Philip Glass: Satyagraha
★ 10 · 1983 · 168m · Music
This luminous, visionary opera tells the story of how Mahatma Gandhi developed the philosophy of satyagraha, nonviolent active resistance, as a political revolutionary tool to fight oppression, connecting his lifework to three historical figures who advanced his philosophy: the celebrated Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, the great Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore and the heroic American civil rights leader Martin Luther King. The libretto is comprised of passages from “The Bhagavad-Gita,” India’s greatest philosophical epic, and perfectly complements Glass’ ravishing score, mysteriously transporting the audience with a serene power and an all-encompassing sense of peace.
More Like This
Verdi: Rigoletto
1982 · ★ 6.9
Rigoletto is a jester in the court of the Duke of Mantua. He has a hunch-back and he's rather unattractive, but he's good at his job of humiliating the courtiers for the amusement of the Duke. The courtiers, of course, are not amused. The Duke is a ladies man who feels his life would be meaningless if he couldn't chase every skirt he sees. In fact, we learn as the opera begins that he's recently been noticing a young lady every Sunday on her way to church, and he's vowed to have his way with her. What nobody realizes is that the girl is the jester's beloved daughter, Gilda, and that Gilda has seen the Duke every Sunday and is smitten with him. Suddenly Count Monterone appears at court, furious that the Duke has seduced his daughter. Rigoletto ridicules Monterone, the Duke laughs, and Monterone casts an awful curse on both of them. Later, the courtiers discover that Rigoletto is secretly living with Gilda...
More info →
The Metropolitan Opera - Puccini: Madama Butterfly
2016 · ★ 9
Anthony Minghella’s beautiful, atmospheric production enhances Puccini’s drama of unfortunate, doomed love. Soprano Kristine Opolais brings all of her passionate commitment to her portrayal of Cio-Cio-San, the teenage geisha who gives up everything for Lt. Pinkerton. Roberto Alagna is the American naval officer who does not understand the depth of Cio-Cio-San’s love, and whose subsequent marriage to an American woman precipitates Butterfly’s suicide. Maria Zifchak is Suzuki, Cio-Cio-San’s faithful servant, and Dwayne Croft plays the American consul Sharpless, who tries to avert the tragedy. Karel Mark Chichon conducts.
More info →
The Metropolitan Opera: Maria Stuarda
2013
Joyce DiDonato gives a sensational performance as Mary, Queen of Scots, in Donizetti’s bel canto drama, opposite Elza van den Heever as Queen Elizabeth. This Live in HD presentation of David McVicar’s acclaimed 2012 production also stars Matthew Polenzani as Leicester, the man caught between the rival queens. Maurizio Benini conducts.
More info →
Mozart: Die Entführung Aus Dem Serail
2015
In the 18th century, in the palace of Pasha Selim, in a purely imaginary Turkey. Belmonte, a young Spanish nobleman, is searching for his fiancée, Constance, who has been captured by pirates and sold to Pasha Selim. Blonde, Constance’s English maid, and her lover Pedrillo, Belmonte’s servant, have suffered the same fate and are at the mercy of the cruel Osmin, the seraglio’s guardian. Belmonte and Pedrillo devise a plan to rescue Constance, who is determined to die rather than succumb to the advances of Pasha Selim, who is eager to win the heart of his beautiful captive. ‘The Abduction from the Seraglio’ (‘Die Entführung aus dem Serail’ K.384) is a three-act singspiel by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with a German libretto by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on the play by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 16 July 1782, conducted by the composer. Recorded live at Glyndebourne Festival, July 19, 2015.
More info →
Les Troyens
2012 · ★ 8
After the destruction of Troy, the Trojan warrior Énée sets out on a journey to found a new dynasty. He meets Didon, Queen of Carthage, and falls in love. But will Énée's love for Didon prove stronger than his sense of duty? LES TROYENS ('The Trojans') is a tour de force of music that ranges from fiery military marches to intense choruses, passionate soliloquies – such as those of the prophetess Cassandre – and the lyrical love duets of Didon and Énée. It is Hector Berlioz's largest work and he wrote the libretto himself, drawing upon his intimate knowledge of Virgil's Aeneid. To the composer's disappointment, LES TROYENS was only performed once in full during his lifetime and was often presented in shortened form during the 20th century. The Royal Opera's production provides a rare chance to see this epic work in its entirety. David McVicar's staging is on an enormous scale, assembling one of the largest casts ever seen at Covent Garden.
More info →
Attila
2018
First staged at the Teatro La Fenice in 1846, Verdi’s ninth opera, Attila, returns to the stage of La Scala on December 7th. Following the inauguration of the 2015-2016 Season with Giovanna d’Arco and in anticipation of Macbeth, with Attila Musical Director Riccardo Chailly continues his study of Verdi’s early works, renewing a successful collaboration with creative director Davide Livermore that began with his acclaimed production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale for La Scala. In this complex opera Verdi experiments with fresh perspectives, featuring spectacular historical settings, introspective angles and moral uncertainties. Attila demands of its performers not only passion and confidence, but also the ability to find subtle accents and psychological nuances.
More info →
Offenbach: The Tales of Hoffmann (Komische Oper Berlin)
1971 · ★ 8
Walter Felsenstein's staging of Jacques Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann at the Komische Opera Berlin.
More info →
Eugene Onegin
2013 · ★ 8
In Trelinski's timeless production he leads a superb, first-class young cast headed by Artur Ruzinski as Onegin and Kristīne Opolais as Tatyana. Mariusz Trelinski, Polish filmmaker and theater director, has created a series of dream-like, surrealist tableaux of great suggestive beauty.
More info →
Gounod: Romeo et Juliette
2008 · ★ 8.7
The sensational hit of Salzburg's 2008 festival season arrives on DVD! Starring tenor Rolando Villazón in a stunning performance, this was the must have ticket of the season. Soprano Nino Machaidze, only 25 years old, burst upon the Salzburg stage with an emotionally vulnerable and vocally spectacular performance. With movie star good looks and a large, warm voice, Machaidze wowed the press and audiences alike. Tony Award winner (South Pacific) Bartlett Sher directs this production of Gounod's classic opera. With sets by Michael Yeargan and costumes by Catherine Zuber, the visually vibrant production is sure to become the benchmark. Bonus materials includes "Salzburg Impressions--Behind the Scenes of Roméo et Juliette," "Love and Death in Verona" and Villazón giving an introduction to the opera.
More info →
Jonas Kaufmann: Cavalleria Rusticana / Pagliacci
2015 · ★ 8
As comparably short operas, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci are often billed together, but seldom is the lead tenor making his double role debut as Turiddu and Canio on the same evening. At the 2015 Salzburg Easter Festival, Jonas Kaufmann did just that to rapturous praise. Universally hailed as a coup for Kaufmann, the plaudits were also showered on Philipp Stölzl for his innovative staging which includes live video projections while referencing the era of black-and-white movies.
More info →
Tchaikovsky: Eugene Onegin
2007
The pain of unrequited love is portrayed unforgettably by two of today’s greatest stars. Renée Fleming is musically and dramatically radiant as the shy Tatiana, who falls in love with the worldly Onegin, played with devastating charisma by Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Their mesmerizing vocalism and chemistry explode in one of opera’s most heartbreaking final scenes. With Valery Gergiev on the podium conducting Tchaikovsky’s passionate score, this performance is one for the ages.
More info →
Kapr Code
2022 · ★ 6.1
This film traces the life of Jan Kapr, a prominent Czech composer of the 20th century. A documentary opera with an ambitious libretto and playful and refined editing work, Kapr Code is an unexpected celebration of creativity that shakes up our ideas of biography and pays tribute to the importance of resisting homologation and censorship through art and creation.
More info →