The Fiery Angel - Theater an der Wien

After Tosca (2019), which marked Puccini’s entry into its repertoire, the Festival celebrates the centenary of the composer’s death this year by putting on his ‘Japanese tragedy’ Madame Butterfly: the cruel story of a vulnerable but strong and wilful heroine, driven by her blind perseverance to ritual suicide. By enveloping her with a bright lyricism and a supremely refined orchestration, Puccini reaches the heart of his artistic identity – reminding us of the real pleasure of tears. Conducting the orchestra of the Opéra de Lyon, Daniele Rustioni offers the finest of backdrops to Ermonela Jaho, whose rare combination of force and delicacy has made her a go-to choice in this wonderful yet harrowing role, in which she is making her prized debut in Aix.

A performance of Alban Berg's opera recorded at the Schiller Theater in Berlin. The opera, dark and satirical in tone, charts the story of the rise and fall of a femme fatale, from life as a society hostess to prostitution and, eventually, a bloody death at the hands of Jack the Ripper.

Nothing is what it seems in an old English manor. When a new governess arrives, the children entrusted to her care seem to receive visits from the ghosts. What horrors occurred here before her arrival? Are the children innocent? Can we really trust what we see? Based on a ghost story by Henry James, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw is a psychological thriller in chamber opera format.