“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…

Requiring 38 soloists, chorus and large orchestra, Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina is a challenging opera to stage. In Munich, the city in which it was given its world premiere in 1917, director Christian Stückl and the Bavarian State Opera met those…

One reviewer of Susan Graham's Verbier Festival recital praised her 'radiant voice' and marveled at her ability to convey the subtle nuances of what seems like 'her second native language'. Her programme offers a 'tasting menu' of the French mélodie…

In the dense forest planted on the stage of the Haus für Mozart by director Claus Guth is the home of the rugged macho Don Giovanni. Assisted by his unsavory accomplice Leporello, he lures the ladies with the heady scent of danger. Christopher…

One of the greatest revolutions in the history of mankind happened around 3000 years ago: the transition from polytheism to monotheism through the prophet Moses. God revealed himself directly to Moses, instructing him in absolute truth. Moses was…

This amazing DVD-Box was released for Christmas 2010 in a limited edition. The awe-inspiring surroundings of the 1st-century Roman quarry at St Margarethen in eastern Austria provide the perfect backdrop for these thrilling live performances of opera…

This stunning new production of Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea clothes the characters in modern dress and emphasizes the moral ambiguity of the original text. Challengin the usual operatic conventions, the controversial stage director Ole…

Hans van Manen began his career in 1951. He was active as a dancer, choreographer and as artistic director both at the Nederlands Dans Theater and Het Nationale Ballet, where he was appointed Resident Choreographer in 2003. The DVD recordings are…

Vera Nemirova’s challenging production of Berg’s operatic masterpiece Lulu won critical acclaim when first seen at the Salzburg Festival in 2010. It was successfully repeated in 2011, when the production was filmed for DVD. Supporting Nemirova’s…

The fiftieth anniversary of Toscanini’s death in 2007 was celebrated with gala concerts around the world, one of the most glamorous events being this benefit concert at the basilica of St Mark’s in Venice. The 11-year-old child prodigy Lorin Maazel…