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…

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…

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 not only the verve of this music but also its poetic intensity and intellectual depth. In this…

Music by Guiseppe Verdi and Johann Sebastian Bach sweeps the viewer along as the camera paints impressionistic images. A fondness for detail brings the subject matter vibrantly to life and conveys the message without a single word. 3 episodes from 9…

This opera is based on the Greek legend of Ulysses and his return to Ithaca after years at the Trojan wars.

With "Alcina" Wieler shows how modern Händel can be. The production is fascinating, conclusive and full of eroticism. Helene Schneidermann is absolutly overwhelming as Ruggiero's fiancée and the brilliant soprano Catherine Naglestad is more blissful…

Ludwigburg's Festival Orchestra, conducted by Wolfgang Gönnenwein, performs Mozart's romantic comedy "Cosi fan tutte" with much attention to details. The Russian director Dmitri Bertman presents this opera as a fantastic journey through different…

Trevor Nunn's highly acclaimed staging at Glyndebourne of Gershwin's famous opera, is considered by the Gershwin family to be the best production ever made. Now Primetime has made the firstever television production of "Porgy and Bess".

This performance of the Staatsoper Suttgart was acclaimed by music critics as the "Performance of the Year 1998" in the German magazine "Opernwelt". This unusual production of Hans Neuenfels recreated a game with forms and appearances of the music…