The charming story of Chinese princess Turandot who will only marry a suitor who can solve her riddles is presented in this adaptation of the opera by Giacomo Puccini.; Critically acclaimed filmmaker Chen Kaige directs this performance. The authenticity of this production is incredible, with its superb costumes and sets, all of which were designed in China.; Zubin Mehta conducts the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana, and Maria Guleghina is a remarkable Turandot. The performance offers “genuine fireworks of sound.” (Wiener Zeitung)

Munich’s new Ballo in maschera has received much critical acclaim: ‘This production shows what a utopia opera can be’ (Abendzeitung). Ten years after stepping down as music director of the Bavarian State Opera, Zubin Mehta returned to Munich in March 2016 to celebrate his 80th birthday conducting Verdi’s masterpiece for the first time in a staged production. His cast features some of today’s finest Verdi singers: soprano Anja Harteros, singing Amelia for the first time and ‘filling every note with Verdian intensity’, tenor Piotr Beczala as a ‘visually and vocally dashing Riccardo’ and George Petean as an ‘exemplary’ Renato (Neue Musikzeitung).

La Fura del Baus, famous for their opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Barcelona and opera stagings in Salzburg, Ruhrtriennale, etc., use in their groundbreaking Ring 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the "Cirque du soleil". “Ryan is a formidable stage-presence in both these music dramas…[He] can fine down the sound to spin a properly lyrical thread, and in his dying salutation to Brünnhilde rounds off a performance remarkable not just for its tireless stamina but for its musical and dramatic sensitivity.” (Gramophone).

La Fura del Baus, famous for their opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Barcelona and opera stagings in Salzburg, Ruhrtriennale, etc., use in their groundbreaking Ring 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the "Cirque du soleil". “…excellent orchestral playing and decent sound to match…a striking and often absorbing experiment” (Gramophone).

La Fura dels Baus, famous for their opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Barcelona and opera stagings in Salzburg, Ruhrtriennale, etc., use in Rheingold 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the "Cirque du soleil". “Uusitalo is a commanding, mellifluous Wotan and although Jennifer Wilson's Brünnhilde is relatively unnuanced dramatically, she sings strongly and sensitively…The youthful Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana obediently and expertly delivers the plushy textures and stagey rhetoric Mehta requires” (Gramophone).

La Fura dels Baus, famous for their opening ceremony of the Olympic games in Barcelona and opera stagings in Salzburg, Ruhrtriennale, etc., use in Rheingold 3D computer projections that evoke computer games, organic structures built of athletic performers that recall the "Cirque du soleil". From Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, 2007.

The libretto, by Henri Meilac and Ludovic Halévy, is based on a novella by Prosper Mérimée. The first performance of Carmen on 3 March 1875, produced such a hostile reaction that Bizet left Paris physically and psychologically ill, and died only three months later on 3 June 1875, following two serious heart attacks. The massive scandal of the premiere may have been partially the result of Bizet’s attempt to reform the Opéra Comique genre, yet it must still be said that Carmen is operatic history’s most famous example of a failure being corrected by the passage of time: Carmen is now one of the most frequently performed operas in the world. The major Spanish actress and producer Nuria Espert was brought in for the production at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1991, while the authentic Flamenco choreography comes from Cristina Hoyos and is danced by, among others, Juan Ortego. For the musical side of this successful production Zubin Mehta had top vocalists at his disposal to perform the roles of Carmen, Don José and Escamillo.

Mehta was a younger and more dynamic conductor when he led his Los Angeles orchestra in this very fine performance. His sense of balance and pacing seems just right, and he never distorts the structure of the piece. The orchestra sounds as good as any of the big names here, and the brass are phenomenal. The sound belies its 1976 provenance. Some famous conductors drive this music too hard.

With a celebrated career encompassing five decades, Pinchas Zukerman reigns as one of today's most sought after and versatile musicians - violin and viola soloist, conductor, and chamber musician. He is renowned as a virtuoso, admired for the expressive lyricism of his playing, singular beauty of tone, and impeccable musicianship, which can be heard throughout his discography of over 100 albums for which he gained two Grammy awards and 21 nominations..

John Knowles Paine (1839–1906) was a pioneer—the first university Professor of Music in America (at Harvard), the first American composer to have a symphonic work published in full score. Yet there is nothing primitive about this pioneer. If anything, his music is polished and conscientious to a fault, displaying an apparently uncritical adherence to European models of the kind that would eventually drive Charles Ives and other radicals to revolt.

Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) is an opera „Singspiel“ in three acts with spoken rather than sung dialogue. This DVD shows the impeccable performance of the majestic Teatro della Pergola Florence. The tenors Rainer Trost (Belmonte) and Mehrzad Montazeri (Pedrillo) sing with convincing excellence. The most demanding parts are sung with effortless passion by Eva Mei (Constanze). Her aria ‘Martern aller Arten’ is overwhelming; with the singer’s voice fusing beautifully with the solo instruments. This Italian production is admirable with all its colourful decorations and costumes in an oriental style.

The double title of the opera ''Tannhäuser oder der Sängerkrieg auf der Wartburg'', which had its grand premiere on 19 October 1845 under Wagner''s direction in the Hoftheater in Dresden, is already an indication of how Wagner''s work unites two circles of material whose tradition stems from separate sources. The figure of the minnesinger is an historical fact and his episodes are documented with the ''Tannhäuserlied'' as far back as 1520. In a musical sense, the contrast between diatonicism and chromaticism is symbolic of two different worlds.

The Maggio Musicale in Florence is the oldest and one of the most famous music festivals in Italy. When it’s director, Zubin Mehta, celebrated his 70th birthday, the staging of Giuseppe Verdi’s Falstaff was part of the festivities. The opera was conducted by Zubin Mehta himself and directed by Luca Ronconi.

The Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert took place under the baton of Zubin Mehta on January 1, 2015, in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein in Vienna. The Philharmonic's Honorary Conductor Zubin Mehta, with whom the orchestra has enjoyed an artistic partnership for over 50 years, conducted the New Year's Concert for the fifth time.
This year's concert was broadcast in over 90 countries around the world and was seen by 50 million television viewers. The program for the New Year's Concert 2015 featured numerous compositions by Johann Strauss Father and Son, Eduard and Josef Strauss as well as works by Franz von Suppé und Hans Christian Lumbye. Five pieces were performed for the first time as part of the New Year's Concert. The program also commemorated 650 years of the University of Vienna and 200 years of the Technical University of Vienna.

Verdi, child of the people, king of popular opera, began life as the son of an innkeeper. He was brought up in modest circumstances. He first received lessons from the village priest, who was amazed by the young musician’s talents. Verdi’s musical education was rounded and complete: at the age of sixteen, the composer wrote fugues, masses and symphonies, which he would later destroy. As he met with reticence in Milan, he settled in Busseto where he fell victim to the pettiness of the town. However, his strong willpower enabled him to pursue his musical path without paying heed to what people said.