Manon Lescaut

Verdi's opera was filmed during a performance at the Theatre Antique (The Roman Theater) in Orange, France in July 1976. This highly lauded production is marvelously translated to the screen by Pierre Jourdan. The story of an Ethiopian princess' love for an Egyptian general in the age of the pharaohs stars Gilda Cruz Romo as Aida, Grace Bumbry as Amneris and Peter Gougalov as Radames. The ancient Roman Theater is photographed in its sweeping grandeur, the spacious stage imaginatively employed.

Oroveso, a Druid High Priest, gathers his people in a sacred forest and prays to their gods for help in vanquishing the Romans who have taken over Gaul. Unbeknownst to Oroveso, his daughter, Norma, a High Priestess, has for some time been the lover of Pollione, the leader of the Romans; she has, in fact, not only broken her sacred vow of chastity but has borne two children to the warrior. Norma uses her position to dissuade the Gauls from attacking the Romans, claiming that the gods have told her that the time is not favourable. Recorded at Théâtre Antique d'Orange, 1974

Henry VIII is an opera in four acts by Camille Saint-Saëns, from a libretto by Léonce Détroyat and Armand Silvestre, based on El cisma en Inglaterra (The schism in England) by Pedro Calderón de la Barca. It was revived in 1991 at the Théatre Impérial de Compiègne in a production by Pierre Jourdan, with Philippe Rouillon as Henry VIII, Michèle Command as Catherine of Aragon and Lucile Vignon as Anne Boleyn. The production was made into this film.

Leonore disguises herself as a man, "Fidelio," to infiltrate a prison and rescue her husband, Florestan, unjustly imprisoned by the tyrant Pizarro. Gaining the trust of the jailer, Rocco, and his daughter, Marzelline—who unknowingly falls for Fidelio—Leonore’s courage is tested when Pizarro orders Florestan’s execution. In a climactic moment, she reveals her identity and saves Florestan just as the king’s minister arrives, restoring justice. The opera celebrates themes of love, sacrifice, and freedom.

Birgit Nilsson and Jon Vickers star in this filmed record of the Theatre Antique d'Orange's acclaimed 1973 production of Wagner's epic tale of doomed love in the Middle Ages. Tristan und Isolde also features the Orchestre National de R.T.F., under the direction of Karl Bohm.

Documentary about the dancer Rudolf Nureyev.

In this movie based upon Julian Green's novel, we follow Paul's downfall as he is torn between his love for Angele, a local prostitute, as he finds out too late, and Madame Grosgeorge's love for him.

In the absence of her royal husband Theseus, thought to be dead, Phaedra declares her love to Hippolyte, Theseus's son from a previous marriage.

This comic opera, which made its debut in Paris in 1847, tells the story of a Venetian admiral, Loredan (Bruno Comparetti), his bitter rival Malipieri (Paul Medioni), who knows a secret from Loredan's past, and Haydee (Isabelle Philippe), the Cyprus prince's daughter who loves one but would marry the other to save his reputation.

La voix humaine (English: The Human Voice) is a forty-minute, one-act opera for soprano and orchestra composed by Francis Poulenc in 1958 (Wikipedia). This is a version of it directed by Pierre Jourdan at the Théâtre Impérial de Compiègne.

The wandering minstrel Lothario comes across a beautiful young girl named Mignon - a girl who may be his long-lost daughter.

Giacomo Meyerbeer's pastoral opera,based on a Breton tale, is the tale of DINORAH who has gone mad because her bridegroom Hoël has disappeared during their wedding. This production, performed as part of Théâtre Impérial de Compiegne's purpose of reviving obscure French opera, is the only version of 'Dinorah' available on DVD, but it is a great production! The painterly pastoral settings and décor and rustic costumes are very easy on the eye. Opera traditionalists who dislike modern stagings will be delighted to know that this is a traditional production. Pierre Jourdan's stage direction is charming and always involving, never once falling into static movements or gestures, gratuitous distaste and irrelevance. With Isabelle Philippe, Armand Arapian and Frédéric Mazzotta. Conducted by Olivier Opebeek.