Májové jitro

Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier @ Zurich Opera House

When Strauss and Hofmannsthal wrote «Der Rosenkavalier» – setting it in an imaginary Rococo Vienna and yet closely linked to the decadent fin de siècle – they created a profound social comedy. It is not without melancholy that the Marschallin lets her young lover Octavian go when he falls head over heels with Sophie, who hails from Faninal’s bourgeois household. As voluptuous as Strauss' score is, it contains tender moments of dream and melancholy. Director Lydia Steier stages Strauss’ opera according to an aesthetic concept by Austrian artist Gottfried Helnwein. Diana Damrau sings the Marschallin. Joana Mallwitz, chief conductor at the Konzerthaus Berlin, conducts the Orchester der Oper Zürich.

Kaunis Veera eli ballaadi Saimaalta

Tar Steam Princess Armada travels along Lake Saimaa to St. Petersburg and back during the years of Russian rule over Finland. The ship's crew gets tired of their sophisticated coffee maker and replaces her with Roma girl Veera, who has escaped from an arranged marriage. On the way back, mysterious passengers appear on the ship.

Cavalleria rusticana

Franco Zeffirelli directs these two legendary La Scala productions telling tragic tales of jealousy. Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana features performances by Elena Obraztsova, Plácido Domingo, and Renato Bruson. Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci stars Teresa Stratas, Plácido Domingo, and Juan Pons. Both are conducted by George Pretre. This production of Pagliacci earned director Franco Zeffirelli the coveted Emmy as Best Director in the category of Classical Music Programming.

Trik aneb Jak dámu okouzlit aneb Jak manžela oblafnout

Andrea Chenier

Although Domingo was younger and Banackova looked more like the sweet and innocent young Madalena than the one played by Tomowa-Sintow in the ROH production, this production was not as good. It was not as tight and neat. The tempo set was far too slow for the time-period of the story. The stage setting was distracting. The lighting was too dark. Except Domingo, a natural actor who was always into his role and sings and acts with passion, none of the other performers came up with a convincing portrayal of the role he/she played.

Růženko, spíte sama?

A young poet and dreamer, poor as a church mouse, discovers that he is to inherit a vast fortune from his very wealthy, dying uncle. However, there is one catch to the inheritance - the property can only be obtained on the condition that the young man marries a virgin on the day of his uncle's funeral.

Alcina

Like Handel’s Orlando (1732) and Ariodante (1734), Alcina derives from the narrative material in Ariosto’s Orlando furioso. The story of the sorceress Alcina, an initially hedonistic, manipulative woman who later finds herself a victim of love, fits into the genre of the ‘magical opera’ with numerous magical elements, but Handel achieved considerable emotional authenticity in his characterisations. This makes Alcina one of the most deeply felt and multifaceted operas. ‘You may despise what you like ; but you cannot contradict Handel,’ said the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw. As in Tamerlano, Pierre Audi based this production on the stage at the baroque theatre at Drottningholm, for which he originally developed the directing concept. His set is thus based on the principles of perspective, with wings in the form of painted panels. The result is marvellous modern musical theatre in a historizing frame.

The Magic Flute

The Queen of the Night enlists a handsome prince named Tamino to rescue her beautiful kidnapped daughter, Princess Pamina. Aided by the lovelorn bird hunter Papageno and a magical flute that holds the power to change the hearts of men, young Tamino embarks on a quest for true love, leading to the evil Sarastro's temple where Pamina is held captive.

Hello Again

Ten lost souls slip in and out of one another's arms in a daisy-chained musical exploration of love's bittersweet embrace. A film adaptation of Michael John LaChiusa's celebrated musical, originally based on Arthur Schnitzler's play, La Ronde.

Abrahamsen: The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen is Hans Abrahamsen's first opera, composed to a self-penned libretto, based on Hans Christian Andersen's eponymous fairy tale. Following an in-depth study of the topic of snow and a life-long obsession with Andersen's fairy tales, Abrahamsen composed the opera between 2014 and 2018. Hans Abrahamsen's music, with it's smooth transitions and subtly modified repeats, lends the lyrics both depth and lightness. He is keen to point out the range of avenues for interpretation available. " It's possible to read the fairy tale in a variety of ways. It contains many mysteries which are open to numerous interpretations." Accompanying Barbara Hannigan is a top-class ensemble of singers, including Peter Rose, Katarinya Dalayman and Rachael Wilson. Cornelius Meister is the musical director, currently general music director at the Staatsoper Stuttgart.

Věčný Faust

Der Goggolori

The Metropolitan Opera: Don Giovanni

Simon Keenlyside smolders dangerously in the title role of Mozart’s version of the legend of Don Juan, creating a vivid portrait of a man who is a law unto himself, and all the more dangerous for his eternally seductive allure. Adam Plachetka is his occasionally unruly servant Leporello. It’s when Giovanni tangles with Donna Anna (Hibla Gerzmava) that things start to unravel, aided by the reappearance of Donna Elvira (Malin Byström), who is determined not to let her seducer go. With Paul Appleby as Don Ottavio, Donna Anna’s eternally steadfast fiancé. Principal Conductor Fabio Luisi leads the Met Orchestra and Chorus.

Świat w operze

An interpretation of Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen," which is presented in an artful form with a twist.

Legend of Love

A spring is hidden in the Iron Mountain but the people of Arzen cannot get to it and they are suffering from thirst.

Puccini: Turandot

Franco Zeffirelli's magnificient staging of Puccini's final opera - a fairy tale set in a mythical China - is one of the most popular in the Met repertory. In this Live in HD production, Maria Guleghina takes on the title role and Marcello Giordani is Calaf, the unknown prince. Marina Poplavskaya and Samuel Ramey co-star, and Andris Nelsons conducts in his Met debut.

Bludný Holanďan

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.

Cabaret

Inside the Kit Kat Club of 1931 Berlin, starry-eyed singer Sally Bowles and an impish emcee sound the clarion call to decadent fun, while outside a certain political party grows into a brutal force.

Farinelli

The life and career of Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time.