One of Rossini's masterpieces; a frothy little farce on the surface with an underlying sharp social critique.

After the premiere of Dvorak's 8 Symphony in Prague, this piece received such high praise in England that it was named the "English Symphony". For his graduation thesis in 1892, Dvorak chose to conduct the symphony instead of the usual lecture.

Recorded in the Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin in 1992.

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".

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…