Jean-Philippe Rameau: Platée @ Czech National Theatre, Prague

Accompanied by the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra and pianist Beatrice Rana, Mikko Franck conducts Shostakovich's Symphony No. 10 and Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1.

For Franz Liszt, the piano was a unique tool of expression with which he shaped 19th century music like no other composer. His two piano concertos, composed almost simultaneously over the course of many years, broke free from the formal constraints of the genre to create a continuous narrative reminiscent a symphonic poem. Bertrand Chamayou is soloist in an historically informed performance with the Les Siècles orchestra.

Young María, the embodiment of tango, leaves the outskirts of Buenos Aires and tries her luck in the chaotic downtown, where she triumphs in dark places ruled by crime and debauchery, unaware that a menacing presence stalks her, seeking her doom and death.

In the magnificent rooms of the Galleria Borghese in Rome, John Eliot Gardiner and his ensembles The Monteverdi Choir and The English Baroque Soloists bring together the music of Claudio Monteverdi and the paintings of Caravaggio. The encounter of two works whose creators revolutionised their disciplines.

Brazilian sopranist Bruno de Sá brings his unique voice to the stage accompanied by the Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra, featuring extracts from lesser-known operas by Luigi Caruso and Felice Alessandri, as well as arias by Mozart.

Sacred music meets the theatricality of opera in Handel's oratorio Messiah, here conducted by Laurence Equilbey and performed by the Insula Orchestra, Polish artist Jakub Józef Orliński and the Chœurs accentus at the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival.

Considered to be one of the first operas in history, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (1607) re-enacts the tragic Greek saga of Orpheus and Euridice. In an attempt to bring his dead bride, Euridice, back to life, Orpheus descends to the underworld. But he fails to fulfil one vital condition: Orpheus is not allowed to look back at Euridice when she follows him back to the living world. Since he cannot prevent himself from turning around, his bride is forced to return to the world of the dead. Orpheus loses himself in the violence of grief, suffering but also growing and finally coming to a new and deeper understanding of himself. Called ‘a fable in music’ by Monteverdi, L’Orfeo was one of the most frequently performed operas of its era and is a magical introduction to Monteverdi’s probing investigation of human nature, character and desire by means of music.

The story of Don Pasquale revolves around a classic comedic premise: a young couple in love schemes to thwart the inappropriate plans of a pompous old man, who wants to marry the girl himself. What makes the opera notable within this familiar genre is its emphasis on genuine human emotion. Donizetti’s score is graceful and effervescent, as one would expect from this master of melody, but adds an additional level of sophistication to match the comic (yet insightful) proceedings. Recorded on February 28th 2015, at the Opéra de Vichy.