Adams: Doctor Atomic(2008)

Rabbit of Seville(en)

Behind the Hollywood Bowl stage which is playing the opera The Barber of Seville, Bugs Bunny flees into the backstage area with Elmer Fudd in close pursuit. Seeing his opportunity to fight on his terms, Bugs raises the curtain on Elmer, trapping him on stage. As the orchestra begins playing, Bugs comes into play as the barber who is going to make sure that Elmer is going to get a grooming he will never forget.

What's Opera, Doc?(en)

Elmer Fudd is again hunting rabbits - only this time it's an opera. Wagner's Siegfried with Elmer as the titular hero and Bugs as Brunnhilde. They sing, they dance, they eat the scenery.

The Queen of Spades(ru)

"The Queen of Spades" is considered Tchaikovsky's best creation by the world-famous conductor, People's Artist of the USSR Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseev. He took over the leadership of the musical process of recreating the production at Helikon Opera. The original reading, modern stage language, love for Tchaikovsky's music, which became the hallmarks of Helikon's "Queen of Spades," are preserved in the new version. To this were added the thoughtful gaze of maestro Fedoseev, the stunning stage capabilities of the new hall and the artistic talent of the Helikon troupe.

Berlioz: Les Troyens(fr)

This epic opera follows Virgil, beginning as the Greeks appear to have ceded the field after ten years of the Trojan War. Cassandra tries to warn of the terrible fate to come, but fate is set and Troy falls. The first two acts cover this tragic end, then the flight of survivors to Carthage and events at Carthage continue in acts 3 - 5, culminating in the further voyage for Italy and Rome. This is Virgil's classic epic, in operatic form, in about a three and a half hour performance from French Opera.

The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes(en)

Dark fairytale about a demonic doctor who abducts a beautiful opera singer with designs on transforming her into a mechanical nightingale.

La traviata in Paris(it)

La traviata in Paris is a film-opera of Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata filmed live on television and worldwide, directed by Giuseppe Patroni Griffi, conceived and produced by Andrea Andermann in 2000. A Traviata that takes place live, with a television reporter who, amid the events of the day that took place in France on June 3, 2000, connects live to the scene of the action but at the time exactly a century earlier, in the Paris of June 3, 1900 (the setting of the opera is thus postdated from the original, which was conceived for the 1850s).

Semiramide(en)

In ancient Babylon, SEMIRAMIDE (Anderson) encourages her lover Assur (Ramey) to murder her husband, King Ninus. Her son, Ninius, disappears, believed dead, and Semiramide rules in her own right. 15 years later, as the opera opens, she is about to announce the name of her successor. Idreno (Olsen) and Assur are the leading candidates for the throne and the hand of Princess Azema (Shin), but Semiramide has taken a fancy to young Arsace (Horne), her victorious military leader who has been summoned back to Babylon. Only the high priest Oroe (Cheek) knows that Arsace is actually Ninius, spirited away to safety after the coup. As the queen announces Arsace as her successor, the ghost of her husband appears from his tomb, demanding that Arsace punish the late king’s murderers... Filmed at New York's Metropolitan Opera, John Copley's production of Rossini's last, longest and most elaborate dramatic opera brings together what many consider the definitive contemporary cast.

The Magic Flute(sv)

The Queen of the Night enlists a handsome prince named Tamino to rescue her beautiful kidnapped daughter, Princess Pamina, in this screen adaptation of the beloved Mozart opera. 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.

Aida(it)

This Italian film version of Verdi's opera stars Sophia Loren on the screen, with Renata Tebaldi providing the vocals.

Stravinsky: The Rake's Progress(en)

This lavish, cinematic realisation of Stravinsky's neo-classic masterpiece, performed in English, is filmed both in studio and on location. The imaginative richness in the music is complemented by costumes and sets which are, by turn, exquisitely garish and darkly grotesque to intoxicating effect.

Easter(en)

Easter is a five story-arc opera about the coming-of-age of juking. The first of its tales aptly deals with contemporary civil unrest with foci on the interrelationships between law enforcement in communities it serves, and corruption within the justice system as a whole. It unfolds from the perspective of an African-American male who feels circumstantially slighted by society, and because of that, takes the law into his own hands and goes on a rampage which erupts into a war in the process.

La Rondine(en)

This 2008 version of Puccini's LA RONDINE (The Swallow) features acclaimed conductor Carlo Rizzi and polished theatre-direction from Graham Vick, recorded at the Teatro La Fenice, in Venice.

The Metropolitan Opera: La Bohème(en)

A new generation of rising stars shines in Franco Zeffirelli’s classic production of Puccini’s most popular opera. Vittorio Grigolo is the poor poet Rodolfo who falls head over heels for his neighbor, the seamstress Mimì, sung by the radiant Kristine Opolais. Susanna Phillips is the flirtatious Musetta, Massimo Cavaletti is her sweetheart Marcello, and Patrick Carfizzi as Schaunard and Oren Gradus as Colline complete the ensemble. Stefano Ranzani conducts.

The Magic Flute(en)

Tamino, a handsome prince, and Papageno, a bird-catcher, are sent by the Queen of Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from captivity under the high priest Sarastro. Julie Taymor's abridged, English-language production of the classic Mozart opera.

Kaija Saariaho: Innocence(en)

The world premiere of composer Kaija Saariaho's opera, "Innocence", at the 2021 Aix-en-Provence Festival. Finland is the setting but the protagonists come from the four corners of Europe: a Finnish groom and his Romanian bride, a French mother-in-law and a Czech maid. Around them memories unravel in a contemporary tragedy of guilt and lost innocence.

Die Fledermaus(de)

Most opera houses ring in the New Year with Johann Strauss Jr.'s most popular operetta--the festiveness of which is appropriate for the occasion--and this December 31, 1983, Covent Garden performance follows suit. An exceptional cast--led by Hermann Prey and Kiri Te Kanawa as the couple whose marriage survives the comic indiscretions of three long acts--obviously has as much fun as the audience. Plácido Domingo leads the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House through its paces with panache. Prince Orlofsky's Act II party is always a splendid opportunity to pull out all the stops with surprise "guests," and this performance makes the most of its chance: entering the proceedings to sing one of his tailor-made chansons, "She," is French crooner Charles Aznavour, who is followed by dancers Merle Park and Wayne Eagling, their delightful pas de deux flashily choreographed by Sir Frederick Ashton.

La traviata(it)

This “Traviata” became one of the most succesful of all opera films, especially in France, where 800,000 Parisian cinemagoers flocked to it in the first six week. It was nominated for two Oscars (for production and costume design) and won BAFTAs in those two categories, as well as receiving BAFTA and Golden Globe nominations as 1983’s Best Foreign-Language Film.

La Bohème (Sydney Opera House)(it)

Brainland(en)

In 1935, renowned Portuguese neurologist Egas Moniz visits psychiatrist Sobral Cid, trying to convince him to use his patients as subjects for an experimental treatment: frontal leukotomy. The film is a film adaptation of a scene from the play Brainland, which explores three key episodes in the history of 20th-century neuroscience. Each episode addresses dilemmas related to clinical ethics.

Don Giovanni(it)

Mozart’s Don Giovanni was first performed in 1787, and was based on the story of the Spanish lothario, Don Juan. The title character seduces, deceives and murders his way through the opera, doing his utmost to experience life, and all that it has to offer, to the full.