The Prague Ballet Gala is an extraordinary dance event that captivates audiences from around the world. Held at the magnificent Prague State Opera, this exclusive gala brings together the crème de la crème of the ballet world. Featuring leading…

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…

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…

Nikolai Lugansky, already a major artist, has been hailed by his former teacher Tatiana Nikolajeva as the “next” in a line of great Russian pianists. He has been described as “a pianistic phenomenon of exceptional class” by the Netherlands’ NRC…

This exciting open-air staging of Nabucco was one of the classical highlights in summer 2007. The vast production of the Verdi masterpiece at St. Margarethen took place amidst the intoxicating scenery of a rustically romantic Roman quarry, which…