1967, the Montreux Jazz Festival has established itself as one of the most prestigious annual music events in the world. The extraordinary list of artists who have played there is drawn from across the musical spectrum and from around the…
Total running time
1584 mins
“I cannot begin even to describe what I have learnt with these musicians. Maybe they have learnt a little something from me, but that is nothing compared to what I have learnt from them, and the generations that came before.” (Zubin Mehta about the…
Total running time
826 mins
A Ghost Light – a single lamp that illuminates the stage when rehearsals or performances are finished – is part of a long theatrical tradition. Legend says that originally, the night light was for the ghosts of former artists so that they may cavort…
Total running time
105 mins
Songs of Love and Desire was the theme of the 1998 New Year's Eve concert of the Berlin Philharmonic under the musical direction of Claudio Abbado. Christine Schäfer, Simon Keenlyside, and Marcelo Àlvarez excelled in famous arias and scenes from…
Total running time
89 mins
★★★★ “I have to tell the whole truth. I can tell the story of angels, but that wouldn't be the true story. My story is a mix of the devil and angels with a bit of meanness. You have to have a bit of everything to progress in life.” ★★★★ (Astor…
Total running time
90 mins
In Spring 2019, the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists, led by John Eliot Gardiner, presented a critically-acclaimed European tour of Handel’s opera 'Semele', including Alexandra Palace Theatre in London, where this live recording took…
Total running time
169 mins