Recorded in the Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin in 1992.

The Christmas concert recorded at the Berlin Schauspielhaus on the Gendarmeriemarkt was one of the first joint musical productions of the reunited Germany. Fade-overs to landscapes and other locations in snow and ice turn the concert into a romantic…

In Michael Hampe's much-praised staging, Don Giovanni appears "as the embodiment of absolute, irresistible tempestuous life force.." and "as rebel against human order, against law and morality".

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…

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…