Opera / Theatre Movies
Essential Opera and Theatre Movies for the top 1% WFH people of internet yos.
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- DirectorKenneth BranaghStarsJoseph KaiserAmy CarsonBen DavisDuring World War I, in an unnamed country, a soldier named Tamino is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from the clutches of the supposedly evil Sarastro. But all is not as it seems.This is a great adaptation directed by the one and only Kenneth Branagh. The dubbing of the singing voices may be slightly off at times, but the voices were chosen well. It's definitly worth watching even if you are not researching a role in this opera.
- DirectorPetr WeiglStarsMagda VásáryováMilan KnazkoPremysl KocíThis is an amazing and enchanting film adaptation of Dvorak's Rusalka. It's in the original language and directed by Peter Weigl. It's hard to find, but worth looking for. The singers cast for this film are wonderful.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsMaria CallasMassimo GirottiLaurent TerzieffAfter his quest to retrieve the fabled Golden Fleece, Jason returns to Greece with powerful sorceress Medea. However, when the king banishes her, it's only human that Medea plots her furious revenge. Can they escape her wrath?This is Pasolini's interpretation of Cherubini's opera, Medea. This is the one and only film with Maria Callas that is made available to the public. If you are a fan of La Divina, this film is a must.
- DirectorFrédéric MitterrandStarsYing HuangRichard TroxellNing LiangThe story of a young geisha who falls madly in love with an american captain that travels all around the world collecting hearts.I only wish Martin Scorsese would direct more films based on Operas! Any film or opera lover will enjoy this film.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsGreta GarboRobert TaylorLionel BarrymoreA Parisian courtesan must choose between the young man who loves her and the callous baron who wants her, even as her own health begins to fail.Camille is based on the same play that the opera La Traviata was based on. It's a beautifully shot classic film. There is also a 1921 version of this film that is enjoyable for any classic film lover.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsHarry BelafonteDorothy DandridgePearl BaileyContemporary version of the Bizet opera, with new lyrics and an African-American cast.This is a fun, unique adaptation of Bizet's Carmen. It's in technicolor so it gets extra points for it's vividness and great cinematic style.
- DirectorVicente ArandaStarsPaz VegaLeonardo SbaragliaAntonio DechentBased on the novel by Prosper Merimee, CARMEN is the classic tale of forbidden passion between a young man (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and a spoken-for woman, Carmen (Paz Vega). It is told in flashback as the young soldier, stripped of his decorations, explains all in a prison cell. He tells of the love he had for Carmen and how it proved to be destructive.This adaptation starring Paz Vega is as gritty and depressing as Carmen gets. Compared to the Carmen Jones film, this takes things in a completly opposite direction. It's brutal and raw. This film version might be closer to what Bizet had in mind when writing his opera.
- DirectorHerbert Hall WinslowStarsLina CavalieriLucien MuratoreDorothy ArthurThe story opens in the country home of Manon and her brother, who have been brought up by a religious father. The father insists that Manon shall enter a convent for life. He compels her to go. But on the way, stopping at an inn at Amisne, she meets the Chevalier Des Grieux. It is a case of love at first sight between them. Manon and Des Grieux escape the vigilance of her traveling companions and flee to Paris. The Baron De Bretigny, a rich nobleman, occupies a residence adjoining their home in Paris. He sees the lovely Manon and, attracted by her beauty, makes her acquaintance. Failing in his attempts to separate her from Des Grieux, the Baron finally writes to Des Grieux's father, an old friend of his in Picardy. The father, objecting to his son's choice, sends his elder brother and two servants to Paris, who takes Des Grieux away by force. The Baron then bribes Manon's maid, who tells her mistress that Des Grieux has deserted her, and, as he does not return, the heartbroken girl believes he has left her forever. Alone in Paris without friends or money she is finally compelled to accept the protection of the scheming Baron. Meantime the Chevalier, believing that Manon no longer cares for him, is persuaded by his faithful friend. Abbe Tiberge, to renounce the world and become an abbe. He goes to Paris and begins his studies at St. Sulpice. But Manon is still the unforgotten object of his affections. Through the false maid Manon discovers the trick by which the Baron separated her from her lover. She leaves the Baron's house and visits the Chevalier at St. Sulpice, where, after a pathetic and emotional scene she induces him to go with her. Manon's brother, Lescaut, a dissolute and unprincipled guardsman in the army of King Louis XV, is hired by the Baron to attack the Chevalier and bring Manon back to him. Ruffians engaged by Lescaut carry out this plan. But after a furious street combat the Chevalier escapes. Manon, however, is taken to the Baron's house and kept prisoner. Here the Chevalier follows her and alone and unaided rescues her after a struggle with the perfidious Baron. The lovers leave Paris and establish themselves in a suburban villa, where Lescaut comes and convinces them that he had no part in the plot. Their financial circumstances go from bad to worse. Des Grieux finds himself beset by creditors and is finally persuaded by his false friend, Lescaut, to gamble at a fashionable club in Paris. The Baron is present, induces the Chevalier to play with him and accuses him of cheating at cards. Manon interferes, but both are arrested and thrown into separate prisons. The Chevalier escapes from St. Lazare after wounding a guard and compelling the prison governor to open the doors for him. Meantime Lescaut has quarreled with the Baron and decides to help the Chevalier rescue Manon from the Magdalen. This is accomplished, and disguised in boy's clothes, Manon escapes in a coach with the Chevalier, driven by Lescaut. The prison guards start in pursuit. The coach is wrecked in an accident, Lescaut is killed and Manon recaptured. Taken back to prison she is sentenced to be transported to America, to the French province of Louisiana, as was the custom of that period. Chained to a number of unfortunate women prisoners Manon is taken to Havre. Des Grieux follows, seeking for some means of saving her, but finding none he smuggles himself as a stowaway on board the ship, which carries his beloved to far-away New Orleans. In the new world Manon and the Chevalier are kindly treated by the Louisiana Governor. But when the Governor's nephew becomes infatuated with Manon the Governor decides to separate them on his nephew's account. The Chevalier fights a duel with the nephew, then escapes with Manon to the forests, where she dies.I wish this film was more widely available. It stars the classic Lina Cavalieri.
- DirectorClemente FracassiStarsRenata TebaldiEbe StignaniGino BechiAida, featuring the actress Sophia Loren, is a film adaptation of a theatre performance written by Verdi. The plot revolves around the character Radames who falls in love with what he thinks is a slave in a country his armies has conquered. The young woman is actually the daughter of the leader he ousted.This film version of Verdi's masterpiece has Sophia Loren cast as Aida dubbed with Renata Tebaldi's beautiful voice.
- DirectorMartha FiennesStarsRalph FiennesLiv TylerToby StephensRussia, 1820s: Onegin inherits his uncle's country estate and moves there from St. Petersburg. He befriends his neighbor, Lensky, and meets Tatyana through him. She falls in love with Onegin but he just wants friendship.Tchaikovsky based his opera Eugene Onegin on the same novel by Pushkin that this film was based on. It's a beautiful and haunting film.
- DirectorDustin HoffmanStarsMaggie SmithMichael GambonBilly ConnollyAt a home for retired musicians, the annual concert to celebrate Composer Giuseppe Verdi's birthday is disrupted by the arrival of Jean (Dame Maggie Smith), an eternal diva and the former wife of one of the residents.
- DirectorChristopher MenaulStarsRichard E. GrantSarah BrightmanMía MaestroSpurred on by playful jibes he is little more than a city suit living capitalist's dream, this frustrated amateur opera singer decides to throw an opera in his lavish country retreat.
- DirectorCarlos SauraStarsTobias MorettiEulàlia RamonSergi RocaA drama based on the life of 18th century Italian lyricist Lorenzo da Ponte, who collaborated with Mozart on his "Don Giovanni" opera.
- DirectorMichael SturmingerStarsJohn MalkovichVeronica FerresFlorian BoeschTwo stories about the greatest seducer of all time, Giacomo Casanova.
- DirectorRobert DornhelmStarsAnna NetrebkoRolando VillazónNicole CabellThe opera "La Bohème" is about the tragic love story of Mimí and Rodolfo, set in Paris in the year 1830.
- DirectorJens NeubertStarsFranz GrundheberBenno SchollumJuliane Banse'Hunter's Bride' traces the romantic rivalry between two veterans of the Napoleonic Wars who vie for the heart of the same woman.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsPlácido DomingoKatia RicciarelliJustino DíazVerdi's famous opera is brought to life in this production. The immortal tale of the noble Moor and his beautiful young wife, and of his lieutenant, whose jealousy and lust for power lead him to commit the ultimate treason.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsYelena ObraztsovaPlácido DomingoRenato BrusonTurridu is spotted by his wife, Santuzza, returning from the home of his lover, Lola. He is also seen on the road by Lola's husband, Alfio. While he suspects nothing, Santuzza knows exactly what's happened. Ever loyal, though, she decides to confront her husband instead of telling Alfio.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsTeresa StratasPlácido DomingoJuan PonsThe story is set in southern Italy and recounts the tragedy of Canio, the lead clown in a commedia dell'arte troupe, his wife Nedda, and her lover, Silvio.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsTeresa StratasPlácido DomingoCornell MacNeilVioletta meets Alfredo and quickly falls for him. After the lovers run away together, they live in bliss for a short time. However, Alfredo's father, Giorgio, starts to interfere, concerned that Violetta's bad reputation will affect the marriage prospects of Alfredo's sister. Violetta reluctantly leaves Alfredo, but his love is so strong that it leads him to actions that have tragic consequences.
- DirectorGötz FriedrichStarsLeonie RysanekAstrid VarnayCatarina LigendzaRichard Strauss' classic opera version of the ancient Greek tragedy about the princess Elektra, who dreams of avenging her father Agamemnon's murder by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover.
- DirectorGötz FriedrichStarsKaran ArmstrongGabriel BacquierUlrik ColdWhen Sir John Falstaff decides that he wants to have a little fun he writes two letters to a pair of Window wives: Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. When they put their heads together and compare missives, they plan a practical joke or two to teach the knight a lesson. But Mistress Ford's husband is a very jealous man and is pumping Falstaff for information of the affair. Meanwhile the Pages' daughter Anne is besieged by suitors.
- DirectorBarbara Willis SweeteStarsRoberto AlagnaAngela GheorghiuTito BeltránWilliam Shakespeare's classic tale of passion, rage and the corruption of youth retold on the mean streets of Providence, Rhode Island.
- DirectorBenoît JacquotStarsAngela GheorghiuRoberto AlagnaRuggero RaimondiBenoit Jacquot reinvents the way we view opera in this magnificent production of Puccini's story of Tosca's love for the painter Cavaradossi and the intervention of Scarpia.
- DirectorFrancesco RosiStarsJulia MigenesPlácido DomingoRuggero RaimondiIn 1820s Spain the soldier Don José falls in love with the fiery and charismatic factory worker Carmen. Conflicts and grievances multiply, however, as it becomes apparent their views on love and commitment are fundamentally incompatible.
- DirectorJean-Pierre PonnelleStarsMirella FreniPlácido DomingoChrista LudwigA young Japanese geisha clings to the belief that her arrangement with a visiting American naval officer is a loving and permanent marriage.
- DirectorJean-Pierre PonnelleStarsIngvar WixellEdita GruberovaLuciano PavarottiThe Duke lives the high life. The court jester taunts too well. Revenge has unintended consequences both times it is attempted.
- StarsJohn ConnellJulie GossageJulie HigginsonSix famous operas beautifully brought to screen with various animation techniques. Cell animation, stop motion etc. Each opera a different artist and all lasts half an hour.
- DirectorFrédéric MitterrandStarsYing HuangRichard TroxellNing LiangThe story of a young geisha who falls madly in love with an american captain that travels all around the world collecting hearts.
- DirectorRobert AltmanBruce BeresfordBill BrydenStarsJohn HurtTheresa RussellStephanie Lane10 short films by 10 different directors, set to arias by different composers.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJames MorrisSiegfried JerusalemEkkehard Wlaschiha'Das Rheingold' tells the story about Alberich's theft of the gold from the Rhine, the forging of the Ring of power and sets off a cascade of events that further develop in the subsequent operas of the Ring Cycle.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJames LevineJuan PonsSamuel Ramey
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJosé CuraDmitri HvorostovskyYvonne Naef
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsRodney GilfryLászló PolgárIsabel Rey
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJon Frederic WestWaltraud MeierKurt Moll
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsGalina GorchakovaNikolai PutilinGegam GrigorianDonna Leonora on the verge of eloping with her lover Don Alvaro is party to the accidental shooting of her father. Fleeing from her brother Don Carlo who swears to kill her and avenge his father, Leonora takes refuge at the monastery of the "Madonna of the Angels", in hope of finding peace. The Father Superior takes her to an abandoned hermits cave where she vows to remain an unhappy, rejected woman cursed by heaven and earth, aspiring only to give herself to God. Cruel fate brings together lover Don Alvaro and brother Don Carlo in a a duel outside the cave. Carlo is wounded, Leonora runs to comfort her brother but is fatally stabbed in his dying vengeance. Don Alvaro, bereft and in the act of suicide at losing his beloved curses all humanity. This is the historic first recording of the original 1862 version as commissioned by the Imperial Theatre, St. Petersburg from Verdi.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsPlácido DomingoRenée FlemingJames MorrisThe Moorish general Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his lieutenant Michael Cassio when in reality it is all part of the scheme of a bitter ensign named Iago.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJames LevineBruno PolaHao Jiang TianUnknown identities and secrets hamper the leaders of Genoa: The Doge and the former Doge do not realize Amelia is their kin, and revealing that calms some strife in the city-state - too late for some.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsCecilia BartoliEnzo DaraRaúl GiménezThe Prince changes places with his valet - and meets the girl of his dreams!
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsThomas AllenEva JenisHana MinutilloNicholas Hytner's enchanting production, sung in the original Czech, is conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras, a master of the best Janacek style. Through myriad shifts of scene, the episodic story is presented in brightly-colored sets and costumes of blissful innocence and simplicity, designed by Bob Crowley. Jean-Claude Gallotta's choreography for the insects and animals, and Jean Kalman's lighting add to the nostalgically poetic effect of the whole. With Thomas Allen as the Forester, the cast includes Eva Jenis, Hanna Minutillo, Richard Novak and Ivan Kusnjer. This live recording comes from the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsCheryl StuderLuciana D'IntinoYvonne BarclayThis is the story of forbidden love between the Egyptian leader Radames and the beautiful Ethiopian princess Aida. Aida is captured and forced to be a slave to the Pharaoh's daughter, who is also in love with Radames. When the Ethiopian enemies headed by Aida's father invade Egypt, Aida is faced with a dilemma - whom should she support, her father or her beloved Radames?
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsKiri Te KanawaWolfgang BrendelMarie McLaughlinIt all comes down to a glass of water.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJonathan BestJerry HadleyDawn Upshaw
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsRoberto AlagnaLeontina VaduvaAnna Maria PanzarellaTwo teenagers fall in love, but their feuding families and fate itself cause the relationship to end in tragedy.
- 1977– 2h 21m9.2 (36)TV EpisodeDirectorBrian LargeStarsTeresa StratasPlácido DomingoLuciano PavarottiA jealous husband and his wife in a theatrical company.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsRené KolloWaltraud MeierBernd Weikl
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsÉva MartonMichael SylvesterLucia Mazzaria
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsNina RautioOleg KulkoMaria Gavrilowa
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsKathleen BattleLuciano PavarottiJuan PonsPeasant boy buys love potion to woo rich girl. When that fails, he enlists in the army for a cash bonus, and buys more potion.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsThomas MoserCheryl StuderMarjana LipovsekA year has passed since the young Emperor went hunting with his falcon and captured the Peri, who was in the form of a gazelle, and married her. She is still all light, neither human nor a spirit, and if after three more days she casts no shadow, she must return to Keikobad and the Emperor will turn to stone. Since she cannot bear children unless she can find a human shadow, she asks the strange Nurse for help. The Nurse, who controls weird magics, brings her to the discontented household of Barak, a dyer, and his Wife. The Nurse attempts to purchase the Wife's shadow by promising her riches, an idyllic life, and a young lover. The Wife resists three times, and the Baraks are cast into an underground vault. The characters wander through eerily exotic settings while they recover their consciences, and all ends happily.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsPlácido DomingoKiri Te KanawaSergei LeiferkusThe Moorish general Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his lieutenant Michael Cassio when in reality it is all part of the scheme of a bitter ensign named Iago.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsAlexandru AgacheKiri Te KanawaRoberto ScandiuzziNone of Verdi's other operas was subjected to as radical a series of revisions as Simon Boccanegra. The initial version of 1857 was not a success, so that in 1880/81 Verdi not only rewrote large sections of the score but together with his new librettist Arrigo Boito also reworked the libretto. The result was a sombre work full of overwhelming sound pictures. This second version proved a great and lasting success.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsKathleen BattleFrancisco AraizaManfred HemmLive recording of a theatrical performance of The Magic Flute, the famous Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJames LevineAprile MilloHarolyn Blackwell
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsPlácido DomingoRobert LloydCheryl Studer
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJune AndersonMarilyn HorneStanford Olsen
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsSiegfried JerusalemHildegard BehrensJames MorrisIn the third opera of Wagner's Ring Cycle, a young man named Siegfried, raised by the dwarf Mime, finds the pieces of a magic sword and goes on a quest to experience fear for the first time, all part of a plan set forth by the god Wotan.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsHildegard BehrensJames MorrisJessye NormanIn the second part of Richard Wagner's Ring Cycle, two mortal strangers meet, pulled together by Wotan, king of the gods, until a decree from his wife forces his Valkyrie daughter Brünnhilde to step in and try to save the mortals.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsAprile MilloDolora ZajickPlácido DomingoPharaoh's daughter Amneris loves general Radames, but he loves slave Aida. Aida's father leads the Ethiopian army to invade Egypt. When he's captured, he wants Aida to gain military secrets from Radames.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsMirella FreniPeter DvorskýFiorenza CossottoThe true-life story of Adriana Lecouvreur, an 18th-Century actress at the Comédie Française, whose rival for the love of Maurizio, Count of Saxony, is the married Principessa di Bouillon.
- 1971– 2h 40mNot Rated8.5 (56)TV Episode
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJames LevineÉva MartonDolora ZajickTroubadour Manrico, kidnapped and raised by gypsy Azucena, courts Leonora and she loves him. Count di Luna wants Leonora, vows to destroy Manrico, not knowing they are actually brothers.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJames LevineAgnes BaltsaLeona MitchellGypsy Carmen picks soldier Don Jose as her latest conquest, costs him his career, takes up with a toreador while he's in jail, recruits him for the smuggling ring, and foresees her own death.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsRenato BrusonMara ZampieriGoetz RoseMacbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsLisbeth BalslevGraham ClarkSimon EstesWhen Daland and his Norwegian sailors spot the Dutchman's ship, they hail him. He tells them that he is doomed to sail the seas and can come on land once every seven years to seek redemption from the curse. Daland, who is rather greedy, hopes the wealthy stranger will marry his daughter, although Erik, a young hunter, has already been courting her. They go to Daland's house, where Senta promises obedience to her father's wishes. She has been feeling that Erik is a little bit too conventional and boring and she finds the stranger mysterious and romantic, so she sings her desire to be the woman who can redeem the Dutchman. He warns that her fate won't be pretty if she swears fidelity but fails to keep it, but Senta has fallen in love at first sight and pledges her faithfulness unto death. Party time! But when the sailors and their women call to the Dutch ship for the crew to come ashore and join the celebration, it becomes clear that the ship is manned by ghosts.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsJosé CarrerasPiero CappuccilliÉva Marton
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsIleana CotrubasPatricia ParkerRomayne GrigorovaIt is Verdi's opera "Don Carlo".
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsÉva MartonJaume AragallIngvar Wixell
- DirectorKirk BrowningStarsIleana CotrubasFrederica von StadeLoretta Di FrancoReturning home from the Trojan Wars during a storm, Idomeneo, the king of Crete, vows to sacrifice to Neptune (the Greek god Poseidon) the first living creature he meets ashore in return for his own safety. The first person he sees turns out to be his own son Idamante, and Idomeneo attempts to escape from fulfilling his vow. Idamante, meanwhile, is loved by orphaned prisoner Ilia and by the jealous Electra. Who will be sacrificed, and who will stay with Idamante?
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsKiri Te KanawaPlácido DomingoThomas AllenA story of doomed romance between a chivalrous noble man, Chevalier Des Grieux and his working class lover, Manon Lescaut.
- StarsGianandrea GavazzeniEleonora JankovicNella VerriA series of three completely unrelated one-act operas, performed as a trio. The first opera is a drama, while the second opera is a religious historical melodrama, and the third opera is a comedy.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsRichard CassillyÉva MartonTatiana TroyanosTannhauser longs for earthly life, rejects Venus, returns to mortal Elisabeth. He's condemned by the Landgrave for his carnality, and sent to Rome. The Pope predicts forgiveness is as likely as his walking stick is of sprouting new shoots.
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsBirgit NilssonLeonie RysanekMignon DunnElectra, like her brother Orestes and younger sister Chrysothemis, is a child of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, who went off to the Trojan war for ten years. His queen Clytemnestra took a lover, Aegisthus; when the king returned they murdered him and forced Orestes into exile. The guilty pair now rule, and the daughters have become young women. Chrysothemis is frightened and self-effacing, Electra desiring revenge for her father. Chrysothemis warns her that their mother and Aegisthus plan to imprison her. Then Chrysothemis flees as Clytemnestra staggers in, nearly insane with guilt over the murder of her husband. Electra tells her that she and Aegisthus will be hounded through the palace halls by Orestes with the sacred axe. Clytemnestra is horrified until news comes that Orestes is dead. Crazed with disappointment, Electra tries to persuade Chrysothemis they must kill their mother, but Chrysothemis runs away in terror. Electra hunts for the buried axe that must be used fo!
- DirectorBrian LargeStarsMargaret PriceLuciano PavarottiStefania ToczyskaAn Egyptian military commander, Radamès, struggles to choose between his love for the enslaved Ethiopian princess Aida, and his loyalty to the Pharaoh. To complicate the story further, the Pharaoh's daughter Amneris is in love with Radamès, although he does not return her feelings.