Rusalka

First performed in Paris in 1843, at the turning point of several eras, Don Pasquale, a composite and varied work, is the apotheosis of opera buffa. Performed for the first time at the Paris Opera, the production has been entrusted to the Italian director, Damiano Michieletto, who transports us directly to the sincerity and dramatic splendour at the heart of an apparently light‑hearted work.

Les Huguenots is a monumental fresco featuring various impossible loves in the context of the Saint Bartholomew Massacre. Andreas Kriegenburg places these timeless conflicts of love and religion in an immaculate setting in which the costumes appear yet more flamboyant and the victims’ blood more violently red.

In Benoît Jacquot’s production, Manet’s Olympia dominates the stage of the Opéra Bastille. In 1863, the painting caused a scandal: the prostitute awaits her client, her expression proud, her demeanour assured. Is this Violetta? Like Olympia, Verdi’s most celebrated heroine surrenders to the spectator just as she surrenders to love, going so far as to die on stage, a woman’s ultimate sacrifice for her lover. Or might it be the spectator who strips her bare and intrudes upon her privacy, in the image of this milieu of social voyeurism? Whatever the case, these two women regard us with defiance and subjugate those who cannot help but look at them.

“Foolish indeed is he who marries in old age.” Thus ends Don Pasquale: with a wise dictum not lacking in irony that sums up the disappointments of its hero, a rich bachelor keen to marry who is deceived by his nephew Ernesto and his young bride-to-be Norina. First performed in Paris in 1843, at the turning point of several eras, Don Pasquale, a composite and varied work, is the apotheosis of opera buffa. Performed for the first time at the Paris Opera, the production has been entrusted to the Italian director, Damiano Michieletto, who transports us directly to the sincerity and dramatic splendour at the heart of an apparently light‑hearted work.

For his opera Garnier stage-directing debut, Simon Stone creates a sensational La Traviata, 2.0! Pretty Yende and Benjamin Bernheim triumph as Violetta and Alfredo in a production that remixes the beloved operatic masterpiece’s familiar love story for the digital age, adding social media notifications, all-nighters, texts, and parties to produce an interpretation starkly appropriate for our modern era. At the podium, Michele Mariotti conducts the Paris National Opera Orchestra.

In February 1972, the American president Richard Nixon went to China to meet Mao Zedong. In the context of the war in Vietnam and the cold war, this encounter marked a turning point in Chinese‑American relations. John Adams, a major musical figure of the last forty years, made this event of contemporary history the subject of his first opera. Nixon in China tackles the political thaw instigated by ping-pong diplomacy, begun by the invitation of the American table tennis players by their Chinese counterparts, one year before the presidential visit. A mesmerising work in which the pulsations and repetitions typical of minimalism are combined with melodic lines of great lyricism. For its entry into the Paris Opera repertoire, this work has been entrusted to the director Valentina Carrasco, who underlines the importance and the mediating power of Chinese national sport in history.

Set in 16th-century France and Spain, Don Carlos tells of the political and amorous rivalry between King Philip II and his son, Don Carlos, over Elisabeth de Valois. Krzysztof Warlikowski strips down a tragedy haunted by ghosts, and places the intimate at the heart of an imaginary fresco truer than history itself. Along with Philippe Jordan, he reveals to the public the very first version of this great five-act opera: the version modified by Verdi himself for the work’s first performance in 1867.

Directed by Ursel Hermann, this 2005 production of Mozart's last opera stars a remarkable cast with Susan Graham in the role of Sesto, Christoph Prégardien giving life to Tito and Catherine Naglestad embodying the ambitious Vitellia. Premiered in September 1791 for the coronation of Leopold II, King of Bohemia, La Clemenza di Tito celebrates the figure of the merciful sovereign

A young woman from the American Midwest, Loïe Fuller became the toast of the Folies Bergère at the turn of the 20th century and an icon of the Belle Epoque. Inventor of the breathtaking Serpentine Dance, she was a pioneer of modern dance and lighting techniques. It was her complicated relationship to her protégé - Isadora Duncan – that precipitated the downfall of this early 20th century icon.

Idi and Rita live with their grandmother, Manie. Idi tries to keep the memories they have of their mother, by drawing on his school notebook. By the force of their desire, the children keep the link they have to their funny mother, despite the separation.

Graines d'étoiles, les années de maturité

The iconic 1977 Pink Floyd album has been remixed for the first time by James Guthrie. Animals is a concept album, focusing on the social-political conditions of mid-1970s Britain, and was a change from the style of the band's earlier work. The album was developed from a collection of unrelated songs into a concept which describes the apparent social and moral decay of society, likening the human condition to that of animals. Taking inspiration from George Orwell's Animal Farm, the album depicts the different classes of people as animals with pigs being at the top of the social chain, dropping down to the sheep as the mindless herd following what they are told, with dogs as the business bosses getting fat on the money and power they hold over the other. Although it's been a long time since 1977, the narrative of the album still resonates today as our social and economic situation mirrors that of the time.

In this film, Melina gets the chance to prove herself as a musical actress while learning about the beauty and difficulty of love.

Within Temptation - Mother Earth

When Act 2 of Fidelio is being poured out in the most glorious tones imaginable from Mattila, Heppner and Pape - who can possibly complain? Who would honestly want to replace any of them? Who can fail to be overwhelmed with gratitude to own this disc? If I continue to count our blessings, I might mention the splendid Robert Lloyd drawing us to a thrilling finale as Don Fernando; and Falk Struckmann a convincingly evil Pizarro. So it is certainly not complaining, but fulfilling a reviewer's obligation to tell all, when I admit that Jennifer Welch-Babidge is little more than adequate as Marzelline. One might wish for a purer vocal line in this role - like a Bonney or an Isokoski.

This production is a gala affair; the sets are traditional (evocative of 18th-19th century Spain); the lighting is bright, so colors are good and one can see all of the action. Singers are generally well chosen and perform admirably. However, at this point, slight reservations creep in; although Janowitz (Fidelio/Leonore) and Kollo (Florestan) look "good" and act well, the singing parts tax them a bit when pushed to the limit. Most of the time that doesn't matter, and an argument can be made that a little vocal strain is in character with their dire plight. Ideally, for me, Vickers as Florestan would have added extra vocal heft and more sensitive acting than Kollo.

Combining his trademark wit and self-deprecating humor with original music, Bo Burnham offers up his unique twist on life in this stand-up special about life, death, sexuality, hypocrisy, mental illness and Pringles cans.

Follows dub poet master Linton Kwesi Johnson out of the recording studio onto the Brixton streets.

A captain pays one of his sailors to marry a woman who works in a nightclub.

TRAUMA is a collaborative film project by Jesse Kanda and Arca first partially exhibited at MoMA PS1 at the end of 2013. The film follows a nonlinear narrative about the death of a salaryman, a drunk driving infant and takes place within a subconscious world. TRAUMA's score will span through Arca's existing and future works.