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.

Recorded during the "Schwetzinger Festspiele" 1989 in the cathedral of Speyer.

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…

A Scandinavian Kite Festival is coupled with the heart-felt music of Swedish composer, Björn J. Lindh.

Egberto Gismonti is a totally exotic musical missionary from Brazil who seldom gives solo concerts. Here he gives an unforgettable performance on piano and 8-string guitar. On Guitar: 28' On piano: 26

ESP 2 is the true legacy of the music of Miles Davis, kept alive by his former sidemen who are now bandleaders in their own right. Together they honor the heritage of the legendary trumpet master.

This recording captures a spontaneous piano duo in the Munich Philharmonie, which clearly illustrates the common background of these two pianists in the Vienna of the 1940s and '50s.

With "Alcina" Wieler shows how modern Händel can be. The production is fascinating, conclusive and full of eroticism. Helene Schneidermann is absolutly overwhelming as Ruggiero's fiancée and the brilliant soprano Catherine Naglestad is more blissful…

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…

Trevor Nunn's highly acclaimed staging at Glyndebourne of Gershwin's famous opera, is considered by the Gershwin family to be the best production ever made. Now Primetime has made the firstever television production of "Porgy and Bess".