Enrico Caruso: Die ewige Stimme

Born in 1873 in a poor neighbourhood in Naples, Enrico Caruso conquered the world with his singing voice. At the age of 27 he got a contract at the Scala in Milan, and his already considerable popularity skyrocketed thanks to the invention of the gramophone. He sold millions of records, and garnered international acclaim. In 1903 he moved to New York to perform at the prestigious Metropolitan Opera, in the role of Radames. But his riches and fame attracted the attention of the Mafia, who started blackmailing him. He felt trapped by his fame and died at just 48 years old. Biographer Francesco Canessa, the music critic Jürgen Kesting and the composer Micha Hamel explain the ups and downs of the man behind the timeless Italian voice.

Peter Dvorský

Міф

"Myth" was the callsign of Vasyl Slipak, the world-famous Ukrainian opera singer, a soloist of the Parisian National Opera, who left the big stage to become a volunteer, a warrior fighting in the East of Ukraine. The Hero of Ukraine, the Knight of the Order "Golden Star" and the Order "For Courage", Vasyl Slipak gave his life, defending Ukraine. This documentary is a real story of heroism and self-sacrifice, which makes us think over our own lives.

Sena Jurinac - Jedes Ding hat seine Zeit

Documentary about the opera singer Sena Jurinac.

Die Singende Stadt

Portrait about the planning and rehearsal of Richard Wagner's Parsifal directed by Calixto Bieito at the opera house in Stuttgart.

Pavarotti

Featuring never-before-seen footage, concert performances and intimate interviews, filmmaker Ron Howard examines the life and career of famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti.

Marjorie Lawrence: The World at Her Feet

Marjorie grew up in Winchelsea in country Victoria, Australia, dreaming of becoming an opera star like Dame Nellie Melba. In 1928 she went to Paris to study opera without knowing a word of French and having never heard of Richard Wagner. In 1941, at the height her success, she was tragically cut down by polio and became completely paralysed. With the help of Australian nurse, Sister Kenny, Marjorie regained movement in her upper body and resumed her career in a wheelchair. In 1955, MGM made a movie of her life, "Interrupted Melody", starring Eleanor Parker and Glenn Ford, which won an Academy Award.

Parque Lenin

Antoin, Yesuán and Karla share a common memory of their last moment together in the amusement park Parque Lenin. When they lost their mother, four years ago, their paths changed radically. Antoin moved to France to pursuit his dream of becoming a professional opera singer, meanwhile Yesuán and Karla stayed in Cuba, trying to consolidate their new family roles.

Ľubica Rybárska

Jonas Kaufmann: Arena di Verona 2023

For the centenary of the Verona Opera Festival, Jonas Kaufmann gave a gala concert in the Arena on 20 August 2023. With colleagues Sonya Yoncheva and Ludovic Tézier, and accompanied by the Orchestra della Fondazione Arena di Verona conducted by Jochen Rieder, he performed arias and duets from Tosca, Otello and Andrea Chenier, and evergreens by Franz Lehár and Leonard Bernstein as well as famous film songs such as 'Nella fantasia' (The Mission) and 'Nelle tue mani' (Gladiator).

Il bacio di Tosca

Memoirs of the Italian Opera by the singers and musicians of the Casa Verdi, Milan, the world’s first nursing home for retired opera singers, founded by composer Giuseppe Verdi in 1896. This documentary, which has achieved cult-like status among opera and music lovers, features former singers who reminisce about their careers and their past operatic roles.

Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs

An invaluable imprint of the world tour of the play Maria Callas: Letters and Memoirs, starring Monica Bellucci as the great opera diva. Through the chronicle of the tour, which lasted from November 2019 to January 2023, we observe and compare two different eras (the current one and the one in which Callas reached the apex of fame), while at the same time, we partake to and witness an essential dialogue between the great contemporary Italian actress and the voice that marked the 20th century: two women who, despite their different background, meet in retrospect due to their love of art.

Jussi i våra hjärtan

On February 2, 2011, Jussi Björling would have turned 100 years old. Just in time for the anniversary comes the film, a drama documentary about the legendary opera singer.

洗澡

An aged father and his younger, mentally challenged son have been working hard every day to keep the bathhouse running for a motley group of regular customers. When his elder son, who left years ago to seek his fortune in the southern city of Shenzhen, abruptly returns one day, it once again puts under stress the long-broken father-son ties. Presented as a light-hearted comedy, Shower explores the value of family, friendship, and tradition.

Le Cinquième Élément

In 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.

M. Butterfly

In 1960s China, French diplomat Rene Gallimard falls in love with an opera singer, Song Liling – but Song is not at all who Gallimard thinks.

Los Cuentos de Hoffman - Compañía Nacional de Ópera (INBAL)

Opera in three acts, a prologue and an epilogue, by Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880), with a libretto in French by Jules Barbier (1825-1901), based on a work that Barbier himself and Michel Carré (1821-1872) had written based on stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann (1776-1822). Approximate duration: 2 h 45 min Recommended for those over 15 years old. The young poet Hoffmann, accompanied by Nicklausse, his alter ego and confidant, is in a tavern next to the theatre where Mozart's Don Giovanni is being performed. During the opera's intermission, some diners arrive at the bar who, upon seeing the poet, encourage him to sing and tell them the story of his famous love affairs. Hoffmann finally gives in and shares with them the stories of Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta. They, absorbed in the poet's stories, remain in the tavern, forgetting about the opera performance.

Diva

Jules, a young Parisian postman, secretly records a concert performance given by the opera singer Cynthia Hawkins, whom he idolises. The following day, Jules runs into a woman who is being pursued by armed thugs. Before she is killed, the woman slips an audio cassette into his mail bag...

Gate to Heaven

Robert Sternvall, a German journalist, returns to Artsakh in 2016 to cover the war which has been reignited after a 22-year ceasefire. In the result of his journalistic investigation, Robert meets Sophia, a young opera singer, who happens to be the daughter of missing photojournalist Edgar Martirosyan, whom Robert abandoned in captivity during the fall of the village of Talish in 1992. Robert and Sophia’s frequent rendezvouses ignite a passionate romance...

The Phantom of the Opera

A young soprano becomes the obsession of a disfigured and murderous musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opera House.