OPERA

Music lovers: Cinestudio presents Franz Lehar’s delightful operetta in Ultra High Definition and Dolby Sound, recorded from a live performance at Staatsoper Dresden Opera House.

The Merry Widow (Die Lustige Witwe)had its premiere at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien in 1905. Franz Lehár’s impressive entry into the world of operettas with The Merry Widow unexpectedly gave rise to a second resurgence of the genre. Often called “The Queen of Operettas”, this is the most celebrated and successful show of its kind ever written.

From Venice’s legendary Teatro La Fenice comes Mozart’s timeless story of betrayal and revenge, on the legends of Don Juan. a fictional libertine and seducer. This extravagant showcase for singers is a sophisticated mix of comedy, drama, supernatural elements – and the composer’s own fear of his father’s wrath.

Norma has gained renown thanks to the extremely high quality of its music and the flourishing bel canto that makes its vocal momentums and melodies the most appealing but also the most difficult. Whilst the famous Casta diva, the opening aria of Norma, has alone become a symbol of Italian opera, the many cavatina and cabaletta sprinkled throughout the score demand a rare amount of power, vocal range, suppleness and agility from the characters, such virtuosity guaranteeing thrills and a deeply moving work!

This new production by the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège will be one of the most unmissable events of the season.

Puccini’s beloved Madama Butterfly at Teatro Real, Madrid. Director Mario Gas sets his new interpretation in a 1930’s film studio, where they are working on a movie adaptation of Puccini’s soaring opera of romance and innocence lost.

When the New York Times opens a review with “Netrebko and Kaufman are as good as opera gets,” music lovers will be happy to mark this Opera on Screen event on their calendar as not-to-be-missed! Among the very best singers of their generation, Jonas Kaufmann and Anna Netrebko star in Verdi’s epic, an opera demanding technical skill and emotional power to communicate the fullest theatrical treatment of its story.

London’s Royal Opera presents David McVicar’s spectacular production of Gounod’s best-loved opera! Disillusioned with life, the aged philosopher Faust (performed by Michael Fabiabo) calls upon Satan to help him. Méphistophélès (bass Erwin Schrott) appears and strikes a bargain: he will give him youth and the love of the beautiful Marguerite (Irina Lungu), if Faust will hand over his soul. Experience the decadence and elegance of 1870s Paris in an ever-popular opera, on Cinestudio’s huge (single) screen!

Sexual intrigue, jealousy, wit, anger… and retribution! The new Royal Opera Season begins with Mozart’s engaging masterpiece, which follows Don Giovanni, the women he serially seduces, and the vengeance that finally catches up with him. The opera is renowned for its ever-shifting portrayals of complex characters, fast-moving action and mix of the comic and the heartfelt. A cast of international singers under conductor Hartmut Haenchen perform the glorious arias and ensembles of this opera favourite.

In Italian with English subtitles. Royal Opera favorite Bryn Terfel heads the cast for this new production of Donizetti’s amusing story of a middle-aged man whose supposed young wife (the charming Olga Peretyatko) runs rings around him. The sparkling music and wit of Don Pasquale, here set in modern-times London, shows how touching the story remains.

Cinestudio is pleased to present Covent Garden’s first new production of La Bohème for four decades, captured live at London’s Royal Opera House! This romantic opera of young love in 19th-century Paris is packed with some of Puccini’s most beautiful music, including lyrical arias, celebratory choruses in the Latin Quarter, and a poignant final scene over which the composer himself wept.