Copernicus, the man behind the title of the opera, brought the revolution that radically changed man’s way of seeing things, shifting from the earth to the sun and its sacred flames. Barely a few stories – for there is no dramatic conflict here, no…

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…

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…

The late French composer Pierre Henry was among the pivotal forces behind the development of musique concrète, becoming the first formally educated musician to devote his energies to the electronic medium. His final work Dracula was originally…

Monteverdi’s iconic opera articulates Orpheus’ attempts to soothe the keepers of Hades with his voice and his lyre. He is allowed to release his beloved Eurydice from the realm of the dead, on the one condition that he does not turn around to look at…

A founding text of German operatic Romanticism and an absolute masterpiece of musical theatre, Der Freischütz by Carl Maria von Weber has not been performed at La Scala since 1998, when it was conducted by Donald Runnicles, but it is worthwhile…

In this pilot to a new series about the European musical heritage, soul musician Joy Denalane embarks on a journey to Austria to encounter the world of folk music. For centuries, this musical genre has provided a vital space for love and romanticism…

“Jazz is more than just a style of music”, says Amro Salah. “It’s about freedom.” Salah, a jazz pianist, is an enthusiastic promoter of the genre. Every year he organises the Cairo Jazz Festival, but doesn’t view himself as a festival director: He is…

For the Easter Festival 2017 in Baden-Baden, Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker draw their inspiration from Tosca, the most well-known and also most brilliant of all the Puccini operas. And that is deservedly so, since Tosca is not…

The Italian composer Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924) died before he could complete his final opera Turandot. Fortunately, his lesser-known colleague Franco Alfano managed to use the maestro's notes to complete the opera in time for its April 26, 1926…