The essence of Verdi’s Requiem can be found in the words Libera me - “Free me”. The great composer employs every means at his disposal to portray man as prisoner of himself, with both his fear of death and yearning for salvation. Recording Dates: 14…

Together with Hans Haffmans, Dutch radio and television presenter, Bernard Haitink is reflecting on his long career and his life and he is looking forward to the future. The film turns out to be a very moving portrait of a man who can’t enjoy his…

This opera film is based on Jan Schmidt-Garre‘s highly acclaimed stage production of Beethoven‘s Fidelio. The producers carefully filmed and edited several performances. By using additional footage of Jacquelyn Wagner as Leonore the stage production…

Docs for Sale idfa Luminous A documentary with extraordinary and previously unpublished material about the “world‘s foremost composer of tango music” – Astor Piazzolla. The Argentine bandoneon player and composer Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992)…

Does tango make one happy or lonely? This is unclear. What is clear is that it is addictive. Singles find people they can embrace. Couples reignite a flare. Tango is a spectacle when mastered, especially as the dancers are exquisitely costumed. Five…

The French Baroque opera Hippolyte et Aricie carries its audience away into a realm of wonders with magnificent dance and choir scenes and the greatest possible multitude of musical forms. Philippe Rameau, a French contemporary of Bach and Handel,…

In 2018 Yannick Nézet-Séguin will end his tenure with the Rotterdam Philharmonic for which he will stay Honorary Conductor to become Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera, New York. Yannick has worked with many leading European orchestras and…

Waltraud Meier‘s talent, perfectionism, charisma, unmatched stage presence, text studies and complete devotion to the art of singing have not only made her one of the greatest opera singers of our time, but also one of the most significant performers…

Why is it that works by women artists are still less valued on the art market? How come that there are still significantly fewer works by women artists exhibited in museums than by male artists? Where are all those women? They have always been around…

The remarkable life and career of opera singer Soňa Červená: After escaping from the Iron Curtain, she made a career in Western Germany both as an internationally successful opera singer and actress on TV and on the theatre stage. It was not before…