The traditional Christmas concert enchants every year with classic and popular Christmas music from all over the world. The most touching program highlights of the Vienna Christmas Concert.

David McVicar’s production of Giulio Cesare manages to combine serious insight with entertainment, bringing Handel's masterpiece to life in a powerful, convincing and highly intelligent way. ln every line of the complex narrative the subtle nuances are apparent, reflecting perfectly the transparent and exquisite nature of Handel's musical expression. Filmed in High Definition and recorded in true surround sound, the outstanding singing of the all-star cast, led superbly by Sarah Connolly, and the vivid playing of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the energising baton of William Christie reveal the colour and dramatic character of Handel’s music in a most delightful manner.

On September 10, 1898, Sisi, the Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary, was stabbed to death with a sharpened file by Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni. The successful fiction about Sisi by Norbert Beilharz is based on Elisabeth's inner monologue and, subjectively, on many events in her life.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni is performed live at the Theater an der Wien in this 1999 production starring Carlos Alvarez in the title role and featuring the music of the Choir and Orchester der Weiner Staatsoper performing under the guiding wand of conductor Riccardo Muti.

This 2004 production of Richard Strauss's three-act comic opera Der Rosenkavalier (1911) emerged from the efforts of the Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg. It stars Adrianne Pieczonka as Feldmarschallin, Franz Hawlata as Baron Ochs, Angelika Kirchschlager as Octavian and Franz Grundheber as Faninal. The Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor and the Wiener Philharmoniker lend added musical support, with Rupert Huber serving as chorus master of the former and Semyon Bychkov conducting the latter.

The Seven Deadly Sins is satirical "ballet chanté" composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht written in 1933. The work critiques capitalism, weaves in popular music stylings of the era, and, through song and dance, tells a story of sin and revelation. The opera centers on the duality of the opera’s personae, Anna I and Anna II. She/They embark on a seven-city pursuit of the American dream. In turn, they uncover each of the seven deadly sins: pride, covetousness, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, and sloth. Concert production at the Theaterakademie Mannheim, Germany.

Staging directors Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser infuse German composer Engelbert Humperdinck's fairy-tale opera with more than a dollop of black humor in this 2008 London performance that's both enchanting and menacing. Angelika Kirchschlager and Diana Damrau play Hansel and Gretel, respectively, and beloved British baritone Thomas Allen portrays their father in an outstanding production led by maestro Colin Davis.

Mozart opera.

In 2002, Nicholas Maw's opera Sophie's Choice, based on the novel by William Styron, was given its premiere at the Royal Opera House. The subject had struck Maw when he had first watched the film several years previously, and he immediately felt it would be ‘the most extraordinary basis for an opera’. Commissioned by the Royal Opera House and BBC Radio 3, Maw embarked on an adaptation of Styron's book, which took six years to complete.