This documentary offers an incomparable glimpse into the Golden Age of opera, as the nervous stars—opera greats Margherita Roberti, Renato Cioni, and Piero Cappuccilli—prepare their new production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller for Parma’s notoriously demanding audience.

Piero Cappuccilli and Shirley Verrett lead Verdi’s sombre masterpiece, drawn from one of Shakespeare’s most celebrated tragedies. Filmed for television at Teatro alla Scala in 1979, Claudio Abbado conductes a night to remember.