Jürgen Flimm

Following a string of awe-inspiring Met performances, soprano Lise Davidsen stars as Leonore, who risks everything to save her husband from the clutches of tyranny.

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“Nothing is harder to put on stage than lightness. And humor is the sharpest weapon of the desperate. That is why it is an obligation, indeed a must, to enjoy this Figaro by Jürgen Flimm at the Staatsoper to the fullest.“ (ARD Radio) This production of “Le nozze di Figaro” is directed by the former artistic director of the Staatsoper Berlin, Jürgen Flimm, who characterizes it as follows: “Figaro is by far the best work ever devised for the stage; it combines everything that moves the human heart and mind – forlorn hope, pleasantry, satire, profound significance, also much ado about nothing and vain amours.”

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The Berlin State Opera is back at its place of origin: Unter den Linden! After extensive renovations, it was reopened with Schumann's scenes from Goethe's Faust under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. Staged by Jürgen Flimm and with the stage design by the renowned German artist Markus Lüpertz

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Bellezza (Beauty) admires herself in the mirror, but knows that her beauty will one day pass. Piacere (Pleasure) tries to cheer her up, promising her eternal beauty if she remains only faithful to pleasure. Bellezza promises never to leave her, or else to accept severe punishment. Piacere warns of the destructive power of useless worry, but now Tempo (Time) and Disinganno (Disillusion) get involved in the conversation. Together they seek to explain the ephemeral nature of beauty, which quickly wilts like a blossom.

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This DVD of a live 2005 performance from the Zürich Opera under the musical direction of Franz Welser-Möst has many things to recommend it -- the young tenor Piotr Beczala as Alfredo, the marvelous Thomas Hampson as Giorgio Germont, the playing of the Zurich Opera orchestra, the simple but effective sets by by Erich Wonder, the uncluttered stage direction by Jürgen Flimm. It also has some flaws: strangely variable volume level of the recorded sound sometimes coming on so loud as to make one reach for the volume control, and the uneven performance of the Violetta, Eva Mei who, for all her merits, gives a dramatically effective performance marred by occasional difficulties with vocal production. Still, overall I felt this was a moving production, one that I would recommend, although perhaps not as an only DVD of one of Verdi's most popular operas.

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Live 2001 production from the Zurich Opera House of the classic Mozart/Da Ponte opera, with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting and directed for television and video by Brian Large.

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One of the chief pleasures of this live production of Otello from the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden is Daniel Barenboim's conducting. From the opening gale-force blast of storm music, through the crunching and stabbing accompaniment of Iago's "Credo" to the shimmering strings of Desdemona's "Willow Song", he doesn't miss a trick. Everything works at the highest pitch of intensity and the orchestra sticks to his beat like glue. It's a necessary compensation for the shortcomings of the staging: the stolid chorus remains unperturbed by the storm and is directed to perform with unison movements; the acting (apart from Valeri Alexejev) is non-committal, and Alexandre Tarta's video direction somewhat flat-footed. She doesn't manage to make much small-screen sense of an impenetrably murky opening scene, for example, and doesn't seem fond of reaction shots.

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The TV documentation reconstructs the incidents between May and November 1989 from the point of view of the Politburo of the GDR (German Democratic Republic). The incidents include the fraud of local elections, the opening of Hungary's borders towards Austria, the ensuing tide of East German refugees to Hungary and Czechoslovakia for transfer to West Germany, the pompous ceremonies at GDR's 40th anniversary, the inept transactions the Politburo took to salvage the situation, the resulting dismissal of their leader Erich Honecker, the international press conference in East Berlin on 9th November 1989, at which Politburo member Günther Schabowski erroneously announced the immediate opening of the 'Iron Curtain', which finally led to the collapse of socialism in the GDR and the other East Bloc countries.

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Gerd is a locksmith apprentice. In a dispute, he gives his boss a slap and is fired. He does not look for a new job. Instead he wants his freedom back.

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Ein Herz und eine Seele is a German cult sitcom based on the British sitcom Till Death Us Do Part by Johnny Speight. The show premiered on January 15, 1973 and lasted for about twenty episodes, airing its last on November 4, 1974. In 1976, the show had a short-lived revival with another four episodes. Ein Herz und eine Seele was written by Wolfgang Menge. The show was extremely successful during its initial run and it still proves very popular in reruns. Two episodes in particular, Silvesterpunsch and Rosenmontagszug have gained such popularity that they are now shown traditionally on German TV on New Year's Eve and Rosenmontag, respectively.

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A lifeguard at Lake Müggel has his hand bitten off and the marks indicate a shark attack. The lake is closed to the public by extending a local festival indefinitely while the city council thinks of what can be done to remove the shark. The public becomes restless having their lake closed for so long and come up with a plan to drive the shark from the lake with large quantities of beer.

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Waltraud Meier is “La Wagnerissima”, the queen of Wagner’s repertoire. In her very personal account “I follow a voice within me”, we enter her world and learn about her motivations, aspirations, and her joyful way of pursuing them. In addition to personal insights, this truly ingenious portrait presents Waltraud Meier on stage and in rehearsal in her most celebrated Wagner roles and as an interpreter of Mahler’s Lieder. It becomes clear how she coined today’s musical world when other great musicians such as Daniel Barenboim or Plácido Domingo speak about her and her work. This beautiful portrait of one of the greatest interpreters of our time is rounded off with a powerful recording of Mahler’s “Lied von der Erde”.

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Live 2001 production from the Zurich Opera House of the classic Mozart/Da Ponte opera, with Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting and directed for television and video by Brian Large.

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Nikolaus Harnoncourt is the conductor in this 2004 production of Beethoven's only opera staged at the Zurich Opera House. Finnish soprano Camilla Nyland takes the title role, with performances by Jonas Kaufmann, Laszlo Polgar and Alfred Muff.

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Based on the research for his non-fiction book "Der Baader-Meinhoff-Komplex", "Spiegel" journalist Stefan Aust wrote the screen play to Reinhard Hauff’s controversial feature film that re-narrates the startling trial against the RAF terrorists Baader, Meinhoff, Ensslin, and Raspe. The trial that started in May 1975 in the Stammheim maximum-security prison extended over 192 days and ended with a lifetime sentence for all defendants.

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