Read expert-written show guides with context, plot, characters and video examples.
Lucio Silla (Lucius Sulla)
Rome is ruled by the dictator Lucio Silla. Cecilio, banished for plotting against Silla, learns from...
The Old Maid and the Thief
Originally written for NBC radio, Gian Carlo Menotti’s one-act opera The Old Maid and the Thief expo...
Orphée aux Enfers
Orphée and his wife Eurydice have grown apart. Orphée’s love of his violin, and of a local shepherd...
Otello; ossia Il Moro di Venezia
Otello returns to Venice, victorious from the war, and is granted citizenship of Venice by the Doge...
Passazhirka
German diplomat, Walter Kretschmer, and his wife, Anna Liese Franz, are aboard a cruise liner headed...
The Pearl Fishers
A tale of love, betrayal, and sacrifice, The Pearl Fishers centers around two friends, Nadir and Zur...
Pelleas et Melisande
Lost in the forest, Golaud discovers a mysterious woman who is weeping near a pool. He tries to help...
Pique Dame
Officer Gherman is troubled. The beautiful girl he loves is engaged to be married and he does not ev...
Prince Igor
An eclipse foreshadows Prince Igor’s journey into battle against the Khans with a bad omen, but Igor...
Prodaná nevěsta
In a small Bohemian village, the fair maiden Mařenka is enamored with her sweetheart, Jeník. The pr...
The Rape of Lucretia
The Rape of Lucretia revolves around a bet made between three Roman officers, Collatinus, Junius, an...
Riders to the Sea
Set on the remote island of Inishmaan, Vaughan-William’s intensely tragic opera is based on J.M. Syn...
