Verdi: Simon Boccanegra

This documentary looks at the life of Jordi Dauder through an interview with the actor a few weeks before his death. From her interventions and people who knew him, the play explores the experiences of actor, from his artistic side as from his political convictions and life.

Roberto Alagna, Marina Poplavskaya, Beatrice Uria-Monzon are hot hot hot. This Carmen perfectly hits the gypsy theme as a way of life rather than just some sleazy seductress. This Carmen is troubled, intense, manipulative and totally believable as "damaged". Alagna plays his part brilliantly. He is seduced and naive. He is angry and frustrated. He has that "I can fix her" syndrome. Poplavskaya is always a pleasure in my book---and this role, while a small part, suits her. She is very naive and lost in the shuffle of the military and the gypsies...perfect. Some of this is even a little disturbing as the gypsies put a little lipstick on a very young girl. Brilliant. In all, this is a fantastic production.

A sizzling tale of lust, seduction and betrayal, featuring some of opera's most famous melodies... it can only be Bizet's Carmen! See it live at your local cinema on July 1.

The first words uttered by Carmen mark one of the greatest entrances in the history of opera and express all that need be said: “Love is a rebellious bird that no one can tame…” With a devilish sway of the hips and a hint of Andalusian flair, the beautiful cigar-maker sets her sights on a soldier: Don José. Fate will do the rest.

Love, power and ambition meet on the stage of the Teatre de Liceu in Barcelona with L'Incoronazione di Poppea by Monteverdi directed by Jordi Savall and directed by Calixto Bieito.

The production by Calixto Bieito extracts all the potential from this work in a most convincing and spine-chilling way. The action takes place in a closed society of the 1950s, taking this story of witchcraft, sex and religion to the realism of imitation leather sofas, crochet cardigans, medical abuse and child molestation.

In Amsterdam, conductor Emmanuelle Haïm and director Calixto Bieito take on Handel’s famous Giulio Cesare.

Calixto Bieito's controversial but visually stunning production of Wozzeck is set in a grisly, chaotic, post-industrial maze, giving a contemporary edge to the disturbing and hair-raising intensity of Alban Berg's expressionistic masterpiece.

Opera in one prologue and one act. Music and libretto by Luigi Dallapiccola. Mattia Olivieri in the title role, Ángeles Blancas Gulín as La Madre. Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma conducted by Michele Mariotti. Directed by Calixto Bieito.

With a devilish sway of the hips and a hint of Andalusian flair, Carmen, the beautiful cigar-maker sets her sights on a soldier: Don José. Fate will do the rest. Composed to a libretto by Meilhac and Halévy based on Prosper Mérimée’s novella, the opera exploded the boundaries between tragedy and comedy with a modernity that caused a scandal at the time. Can we kill the one we love with love? The fiery beauty of Bizet’s music, where one unforgettable aria follows another, has worked year in, year out to make it the world’s most performed opera.

The 2021 production by the Dutch National Opera of the work by German composer Rudi Stephan (1887–1915) "Die ersten Menschen" ("The First Humans"), completed in 1914 to a libretto by Otto Borngräber interpreting the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden through symbolism and the then nascent science of psychoanalysis. This production was part of the Holland Festival of Amsterdam.

After more than 40 years, the Vienna State Opera is bringing a new production of Carmen - in Calixto Bieito's brilliant and gripping staging - to the stage. Since the originally planned performances could not take place in front of an audience - we provide a recording of an extraordinary introductory matinee.

After last season’s The Dante Project, the Paris Opera continues to explore the music of contemporary composer Thomas Adès with the French premiere of The Exterminating Angel. Inspired by Luis Buñuel’s 1962 surrealist film, which offered a scathing critique of the bourgeoisie, the work begins with a dinner among upper-class friends in a plush mansion after an opera performance. But, gradually, a mysterious force prevents the fifteen guests from leaving the reception. In this confinement for no apparent reason, drawn out over several days, the veneer of propriety cracks, revealing the worst of human nature. Thomas Adès has written a rich and tense score, amplifying the libretto’s strange atmosphere with unusual instruments such as the ondes Martenot. The Paris Opera has entrusted the staging of this huis-clos to Calixto Bieito. The director has long been fascinated by Buñuel’s universe.

Calixto Bieito's famously controversial 2002 production of Mozart's great opera sets the action in the late twentieth century and brings to life an ancient story brilliantly retold. Bertrand de Billy conducts an energetic cast led by Wojtek Drabowicz in the title role, with the Liceu's Orchestra Academy. Press Reviews "The musical performance has its own distinction, as well as complete integration with the staging concept." (Gramophone) " It's a strong cast, led by Drabowicz's nobly-voiced, savage Don, and Youn's powerful Leporello." (BBC Music Magazine) "A fully rounded piece of work...Coherent production, perfectly staged, impeccable singers." (El Periodico) "Musically much better than the London version – Véronique Gens makes a wonderful Donna Elvira, confident, strong, perfect both in her singing and acting." (El Pais)

A philosophical allegory regarding the human situation and the mystery of life. The story focuses on the fictional Segismundo, Prince of Poland, who has been imprisoned in a tower by his father, King Basilio, following a dire prophecy that the prince would bring disaster to the country and death to the King. Basilio briefly frees Segismundo, but when the prince goes on a rampage, the king imprisons him again, persuading him that it was all a dream.