It is an event that attracts thousands of music lovers to Verona every summer: the opera season in the ancient Roman Arena. Nearly 22,000 spectators regularly fill the amphitheater for the performances. The Arena di Verona honours Italian stage director and filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli and his legendary production of Turandot. His imposing cinematographic production reproduces imperial China thanks to it's impressive scenery and scenes, enriched by the sumptuous costumes of the Oscar-winning Japanese costume designer EMI Wada. Everything helps to highlight the atmosphere of the drama of enigma per excellence, where life itself is in danger and the answer lies in love, which melts the protagonist's icy heart. "Netrebko does not merely sing it: she interprets it. What emerges is a character much more human and ultimately truer than usual" (La Stampa)

With an outstanding cast and Jan Philipp Gloger's innovative staging, Bregenzer Festspiele's Tancredi becomes a fresh reimagining of Rossini's opera, set in the world of organized crime and reframing the traditionally heterosexual love story as a queer romance. This bold reinterpretation is brought to life by Anna Goryachova and Melissa Petit, whose performances capture the emotional depth and tragedy of their love. "The two women are sensational... both vocally and dramatically" (Augsburger Allgemeine). Under the baton of Yi-Chen Lin, the Wiener Symphoniker "throw themselves diligently into the opera's multifaceted details" (SWR). "Modern opera at it's absolute finest!" (Kronenzeitung)

With an outstanding cast and Jan Philipp Gloger's innovative staging, Bregenzer Festspiele's Tancredi becomes a fresh reimagining of Rossini's opera, set in the world of organized crime and reframing the traditionally heterosexual love story as a queer romance. This bold reinterpretation is brought to life by Anna Goryachova and Melissa Petit, whose performances capture the emotional depth and tragedy of their love. "The two women are sensational... both vocally and dramatically" (Augsburger Allgemeine). Under the baton of Yi-Chen Lin, the Wiener Symphoniker "throw themselves diligently into the opera's multifaceted details" (SWR). "Modern opera at it's absolute finest!" (Kronenzeitung)

Deutsche Grammophon's 120th Anniversary Concert - Filmed and recorded live to the highest industry standards in front of the magnificent scenery of Beijing's Forbidden City, this unique gala concert celebrates the 120th anniversary of Deutsche Grammophon. The concert features conductor Long Yu and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, both freshly signed as exclusive recording artists to Deutsche Grammophon, and performances from Aida Garifullina, Daniil Trifonov, Mari Samuelsen, and more.

A colossal work that defies all boundaries: Prokofiev's monumental setting of Tolstoy's epic novel War and Peace. The story, set during Napoleon's Russian campaign between 1809 and 1812, is condensed by the composer into a powerful sequence of scenes in which the love story between Natasha Rostova and Andrei Bolkonsky alternates in striking contrast with the depiction of the Russian army's battle against the French invasion-interwoven yet deeply connected. The music narrates how the aristocracy's rigid social hierarchy stands in the way of two young people's happiness, how seduction succeeds while an abduction fails, how some renounce their love while others fall as heroes-all while people, amidst the grandeur, search for true connection. With a wealth of magnificent themes and poignant moments, Prokofiev's operatic masterpiece merges social drama and historical chronicle into a sweeping panorama. Dmitri Tcherniakov's staging presents a gathering of people in a historically charged setting: the famous Pillar Hall of the House of the Unions in Moscow. Forced into an indefinite coexistence, they instinctively begin to embody characters, reenact conversations, scenes, and celebrations, as if drawing from a vast collective memory. What starts as an impromptu role-play soon turns into an emotional experience where the lines between assumed and genuine feelings blur. An outstanding ensemble performs under the musical direction of General Music Director Vladimir Jurowski.

In 2024, near Wagner's former Zurich residence, where much of the "Ring des Nibelungen" was composed, Opernhaus Zurich staged it's first complete Ring cycle in more than 20 years, performed under the musical direction of Gianandrea Noseda. "In a way, the 'Ring' returned to it's origins," said Andreas Homoki, stage director of Wagner's grandiose myth, which depicts the rise and fall of an entire world, delving into themes of love, fate, courage, and betrayal. At it's core, the "Ring des Nibelungen" is also a family drama about Wotan, the father of the gods, and his struggle to keep and break treaties, about freedom, it's presence and absence, and his desperate attempts to halt the very downfall he set in motion. Homoki's production brings the gods, humans, and mythical beings strikingly close, making their relationships and motivations vivid and compelling through meticulous character portrayal. The same outstanding cast performs across all four operas, heightening the dramaturgic intensity: Tomasz Konieczny as Wotan, Camilla Nylund as Brunnhilde, Christopher Purves as Alberich, Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke as Mime, and Klaus Florian Vogt as Siegfried, who also gave his acclaimed role debut in Homoki's Zurich productions. Recorded live at Opernhaus Zurich May 2024

In a showcase for the genius of The Royal Ballet's Resident Choreographer, this collection brings together some of Wayne McGregor's most outstanding and internationally acclaimed works, comprising Three Ballets: Chroma, Infra, Limen (recorded 2008), Woolf Works (2017) and The Dante Project (2021). The diversity of Wayne McGregor's astonishing invention is demonstrated first through Chroma, Infra and Limen. Intimate yet universal, both light and dark, vigorous and lyrical, these three ballets reveal McGregor's passion for exploring the inner workings of the human body and mind, providing visual, sensual and kinaesthetic stimulus for the viewer. In Woolf Works, McGregor's first full-length work for The Royal Ballet, the distinctive stream-of-consciousness writing of Virginia Woolf takes new form in a work of luminous beauty. Inspired by another celebrated literary figure, The Dante Project follows an epic journey through the afterlife, a monumental reinvention of Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, by turns terrifying, poetic and dazzling. McGregor's gift for collaboration lies at the heart of his practice and is demonstrated here with an extraordinary team of trailblazing artistic minds, including Thomas Ades, Tacita Dean, Max Richter, Julian Opie and John Pawson. This collection also affords viewers a prized opportunity to admire the remarkable artistry of Royal Ballet dancers past and present.

Un ballo in maschera is a poignant love story between two complex, mature characters torn between their desires, loyalties and the inevitable consequences of their choices. In this production, stage director Vincent Boussart delves deeply into the theme of masks, revealing a rich interplay of drama and comedy, human duplicity, lies and truth. "The two male protagonists, Piotr Beczala as Riccardo and Carlos Alvarez as Renato, were the outstanding performances for the evening." (Bachtrack) "A deeply moving play of masquerade and humanity" (El Pais)

Francesco Piemontesi, a BBC Music Magazine award-winning pianist and lauded as a 'wonderful Mozartian', has an intense curiosity about his fellow artists - their pianos, the sonorities they cultivate, the secret elements that animate their playing, and what drives them. In this documentary by Jan Schmidt-Garre, filmed over one year, Piemontesi talks with some of the world's leading performers, including his mentor Alfred Brendel, Maria Joao Pires, Stephen Kovacevich and Antonio Pappano, in a series of revealing encounters that illuminate their individual approaches to the instrument, it's colour and form. The film is complemented by a bonus 60-minute recital by Yulianna Avdeeva, Zlata Chochieva and Francesco Piemontesi, played on Rachmaninoff's Steinway piano at Villa Senar, his home in Switzerland during the 1930s.

In this interpretation of Verdi's MacBeth, stage director Christof Loy skillfully navigates the interplay of light and dark, infusing the opera - based on Shakespeare's work - with remarkable depth and drama. The outstanding vocal ensemble vividly captures the psychological nuances of the characters, featuring Ludovic Tezier as the paranoid MacBeth and Martina Serafin as Lady MacBeth, the mastermind behind the crimes. Giampaolo Bisanti pours his passion into the score, while The Symphony Orchestra and the Liceu Choir deliver exceptional performances in response. Consequently, the audience experiences a flawless blend of lyrics and music, crafted by the Milanese composer, librettist Francesco Maria Piave, and poet Andrea Maffei. "It is a unique scenography." El Pais

Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 9 D minor, WAB 109 Bamberger Symphoniker Herbert Blomstedt There is often an occasion for great concerts, but there are rarely several good reasons for a concert recording of an outstanding musical event. 2024 marked the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. For the Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt, Bruckner is a genius and the greatest symphonist since Beethoven. No composer is more closely associated with Herbert Blomstedt than Anton Bruckner. And no conductor has dealt with Anton Bruckner more intensively than Herbert Blomstedt. Probably the world's longest-serving conductor, with an eventful career spanning seven decades, Herbert Blomstedt celebrated his 97th birthday on July 11, 2024. Closely associated with him for years: the Bamberg Symphony, which he has conducted in almost 200 concerts in Germany and over 20 concerts abroad. In honor of Anton Bruckner and Herbert Blomstedt, the Bamberg Symphony planned a special gift to their honorary conductor. On July 11, 2024, the day of his 97th birthday, Blomstedt conducted Bruckner's 9th Symphony in the Basilica of St. Florian, a place to which Anton Bruckner held close ties throughout his life. The great symphonist began his musical career as a Florian choirboy and later continued there as organist of St. Florian. Anton Bruckner was repeatedly drawn back to the abbey, where he found his final resting place under the organ. Recorded live at the Basilica of St. Florian Monastery Contains two bonus films: A birthday serenade for Herbert Blomstedt's 97th birthday Herbert Blomstedt on Anton Bruckner

Tchaikovsky's lyric opera Eugene Onegin is based on Alexander Pushkin's novel in verse - a masterpiece of Russian literature. The narrative tells the story of Onegin's remorse in rejecting the young Tatyana and his instigation of a fatal duel in which his friend Lensky dies. The opera is constructed in what Tchaikovsky termed 'lyrical scenes', with music that articulates the feelings of the characters with great sensitivity and subtlety. With a minimalist set design, director Laurent Pelly's staging underlines the lightness and sadness of the subject while fully expressing the characters' fantasies and inner torments. After his forays into the Russian repertoire, Alain Altinoglu conducts La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with a cast of outstanding singers.

A touching evening (BR Classic) A centuries-old tradition. The ghost light is a single lamp that illuminates the stage when the theatre is not in use. Legend has it that the light shines to protect the actors, patrons and the theater from misfortune and ghosts. The Ghost Light shows the solitude that continues to shine on stage while waiting for the audience to return after this unusual season. The Hamburg Ballet was one of the first international companies to return to their studios after the lockdown, with the premiere of John Neumeier's choreography Ghost Light with solo piano music by Franz Schubert, performed live on stage by star pianist David Fray. John Neumeier's new ballet explores the possibilities of dancing among the limitations of the * pandemic. It is developed in fragments with more or less fleeting impressions from the everyday life of dancers. Ghost Light is an ensemble ballet that I develop in fragments. It is comparable to individual instrumental parts of a symphony... How the individual parts ultimately combine to form a work will depend on the moment when we are allowed to come close again on stage. (John Neumeier) Internationally recognized and awarded for his ballet choreography, John Neumeier has been the ballet director and chief choreographer of the Hamburg Ballet since 1973, and since 1996. Ballet Director at the Hamburg State Opera and guest choreographer at other venues. He is also director of the ballet school he founded in Hamburg. Choreography, Stage, Lighting and Costums: John Neumeier Costumes from Lady of the Camellias and The Nutcracker: Jrgen Rose Music by Franz Schubert David Fray piano

Carl Tanner, Iano Tamar, Zeljko Lucic, and Marianne Cornetti star in this Bregenzer Festspiele production of the Verdi opera on 2 DVDs with Thomas Rosner conducting the Vienna Symphony, Moscow Chamber Choir, and Bregenzer Festspielchor.

On Midsummer's Night, the real and fairy worlds collide. Four young lovers, faced with the prospect of unhappy marriage or worse, flee the court of Athens and stumble into an enchanted forest. Nearby, a group of amateur actors rehearse a play to celebrate an upcoming royal wedding. As these mere mortals cross paths with a warring fairy King and Queen, chaos reigns in the natural world. The lines between reality and illusion start to blur and no one but mischievous Puck knows what is true and what is magic. Let Shakespeare's captivating comedy transport you to the most magical of midsummer nights. Director Eleanor Rhode's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream is both epic and intimate, and completely full of wonder