Wolfgang Koch

Die Frau ohne Schatten

This performance of the Richard Strauss opera Frau ohne Schatten, recorded live and in high definition, features vocalists like Stephen Gould, Anne Schwanewilms, Michaela Schuster, and Wolfgang Koch in the leading roles.

Puccini's Tosca with Anna Netrebko

Anna Netrebko is the diva Floria Tosca in this 2020 performance of Puccini's evergreen operatic thriller from the Wiener Staatsoper. She follows in the footsteps of all the legendary sopranos to have sung the role in Margarethe Wallmann's classic production, unveiled as far back as 1958. Netrebko is joined by tenor Yusif Eyvazov as Tosca's lover, the hot-headed political revolutionary Cavaradossi, while baritone Wolfgang Koch is Baron Scarpia, the evil chief of police who brings their romance to a dramatic end from beyond the grave.

Richard Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten

The Young Go Wild

High school student Fabian König is kicked out of school and starts a gang that specializes in theft. He falls in love with the orphan girl Ulla, but she rejects him when she finds out how he spends his time. When the pimp Horst tries to rape Ulla, she is rescued by Fabian. Shortly afterwards, Horst's body is found and Fabian is convicted of the murder due to the false testimony of a witness. In prison, he comes to trust the prison doctor Dr. Knittel, who believes him and is able to unmask the real culprit.

Pfitzner: Palestrina

Requiring 38 soloists, chorus, and large orchestra, Hans Pfitzner's "Palestrina" is a challenging opera to stage. In Munich, the city in which it was premiered in 1917, director Christian Stückle, conductor Simone Young, and the Bavarian State Opera met those challenges with stunning success.

Parsifal live at the Salzburg Easter Festival

Christian Thielemann conducts the Staatskapelle Dresden in this performance of Wagner's opera recorded live in 2013. The performance was held for the Salzburg Easter Festival and featured vocalists including Johan Botha, Michaela Schuster, Stephen Milling and Wolfgang Koch.

Wagner - Lohengrin

Wagner's Lohengrin is the mythical tale of the mysterious Knight of the Grail, who appears to defend the princess Elsa - wrongly accused of the murder of her brother. Highlights of Wagner's most lyrical score include the famous Wedding March, which accompanies the marriage of Lohengrin and Elsa. Superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann ("currently the hottest tenor in opera" - The New York Times) makes his role debut in this performance from 2009 and filmed in Munich. He is joined by German soprano Anja Harteros - a former winner of the prestigious Cardiff Singer Of The World competition.

Parsifal

Wagner’s mystic masterpiece Parsifal at the Staatsoper Berlin, staged by Dmitri Tcherniakov and conducted by Daniel Barenboim. Wagner’s last opera, Parsifal is a medieval epic story marked by Christian, Buddhist and esoteric references. It is about redemption and renewal, but this new production by Russian director Dmitri Tcherniakov adds a jarring note : revenge. This “Festival Play for the Consecration of the Stage” is similar to a Medieval epic, a blend of metaphysical dreams and esoteric battles with constant spiritual references. This new production is directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov, conducted by Daniel Barenboim and sung by an international cast of excellent singers: Andreas Schager, Anja Kampe, Wolfgang Koch, René Pape, Tomas Tómasson and Matthias Hölle.

Parsifal

The male circle of the Grail Knights is in crisis. Time and again, knights desert to the counter-realm of the sorcerer Klingsor, who had previously been rejected by the circle of knights. With the help of seductive women, above all Kundry, he succeeds in bringing down the knights. He is even able to tempt the Grail King Amfortas into a misstep. He steals his sacred spear and inflicts an incurable wound. As a result, Amfortas' ritual duty of unveiling the Grail has become an ordeal. Only a pure fool is destined to undo the Grail King's fall from grace and reverse its devastating consequences.