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.

The Royal Opera, the Royal Ballet, and director-choreographer Wayne McGregor bring us an interpretation of DIDO AND AENEAS, an opera composed by Henry Purcell, with a libretto by Nahum Tate; based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid. We find Dido in her court with her attendants. Dido fears that her love for Aeneas will make her a weak monarch, but her attendants assure her that heroes, too, love....

It is a work charged with jealousy and intrigue, with struggles and betrayal: Ariodante, Handel’s first work for the then brand new Theatre Royal in Covent Garden. At that time, the composer was faced with fierce competition, was financially stricken and on the rocks. However, he plucked up his courage while taking the waters and wrote the opera, basing it on Ariosto’s epic poem Orlando furioso. And he composed varied, colourful music, including the intimate aria “Scherza infida”, which is considered one of the special highlights of Handel’s oeuvre to this day.

Sarah Connolly's 'outstanding' (The Guardian) portrayal of the wronged Roman noblewoman, written originally for Kathleen Ferrier, lies at the hear of David McVicar's powerfully stark production for English National Opera as 'an everyday sort of woman who could be living at any time or place'. Her nemesis is the arrogant Tarquinius of Christopher Maltman, 'who made the air tingle with danger' (Financial Times). Sung in English.

Renée Fleming is Countess Madeleine, the beautiful, enigmatic woman at the center of Strauss’s sophisticated “Conversation Piece for Music.” She is being courted by two men: Joseph Kaiser sings the composer, Flamand, and Russell Braun is Olivier, the poet. The stellar cast also includes Peter Rose as the theater director La Roche, Sarah Connolly as the actress Clairon, and Morten Frank Larsen as the Countess’s brother. John Cox’s elegant production places the action in the 1920s. Andrew Davis conducts.

In Glyndebournes first-ever staging of a opera by Rameau, director Jonathan Kent presents a production which, in his own words, strives to appeal to every sense and show audiences how engrossing and musically ravishing French Baroque opera can be. Rameaus inventive take on Racines great tragedy Phèdre is brought to life by Paul Browns colourful and elegant designs and Ashley Pages playful choreography. Ed Lyon and Christiane Karg give captivating performances as the titular young lovers, while Sarah Connolly, making a welcome return to Glyndebourne, invests Phaedra with both grandeur and a desperately human vulnerability (The Independent). Leading exponent of early music William Christie sets an exhilarating pace, galvanising the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to playing of tremendous panache (The DailyTelegraph).

Love conquers all – ruthlessly and irresistibly – as Emperor Nero and his mistress Poppea remove the obstacles to their union. At Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu David Alden’s visually sumptuous production, with its suggestions of a giant game of chess, puts the opera’s potent blend of sex and politics in a context that sets ancient against modern– just as the action juxtaposes scurrilous comedy and stark drama. Monteverdi’s magnificent score, meanwhile, accommodates intrigue, wit, nobility, tragedy and sensuality, and, led by the intense Sarah Connolly and the delectable Miah Persson, the cast brings both drama and music startlingly to life.

Live from Glyndebourne 1997

Handel is a thoroughly 'modern' composer whose genius for expressing human emotions is undimmed by time. This performance-based film, A Night with Handel, stylishly dramatises some of the composer's most beautiful arias, linked together over the course of one night in present-day London. Presented by Handel biographer, Jonathan Keates, the arias are specially recorded by world-class singers, accompanied by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.

Topi Lehtipuu and Anne-Catherine Gillet star in the 2012 Opera National de Paris production of Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera Hippolyte et Aricie. Also starring Sarah Connolly and Stephane Degout.