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Around 1850, in Paris. At a soirée, Alfredo Germont, a young man from a respectable Provençal family, falls in love with Violetta Valéry, a courtesan. Deeply in love, Violetta gives up her profession and devotes herself entirely to Alfredo. However, Mr Germont senior, in the name of bourgeois respectability, persuades her to break up with his son. Violetta then writes a letter of separation to Alfredo without revealing the real reason for her decision. The fatal illness from which she was already suffering then flares up once more. A month later, Alfredo learns from his father that Violetta never stopped loving him... ‘La traviata’ is a 3 act opera by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Francesco Maria Piave based on the novel ‘The Lady of the Camellias’ by Alexandre Dumas, fils (1848) and its stage adaptation (1852). Premiered on 6 March 1853 at La Fenice in Venice. From the 27-opera Verdi box set “Tutto Verdi”. Recorded live at the Teatro Regio in Parma on 4 April 2012.

Rarely has a production of Verdi’s Otello been staged in such a prestigious location: the courtyard of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice! This special outdoor “event production” of the Teatro La Fenice takes place amidst genuine late-Gothic and Renaissance architecture highlighted by spectacular projections: “A set of singular fascination” (Il Corriere Musicale). Critics were full of praise for the musical performance, designating conductor Myung-Whun Chung as the “absolutely dominating force” of the performance (GB Opera). The lead role is sung by Gregory Kunde, who successfully interpreted both Verdi’s and Rossini’s Otello in one year, perhaps the first tenor ever to do so. He “reproduces every accent, every colour demanded by Verdi with sensibility and intelligence” (OperaClick).

In honor of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th birthday, Tanglewood—the famed summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra—dedicated its entire 2018 season to the iconic composer, conductor, performer, educator and humanitarian. The festivities culminated on Bernstein’s centennial birthday on August 25, 2018, in a special celebrity-studded gala concert. Directed for the stage by James Darrah, The Bernstein Centennial Celebration at Tanglewood illuminates the breadth of Bernstein’s incredible life and career, which inspired generations of music lovers around the globe – from his talent as a composer to his generosity in mentoring other composers and musicians, his inimitable role as a driving musical force at Tanglewood for over 50 years and more.

In a Tyrolean village in the first half of the 17th century. Luisa, Miller’s daughter, and Carlo, a young man she met in the village, are deeply in love. When Wurm, a courtier who is also in love with Luisa, asks Miller for his daughter’s hand in marriage, Miller replies that he cannot give his daughter away against her will. Offended, Wurm then reveals Carlo’s true identity: he is Rodolfo, the son of Count Walter. ‘Luisa Miller’ is an opera in three acts, the fourteenth by Giuseppe Verdi, then aged 36. It premiered at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 8 December 1849. Taken from the ‘Tutto Verdi’ box set of 27 Verdi operas. Recorded live at the Teatro Regio in Parma on 20 and 22 October 2007.

George Frederic Handel's oratorio Theodora, in its first-ever staged version at the Salzburg Festival, was among the highlights of Handel Year 2009. Acclaimed director Christof Loy presented Theodora as the profoundly moving tale of a woman who prefers death to denying her faith, an interpretation captivated with bravura by world-renowned video director Hannes Rossacher. A luminous Christine Schaefer and countertenor Bejun Mehta formed a perfect leading couple altogether suited to conductor Ivor Bolton's vigorus reading.

Neumeier's dance version of the Shakespeare play about the trials and tribulations of love has lost none of its freshness over three decades after its premiere. With his selection of music, which ranges from Mendelssohn Bartholdy to György Ligeti to traditional barrel organ music, John Neumeier shows his dramaturgical sensibility by integrating three different musical styles into his choreographic narrative.

In the silence of the Paris catacombs, Queens of the Stone Age reinvented themselves during a stripped-down yet intensely powerful acoustic set. The film "Alive in the Catacombs" captured the essence of the performance—resonating water droplets, natural echoes, ghostly plays of light—transforming it into a live experience where desert rock reaches unprecedented depths. In 2025, this ultra-exclusive project is reborn on the Baloise Session stage: one of only seven European dates in 2025.

In the 16th century, in Cyprus, at the port of Famagusta, General Otello arrives with his ship after defeating the Turkish navy in the Mediterranean and securing Venetian rule over Cyprus, but jealousy, conspiracy and revenge lead to tragedy. ‘Otello’ is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with a libretto by Arrigo Boito based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Othello, the Moor of Venice’, and premiered on 5 February 1887 at La Scala in Milan. Taken from the ‘Tutto Verdi’ box set of 27 Verdi operas. Recorded live at the Salzburg Festival, 5–10 August 2008.

This occasionally off-the-wall but finely sung and colourfully staged La Cenerentola was Rome Opera’s first foray into the media market, shown on television and in cinemas across Italy in 2016. It clearly had the funding. Emma Dante’s production will not have come cheap – Vanessa Sannino’s costumes are a particular feature – nor would the singers, given that this is as good a Cenerentola cast as any international house might currently muster.

Blues, gospel, jazz: Jon Batiste has been immersed in music since childhood. He played in his family's band, studied piano and went on to become a Master of Jazz at the Julliard School in New York. In Basel, he performed a piano and vocal repertoire: a resolutely contemporary return to his roots that has earned him seven Grammy Awards and an Oscar.

Olga Neuwirth, for a long time one of the great composers of the present, succeeds with this opera in creating a captivating arc across many musical genres. It’s an exciting, socially critical production by Polly Graham who puts a fantastically singing and playing Kate Lindsey in the center of the action.

At the beginning of 1964, the music world experiences something completely unexpected. Maria Callas returns to the opera stage as the prima donna. Her “Tosca” at the Royal Opera House becomes a sensation. Maria Callas wants to show everyone once again that she deserves the title of “prima donna assoluta.” On the condition that star director Franco Zeffirelli take over the direction, the exceptional singer agrees to sing the role of Tosca. The BBC recorded the 2nd act of the opera for television. It is one of the most dramatic acts in opera history: in order to free the painter Cavaradossi from the hands of torturers, Tosca ends up murdering the police chief Scarpia. The film footage is one of the rare opportunities to see Maria Callas in an opera performance and to experience her highly emotional performance art and vocal abilities...

To mark Music Day, ten European orchestras will perform some of the finest piano concertos alongside prestigious soloists and under the baton of renowned conductors from various cities across the continent. The programme for this exceptional concert features works by Brahms, Grieg, Chopin, Beethoven, Ravel and Mozart.

I Lombardi alla prima crociata (The Lombards on the First Crusade) was Verdi’s fourth opera and received its first performance at La Scala, Milan, in February 1843. The grandiloquent subject matter is fleshed-out with broad-brushed musical and dramatic effects and lavish choral scenes created a correspondingly impressive impact. A great success in Milan, it spread to the rest of Europe within a matter of only a few years.

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Oberto (2007) Parma. Oberto was the first of Verdi’s operas to be staged and was heard for the first time at La Scala, Milan, in November 1839. As a young and unknown composer, Verdi was subject to the rules then governing the opera industry in Italy. Even so, there are already many scenes in this early work that reveal unmistakable signs of the composer’s individual style.

On 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.

A key figure in modern folk rock, Amy Macdonald captivates audiences with her haunting melodies and unique voice. Her sixth album, Is This What You've Been Waiting For?, continues her musical odyssey. On stage, the singer exudes boundless energy and irresistible charm.

The director, Roland Schwab, has created his version of Hell. The set is like a high iron walled hanger and the stage is continually occupied with people who look like fugitives from Mad Max and who interact with Mefistofele. The orchestra and choir are wonderful. Rene Pape gives a nuanced interpretation with a certain amount of sardonic humour under the evil. His singing and acting are first rate, as is that of Kristine Opolais and Joseph Calleja.