“The music says it all. Mozart is cool.” So said the self-confessed “opera ignoramus” Doris Dörrie before she grabbed hold of one of the sacred cows of the operatic repertoire and transformed it into a “hippie musical”. Mozart’s Così fan tutte (“Thus…

Dutch organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman is one of the most distinguished Bach interpreters of our time. On this DVD, he is featured interpreting Johann Sebastian Bach’s greatest organ works, including the popular Toccata in D minor and the…

Peter Konwitschny’s celebrated and innovative staging of Wagner’s Lohengrin was recorded at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona in 2006, where it was revived as an unconventional and spectacular view on the piece. Originally staged in Hamburg in…

For many classical music lovers, Johann Sebastian Bach’s "Mass in B minor" is a pinnacle of Western music, and today it is one of our most beloved sacred classics. The live performance of this monumental piece of music, with John Neslon, the Maîtrise…

Alfred Brendel is arguably the most outstanding exponent of Schubert’s piano music currently before the public, a man capable of bringing to vibrant life both the verve of this music as well as its poetic intensity and intellectual depth. In this…

L´occasione fa il ladro is one of the five one-act operas - farsa giocosa - in which the teenage Rossini first demonstrated his operatic genius. This farce about arranged marriages, role reversals and other amorous confusions is, in musical terms, by…

Wagner’s Meistersinger is a festive opera in its own right, but at the unforgettable performances of the work at the Vienna State Opera in January 2008 the festive spirit literally leapt out into the audience as well. Vienna’s dailies exploded with…

The many passionate, fiery or lyrical vocal pieces of Spanish zarzuelas have continued to thrive in concerts and recitals all over the world. One of the most renowned and ardent supporters of zarzuela melodies is Plácido Domingo. Belying his 66 years…

Bizet’s passionate tale of the self-willed gypsy woman Carmen is certainly one of the most popular works in the history of opera. It shows how a cigar factory worker in Seville enchants and bewitches the men around her. Melodies like Carmen’s…

A fascinating production of La Traviata formed this year’s opera highlight at one of Europe’s most important open-air festivals: the Opera Festival St. Margarethen. The dazzling production, set in a rustically romantic Roman quarry, already boasts…