Rigoletto

Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had control over northern Italian theatres at the time, the opera had a triumphant premiere at La Fenice in Venice on 11 March 1851. This 1994 recording, directed by Riccardo Muti, stars Roberto Alagna, Renato Bruson and Andrea Rost.

Così fan tutte

Who loves whom in Così fan tutte, Mozart’s and Da Ponte’s cruelly comic reflection on desire, fidelity and betrayal? Or have the confusions to which the main characters subject one another ensured that in spite of the heartfelt love duets and superficially fleetfooted comedy nothing will work any longer and that a sense of emotional erosion has replaced true feelings? Così fan tutte is a timeless work full of questions that affect us all. The Academy Award-winning director Michael Haneke once said that he was merely being precise and did not want to distort reality. In only his second opera production after Don Giovanni in 2006, he presents what ARTE described as a “disillusioned vision of love in an ice-cold, realistic interpretation”.

Verdi: Nabucco

The legendary Plácido Domingo brings another new baritone role to the Met under the baton of his longtime collaborator James Levine. Liudmyla Monastyrska is Abigaille, the warrior woman determined to rule empires, and Jamie Barton is the heroic Fenena. Dmitri Belosselskiy is the stentorian voice of the oppressed Hebrew people.

The Marriage of Figaro

This is a good video of "Figaro", but there are a couple of better ones available. The Bohm and the Pappano are better still due to the female members of the casts. The reason for buying this one is the "Figaro", Bryn Terfel. No one can top him today in that role. John Eliot Gardiner also stands out. Many of us have voiced their opinion that If the Metropolitan Opera would release it's 1998 version, that would be the one to get.

Marco Polo (An Opera Within an Opera)

Tan Dun portrays the Venetian explorer's travels to the Far East as a journey of both inner and physical discovery, a voyage depicting spiritual experiences as well as a geographical expedition. Pierre Audi's mythical staging and Jean Kalman's fabulous set design complement the composer's own musical direction, forging the dazzlingly versatile soloists, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Cappella Amsterdam to a stunning symbiosis of elements across time and space, a true testimony to cultures intertwined in globalization.

Arabella

Arabella, Op. 79, is a lyric comedy or opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration.

Rigoletto

In Rigoletto, the deformed figure of the hunchbacked jester at the Mantuan court acts as a foil to his cynical and powerful master, an unscrupulous philanderer contrasted with his cruel and unforgiving fool. Rigoletto encourages and welcomes the Duke's conquests, pitilessly mocking his victims until he discovers that the Duke has abducted the one person he genuinely loves, his own daughter. As a result, the character of the court jester is transformed into a tragic figure who, in spite of his evident immorality and malice, allows us to sense the devotion he feels for his daughter and his horror at being destroyed by the same despotic world as that which he himself has helped to create.

Otello

This was Domingo's last set of performances as Otello in La Scala. In spite of his relatively advanced age, he is still in excellent form, both vocally and in terms of stage presence. Nucci is also his usual self, delivering a performance of very high standard. Barbara Frittoli is an excellent Desdemona, in good voice and gives a very moving performance. Muti conducts with great emotion and tight accuracy, conveying the full orchestral drama of the score.

Rusalka

Amadeus

Disciplined Italian composer Antonio Salieri becomes consumed by jealousy and resentment towards the hedonistic and remarkably talented young Viennese composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Verdi La Traviata

This DVD of a live 2005 performance from the Zürich Opera under the musical direction of Franz Welser-Möst has many things to recommend it -- the young tenor Piotr Beczala as Alfredo, the marvelous Thomas Hampson as Giorgio Germont, the playing of the Zurich Opera orchestra, the simple but effective sets by by Erich Wonder, the uncluttered stage direction by Jürgen Flimm. It also has some flaws: strangely variable volume level of the recorded sound sometimes coming on so loud as to make one reach for the volume control, and the uneven performance of the Violetta, Eva Mei who, for all her merits, gives a dramatically effective performance marred by occasional difficulties with vocal production. Still, overall I felt this was a moving production, one that I would recommend, although perhaps not as an only DVD of one of Verdi's most popular operas.

The Phantom of the Opera

The deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House causes murder and mayhem in an attempt to make the woman he loves a star.

1984

Inspired by one of the twentieth century's greatest novels, composer Lorin Maazel evokes Orwell's totalitarian nightmare, where "Big Brother" is always watching, and those guilty of "thoughtcrime" are condemned to face their worst fears in the infamous "Room 101". Filmed during world premiere performances of Robert Lepage's spectacular and psychologically gripping Royal Opera production and conducted by the composer, an international cast brings George Orwell's dark vision to shattering operatic life.

Verdi Otello

Desdemona in Verdi's Otello was a career role for soprano Renata Tebaldi, from her first operatic performance outside of Italy to her final appearance on the opera stage. Between those landmarks she performed the role nearly 100 times all over the world and made studio audio recordings that became reference recordings for the role. This 1962 production with the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Giuseppe Patane was planned as a media event from the outset and blessedly captures a consummate artist in a signature role at the peak of her gifts.

Chabrier: The Star

L’Étoile did much to establish Chabrier as a major force on the Parisian stage and his contemporary Henri Duparc praised him specifically for creating a French comic genre, both funny and musical – described as something of a French Die Meistersinger. The fanciful story is set in an imaginary kingdom and all, naturally, ends well. However, despite the slight plot line L’Étoile is something of a pivotal work, a unique example of French 19th-century light opera, orchestrated with great sophistication and flooded with gossamer wit.

Italka v Alžíru

Beethoven · Fidelio

A tribute to marriage coming from a bachelor is a tad suspicious. But for Beethoven the idealization of the woman-bride was heartfelt and sincere. It has always been a unique opera starring a courageous wife who wows audiences. Fidelio is a moral title, associated with the ideals of liberty of the French Enlightenment. Nobility and commoners are united in their thirst for justice against the oppression of power. For once the faithful consort of a desaparecido wins her battle against a treacherous tyrant, and the collective joy truly is “nameless”, as is sung on the stage. Especially because the “our heroes to the rescue” finale is recounted by the triumphant symphonic flair of the quintessential musician. Beethoven really does bring the world to collapse at the conclusion of this opera, which begins like a delightful little comedy, but which scales and transcends all the summits of the dramatic-musical art.

Boris Godunov [Salzburger Festpielhaus]

Madame Butterfly

Cio-Cio-San, a young Japanese geisha, seeks to fulfill her dreams through marriage to an American naval officer. Her faith in their future is shattered by his empty vows and the loss she endures touches something deep within us all.

Patrice Chéreau, Pascal Greggory, une autre solitude

A look at the entire process of creating and developing Patrice Chéreau’s third staging of "In the Solitude of Cotton Fields" by Bernard Marie Koltès with Pascal Greggory and Chéreau himself. From the first reading around the table through the first contact with the performance space, rehearsals and lighting to opening night, the entire creative process unfurls in front of our eyes. The film shows us the evolving and ongoing dialogue between Greggory and Chéreau, a dialogue full of crises and magical moments of harmony and insight via which the truth, intensity, complexity, mystery and depth of Koltès’ text gradually emerge to form an implicit bond between these two men. The film also shows Chéreau directing rehearsals for Mozart’s "Don Giovanni" in Salzburg, revealing both the unity of and profound differences between his opera and theater work.

Aberdeen

Kaisa is a Scot, a successful London lawyer, who snorts coke and has one-night stands with strangers. Her mother calls from Aberdeen with some story begging her to fly to Norway and collect her alcoholic dad whom she hasn't seen in years.

Terror Nullius

Hitch a ride into the dark heart of Australia with Soda_Jerk's TERROR NULLIUS, a blistering, badly behaved sample-based film that confronts the horror of our contemporary moment. Equal parts political satire, eco-horror and road movie, TERROR NULLIUS is a rogue remapping of national mythology, where a misogynistic remark is met with the sharp beak of a bird, feminist bike gangs rampage and bicentenary celebrations are ravaged by flesh-eating sheep. By intricately remixing fragments of Australia's pop culture and film legacy, TERROR NULLIUS interrogates the unstable entanglement of fiction that underpins this country's vexed sense of self.

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An unknown girl breaks out of her daily grind by undergoing an intense audio-visual trip.

Re-Cycling

This direct-to-draw animated film on 35 mm film features the imagery of 10 European directors in a collective project. Each produced 1 minute of animation on film, drawing directly onto it in his or her own style.

How to Train Your Dragon: Snoggletog Log

When Hiccup and Toothless begin sharing stories of their special relationship with their respective families as they prepare for the Snoggletog Festival, it quickly becomes clear that the new generation of Vikings don’t remember the bond between dragon and human.

No Trace

In a near future, a callous smuggler hardened by life guides a pious young woman and her child across the border to safety, unaware that their destinies are inescapably linked in this inhospitable land.

Nude

NUDE explores perceptions of nudity in art by chronicling the creative process of photographer David Bellemere as he's commissioned by NU Muses founder Steve Shaw to shoot a fine art calendar of nude photographs.

NULL

A hitman is tasked to take out ex-mobsters when he suddenly hears a voice that questions his morality.

Welcome, Violeta!

Over the course of her stay at the remote residence, Ana becomes more and more familiar with Holden’s idiosyncratic methods that require the participating artists to abandon their own identities and live emotionally and psychologically as their characters. Captivated by her artistic investigation, Ana immerses herself wholly into the method and starts living as Violeta, until her fiction loses control.

Team Darryl

Fresh off being unseated as the ruler of Sakaar, the Grandmaster makes his way to Earth to start a new life. It's been over a year since Thor left Australia and Darryl has been struggling to pay his rent. Now Darryl needs a new roommate to help make the monthly payments. Unfortunately for Darryl, the Grandmaster was the only one who answered Darryl's "Roommate Needed" ad and with no viable options, the Grandmaster moves in.

Bhale Donga

The story begins with a swashbuckling thief, Surendra (Nandamuri Balakrishna), also a master of disguise, who always targets Vidhatha (Charan Raj), dictator of the city and he is being tracked down by SP Indrani (Sharada), an efficient Police officer. Surendra contracts a multi-speciality hospital for work free of cost with all this money. Whether Surendra and Indrani will be able take revenge against Vidhatha, and he will be able complete the hospital forms the rest of the story.

Four Walls

After completing his prison sentence for killing a rival gang leader in self-defence, Benny Horowitz decides to go straight.

Slava's Snowshow

Slava's Snowshow is a universal and timeless theatrical poetic spectacle which has unanimously enchanted and empowered the imagination of audiences and critics since 1993 in tens of countries, hundreds of cities with multiple thousands of performances resulting in millions of ecstatic spectators from all nationalities, gender, beliefs, types and ages, probably like no other show. It is a genre of it’s own and remains as spontaneous and magical as the first day, systematically catapulting all adults back in childhood

Secret Summer

Appraiser Rachel (Lindsey Shaw) receives the news that her top-notched client wants to buyout a small town’s beloved library to build a resort and spa on the land. Rachel is completely against the idea of leaving NYC but loses the argument to her boss. So Rachel packs her bags and flies out to California. During her first visit to the library she runs into writer, Jake (Derek Theler), who is researching the tale of Captain Black Bart’s hidden treasures for his next novel. With hopes of saving the library, Mrs. Archer (Rachel Ticotin), the librarian, pushes Jake to show Rachel what the library means to the town. Jake’s already got a lot on his plate with his research and taking care of his niece, Hailey (Chiara Aurelia), and nephew, Noah (Max Page), for the summer but he agrees to help out. As Rachel learns what the library means to the community she must find away to save it before it’s too late.

Lost in the Moonlight

13 year-old girl Hyunjuli participates in a children’s Korean traditional play rehearsal in Changdeokgung Palace and accidentally falls into another world – the Moonlit Palace. The Moonlit Palace is a fantasy world of mysterious spirits and gods, where a dragon or talking mushrooms are nothing out of ordinary. Meeting new friends, Mr. Squirrel and the warrior Won, Hyunjuli explores this strange yet wonderful world to find a way back home. However, due to the trick of the Blossom Lady, who tries to rule this Moonlit World, Hyunjuli and friends fall into trouble. Will Hyunjuli be able to help her new friends to save their world and return home safely?

What's New, Scooby-Doo? Vol. 7: Ready to Scare

Scooby-Doo and the mystery inc gang battle fiends and gobs of eerie monsters.

To R

A boy and a girl coming from different worlds fall in love. When summer is over, they will face the shackles of their normal routine and discover what binds them and what breaks them apart.

The Man from Nowhere

Mathias Pascal, saddled with a stupid wife and a nagging mother-in-law, leaves home and is extremely lucky at several gambling resorts. He returns home and discovers that a drowned man, fished out of the river, bears an uncanny likeness to him and is being buried by his family as him. This, to him, is a pleasant turn of events and he goes to Rome, where he falls in love with Louise Paleari. Count Papiano, a jealous suitor of Louise's, threatens him with arrest unless he produces credentials to prove his identity.

Fien & Teun gaan op schattenjacht

Join Fien, Teun, Sem and all their animal friends on a real pirate adventure in their latest movie! With lots of fun - well-known and new - songs! Nephew Sem is coming to stay with Fien and Teun on the farm and they are super excited! The three of them are going on an adventure and of course the animals are allowed to come along too. When they are just on their way, they already make a big discovery. They find an old boat with a chest full of pirate clothes and ... a treasure map! That can only mean one thing: It's time for a treasure hunt!

GCW: Fight Club Houston

On July 9th GCW presents Fight Club Houston straight from Premier Arena in Houston, Texas. The lineup is almost completed, check it below: AJ Gray vs Bryan Keith Nick Gage vs Sadika Joey Janela vs Dante Ninja Mack vs Jack Cartwheel Effy vs Gino Jimmy Lloyd vs Carter Lucha Scramble .... more to be added soon!