Enrico Caruso: A Voice for the Ages

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.

2022-10-02 | de

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.

2023-11-08 | en

Adam Plachetka, cesta na vrchol

Adam Plachetka, a native of Prague, is one of the most successful bass-baritones in the world today. It is incredible what artistic achievements he has already accomplished at the age of 33. As a boy, he dreamed of a career as a hockey player, and at the conservatory he initially considered the world of musicals, but eventually he devoted himself fully to opera singing and prepared himself for a journey into the world of opera. The documentary follows him not only during his artistic career, but also in his private life, in rare moments with his family.

2019-12-21 | cs

Peter Dvorský

2022-04-07 | sk

Ľubica Rybárska

1993-01-01 | sk

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.

2019-06-04 | en

Lenin Park

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.

2015-04-02 | es

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).

2023-10-12 | de

Tosca's Kiss

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.

1984-08-12 | it

Myth

"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.

2018-01-25 | uk

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.

2021-12-16 | en

The Singing City

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

2011-02-10 | en

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.

2011-02-02 | sv

Everybody Does It

Leonard Borland loves his monied wife, but with his wrecking business looking shaky he treasures her all the more. So when she decides to try again to become an opera singer he indulges her. While organising a concert for her he meets glamorous Cecil Carver. She in turn discovers Leonard has a splendid voice, and encourages him to use it for reasons very much her own.

1949-10-24 | en

Shower

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.

1999-09-13 | zh

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.

1993-10-01 | en

The Fifth Element

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.

1997-05-02 | fr

Thrill of a Romance

A soldier falls in love with a newly-married woman after her husband abandons her for a business meeting on their honeymoon.

1945-05-23 | en

San Francisco

A beautiful singer and a battling priest try to reform a Barbary Coast saloon owner in the days before the great earthquake and subsequent fires in 1906.

1936-06-26 | en

Farinelli

The life and career of Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time.

1994-12-01 | fr