Acting
The NHK Symphony Orchestra leads Japan's classical music world. It held its first concert in 1927 and has since performed regularly for over 90 years. It continues its excellent performance to this day and has gained international recognition for performances with renowned conductors and soloists. Enjoy the vibrant music forged by the NHK Symphony Orchestra and each conductor's highly individual interpretations that created these unforgettable performances. Music critic Katayama Morihide and presenter Yamamoto Miki set the scene in an introductory segment to the prerecorded concerts.
Henry VIII, Queen Victoria and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart are our hosts for a special live concert as part of the BBC Proms season at London’s Royal Albert Hall, introducing us to the world of opera. Mozart is sure that the Horrible Histories audience will love opera, with all its grisly and gruesome stories. But Queen Victoria is not so sure, thinking opera is totally unsuitable for children. In fact, she thinks the audience need to leave at once! Can Mozart change her mind?
With its enchanting setting and spellbinding score, the world’s most popular opera is as timeless as it is heartbreaking. Franco Zeffirelli’s picture-perfect production brings 19th-century Paris to the Met stage as Puccini’s young friends and lovers navigate the joy and struggle of bohemian life. Soprano Juliana Grigoryan is the feeble seamstress Mimì, opposite tenor Freddie De Tommaso as the ardent poet Rodolfo.
Clive Myrie travels across Ukraine to meet musicians who are preparing to leave their families in their war-torn country in order to create an orchestra and perform at the Royal Albert Hall. With only ten days to rehearse, can they succeed in their ambition to fight the war with their music, instead of with guns? And will the concerts touch the world in the way that they hope?
Conductor Keri Lynn Wilson leads the Toscanini Foundation Orchestra in this outdoor performance of Verdi's masterpiece "Rigoletto." The stars above Siena, Italy, add ambience to this opera, Verdi's passionate and tragic tale about court jester Rigoletto (Roberto Servile), who vows revenge on his master, the Duke of Mantua (Marcelo Alvarez), after he seduces Rigoletto's daughter, Gilda (Inva Mula). Vivienne Westwood designed the lavish costumes.
Can a work of art remain relevant 200 years after its creation? Ludwig van Beethoven’s last completed symphony proves it’s possible.
The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra brings together refugee musicians and Ukrainian members of leading European orchestras. One day after the third anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine, they perform Beethoven's 9th Symphony - a masterpiece and symbol of freedom and humanity - under the direction of Keri-Lynn Wilson in Warsaw's Teatr Wielki.
Maksym Shadko performs Borys Lyatoshynsky’s Slavonic Concerto with the Ukrainian National Symphony Orchestra and members of the Kyiv Camerata, conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson. Part of europiano, ARTE's special day celebrating the piano concerto across Europe.
