Roberto Accurso

A collaboration between award-winning American filmmaker Sofia Coppola and Italia haute couture king Valentino comes in the form of a revival of Giuseppe Verdi's classic opera, La Traviata. Captured live from the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte's renowned opera "Don Giovanni" -- based on the legend of lothario Don Juan -- springs to life in this witty production by De Nederlandse Opera under the baton of maestro Ingo Metzmacher. As Don Giovanni (Pietro Spagnoli) pursues numerous women, a recent conquest tries to thwart his efforts. The outstanding cast also includes soprano Charlotte Margiono, bass Mario Luperi and tenor Marcel Reijans.

While best known today for having composed the ending to Puccini's unfinished Turandot, Franco Alfano wrote some dozen operas, including Cyrano de Bergerac (1936) with a libretto by Henri Cain based on Edmond Rostand's drama of the same name. It is a moving tale of romantic misunderstanding, swashbuckling bravado and heartbreaking loyalty, in which the eloquent Cyrano feels unable to express his love for Roxane because of his famously protuberant nose except on behalf of his handsome but inarticulate friend, Christian.

Giuseppe Verdi's operatic adaptation of William Shakespeare's heartbreaking drama -- the last tragic opera the composer ever wrote -- plays out at the spectacular Arena di Verona, graced with the vocal talents of the world's very best. Russian tenor Vladimir Atlantov takes the title role, soprano Kiri Te Kanawa sings the part of Desdemona, and Italian baritone Piero Cappuccilli brings the wicked Iago to life.

Alessandro Corbelli takes the title role in this production of Puccini's compact opera, in which the scheming Gianni Schicchi retrieves for himself the spoils of a disinherited family to pave the way for his daughter to marry her love. From Palais Garnier (Opéra National de Paris).

This 2003 performance of Georges Bizet's 19th century opera Carmen was produced and directed by filmmaker and stage director Franco Zeffirelli, best known to many for the Academy Award-winning big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Shot at the Arena di Verona, the production features Marina Domashenko in the title role and music by the Orchestra of the Arena di Verona under conductor Alain Lombard.