00:00
Puccini - Tosca
For the Easter Festival 2017 in Baden-Baden, Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker draw their inspiration from Tosca, the most well-known and most brilliant of all the Puccini operas. And that is deservedly so since Tosca is not merely a work of art, but also a gripping suspense-packed story. The opera premiered in 1900 at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome. The three-act opera is based on an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. For this performance, Philipp Himmelmann created a spectacular staging that offers a new view of this beloved classic. With Kristine Opolais as Tosca and Marcelo Álvarez as Mario Cavaradossi.
02:07
Boulez conducts Mahler's Symphony No. 2
Pierre Boulez conducts the orchestra and choirs of the Berlin State Opera and the orchestra of the Staatskapelle Berlin in a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. This concert is part of a series of events celebrating the French conductor and composer's 80th birthday. With his uncompromising approach to the score, Boulez's Mahler readings have long fascinated critics and audiences alike. Vocalists Diana Damrau and Petra Lang join forces to bring Boulez’s vision of this gargantuan piece to life. This concert was recorded at the Staatskapelle Berlin in 2005.
03:37
Galaxymphony Strikes Back
The Danish National Symphony Orchestra takes us on a spectacular symphonic space journey in an out-of-this-world concert program of film music. Under the direction of Dutch conductor Antony Hermus, the orchestra guides us through the musical universe, performing a selection of music from iconic sci-fi movies, such as Avatar, Gravity, Interstellar, and Star Wars, written by major composers such as John Williams, Hans Zimmer, and James Horner. Featured soloists in this concert are Tuva Semmingsen, Christine Nonbo Andersen, Steffen Bruun, and David Bateson. This performance was recorded at the DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August 2021.
05:04
Prokofiev - Excerpts from Romeo & Julia, Op. 64
The beautiful Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg formed the background for the 1996 edition of the annual Europakonzert of the Berliner Philharmoniker. In honour of the Russian hosts, the concert opened with highlights from Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet', followed by the Cavatina from Rachmaninoff's opera 'Aleko'. After the intermission, Kolja Blacher featured in the two 'Violin Romances' by Beethoven, followed by a performance of his 'Seventh Symphony'. The orchestra is led by maestro Claudio Abbado.