Women of power in opera

Celebrate the grandes dames of opera, compelling and magnetic in the most iconic roles of Puccini, Bizet, Wagner, Shostakovich, and more… These women drive the action, exerting an irrepressible gravitational force on plots and characters in beloved operas like Carmen, The Marriage of Figaro, Fidelio, and Tosca. In a spirit of freedom and defiance, Brunnhilde of the Valkyries disobeys her father Wotan in Die Walküre in order to seek her own vision of justice; the sinister Katerina in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk gives herself over to a life of crime rather than passively accept the oppressive role prescribed to her by society; and the charismatic Carmen, beguilingly interpreted by mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, plays with men's hearts and stands up to their wills.

This specially chosen collection, which includes many of the opera canon's most enduring masterpieces, will take you on a tour of contemporary and classic adaptations of works whose dramatic stakes depend largely on the captivating women at the heart of their plots. You'll find a young Cecilia Bartoli as an effervescent Rosina in Michael Hampe's spectacular staging of Rossini's Barber of Seville; the acclaimed Mario Martone production of Beethoven's lone opera Fidelio; and other tours de force whose reputation and lasting power depend chiefly on their unforgettable women.