Through the haze of the years, a poet remembers the women he loved. But when it comes to matters of the heart, nothing is as it seems. Particularly when the devil himself is involved. Journeying back to his school days, Hoffmann (Juan Diego Florez) relives his childhood romance with Olympia, a model student in every sense. Doomed love follows him into adulthood, where the dancer, Antonia, is taken from him too soon. Meanwhile, the sensual courtesan Giulietta has her own secret agenda. As memory and fantasy become increasingly blurred, will Hoffmann find the enigmatic Stella before it is too late? Olivier award-winning director Damiano Michieletto returns to The Royal Opera for a new production of Offenbach's The Tales of Hoffmann alongside conductor Antonello Manacorda.

A celebration of the masterful artistry of Frederick Ashton, this collection presents three defining works from the Founder Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. A pioneer of 20th-century dance, Ashton brought elegance, innovation and emotional depth to the stage, shaping the identity of British ballet for generations. Scenes de ballet distils classical technique into a striking study of form and symmetry. Ashton gracefully reimagines Turgenev's play A Month in the Country as a one-act ballet where all the drama unfolds in the family's living room upon the arrival of a dashing young tutor. Rhapsody, created for Mikhail Baryshnikov and Lesley Collier, blends virtuosic movement with lyrical beauty, set to Rachmaninoff's sweeping score. Together, these works offer a vivid portrait of Ashton's genius.

What does it feel like to devote your life to one thing? How does a man live who brings the most demanding opera literature to the stage through song? The answer: incredibly lightly. The film strolls, or rather, floats along with the North German heldentenor Klaus Florian Vogt through European opera houses. Tannhauser, Tristan, Siegfried-Richard Wagner's complex, feared heroic roles; he masters them, he lives with them without fear. Or does he? Gradually, the viewer becomes aware of how much detailed work goes into that lightness, and how many small pieces come together to form a grand puzzle. Intimate moments-for a singer, that means studying a role, it's the moment right before the performance, backstage, before he sings his Tristan on stage for the first time. The nakedness, the doubt, when the smallest mistake occurs. The second portrait of the tenor by Astrid Bscher-13 years after the film "Der Meistersinger"-is a cinematic observation of a humble star. "Only he who has never known fear can create something new, something of his own," was Richard Wagner's description of a true artist. Klaus Florian Vogt is one such man.

Fromental Hal�vy's five-act grand opera La Juive ('The Jewess') is one of the most popular operas of the 19th century, captivating audiences ever since it's debut at the Op�ra de Paris in 1835. Set in the 15th century and full of pageantry, the subject is the forbidden love between a Christian man and a Jewish woman, and the tragedy that ensues. Oper Frankfurt's contemporary staging won great acclaim, with Ambur Braid being lauded for her 'luminous soprano' as the heroine Rachel, and 'vocal phenomenon' John Osborn heralded in the role of her father �l�azar as 'immensely moving'.

The Opera Comique in Paris has a long tradition of giving stylish performances dating back to the 18th century. Five imaginative and critically acclaimed productions are featured in this collection of French operatic masterpieces. Bizet's 'Carmen', which received it's premiere at the Opera Comique in 1875, is performed on period instruments conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Ambroise Thomas's 'Hamlet' features the stellar French baritone Stephane Degout in the title role. Messager exemplifies the spirit of La Belle epoch in 'Fortunio'; Gounod fuses Romanticism with the supernatural in 'La Nonne sanglante'; and the outstanding French soprano Sabine Devieilhe takes the lead role in Delibes's tragic tale of passion and loyalty, 'Lakme' - one of the jewels of the Opera Comique.