Monteverdi is generally regarded as the father of European opera. His "Poppea" is a blood and thunder melodrama, set in Nero's Rome and loaded with passion, jealousy, murder and savage ambition.

The Czech composer based his libretto on the play "Le Voyage de Thésée" by his friend and trusted source of inspiration, Georges Neveux. Martinu is said to have written the opera for Maria Callas. In this production, the role is sung by the…

Recorded during the "Schwetzinger Festspiele" 1989 in the cathedral of Speyer.

Consisting of former members of Frank Zappa's band, this concert pays tribute to the music of the maestro, featuring all the 'hits' of his musical history, from "Chunga's Revenge" to "Easy Meat", performed with breathtaking virtuosity.

Live from Paris 1977

The Japanese pianist Aki Takase is a veritable typhoon of power and clarity. Her playing shows what can happen when the European rules of melody, harmony and rhythm come face to face with a distinctly Asian way of thinking!

A magnificent Christmas concert, with music ranging from motets to popular Christmas standards, performed by Leipzig's world famous boys' choir. A fascinating half-hour documentary examines the history of the choir from its foundation in the early…

Sir Peter Hall's outstanding Glyndebourne Festival Opera production of "Fidelio" remains remarkably faithful to the way Beethoven intended the opera to be. He managed to inject fresh excitement and suspense into "Fidelio", providing a perfect…

Norbert Beilharz captures the Swiss choreographer Heinz Spoerli's work methods on film, basing his portrait on the development of the Swiss master's new ballet: "Goldberg Variations".

A hand-picked ensemble of soloists join together with the Gächinger Kantorei and the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart under the direction of Helmuth Rilling to give a truly definitive performance of this pre-eminent masterwork.