Read expert-written show guides with context, plot, characters and video examples.
Hamlet
After his father’s untimely death, Hamlet is suspicious of his uncle Claudius, the new king, and his...
Lucia di Lammermoor
The tragic love story of Lucia di Lammermoor follows Lucia and Edgardo, members of opposing houses i...
The Fairy-Queen
Taking as its starting point, Purcell’s The Fairy-Queen uses some of the original story to further...
Fidelio
As Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio has delighted audiences for centuries with its themes of justice,...
Little Women
The March sisters are as close as sisters can be, but as they grow up, their relationships begin to...
Manon
Manon is a tale of love, greed, and betrayal. Manon is a young girl who is being sent to a convent b...
The Turn of the Screw
Written in 1954, The Turn of the Screw is the last of Benjamin Britten’s chamber operas, based on th...
Anna Bolena
King Enrico VIII has fallen in love with Giovanna Seymour, lady-in-waiting to his current wife, Anna...
The Beggar's Opera
Peachum, a thief catcher, deplores the fact that his daughter Polly is marrying the famous highwayma...
Die Walküre
Die Walküre is the second opera of Wagner’s epic Der Ring des Nibelungen, commonly known as ‘The Rin...
La fille du régiment
Marie, the adopted daughter of the 21st Regiment of the French army, has fallen in love with a young...
Norma
Set in Gaul, at the time of the Roman occupation, Norma is the story of a virgin druid priestess who...
