Should it be true that J.S. Bach actually composed the Goldberg Variations as a sleeping aid for Graf Keyserlingk, then Evgeni Koroliov, born 1949 in Moscow, must have succumbed to a misapprehension. The further he proceeds in the series of…

Prepare to be enchanted by the prodigious talents of Yojo Christen, a musical sensation in his mid-twenties who is already making waves in the classical music scene. During the 2021 Covid lockdown, Yojo embarked on a remarkable creative journey. With…

The Merry Widow (Die Lustige Witwe) had its premiere at Vienna's Theater an der Wien in 1905. The operetta, which tells the story of a wealthy widow in search of a new husband was a major success for its composer Franz Lehár (1870-1948) and quickly…

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…

Giuseppe Verdi: Macbeth (1972) John Pritchard conductor ∙ London Philharmonic Orchestra Josephine Barstow soprano ∙ Kostas Paskalis baritone ∙ James Morris bass ∙ Keith Erwen tenor Michael Hadjimischev stage director Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Le Nozze…

Composed when he was just twenty-four, Agrippina was Handel’s first theatrical success and is a sparkling example of his early work. It is full of his fresh, exuberantly inventive music and employs one of the finest librettos with which George…

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…

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…

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…