Glyndebourne's 1978 production of Mozart's "Die Zauberflöte" received as much critical acclaim for the imaginative David Hockney sets as for the operatic performances. Hockney emphasised the magical and mystical qualities of one of Mozart's best…

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…

A mixture of music and words from Winchester Cathedral giving the story and meaning of the nativity.

Mozart's "Die Entführung aus dem Serail" is best loved for its memorable music and lively wit. The opera tells the story of the efforts of a Spanish nobleman to rescue his betrothed who is held captive against her will in a Turkish harem.

The starting point of Shchedrin's composition is the tune from Chopin's Prelude in C minor No.28 Op.20. Recorded in the Kongressaal in Munich, it is performed by Rodion Shchedrin himself, Nicolas Economou, Paul Gulda and the American jazz pianist…

Portrait of the famous French producer Pierre Braunberger who started his career in Hollywood. Among his “discoveries” are directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. Containing excerpts of 15 of his films this programme tells the amazing…

In this series we present biographies of France's greatest singing stars. While plenty of attention is paid to each singer's biography, their songs form the central point of each film: words and music that trace the lives of these artists far better…

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.

The Swedish composer, flutist and keyboardist Björn J. Lindh and the Swedish pianist Staffan Scheja create together their own interpretation of the changing face of Europe.

Schwetzingen is a tiny town near Heidelberg which has a famous palace with magnificent gardens, not unlike those at Versailles. The Schwetzingen Festival is held every Spring in the palace and commissions a small-scale opera for the palace's…