Teatro alla Scala

Acclaimed Ukranian dancer Svetlana Zakharova, who later became one of the youngest ballerinas in Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet, stars in the title role of the famed Romantic ballet "Giselle," recorded at the Teatro alla Scalla in Milan in April 2005. The production, with a libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Théophile Gautier, and music by Adolphe Adam, also features La Scala star Roberto Bolle as Albrecht.

In his 'new life' as a baritone, Placido Domingo has triumphed in the role of Francesco Foscari in Los Angeles, London and Vienna. Now he takes to the role to La Scala, Milan, the theatre that is the symbol of Italian opera. I due Foscari, premiered in 1844, famously one of Verdi's darkest operas, is staged by Alvis Hermanis, who made such an impact at the Salzburg Festival with "Die Soldaten" and "Il trovatore". Domingo is joined by two of Italy's most exciting singers, the soprano Anna Pirozzi and the tenor Francesco Meli, and the acclaimed Italian conductor Michele Mariotti. The Financial Times was deeply moved by Domingo's performance, calling his interpretation of the role "sublime".

The Italian and international press were unanimous in their praise for "Peter Grimes" at La Scala, which revived the tradition of Britten's operas on the lyric stages of Italy. A top British cast was marshaled by the baton of Robin Ticciati. Richard Jones's production focuses on the fisherman as the outside in a brutal and brutalized 1980s society, cut off by mutual suspicion and misunderstanding: an unforgettable production of a 20th-century operatic masterpiece that never loses its power. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true Surround Sound.

Opera di Giuseppe Verdi a Milano.

With Roland Petit’s cool, cabaret-style choreography and chic costumes by Yves Saint Laurent, Notre-Dame de Paris has been a modern ballet hit ever since its 1965 premiere. Petit’s deft condensation of Victor Hugo’s epic and tragic novel is now renewed by two stars of our own time, Roberto Bolle and Natalia Osipova: a stunning tribute to Petit’s genius after his death in 2011. Recorded live at Teatro alla Scala, Milan, March 2013.

Live performance from Teatro alla Scala, 7 December 2009 .

Don Quixote is a 19th century work, choreographed by Petipa in 1869. Rudolf Nureyev revived it in 1966 and it is his version in La Scala Ballet’s repertoire, much loved by ballet audiences for its winning mix of technical bravura, exuberance and comic touches. La Scala Ballet brought the world of a fantastical Spain brilliantly to life with their sophisticated dance, music, costumes and sets, energetically accompanied by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra, conducted by David Coleman.