When a precious hoard of gold is stolen from the river Rhine, it unleashes a chain of destructive events, pitting gods and mortals against one another for generations. Wagner’s Ring cycle boasts some of the greatest music ever written for the opera stage. Join us as we embark on a spectacular journey into the world of myth, dream and memory, with the figure of Erda – Mother Earth herself – at its centre.
A portrait of Ennio Morricone, the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, the one most loved by the international public, a two-time Oscar winner and the author of over five hundred unforgettable scores.
Portrait of an exceptional musical talent and one of opera’s biggest stars, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli. With interviews from her illustrious friends and colleagues from the world of classical music: Daniel Barenboim, Antonio Pappano, Gustavo Dudamel and more.
Antonio Pappano, music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, explores the greatest arias in the genre through a mix of workshops and archive footage. Nothing pulls harder at the heartstrings than an opera aria – that pivotal moment when the action stops and the character draws us right into the heart of the drama, revealing his or her innermost feelings and thoughts. These are chances for the singers to show off, to wow an audience with some of the most famous music in opera. In this film, charismatic conductor and music director of the Royal Opera House, Antonio Pappano, shares his selection of some of opera’s greatest arias. Pappano’s choices stretch across the full 400-year operatic canvas and feature some of the most ravishing and famous arias in the repertoire.
Sir Antonio Pappano (born 30 December 1959) is an English-Italian conductor and pianist. In 1992, Pappano became music director of La Monnaie, the Belgian Royal Opera House, a post he held until 2002. In that year, he was named the music director of the Royal Opera House (ROH), Covent Garden. At Covent Garden, Pappano and Kasper Holten, the ROH Director of Opera, shared responsibility for production. His current ROH contract runs through to 2017, and was extended until 2023. Pappano was the youngest conductor to lead the orchestra of the ROH, accompanying both the Royal Opera and Royal Ballet. In 2015 he received a Gold Medal from the Royal Philharmonic Society