Opera Workshop: Video Recordings

Baroque opera about the myth of Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell. "When I am laid" (also known as "Dido's Lament") comes from this piece! Features Jennifer Lane (Dido), Ann Monoyios (Belinda), Shari Saunders (First Witch), Meredith Hall (Second Witch), Russell Braun (Aeneas), Benjamin Butterfield (The Sailor), Mark Morris Dance Group, and the Tafelmusik Orchestra & Chamber Choir.

The classic tale of love, betrayal, and drama! Julius Caesar's political rival King Pompeo has been assassinated and his wife, son, and the beautiful Cleopatra convince Caesar to help them in their quest for revenge and power. Features Sarah Connolly (Giulio Cesare), Patricia Bardon (Cornelia), Angelika Kirchschlager (Sesto), Danielle De Niese (Cleopatra), and Christophe Dumaux (Tolomeo), Glyndebourne Chorus, and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by William Christie.

Joined by his comical companion Papageno, Prince Tamino must undergo a series of trials to prove he is worthy of the beautiful Pamina. In the background, the Queen of the Night, Pamina's mother, and Sarastro, the Priest of the Sun, fight to see who is the strongest. Starring Matthew Polenzani (Tamino), Ying Huang (Pamina), Nathan Gunn (Papageno), Erika Miklósa (Queen of the Night), René Pape (Sarastro), and the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra conducted by James Levine.

This is Rossini's adaption of Cinderella. Angelina lives with her cruel stepfather and stepsisters. When she meets Prince Ramiro disguised as his valet, the two fall in love at first sight. Angelina gifts him a bracelet and says if he truly loves her, he will find her and return it. With Elīna Garanča (Angelina, known as Cenerentola), Lawrence Brownlee (Don Ramiro), Simone Alberghini (Dandini), Alessandro Corbelli (Don Magnifico), Rachelle Durkin (Clorinda), Patricia Risley (Tisbe), John Relyea (Alidoro), and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus, and Ballet conducted by Maurizio Benini.

Gounod's adaption of Shakespeare's classic tragedy. The Montagues and the Capulets hate each other but their children Romeo and Juliet fall in love anyway. This well-known drama is supported by Gounod's lush score. Featuring Roberto Alagna (Roméo), Angela Gheorghiu (Juliette), and other characters sung by members of the Czech National Opera and acted by Czech actors. Also with Kühn's Mixed Choir and the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra conducted by Anton Gaudagno.

This production stars Elina Garanca as the bewitching Carmen and Roberto Alagna as the obsessive Don José. Don José is thrown in jail after freeing Carmen and goes mad with his desire for her. Starring Elīna Garanča (Carmen), Roberto Alagna (Don José), Barbara Frittoli (Michaëla), Teddy Tohu Rhodes (Escamillo), Keith Miller (Zuniga), and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Chorus and Ballet conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

La bohème is a staple of verismo opera repertoire. It tells the story of a group of impoverished artists living in Paris's Latin Quarter Follow Rodolfo the poet and Mimi the embroiderer as they try to make love work in trying circumstances. With Angela Gheorghiu (Mimi), Aïnhoa Arteta (Musetta), Ramón Vargas (Rodolfo), Ludovic Tézier (Marcello), Quinn Kelsey (Schaunard), Oren Gradus (Colline), and the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra conducted by Nicola Luisotti.

Hansel and Gretel get lost in the woods where a witch tricks them into eating her house and then traps them. This Metropolitan Opera recording has a colorful cast of characters with Christine Schäfer (Gretel), Alice Coote (Hansel), Rosalind Plowright (Gertrude (mother)), Alan Held (Peter (father)), Philip Langridge (The Witch), and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Jurowski.

Madame Flora is a fortune-teller who has her daughter Monica and her servant boy Toby help her scam customers. However, when Madame Flora starts realizing that the spirits she "contacts" her seances are actually real, she feels her grip on both her daughter and her sanity slipping. With Maureen Forrester (Madame Flora), Shawna Farrell (Monica), Stelio Calagias (Toby), and The Stratford Ensemble conducted by Raffi Armenian.

Based on the beloved novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, this opera is written by Academy Award Winning composer Rachel Portman. Featuring Teddy Tahu Rhodes (The Pilot), Joseph McManners (The Little Prince), Mairead Carlin (The Rose), Sir Willard White (The King), Lesley Garrett (The Fox), Tom Randle (The Snake), Timothy Robinson (The Lamplighter), Richard Coxon (The Vain Man), Richard Suart (The Businessman), Aled Jones (The Drunkard), Gweneth-Ann Jeffers (The Water) and the BBC Concert Orvchestra conducted by David Charles.