Carnegie Hall+

Carnegie Hall+ offers the most extensive array of celebrated opera productions that feature the biggest stars in their most important roles from the world’s great opera houses and festivals. Be the first to see the most talked-about opera productions from cutting-edge directors and beloved conductors, and experience extraordinary not-to-be-missed performances and stagings—only on Carnegie Hall+.

Beethoven’s Fidelio

The Theater an der Wien—Vienna’s famed opera house where Beethoven introduced his only opera to the world—premieres a new production of Fidelio, an everlasting testament to love and justice directed by Oscar winner Christoph Waltz.

Beethoven’s Fidelio
Salzburg Festival

An ode to freedom, Beethoven’s only opera follows Leonore, alias Fidelio, as she rescues her political-prisoner husband Florestan. Franz Welser-Möst leads this Salzburg Festival production staged by Claus Guth and featuring Jonas Kaufmann.

Berg’s Wozzeck
Salzburg Festival

Wozzeck—one of the 20th century’s most defining works—tells the story of a soldier’s descent into madness. Staged with stunning vision by William Kentridge at the Salzburg Festival, Matthias Goerne is featured in the title role.

Carmen: Obsession in Isolation

In this radical re-imagining of the classic opera, the murder of the famous temptress becomes a journalist’s obsession during the pandemic lockdown, featuring music from Bizet’s beloved score performed by the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.

Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande

This pioneering lyric drama—Debussy’s only opera—depicts a tragic love triangle, conjuring a tale of slow-burning jealousy that destroys all. In his tender score, Debussy searches the soul of each character with incredible nuance.

Donizetti’s La fille du régiment

For sheer entertainment, Donizetti’s La fille du régiment can’t be beat, especially in this saucy production. Stars Natalie Dessay and Juan Diego Flórez dazzle, but legendary prima donna Montserrat Caballé steals the show.

Dvořák’s Rusalka

The Bavarian State Opera’s production of Dvořák’s fairy tale was a veritable sensation, revealing Latvian soprano Kristine Opolais as a major opera star in her role as a water nymph who becomes human to find love in the arms of a prince.

Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet

Broadway director Bartlett Sher’s production of the famous love story features the vocal artistry of Rolando Villazón and Nino Machaidze, whose voices soar together in their show-stopping love duets conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Handel’s Theodora
Salzburg Festival

The Salzburg Festival’s first-ever staging of Handel’s Theodora dramatizes the story’s tragic dilemma of love, faith, and virtue, centering around the fragile-yet-defiant title character and her secretly converted lover, Didymus.

Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel

Based on the beloved story by the Brothers Grimm, Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera is enduringly popular with children and adults alike, setting the familiar story to a magical combination of folk-inspired melodies and rich orchestrations.

Janáček’s Jenůfa

Janáček’s opera Jenůfa tells a stark yet redemptive village tale in folk-tinged music of heartbreaking beauty. Sir Simon Rattle leads this production at the Berlin State Opera, with soprano Camilla Nylund in the title role.

Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci
Salzburg Easter Festival

Based on a true story of love and murder—told through the colorful lens of a commedia dell’arte troupe—Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci shows that a mask of joy can only temporarily hide heartbreak. Leading the cast of “clowns” is Jonas Kaufmann.

Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana
Salzburg Easter Festival

Staged in cinematic black and white, the psychological drama of Mascagni’s one-act opera relates the lives and passions of its characters. Jonas Kaufmann leads the cast, with the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Christian Thielemann.

Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea

Monteverdi sets a historical tale of power, lust, and cruelty, culminating in one of opera’s most tender duets. With striking imagery and choreography, this production captures Poppea’s dizzying power games as she ascends to the throne.

Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio
Salzburg Festival

A world-class cast in an unusual location dressed in haute couture: This staging of Mozart’s singspiel morphs the Salzburg Airport into an empire of catwalks, turning the “abduction” into a “seduction” for a fashion-conscious jet-set world.

Mozart’s Così fan tutte

The faithfulness of two sisters is secretly questioned by their betrothed in this story of deception and love. A feast for the eyes and ears, the emotional tragedy unfolds on a simple black-and-white stage in this clever production.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni
Salzburg Festival

Mozart’s Don Giovanni—with its unique mixture of drama, humor, and the supernatural—crackles to life in this innovative production from the 2021 Salzburg Festival, conducted by Teodor Currentzis and stage-directed by Romeo Castellucci.

Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito

Performed by a stellar young cast, Peter Sellars’s contemplative version of Mozart’s last opera is set in a developing country with a brutal police presence, a thoughtful leader, and a chorus of citizen-refugees displaced by a catastrophe.

Mozart’s The Magic Flute
Salzburg Festival

The Salzburg Festival presents an acclaimed and thought-provoking new production of Mozart’s beloved work, staging the action just before the outbreak of the First World War. Joana Mallwitz conducts the Vienna Philharmonic.

Mozart’s The Magic Flute

The Magic Flute is filled with melodies that range from folkloric tunes to breathtaking coloraturas. The plot of sorcerers and magical instruments comes to life with fantastical sets in this fairy tale that boasts an all-star cast.

Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro

Beloved by connoisseurs and casual enthusiasts, The Marriage of Figaro is a comedy about love and lust between social classes, with mistaken identities and hilarious misunderstandings making the witty opera all the more entertaining.

Prokofiev’s The Fiery Angel

Based on a Symbolist novel about a 16th-century love triangle, Prokofiev’s opera The Fiery Angel receives a rare staging at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, featuring baritone Bo Skovhus.

Puccini’s Il trittico: Il tabarro
Salzburg Festival

Puccini’s triptych of one-act operas, Il trittico, continues with a gritty tale set aboard a Parisian barge. In this Salzburg Festival production, soprano Asmik Grigorian stars in each opera. Franz Welser-Möst leads the Vienna Philharmonic.

Puccini’s Il trittico: Suor Angelica Salzburg Festival

Puccini’s triptych ends with the tragic story of Sister Angelica. Concluding her tour-de-force triple bill is Asmik Grigorian in the title role, joined by Karita Mattila as the aunt. Franz Welser-Möst leads the Vienna Philharmonic.

Puccini’s La bohème
Salzburg Festival

This Salzburg staging of Puccini’s gem offers a modern interpretation of the plight of its young artists in Paris, featuring a dream cast, surrealistic scenery, and the exquisite Vienna Philharmonic with Daniele Gatti.

Puccini’s La fanciulla del West

Set during the 1849 Gold Rush, Puccini’s Western opera follows the independent Minnie and the notorious bandit Dick Johnson, who mends his ways for love. Franz Welser-Möst leads this acclaimed production with Nina Stemme and Jonas Kaufmann.

Puccini’s Tosca

Love, jealousy, murder, and suicide are packed into a tautly woven drama of musical outbursts and flowing lyricism in Puccini’s masterpiece. This production for the Munich Opera Festival features Karita Mattila in the title role.

Puccini’s Turandot

In a modern production staged in Turin’s magnificent opera house, Puccini’s searing opera—featuring the famous aria “Nessun dorma”—tells the tale of Princess Turandot, whose cold heart is won by a cunning suitor who solves three riddles.

Rameau’s Platée

William Christie, renowned for his work in French Baroque opera, leads his ensemble in a production of Rameau’s hilarious and unconventional farce, written for the wedding of the Dauphin of France, son of Louis XV, at Versailles.

Rossini’s Cinderella

The timeless rags-to-riches story of Cinderella is wonderfully re-told by Rossini. With a light and bubbly tone to delight fans of any age, this production from Barcelona captures all the vocal dazzle of its phenomenal lead singers.

Rossini’s La Cenerentola

Rossini’s version of the Cinderella tale abounds in comedy and vocal virtuosity. Claudio Abbado conducted this 1981 production at Milan’s La Scala, featuring soprano Frederica von Stade.

Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri
Salzburg Festival

Cecilia Bartoli stars in Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s hilarious Salzburg Festival staging of this Rossini farce, with Jean-Christophe Spinosi on the podium.

Rossini’s The Barber of Seville

For the first time in 55 years, the Vienna State Opera unveiled a new production of Rossini’s comic masterpiece based on Beaumarchais’s play in which the clever barber Figaro helps Count Almaviva capture the heart of the beautiful Rosina.

Strauss’s Elektra
Salzburg Festival

Strauss’s electrifying one-act opera is a tale of revenge straight from Greek mythology. The psychology of a broken family is highlighted in this operatic tour-de-force—a mind-blowing production from the Salzburg Festival’s centenary.

Strauss’s Salome
Salzburg Festival

When Salome premiered in 1905, it was an overnight sensation—some banning it, others rushing to stage it. Even today, it still has the power to shock, blurring the lines between religion and sex in a production led by Franz Welser-Möst.

Strauss’s Die Fledermaus

Johann Strauss II’s high-spirited operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat) was a signature work for Austrian conductor Carlos Kleiber. The ever-popular work by the “Waltz King” sparkles with polkas, waltzes, intrigue, and champagne.

Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier
Salzburg Festival

Strauss’s extravagant comic opera is staged with an elegant backdrop of Vienna’s imperial edifices, parks, and palaces in the Salzburg Festival’s first uncensored production since the work’s 1911 premiere, when it was deemed too frivolous.

Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin

This lyric opera features unabashedly expressive music that lifts the story of a callous young man who spurns true love and lives to regret it. In the title role, Peter Mattei walks a tightrope between cynical snob and broken-hearted lover.

Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades
Salzburg Festival

Tchaikovsky’s opera about an obsessive gambler receives a new Salzburg Festival production shaped by two masters in their final years: stage director Hans Neuenfels and conductor Mariss Jansons, leading the Vienna Philharmonic.

Verdi’s Aida
Salzburg Festival

Emotions collide in a tragic love triangle that exposes the hierarchies of power. The Salzburg production of Verdi’s dazzling opera features Riccardo Muti with the Vienna Philharmonic.

Verdi’s Don Carlo
Salzburg Festival

In no other opera did Verdi introduce such a compelling variety of human relationships as he did in this dramatic tale of forbidden love during the Spanish Inquisition. Tenor Jonas Kaufmann is unsurpassed in the title role.

Verdi’s Falstaff
Salzburg Festival

Zubin Mehta leads this Salzburg Festival production of Verdi’s final opera staged by Damiano Michieletto with Ambrogio Maestri in the title role—all in an inspired setting: Casa Verdi, the musicians’ retirement home that Verdi built.

Verdi’s Rigoletto Bregenz Festival

Verdi’s masterpiece—disturbing yet compelling and beautiful—is an opera of extremes, staged at Austria’s Bregenz Festival as both a circus-like spectacle and an intimate chamber drama on the world’s largest floating stage.

Wagner’s Das Rheingold
Bayreuth Festival

The Bayreuth Festival’s centenary-year Ring cycle began as a scandal before achieving its epoch-making status. The first of the four operas introduces the epic showdown between gods, giants, and dwarves, and their pursuit of the magic ring.

Wagner’s Die Walküre
Bayreuth Festival

Die Walküre, the second opera in the Ring cycle, is perhaps the most devastatingly moving, bringing human emotion to the fore. Wagner’s rich orchestration is also at its most bombastic, especially in the famed “Ride of the Valkyries.”

Wagner’s Götterdämmerung
Bayreuth Festival

Bayreuth’s legendary Ring cycle comes to a dramatic conclusion with the Twilight of the Gods. The ultimate sacrifice leads to a renewed world where love is no longer cursed and that which was once stolen is returned to its rightful home.

Wagner’s Siegfried
Bayreuth Festival

The Bayreuth Festival is the definitive home of Wagner’s operas—the location selected by the composer to showcase his epic Ring cycle. The third in the cycle follows the heroic Siegfried as he braves magic fire to become enraptured by love.

Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Salzburg Festival

In a lavish staging that radiates youthful charm, Wagner’s epic fairy-tale comedy comes to life. Conducted by Daniele Gatti, the opera bestows the virtues of art in society through imaginative ideas and games coupled with wit and humor.

Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde
Bayreuth Festival

In this 1995 Bayreuth Festival production, Daniel Barenboim leads a performance of overwhelming power and passion, with soprano Waltraud Meier and tenor Siegfried Jerusalem in the title roles, and directed by dramatist Heiner Müller.