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. Charlto... more »n Heston narrates each program from, as nearly as possible, the original location stipulated by the composer: the story of La Bohème is told from the sidewalk cafés 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 Bohème (Puccini) from Paris, France
Ileana Cotrubas and Neil ShicoffManon Lescaut (Puccini) from Château Mauviers, France
Placido Domingo and Kiri Te KanawaAndrea Chénier (Giordano) from Paris, France
Placido Domingo and Anna Tomowa-SintowFalstaff (Verdi) from Windsor, England
Renato Bruson, Barbara Hendricks and Katia RicciarelliDer Fledermaus (J. Strauss) from Vienna, Austria
Kiri Te Kanawa and Hermann PreyArena di Verona productions of:Il Trovatore (Verdi) from Aragon, Spain
Rosalind Plowright, Franco Bonisolli and Giorgio ZancanaroTosca (Puccini) from Rome, Italy
Eva Marton, Ingvar Wixell and Giacomo AragallAida (Verdi) from Luxor, Egypt
Maria Chiara, Fiorenza Cossotto and Nicola MartinucciOtello (Verdi) filmed in Marakesh, Morocco
Kiri Te Kanawa, Vladimir Atlantov and Piero CappuccilliLa Scala, Milan production of:Ernani (Verdi) from Aragon, Spain
Placido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Renato Bruson and Nicolai Ghiaurov« less