C Major Entertainment

Part of Tutto Verdi series - Otello (2008) Salzburg. 'Otello' is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play 'Othello'. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887.

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...

2014 marks a year of celebration recognizing the 150th birthday year of the German late-Romantic orchestral, operatic and lied master composer, Richard Strauss (1864-1949). Arabella (premiered 1933, Dresden) was the last of the half dozen Strauss works to feature a libretto by the great Austrian writer Hugo von Hofmannsthal. This production, from the most recent Salzburg Easter Festival is, after Capriccio, the second of three Richard Strauss operas C Major is releasing in honor of the composers birth, life and work. The star-laden cast includes soprano Renèe Fleming, baritone Thomas Hampson, Albert Dohmen (Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, MET) and Gabriela Beaková (Wiener Staatsoper, Covent Garden). With Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden, the music of Richard Strauss is in the best of hands. (ORF) Thielemann gets the best out of the cast...especially Renée Fleming with her luxurious soprano FAZ

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.

I due Foscari was Verdi's sixth opera and based on Lord Byron's play The Two Foscari. Rich in intrigue, the plot tells of the final days of the famous Venetian doge, Francesco Foscari, and his illegal overthrow in 1457.

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).

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.

C Major Entertainment presents, in both single-disc DVD and Blu-ray editions, the Best of Verdi Opera Choruses. During the course of the following ninety minutes, viewers will both see and hear the choir hits from an array of Verdi Operas, including Nabucco, La Traviata, Aida, Il Trovatore, and several others. Among the Verdi choruses to be heard sung by the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma and the Orchestra e Coro del Teatro di San Carlo, among others, are Tre volte miagola la gatta in fregola Patria oppressa! from Macbeth, Vedi! Le fosche notturne spoglie from Il Trovatore, Noi siamo zingarelle ... Di Madride noi siam mattadori from La Traviata, Tutto nel mondo e burla from Falstaff, and more.

Ellie Goulding grew up on a council estate in sleepy Herefordshire before getting her enormous talent recognised while at university in the 2000s. Her folk-tinged electropop continues to charm along with her electric stage presence, on show here at Baloise Session 2023.

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.

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.

Concert filmed at the Event Halle at Messe Basel on November 3, 2017 during the Baloise Session Festival.

La vida breve, an Andalusian opera in two acts written by Manuel de Falla on a libretto by Carlos Fernández Shaw, staged by Giancarlo del Monaco at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, in Valencia.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood: Their music videos told bizarre stories - from the overtly sexual sado club to the biblical nativity play. At the centre: Holly Johnson. Always with a slightly ironic charm and in a tailor-made suit. Always style-conscious, even in the crises of his life. At Baloise 2022 he revives the emotions of yesteryear with his British humour and his immortal solo hit "Americanos".

Acclaimed Canadian choreographer Anna-Marie Holmes’s exhilarating production, seen at the American Ballet Theatre and English National Ballet, invades the stage at La Scala with new sets and costumes by Luisa Spinatelli. Filled with action, passion and romance, this swashbuckling comedy, based on 'The Corsair' by Lord Byron, follows a dashing pirate, Conrad (Timofej Andrijashenko), as he journeys across the high seas to save his beautiful harem girl Medora (Nicoletta Manni). An exotic, breathtaking spectacle, and an adventure not to be missed.

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.

The Wiener Staatsballett performs Rudolf Nureyev's world-famous choreography of "The Nutcracker." Recorded live at the Vienna State Opera, 7 October 2012.

Duran Duran, pop pioneers who became global icons, have never stopped looking to the future while embracing their heritage. In the cosy intimacy of the Baloise Session, the band gets closer to the audience. An authentic concert without artifice.

1957, at the tender age of 16, Paul Anka's debut hit single Diana immediately catapulted him into Hall of Fame status. For decades now, Anka has been one of the most successful composers around: Tom Jones' She's a Lady was written by him, as well as the lyrics for Frank Sinatra's legendary signature song My Way. He has released over 120 albums and sold over 100 million records. Anka has also been named the 21st most successful artist in Billboard's history (Billboard statistic). Today, Paul Anka is known as the last great crooner. When he translates his own as well as cover songs into elegant swing and gives his charm free reign on the stage, Anka glorifies the purest form of entertainment. Joined by his Big Band, he presents his programme 'Rock Swings' including famous rock classics in Swing versions at AVO SESSION Basel. This performance includes the big hits Diana, My Way, New York New York, Put Your Head On My Shoulder and more.