1. Intimate Apparel
Experience the story of seamstress Esther who begins writing to a mysterious suitor laboring on the Panama Canal. Featuring a libretto by Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, this powerful opera is directed by Tony winner Bartlett Sher.
2. San Francisco Opera: Verdi's Rigoletto
One of opera's most vivid and compelling characters, a vengeful court jester, desperately tries to protect his daughter from disaster in this heart-wrenching tragedy. The first of two world-class casts led by Music Director Nicola Luisotti stars Željko Lučić, "whose vocal artistry is exceptional" ; Aleksandra Kurzak, "a superstar in the making" ; and, as the lecherous Duke, Francesco Demuro, "whose open, bright, superbly focused tone was reminiscent of Pavarotti" .
3. Bellini: Norma (Bellini: Norma)
Deep in a forest where druids and warriors seek revenge against the conquering Romans, Norma is scorned by the Roman proconsul Pollione, with whom she has two children. Her kindness turns to fury when she discovers that Pollione has taken Adalgisa, a novice priestess, as his new lover. When Pollione loses his high rank in the army and is offered as a sacrifice, Norma promises him freedom under one condition.
4. Tosca (Tosca)
Sir David McVicar’s bold new staging of Tosca, Puccini’s operatic thriller of Napoleonic Rome, thrilled Met audiences when it rang in the New Year in 2018. Only weeks later, the production was seen by opera lovers worldwide as part of the Met’s Live in HD series of cinema presentations. In this performance, Bulgarian soprano Sonya Yoncheva is the passionate title diva, opposite charismatic tenor Vittorio Grigolo as her lover, the idealistic painter Mario Cavaradossi. Baritone Željko Lučić is the menacing Baron Scarpia, the evil chief of police who employs brutal tactics to ensnare both criminals and sexual conquests. On the podium, Emmanuel Villaume conducts the electrifying score, which features some of Puccini’s most memorable melodies.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
5. Pagliacci (Pagliacci)
Pagliacci, is a 1948 Italian film based on Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera Pagliacci, directed by Mario Costa. The film stars Tito Gobbi and Gina Lollobrigida. It recounts the tragedy of Canio, the lead clown in a commedia dell'arte troupe, his wife Nedda, and her lover, Silvio. When Nedda spurns the advances of Tonio, another player in the troupe, he tells Canio about Nedda's betrayal. In a jealous rage Canio murders both Nedda and Silvio. The only actor in the cast who also sang his role was the celebrated Italian baritone, Tito Gobbi, but the film is largely very faithful to its source material, presenting the opera nearly complete.
6. Violettina (Violettina)
A transfixing, rarely-seen 16mm miniature made as part of Rohrwacher's opera production of La traviata in 2016.
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
7. Semiramide
In ancient Babylon, SEMIRAMIDE encourages her lover Assur to murder her husband, King Ninus. Her son, Ninius, disappears, believed dead, and Semiramide rules in her own right. 15 years later, as the opera opens, she is about to announce the name of her successor. Idreno and Assur are the leading candidates for the throne and the hand of Princess Azema , but Semiramide has taken a fancy to young Arsace , her victorious military leader who has been summoned back to Babylon. Only the high priest Oroe knows that Arsace is actually Ninius, spirited away to safety after the coup. As the queen announces Arsace as her successor, the ghost of her husband appears from his tomb, demanding that Arsace punish the late king’s murderers... Filmed at New York's Metropolitan Opera, John Copley's production of Rossini's last, longest and most elaborate dramatic opera brings together what many consider the definitive contemporary cast.
8. The System
A recently widowed Mr. Jordan finds himself stuck in the health system as he battles cancer alone.
It has an average vote of 9.5 on TMDB.
9. The Metropolitan Opera: Il Trovatore
Verdi’s IL TROVATORE again storms the Met stage in a star-studded, anvil-wielding cast , including Sondra Radvanovsky, Dolora Zajick and Dmitri Hvorostovsky. Marcelo Álvarez sings Manrico, the troubadour of the title. The story is well-known already: The gypsy Azucena has harbored a grudge for thirty years, but she is about to have revenge at last. Meanwhile, her son Manrico is in love with Leonora, but so is his arch-enemy, the Count Di Luna. A pot-boiler, where every tune is a hit.
It has an average vote of 8 on TMDB.
10. Isaiah vs. The Hodag
A young man living with his parents in Wisconsin comes face to face with a terrifying monster while searching for the elusive cryptic known as the Hodag.
11. Seven Angels
An invitation to enter the soul of an artist - director Erick Ifergan - through a highly personal retelling of the Orpheus tale suffused with Ifergan's striking paintings, sculpture and conceptual photography.
12. The Cloth Peddler (Arşın Mal Alan)
Set in turn of the century Baku at the dawn of the 20th century, a young man wishes to marry. Since he is a rich and successful business man, despite his young age, he feels that he should have his pick of any bride that he fancies, however, Azerbanjani tradition dictates otherwise.
13. Boris Godounov (Boris Godounov)
A possible impostor torments a newly crowned medieval czar who may have ordered the real successor's death.
It has an average vote of 7.6 on TMDB.
14. "BLOW THE NIGHT!" Let's Spend the Night Together ("BLOW THE NIGHT!" 夜をぶっとばせ)
"BLOW THE NIGHT!" Let's Spend the Night Together is a 1983 Japanese docu-drama shot on 16mm film starring actual Yanki gang members as many of the main characters.
It has an average vote of 7.667 on TMDB.
15. Nabucco (Nabucco)
St. Margarethen is a magnificent structure and a grand setting for Nabucco. This venue, along with the gorgeous costumes, spectacular lighting, lasers and pyrotechnics made for one grand, five star production! This is reason enough to see it and it must be an advantage to view it on DVD.--It would probably be harder to digest the whole spectacle if you were actually sitting in the audience, as there is so much to take in. The whole cast was in great form, both in singing and acting. Simon Yang as Zaccaria and Igor Morosow as Nabucco were excellent. Gabriella Morigi was a convincing Abigail who got better and better. Bruno Ribeiro as Ismaele and Elisabeth Kulman as Fenena were great, too.
16. 273 KELVIN (273 KELVIN)
(273 KELVIN)
17. The Great Caruso
Enrico Caruso's only passion is to sing. For that, he leaves his hometown of Naples, Italy, and travels to America to sing for the Metropolitan Opera. At first, his lack of education and poor background make him an outcast in the high-class opera world. Eventually, his voice wins him both fans and the hand of his love, Dorothy. But his nonstop pace and desire to perform at any cost eventually take their toll on the singer's health.
It has an average vote of 5.6 on TMDB.
18. Einstein on the Beach
This seminal work of avant-garde opera from composer Philip Glass and director Robert Wilson arrives full-circle, coming to France, the site of its 1976 Avignon Festival world premiere, at the tail end of this 2014 revival tour for a landmark Theâtre du Châtelet production and a first ever filming by award-winning arts filmmaker Don Kent. Eschewing conventional narrative, the opera revolves loosely around pacifist Einstein’s relationship to the creation of the atomic bomb.
It has an average vote of 8.8 on TMDB.
19. Il Trovatore - Verdi (Il Trovatore - Verdi)
The gypsy Azucena takes revenge for her mother who was accused of putting a curse on one of the old Count di Luna's two sons: she decides to abduct the younger child and throw it in the flames. But when she is about to carry out this fatal act, the gypsy sacrifices her own child and keeps the old Count’s son, whom she names Manrico . Later, as adults, the troubadour Manrico and the Count di Luna’s elder son do not know each other, but become rivals for the beautiful Leonora . Manrico succeeds in winning the young woman’s heart, and she sacrifices herself for him, deceiving the Count’s son. Mad with jealousy, the latter orders the execution of the troubadour in front of his mother. Azucena reveals to him that Manrico was his brother. This legendary performance of Giuseppe Verdi's most successful opera was recorded at the Vienna State Opera under the baton of Herbert von Karajan.
It has an average vote of 5.8 on TMDB.
20. Valkyrie Limited
The documentary draws a portrait of an opera director who is staging Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre. He is torn between the tragicomic routine of an opera house and his own perception of Wagner and the Ring cycle. The film witnesses the director’s drama in maintaining the fragile link between a well-constructed performance and his own vision that lies within the music and the narrative, and is seen as German expressionism-like nightmares.
