
In October 2013, the Mariinsky label releases a DVD & Blu-ray of Strauss most Wagnerian of operas, Die Frau ohne Schatten. Filmed in the historic Mariinsky Theatre in 2011, it stars Russian tenor Avgust Amonov as The Emperor, Mlada Khudoley as The Empress, Olga Savova as The Nurse, and is conducted by Valery Gergiev. The Mariinsky Theatre is one of the few opera houses capable of staging Die Frau ohne Schatten, due to the demanding soloist roles, elaborate sets and large orchestral forces required. This epic production, premiered in 2009, is a collaboration between two British artists, director Jonathan Kent and designer Paul Brown, and has become a regular fixture in the opera company s schedule.
6.2A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
6.8After three bumbling Soviet agents fail in their mission to retrieve a straying Soviet composer from Paris, the beautiful, ultra-serious Ninotchka is sent to complete their mission and to retrieve them. She starts out condemning the decadent West, but gradually falls under its spell—with the help of an American movie producer. A remake of Ninotchka (1939).
6.4A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.
6.6This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.
6.8A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
6.5Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.
5.8The Marx Brothers help young Broadway hopefuls when they get mixed up with gangsters due to a tin of sardines containing Romanoff diamonds.
7.4The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
5.8A farm girl is on an epic quest to recover a cherished family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a strange and dangerous city where she meets her one true love – but in order to save his soul, she must put the power of destiny and song to the ultimate test.
6.7Three angels bestow the gift of song to a young girl, who must follow a series of rules in order hold on to it during her rise to fame and fortune.
6.5Americans Jeff and Tommy, hunting in Scotland, stumble upon a village - Brigadoon. They soon learn that the town appears once every 100 years in order to preserve its peace and special beauty. The citizens go to bed at night and when they wake up, it's 100 years later. Tommy falls in love with a beautiful young woman, Fiona, and is torn between staying or going back to his hectic life in New York.
5.9In this concert film, 'Hannah Montana' star Miley Cyrus performs a slew of hit songs, including 'Just Like You' and 'Life's What You Make It.'
8.2Taylor Swift takes the stage in Dallas for the Reputation Stadium Tour and celebrates a monumental night of music, memories and visual magic.
6.8Trip, a young roadie for Metallica, is sent on an urgent mission during the band's show. But what seems like a simple assignment turns into a surreal adventure.
6.3Graced with a velvet voice, 21-year-old Violet Sanford heads to New York to pursue her dream of becoming a songwriter only to find her aspirations sidelined by the accolades and notoriety she receives at her "day" job as a barmaid at Coyote Ugly. The "Coyotes" as they are affectionately called tantalize customers and the media alike with their outrageous antics, making Coyote Ugly the watering hole for guys on the prowl.
8.0In his hometown of Toronto, Shawn Mendes pours his heart out on stage with a live performance in a stadium packed with adoring fans.
6.0A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
7.8Filmed in Amsterdam on the European leg of his 2017 – 2018 Us + Them tour which saw Waters perform to over two million people worldwide, the film features songs from his legendary Pink Floyd albums (The Dark Side of the Moon, The Wall, Animals, Wish You Were Here) and from his last album, Is This The Life We Really Want?
6.1Philadelphia teenager Edna Buxton wins a talent contest during the early rock 'n' roll era, changes her name to Denise Waverly and moves to New York City to make it big. Though she flops as a recording artist, fast-talking record producer Joel Millner recognizes her songwriting talent and teams her with struggling songsmith Howard Caszatt.
When Barbe-bleue loses his fifth wife, the turbulent Boulotte is selected at random to be the next one. But Barbe-Bleue falls in love with Hermia – who loves the shepherd Saphir – and soon wearies of Boulotte. So, he asks his alchemist to concoct for him an “anti-wife” philtre. But, as on the previous occasions, it is merely a sleeping potion and Boulotte wakes up the other five “dead” wives. They reappear, dressed up as gypsies and bring the truth to light.
7.2A collaboration between award-winning American filmmaker Sofia Coppola and Italia haute couture king Valentino comes in the form of a revival of Giuseppe Verdi's classic opera, La Traviata. Captured live from the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.
10.0The great Italian opera composer recalls his eventful life on his deathbed: his childhood in Busseto, his studies in Milan, his first opera "Oberto, conte di San Bonifacio", the death of his wife and his children killed by smallpox.
0.0Against the backdrop of the Hanging Gardens, Semiramide, Queen of Babylon, defies bad omens and supernatural threats in her quest to find a worthy successor to her late husband. But she harbours more than one dark secret, and whoever gains the throne may find that he has lost more than he has won. Based on a story by Voltaire, this rarely performed tragic opera reveals 'The Barber of Seville' composer Giaochino Rossini in a whole new light. The title role—composed for Rossini’s wife, Isabella Colbran—features some of the most demanding vocal music he ever wrote. Angela Meade takes on the challenging vocal fireworks in this revival of a production last seen at the Met 25 years ago.
6.0Vivian, Roe, JJ, Ines and a mysterious French man through a 20 year musical memory of New York City. As people and places in their lives drift away, visual impressions meld with sound and narrative stories to reveal a complex yet moving tableau. As the characters recall their own personal histories, conflicting images reveal their past, present and future.
5.2Live from La Scala Saturday 07 July 2007. In this live performance of Giuseppe Verdi's opera, Violetta, a courtesan much wooed by Parisian society, organises a grand party that is attended, amongst others, by the young Alfredo Germont. He confesses his feelings to Violetta, who is already suffering from consumption. She vacillates between genuine affection and a realistic assessment of her situation as a "fallen woman", which precludes any lasting relationship with a man.
5.7Enrico Caruso's only passion is to sing. For that, he leaves his hometown of Naples, Italy, and travels to America to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. At first, his lack of education and poor background make him an outcast in the high-class opera world. Eventually, his voice wins him both fans and the hand of his love, Dorothy. But his nonstop pace and desire to perform at any cost eventually take their toll on the singer's health.
0.0Violetta, a courtesan much wooed by Parisian society, organizes a grand party that is attended, amongst others, by the young Alfredo Germont. He confesses his feelings to Violetta, who is already suffering from consumption. She vacillates between genuine affection and a realistic assessment of her situation as a "fallen woman", which precludes any lasting relationship with a man. The Franco Zeffirelli production of LA TRAVIATA, recorded live at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, Februari 2002.
0.0In this musical, an enigmatic masked woman catches the roving eye of a wily playboy gambler at a masquerade ball. If he knew that she was using her wiles as bait and was planning to reform him of his gambling womanizing ways after catching him, he may have head for different waters.
0.0Clara is given an enchanted Nutcracker doll on Christmas Eve. As midnight strikes, she creeps downstairs to find a magical adventure awaiting her and her Nutcracker. The magician Drosselmeyer transforms the drawing room into a battle between mice and toy soldiers. During the battle, Clara saves the Nutcracker’s life – so breaking a magical spell that turned him from a boy to a toy – and the Mouse King is defeated. In celebration, Drosselmeyer sweeps Clara and the Nutcracker off to the Kingdom of Sweets, where they meet the Sugar Plum Fairy and take part in a wonderful display of dances. The next morning, Clara’s adventures seem to have been more than just a dream.
4.5Verdi’s monumental score is fully the equal of Shakespeare’s famous tragedy—and both demand great actors. This is one performance where both playwright and composer are well served. Plácido Domingo’s Otello is one of the glories of the operatic world, beautifully sung and so commandingly acted that audiences are devastated by the end. Renée Fleming’s ravishingly beautiful Desdemona is deeply moving, and as Iago, James Morris is as beguiling as he is menacing. Under James Levine’s conducting the Met orchestra and chorus are vital characters in the drama.
8.0On the eve of the 1990 World Cup final, Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, and Luciano Pavarotti sang together for the first time. A look behind the scenes at a musical event whose phenomenal success lasted for more than a decade.
0.0LUCIANO PAVAROTTI was the rare artist who could easily bridge the divide between classical and popular music. Together with an impressive roster of the best-known names in rock, pop and jazz, Pavarotti entertained millions of people around the world with his "Pavarotti & Friends" concerts. This release is the first time that these tracks have been brought together in one album! Rarely has such a glittering array of singing legends from such varied genres been brought together at one time--on both DVD and CD! Featuring Bryan Adams, Andrea Bocelli, Bon Jovi, Bono/The Edge/Brian Eno, Mariah Carey, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow, Celine Dion, The Eurythmics, Elton John, Lionel Richie, Frank Sinatra, Sting and Zucchero.
5.0Arrigo Boito's Il Mefestefele was first performed in 1868 and his most known work. In Ken Russell's modern interpretation presented by the Genoese Opera, it has Faust as an ageing hippy. He smokes marijuana and is tormented by his lost youth. Mephisto makes a bet with God that he can turn anyone to pagan life, even someone as innocent as Faust. From then on it is a battle of good against evil in a flamboyant, surreal display of primary colours, PVC costumes, nurses with swastikas, rocket trips, love and even characters dressed as Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse. Ken Russell said because the devil is always with us is his reason for the contemporary setting.
6.0Johan Strauss Eine Nacht in Venedig (1883) together with Die Fledermaus and Die Zigeunerbaron, has long been among the three most popular of the more than a dozen operettas composed by the 19th c. Waltz King. This Rudolf Bibl conducted performance was recorded live during the Seefestspiele Moerbisch Austria Festival in 1999 and features Marc Clear, Gideon Singer, Evelyn Schörkhuber , Ingrid Habermann, and Anton Steingruber.
7.0Renée Fleming has matured into one of the finest sopranos around at the moment, a true star with a sparkling personality and a velvet-toned voice that is capable of wringing the finest emotions out of works by Strauss and Tchaikovsky that from a lesser singer could sound rather cold and clinical. I wouldn't have thought her voice would be so well suited to Violetta Valéry in La Traviata, and it does take some getting used to, but I think she at least brings a distinct quality to the role with an emotional heart that isn't always necessarily there when a leading diva uses it primarily as a display for her vocal talents. It's served well also by Antonio Pappano's conducting of the Royal Opera House Orchestra in a traditional, but effective production by Richard Eyre.
10.0Puccini’s heartbreaking story of young love in the garrets of Belle Epoque Paris has attracted many famous singers through the years. But with James Levine at the helm and the starry duo of Luciano Pavarotti and Renata Scotto as Rodolfo and Mimi, every bit of emotion in the score pours across the footlights and seduces the audience. In this case, the audience was in the millions since this was the very first in the “Live from the Met” series of telecasts. The evocative production is by Fabrizio Melano, designed by Pier Luigi Pizzi.
10.0Mozart’s allegorical fairy tale has charmed audiences and inspired artists, for more than 200 years. A few weeks before this telecast, the Met unveiled a new production of the opera featuring the colorful designs of acclaimed artist David Hockney. His bold colors and vivid images enchanted audiences and seemed to inspire the striking cast, led by James Levine’s affectionate conducting. Francisco Araiza is the young prince Tamino, who finds himself in a strange land, forced to undergo mysterious tests so he can rescue, then marry, the woman he loves, Pamina, played by Kathleen Battle. Kurt Moll is the compassionate Sarastro and Luciana Serra is the Queen of the Night.
5.0In search of an opera for his theatre, an impresario finds himself grappling with a group of egotists and jealous individuals. Based on a score by Florian Leopold Gassmann, this caustic satire of the 18th-century opera world is directed by Laurent Pelly. Starring Julie Fuchs as the prima donna.
0.0Director Robert Carsen and his creative team flood the stage with summer blossoms, drifts of autumn leaves, winter snows and thunderous spring storms. The cast of 140 are attired in elegant costumes inspired by late 1940s Dior. This mythical tale of a young queen, Alphise, determined to abdicate rather than contemplate an enforced marriage to a descendant of Boreas, is nothing less than highly-charged.
