Composer Tan Dun’s epic opera is based on the life and reign of the Qin Shi Huangdi, the first man to unify the warring states of ancient China and the builder of the first Great Wall. With music that is a mix of East and West, the monumental production features the legendary tenor Plácido Domingo [...]

American soprano Renée Fleming joins Russian baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky for this broadcast of Tchaikovsky’s gorgeous and lyrical adaptation of Alexander Pushkin’s iconic text EUGENE ONEGIN. The sweeping dramatic arc of this opera — youthful longing, rejection, regret, a desperate plea that comes too late — is perfectly mirrored in Tchaikovsky’s achingly beautiful music and in [...]

Russian soprano Anna Netrebko, who has taken the opera world by storm since her American debut in 1995, now inhabits the role of the fragile Elvira in Bellini’s final work, I PURITANI, the tale of love and madness set during the English Revolution. With its vocal fireworks and opportunities for real acting, this has been [...]

Gounod’s ultra-sensual interpretation of Shakespeare is an ideal vehicle for star soprano Anna Netrebko and the remarkable tenor Roberto Alagna, both of whom bring their incandescent appeal to the title roles. The irresistible Nathan Gunn is Mercutio and Plácido Domingo presides on the podium.
ROMEO ET JULIET airs for SundayArts on April 6, 2008.

Most fairy tales, though charming on the outside, have darker underpinnings. Alice Coote and Christine Schäfer play the siblings lost in a shadowy world of unknown menace, pursued by the Witch (portrayed by tenor Philip Langridge) who seeks to devour them. The English-language production of Engelbert Humperdinck’s masterful treatment of the beloved story by the [...]