Classical TV - Latest Videos, Blog Posts and Informer Articles

Quincy Jones: The 75th Birthday Celebration

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:57:05 GMT

Quincy Jones is an American music legend and one of the most successful American artists of all time. He has excelled as a performer, arranger, composer and producer (he produced Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, the bestselling album of all time worldwide). Having previously received an astonishing 27 Grammy Awards, Quincy Jones was specially honored at the 2008 Awards in February just prior to his 75th birthday in March. This concert was recorded live at Montruex to celebrate his 75th Birthday.

Julia Migenes: Diva on the Verge

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

Drawing on her own experiences as a star of opera, the irrepressible soprano Julia Migenes invites us to look afresh at the genre she loves, with an irreverent one-woman show.

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

Normally held to be influenced by the composer's study of Schopenhauer's pessimistic philosophy, Peter Konwitschny's Tristan und Isolde is refreshingly controversial in its optimistic interpretation.

Richard Strauss: Adriadne auf Naxos

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

Opera plots do not come more unusual than Hofmannsthal's for Ariadne, with its gently satirical artistic debate contrasting the artificial conventions of opera seria and the knockabout humour.

Weill: Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

In this Salzburg Festival production, director Peter Zadek presents the mythical city of Mahagonny as a Hollywood Babylon full of pyramidal towers

Handel: Rinaldo

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

A superb cast features countertenors David Daniels and David Walker, and soprano Noëmi Nadelmann. Harry Bicket leads from the harpsichord and conjures his own miracles from the pit.

Mozart: Cosi Fan Tutte (Zurich Opera)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

Cecilia Bartoli made her debut as Fiordiligi at the Zurich Opera in this Jürgen Flimm production. Così is held to be the most perfect ensemble opera ever written and Flimm's cast, completed by Oliver

Gluck: Alceste

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

This Théâtre du Châtelet production of Gluck's French version of Alceste was created by by Robert Wilson, who is known for his intriguing, uncluttered stagings, which make arresting use of gesture, colour and light. Anne Sofie von Otter takes the title role and brings to her characterisation a mesmerising power and poignancy. Her artistry is matched by an equally sensitive performance from Paul Groves as Admète. John Eliot Gardiner conducts his period-instrument ensemble, the English Baroque Soloists, and the excellent Monteverdi Choir provides the chorus. Unusually, they sing from the pit, with dancers taking their place on stage.

Johann Strauss: Simplicius (Zurich Opera)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

The score of Johann Strauss the Younger's Simplicius was believed to have been destroyed but, an incomplete and much-corrected copy was recently found among papers.

Offenbach: La Belle Helene (Chatelet Theatre Paris)

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

Laurent Pelly's production of Offenbach's parody of the origins of the Trojan War combines a musically superb performance with a stream of visual humour that flows from his core idea.

Jose Cura at the Barbican: A Passion for Verdi

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 08:22:00 GMT

In the Verdi centenary concert Cura gave at London's Barbican Concert Hall with soprano Daniela Dessì, he won the hearts of his audience with his powerful and charismatic performance.

The Peony Pavillion - Part 1 - The Interupted Dream

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:14:33 GMT

The universality and theatrical immediacy of this sixteenth-century Chinese masterpiece generate a powerful audience appeal even today.

The Peony Pavillion - Part 4 - Resurrection

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:14:33 GMT

The story is told through a flowing sequence of some two hundred arias that have an attractively tuneful, folk-like quality.

The Peony Pavillion - Part 6 - Reunion

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:14:33 GMT

Acting, singing, music, dance, acrobatics, stilt-walking, puppetry, recitation, pageantry and martial arts all find a place in the rich tapestry of Chen Shi-Zheng's production of The Peony Pavilion

The Peony Pavillion - Part 3 - Making Love with a Ghost

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:14:33 GMT

Poetic episodes alternate with elaborate set pieces and low slapstick, so that the romantic love story of Du Liniang and Liu Mengmei is interrupted by invading Mongol hordes, bungling comic servants.

The Peony Pavillion - Part 5 - War Against the Bandits

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:14:33 GMT

Acting, singing, music, dance, acrobatics, stilt-walking, puppetry, recitation, pageantry and martial arts all find a place in the rich tapestry of Chen Shi-Zheng's production of The Peony Pavilion.

Goethe: Faust I - (Part 2 of 2)

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:59:59 GMT

Peter Stein's staging of Goethe's Faust considered to be one of the greatest works of German literature. This production was staged by Peter Stein and recorded for television in 2000 at the Berlin Arena. (German Language - No Sub Titles)

Goethe: Faust II (Act 3)

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:59:59 GMT

Goethe: Faust I - (Part 1 of 2)

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:59:59 GMT

Peter Stein's staging of Goethe's Faust considered to be one of the greatest works of German literature. This production was staged by Peter Stein and recorded for television at the Berlin Arena. (German Language - No Sub Titles)

Goethe: Faust II (Act 1)

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:59:59 GMT

Goethe: Faust II (Act 2)

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:59:59 GMT

Puccini: La Boheme (ENO)

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 17:04:31 GMT

The English National Opera's retelling of Puccini's famous love story. Directed by Jonathan Miller, starring Alfie Boe as Rudolpho and Melody Moore as Mimi. Live recording. (2009)

Hughes Views | The Guest Conductor Conundrum

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This season has seen the emergence of strong new music directors at the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with conductors Alan Gilbert and Gustavo Dudamel, recharging their organizations. But this season has also been one...

CTV News | Press Watch - Week of March 8: Love Never Dies May Yet Survive, Plus Lang Lang And BAM's 2010 Lineup

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

From Intermezzo: Hey, if the mishap worked, why not advertise it? For its Elixir of Love production, the English National Opera made an 11th-hour substitution for the part of Nemorino; the replacement tenor only knew the part in Italian,...

Hughes Views | The Continuing Allure of Chopin

Fri, 5 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The music world loves anniversaries. Indeed, it looks for them, whether it’s birth, death, marriage, whatever. Unlike the literary world, which will soon mark the birth of Dickens in 1812 with perhaps an essay or two or yet another...

Hughes Views | The Craft and Craftiness of Season Announcements

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We’re at the time of year when another year looms. An artistic year. That is, announcements for the coming seasons at symphonies, operas, subscription theaters. Season announcements are a curious hybrid of hopeful buzz-building and...

CTV News | Press Watch - Week of February 22: Placido Domingo Rests for No One

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

From CBC: To answer everyone's questions: No, Placido Domingo is not an android (he apparently sleeps sometimes and must undergo preventive surgery); and yes, he still takes the L.A. and Washington National Operas' calls (he is general...

Hughes Views | Improvisation and the Classical Muse

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Many jazz musicians are prized for their ability to improvise. In fact, they are sometimes judged more on their improvisational imagination and harmonic breadth than their technical skills. The same used to be true of classical musicians. But that was a...

That Damned Faust! Gounod’s La Damnation de Faust

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

See two very different - very devilish - productions of The Damnation of Faust: the Metropolitan Opera's newest staging of Gounod's version, as well as a free stream of director Peter Stein’s Goethe production.

Happy Birthday, Chopin!

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:00:00 GMT

His life was short but Frederic Chopin lives on as an idol of the Romantic era; in observance of the composer's birthday, we bring you a collection of free Chopin performances from our video library.

Bargaining With the Devil: The Soldier's Tale

Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The acclaimed opera and stage producer Ruth Berghaus directs a 1990 performance of Stravinsky's jazz-inspired theater work, with Kolja Blacher, Brigitte Scherzer, Clemens Tichy and Lily Scheuermann.

Success Story: An Interview With Mark Morris

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Mark Morris Dance Group premieres Socrates during its eagerly-awaited season at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Is Mark Morris the world’s most successful choreographer?

Celebrate Chinese New Year with Placido Domingo and The First Emperor

Sat, 13 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The ushering in of 2010 also marks the reign on the "metal tiger" in the Chinese calendar; celebrate with our showing of The Met's production of composer Tan Dun's opera, The First Emperor, starring Plácido Domingo.