At the centre of events is the power-crazed Poppea. She aspires to the top level of the hierarchy and seduces Emperor Nero. He is totally captivated by Poppea and does everything possible to marry her, even if it leads to murder. A classic drama…

Johann Sebastian Bach's most famous Christmas work was recorded live at the Salle Henry Le Bœuf in the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Who would have thought, three centuries ago, that these cantatas, written by Bach for the services from…

Philippe Herreweghe, one of today's most profound and erudite Bach interpreters, and his Collegium Vocale Gent present their new vision of a musical work for which nobody can say the ultimate word. This concert film of Bach's Missa in h-moll was…

What a strange idea Mondonville had! Based on a cruel fable by La Fontaine with a tragic ending, he wrote a charming opera libretto with a happy ending, and composed a delightful pastoral. In the prologue, Dame Clémence Isaure, the mythical founder…

Das Rheingold is the prologue to Wagner's Ring cycle, and opens up the rich world of gods, dwarves, giants, dragons and humans that the story inhabits. With beautiful orchestration and an unerring sense of the dramatic, the first opera explains how…

Die Walküre continues the story of the Rhinedaughters' gold, the Ring of power which was forged from it, and the curse which falls on ist owner. The action moves to the earth - where Siegmund and Sieglinde, the mortal children of Wotan, are…

The final opera of the Ring cycle tells the story of how the ring and its curse brings the downfall of the Gods and a tragic and to the love of Siegfried and Brünnhilde. As Brünnhilde's death becomes an act of redemption for the gods and for all…

The third part of the Ring cycle focuses on Siegfried, the child of Sieglinde and Siegmund. His upbringing has been wild end free, and he has never learned the meaning of fear. As he struggles to break free from his past and to forge his own destiny…

In “Die ersten Menschen” (The first humans), the Bible story of the fratricide of Kajin (Cain) and Chabel (Abel) is presented from a different perspective. In the context of the first family on earth, Adahm (Adam) is concerned with cultivating the…

On Wednesday, October 16th, Dmitri Hvorostovsky's birthday, the Festival officially opens with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem.