Aida - San Francisco Opera (1981) is a movie that showcases a live performance of the opera Aida. The story revolves around the love and conflict between an Ethiopian princess, Aida, and an Egyptian military commander, Radamès, set against the backdrop of war and political intrigue.

The libretto is by Mussorgsky himself and takes the eponymous “romantic tragedy” by the celebrated Russian poet Alexander Pushkin as its starting point. Boris Godunov is Mussorgsky’s masterpiece and his only complete opera. It’s a vast sprawling tapestry of Russian life, which centres on the Russian people – represented in the opera by a large and powerful chorus – rather than on the title figure. The staging was produced at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and is based on the original version of the score.

Conducted by Daniel Barenboim, the Staatskapelle Berlin performs THE GAMBLER, Prokofiev's moody, roiling opera based on a story by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

As comparably short operas, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci are often billed together, but seldom is the lead tenor making his double role debut as Turiddu and Canio on the same evening. At the 2015 Salzburg Easter Festival, Jonas Kaufmann did just that to rapturous praise. Universally hailed as a coup for Kaufmann, the plaudits were also showered on Philipp Stölzl for his innovative staging which includes live video projections while referencing the era of black-and-white movies.

Rare recording of the 1979 San Francisco performance of La Gioconda by Ponchielli

Obsessive in gambling and in love, Soldier Hermann is smitten with the aristocratic Lisa and fixated on learning the winning secret of her grandmother, the Countess. At a masked ball, Lisa gives Herman the key to her grandmother's room.