Tannhäuser

A romantic opera in three acts with music and libretto by Richard Wagner, performed by the Orchestra of the Teatro di San Carlo. The original title, Tannhauser und der Sangerkrieg auf Wartburg, reveals the real nature of the opera, born by a fusion of two traditional sagas and dedicated to the dualism of spirituality and sensuality and the possibility of redemption through love. Composed between 1843 and 1845, Tannhauser has a tormented musical theme, made up of constant variations. It debuted in Dresden in 1845 when Wagner was just over 30.

Elektra

Last production staged by Patrice Chéreau, this Elektra will remain as the main and most striking lyrical event of these last years in Aix-en-Provence. This production is leaded by three amazing singers: the German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius gave a tremendous, never-to-be-forgotten account of the title role, Waltraud Meier portrays a human and chilling Clytemnestra and Adrianne Pieczonka is a fantastic Chrysothemis. Everyone's loneliness and intimate struggles are Patrice Chéreau's favorites theatrical themes. With Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Orchestre de Paris, this production of Elektra becomes an unforgettable experience.

Rusalka

The water fairy Rusalka falls in love with an earthly prince. In vain, Father Aquarius warns her. Her sincere feelings are met with human treachery...

Abesalom and Eteri

Prince Abesalom runs into an orphaned Eteri while hunting, falls for her and brings the woman to his palace as his fiancé. The Prince’s aid Murman loses his self-control at Eteri’s beauty and gives her a spelled necklace as a wedding gift. Eteri contracts a mysterious disease that only Murman is capable to heal.

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.

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.

Poulenc's The Human Voice / Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle

Running through Bartók’s disenchanted tale, whose haunting music was initially condemned as unplayable, and the expression of despair in Poulenc’s monologue, the director Krzysztof Warlikowski perceives a shared dramatic thread, a shared feminine consciousness and a shared sense of imprisonment and suffocation: for the woman who penetrates the confines of Bluebeard’s castle and Elle, the woman who clings to a telephone conversation with a man as the only thing worth living for, are condemned to share the same fate. And this man she speaks to, does he really exist? Unless the director has interpreted Cocteau’s words to the letter and the telephone has become a “terrifying weapon that leaves no trace, makes no noise”…

Berg: Wozzeck

Based on real events and drawing on Georg Büchner's revolutionary play, Alban Berg's Wozzeck turns a grimly tragic narrative of violence and murder into one of the most powerful and original operas of the 20th century. Berg's uncompromising portrayal of brutality and madness generated much controversy, but the significance of Wozzeck was soon recognised; its compelling lyrical expansiveness, large-scale dramatic gestures and remarkable musical structures producing music of overwhelming emotional intensity. The Financial Times declared this to be 'a beautiful, moving, engrossing production… this is a consummate Wozzeck, blending clarity, lyricism, compassion and crushing force.'

The Metropolitan Opera - Puccini: Manon Lescaut

Kristine Opolais is the young woman whose conflicting desires for love and luxury lead to her tragic end, and Roberto Alagna plays the man who falls for her in Puccini’s early hit. Richard Eyre’s elegant production, which sets the action in 1940s occupied France, was one of the highlights of the Met’s 2015–16 season. Massimo Cavalletti as Manon’s brother and Brindley Sherratt as her aging admirer co-star, and Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi is on the podium.

Lohengrin

After Tristan und Isolde (2016), Parsifal (2017) and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2018) this is the fourth installment of the exclusive, multiyear partnership between Deutsche Grammophon and the Bayreuth Festival, in which the Yellow Label is the exclusive audiovisual partner of the mythical Wagner festival, releasing each edition's new production on Blu-ray. This year, we are proud to release on Blu-ray the celebrated production of Lohengrin which was premiered on 25 July 2018, featuring an illustrious cast including Piotr Beczala and Anja Harteros in their house debuts, as well as the acclaimed return of Waltraud Meier to the Bayreuth Festival. The New York Times praised Piotr Beczala’s Lohengrin as “outstanding”, Anja Harteros [making] her impressive Bayreuth debut” as Elsa, and Ortrud “played with dominant presence by the incomparable Waltraud Meier”.

Hippolyte et Aricie

In October 1733, the audience at the Académie Royale de Musique witnessed the birth of a revolutionary work: Hippolyte et Aricie. With its inventiveness and musical richness, Rameau’s opera marks a break in the history of French music. A similarly revolutionary duo – Jeanne Candel and Raphaël Pichon – get to grips with this work for the Opéra Comique.

Giuseppe Verdi: Aida

Figaros Hochzeit

Shortly after WWII, the DEFA Studios produced a series of operas and operettas which belonged to the classical German musical heritage. This enchanting film, the very first opera production of DEFA, stands out because of its lavish decor and costumes, its outstanding actors and their masterful voices of that time.

Saariaho: L'Amour de Loin

This is the 2004 version of Kaija Saariaho's opera performed by the Finnish National Opera and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

John Adams: Nixon in China

John Adams’s groundbreaking work vividly brings to life US President Nixon’s 1972 visit to the People’s Republic of China. Peter Sellars’s Metropolitan Opera production, based on his 1987 world-premiere staging, features choreography by Mark Morris and stars James Maddalena as Nixon, Robert Brubaker as Chairman Mao, Janis Kelly as First Lady Pat Nixon, Russell Braun as Chinese Premier Chou En-lai, and Kathleen Kim as Chiang Ch’ing, Mao’s wife. From the pomp of the public displays to the intimacy of the protagonists most private moments, Adams, Sellars and librettist Alice Goodman reveal the real characters behind the headlines in this landmark American opera.

Mozart: Così Fan Tutte (Zurich Opera House)

A production of Mozart's opera recorded live at Zurich Opera House in 2000. Cecilia Bartoli leads an all-star cast including Roberto Saccà, Liliana Nikiteanu, and Agnes Baltsa. The conductor is Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Filmed live at the Zurich Opera House in February 2000 on a set which visualises the subtitle "The School for Lovers", the plot revolves around two army officers arguing about the fidelity of their brides, then setting out to test their chastity. Despite the often playful humour, this is not only psychologically telling music-making, but reveals Mozart exploring the structure of opera, discarding convention to mix large ensemble sections with arias for as many different combinations of singers as possible. With Liliana Nikiteanu attractively contrasted with Bartoli, and thoroughly convincing performances by Roberto Sacca (Ferrando) and Oliver Widmer (Guilelmo), this Così has a freshness and flow which, coupled with the timeless romantic themes, feels very contemporary.

Orfeo Ed Euridice

Performed live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Gluck's opera in three acts is conducted by Hartmut Haenchen. Performers include Jochen Kowalski, Gillian Webster and Jeremy Budd, alongside the Royal Opera Chorus and Orchestra. When Orpheus mourns for his late wife Eurydice, the god Cupid offers him the chance to descend into the underworld and lead her back to the land of the living, on the condition that he does not look at her face. He sets out on his journey, but his path to the Elysian Fields is blocked by the fierce Furies.

Tamerlano

Handel's 1724 opera Tamerlano followed the success of his previous year's Giulio Cesare with another colourful historical costume drama. This time the setting is the court of "Timur the Tartar", who has just defeated the Turkish Sultan Bajazet at the battle of Angora. There are, naturally enough, romantic complications when both Tamerlano and his ally, the Greek Prince Andronico, fall in love with Bajazet's daughter Asteria. She, however, has plans to revenge her father's defeat. This production was directed by Jonathan Miller and staged in the intimate surroundings of the Goethe Theatre of Bad Lauchstadt as part of the 2001 Halle Handel Festival.

Don Giovanni

Live performance from Cologne Opera. Conlon conducts a skittishly dynamic performance of Don Giovanni. He relies on Thomas Allen’s tough Don to give the work much of its dark menace and on Holle’s terrifying Commendatore to provide the moral outrage – his job is to keep things moving, and he does. The exteriors – blank city spaces reminiscent of the paintings of Giorgio De Chirico – and moodily claustrophobic interiors mirror effectively the anguish of the orphaned Anna and the abandoned Elvira; this is a performance in which the two women victims of the Don function effectively as correctives to his libertine charm. Andrea Rost as Zerlina brings real delicacy to her role, reminding us that “La ci darem la mano” is a duet about her flirtation with Don Giovanni and not just a famous stand-alone moment. This is an admirable presentation of a fine performance.

Cecilia & Bryn at Glyndebourne

The celebrated mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli joins Bryn Terfel for a recital of arias and duets recorded at Glyndebourne Opera House in 1999. The programme features favourite pieces from Mozart, Rossini and Donizetti, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Myung-Whun Chung.

Skal: Fight for Survival

My name's Arthur, a huge Internet star who's just hit 3 million subs. While in the midst of throwing an epic party to celebrate, the universe had the balls to bring on the effing apocalypse and cut my night short. What was supposed to be a perfect hangover, has turned into an epic fight for survival.

Czechoslovak Architecture 58–89

Vladimir 518, uncompromising rapper, artist, stage designer and activist, is a rare phenomenon, who not only writes books, but publishes them as well. Today also a respected authority primarily on pre-1989 architecture, he has written not only a major publication on the subject, but also the story for two audiovisual works treating the same theme, which were shot by Jan Zajíček, renowned director of music videos. In addition to the recent TV series we have the eagerly anticipated feature-length film which, through its fascinating and impressive exploration of Czech and Slovak architecture of the latter half of the 20th century, offers exclusive insight into extraordinary buildings and unique individuals living below the Tatra Mountains. Karel Och (kviff.com)

Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris

In his own words, the burglar behind the 2010 robbery of the Paris Museum of Modern Art tells how he pulled off the biggest art heist in French history.

Avatar

Tension mounts between a quadraplegic man and his wife as she prepares a bath for him.

Fog City

A group of friends seal themselves inside a secluded Cape Cod vacation home after a mysterious orange fog leaks from an old nearby factory. Once trapped, they quickly learn there is no escape.

Box

A group of friends try to defeat an evil king, and meet some quirky characters along the way.

Mobile Suit SD Gundam

A collection of short parodies of the Mobile Suit Gundam saga. Episode 1 pokes fun at key events that occurred during the One Year War. In episode 2, Amuro, Kamille and Judau fight over who runs the better pension when Char comes in to crash their party. Episode 3 is the SD Olympics, an array of athletic events pitting man with mobile suit.

Star

Spider-Man

When an extortionist threatens to force a multi-suicide unless a huge ransom is paid, only Peter Parker can stop him with his new powers as Spider-Man.

George Stevens: A Filmmaker's Journey

Biography of the legendary filmmaker directed by his son.

What's New, Scooby-Doo? Vol. 5: Sports Spooktacular

The 5th volume of episodes from the hit TV series What's New Scooby-Doo, with four action-packed sports adventures. The Unnatural serves up a full plate of ballpark pranks and ferocious fastballs from Ghost Cab Gray, who wants to stop the current homerun king from breaking his record. The gang tries to stop a giant sand worm from wreaking havoc on the Enduro Slam 5000 offroad race in The Fast and the Wormious. A weird ghost monster called the Titantic Twist turns Daphne and Velma into Wrestle Maniacs. For a grand-slam finale the hockey mystery Diamonds Are A Ghoul's Best Friend introduces the chilling Frozen Fiend. When the gang dons sticks and pads, will they perform a hat trick...or get frozen stiff?

Nullification: The Rightful Remedy

What do we do when the Federal Government steps outside of its constitutional limits? Do we ask federal judges in black robes to enforce the limits of federal power? Do we "vote the bums out" in the hopes that new bums will surrender their power? Thomas Jefferson and James Madison didn't think so, and neither should we. The rightful remedy to federal tyranny rests in the hands of the people and the States that created the federal government in the first place. It's called nullification, and it's an idea whose time has come.

El gabinete del doctor mojado - Piloto CNTV

El Gabinete del Doctor Mojado is the 31 Minutos pilot made to win funding from the Chile's Consejo Nacional de Televisión in 2002. This was an extremely preliminary idea of what the program would be, which at the time was hosted by a fish from a fish tank.

Girl on the Moon

Someone from another planet crashed on Earth and evil is chasing him, and then love appears, and it defeats evil through an amulet.

The Tragedy of "W"

A young theatre actress fights for her uncertain career while having to confront the personal sacrifices that will arise from it.

(re)kindle

Ana and Helen, two divorced women, were close friends as teenagers. Today, amidst the corona virus pandemic and in quarantine, they get in touch after 20 years via internet. Through video conference calls, memories, sensations and emotions reflourishes.

What's New Scooby-Doo? Vol. 4: Merry Scary Holiday

A perfect ski vacation heads downhill in Winter Hollow, where any mention of Christmas unleashes the feared Headless Snowman. It's "A Scooby Doo Christmas" when Scooby-Doo and crew set out to melt the ferocious Frosty and save the holiday. It's no fun in "Toy Scary Boo" when all the toys in Happy Toyland start coming alive and wreaking havoc. In "Homeward Hound," a fiercely fanged cat creature petrifies the competing pooches at a dog show, including the visiting Scooby-Doo! Finally, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo's wildest dreams come true when they win a tour of Munchville, home of Scooby Snax dough and it spells out a "Recipe for Disaster."

Secrets of Palace coup d'etat. Russia, 18th century. Film №1. Testament Emperor

Russia, January 25, 1725. "Give it all...". The emperor's weakening hand was able to write in his will only these two short incomprehensible words that kept Russia in a bloody struggle for the crown for a century.