The essence of Verdi’s Requiem can be found in the words Libera me - “Free me”. The great composer employs every means at his disposal to portray man as prisoner of himself, with both his fear of death and yearning for salvation. Recording Dates: 14…

Arrigo Boito's only finished and preserved opera, Mefistofele, recorded in Baden-Baden was praised by critics and loved by the audience - a very rare concurrence. And this could hardly have come as a surprise, since it was no other than Erwin Schrott…

1970 was the 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth and, to mark the occasion, Daniel Barenboim and Christopher Nupen collaborated on a thirteen-part series about the man and his music. Close friends at the time, Barenboim as artist and…

31 July is the anniversary of Franz Liszt's death. A series of programmes produced by Bavarian Television with Daniel Barenboim sheds light on the much wrinkled activity of the piano virtuoso, composer, music teacher and theorist, conductor and…

“… it goes without saying that Franz Liszt cannot be a quiet piano player for quiet state burghers and cosy sleepyheads". This is how Heinrich Heine assesses Franz Liszt's public position. The Sonata in B minor, written in 1852/53 and considered one…

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…

Filmed in June 2013 during three extraordinary performances that took place during the Aldeburgh Festival, "Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh beach" takes place in the heart of the town that inspired it and is the film interpretation of Britten’s Peter…

Based on Henry James' novel of the same name, this gripping drama explores an encounter with the super-natural.

This is not just live capture. This is a new hybrid form that honours the spirit of the original theatre production of Benjamin Britten's "The Turn of the Screw", but that also embraces the current constraints: the presence of the camera is declared…

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…