Opera Stories provides a perfect introduction to the drama, characters and spectacle of opera. Each of its ten programs tells the story of a single opera, bringing the drama and emotion of the plot vividly to life. Charlton Heston narrates each program from, as nearly as possible, the original location stipulated by the composer: the story of La Boheme is told from the sidewalk cafes of Paris where Mimi and Rodolfo fall in love, Aida from the majestic pyramids of Egypt, Tosca from the battlements of the Castel Sant Angelo in Rome where Tosca takes her own life. The stories are illustrated by extensive performance extracts taken from NVC ARTS unique library of full-length recordings.The Royal Opera productions of:
La Boheme (Puccini) from Paris, France
Ileana Cotrubas and Neil Shicoff
Manon Lescaut (Puccini) from Chateau Mauviers, France
Placido Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa
Andrea Chenier (Giordano) from Paris, France
Placido Domingo and Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Falstaff (Verdi) from Windsor, England
Renato Bruson, Barbara Hendricks and Katia Ricciarelli
Der Fledermaus (J. Strauss) from Vienna, Austria
Kiri Te Kanawa and Hermann Prey
Arena di Verona productions of:
Il Trovatore (Verdi) from Aragon, Spain
Rosalind Plowright, Franco Bonisolli and Giorgio Zancanaro
Tosca (Puccini) from Rome, Italy
Eva Marton, Ingvar Wixell and Giacomo Aragall
Aida (Verdi) from Luxor, Egypt
Maria Chiara, Fiorenza Cossotto and Nicola Martinucci
Otello (Verdi) filmed in Marakesh, Morocco
Kiri Te Kanawa, Vladimir Atlantov and Piero Cappuccilli
La Scala, Milan production of:
Ernani (Verdi) from Aragon, Spain
Placido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Renato Bruson and Nicolai Ghiaurov
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.