Opera

A new New Zealand work with a libretto by Witi Ihimaera and a score by Kenneth Young, inspired in part by the garden paintings of Karl Maughan, debuts at the Auckland Writers Festival next week. Audio

Wotan’s wilful warrior daughter Brünnhilde loses her immortality in opera’s most famous act of filial defiance. Video

Erica Challis takes us through the story and themes of Wagner's opera. Audio

The source of this popular opera is a single chapter in the biblical Book of Judges Video

Verdi’s last opera is a splendid finale to an unparalleled career in the theatre. Video

The action of Das Rheingold takes place in mythic locales below and above the earth: the depths of the Rhine, on mountaintops, and in the caves of the toiling dwarves. Video

Erica Challis takes us through the story and music of the first of Wagner's epic four Ring Cycle operas. In Das Rheingold the theft of precious gold from three Rhine maidens launches us into a world… Video, Audio

Sol3 Mio’s Amitai Pati and soprano Isabella Moore are showing what their voices can do in a soirée marking the opening of a space at the Auckland Opera Studio. Audio

Tenor Javier Camarena and soprano Pretty Yende team up for a feast of bel canto vocal fireworks - including the show-stopping tenor aria “Ah! Mes amis … Pour mon âme,” with its nine high Cs. Video

Launched in 1931, the Met's matinée broadcasts are the longest-running continuous classical series in American radio history. The 2018-2019 season marks the 88th year of live Saturday broadcasts… Video

A double bill from The Metropolitan Opera Video

Mozart’s score for Don Giovanni teems with the elegance and grace that marks his entire output, which is evident from the first bars of the ravishing overture. Video

Getting children hooked on opera is the idea behind NZ Opera's touring school productions. Audio

Peter Shaw profiles the 20th Century's greatest lieder singer. Video, Audio

Opera director Jacqueline Coats is busy leading The Barber of Seville for the Capital E Festival with the hopes of engaging with a new, young audience. She chooses five pieces that have had an… Video, Audio

Bizet’s masterpiece of the gypsy seductress who lives by her own rules has had an impact far beyond the opera house.

In honour of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's 75th birthday we're celebrating with a selection of the New Zealand soprano's most magical singing moments. Video

Composer Nico Muhly unveils his second new opera for the Met with this gripping reimagining of Winston Graham’s novel, set in the 1950s, about a beautiful, mysterious young woman who assumes multiple… Video

It's been nearly 50 years since Dame Kiri Te Kanawa's stellar career took off when she was cast as the Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro. Dame Kiri joined Jim Mora to talk about her… Video, Audio

Debussy’s only opera is a mesmerizing meditation on love and betrayal. Video