HIPPOLYTE & ARICIE (Pichon)

Francesco Cavalli, a natural successor to Monteverdi, was the most famous and influential Italian opera composer during the mid-17th century. Cardinal Mazarin, chief minister to the king, commissioned Cavalli to create a Parisian spectacle to celebrate the wedding of the ‘Sun King’ Louis XIV and the Infanta of Spain. Ercole amante (‘Hercules in Love’) was the flattering subject chosen for this regal extravaganza combining larger-than-life characters with mythology, and genuine human emotions with natural and cosmic phenomena. The result is a sumptuous Baroque spectacle, conceived on a vast scale in this lavish production by directors Valerie Lesort and Christian Hecq.

Pixies are a band who shaped the sound of Alternative Rock. Having sold just under 2 million albums worldwide, they are among rock music's greatest pioneers. Single-handedly spawning the grunge movement of the 1990s, their unique mix of punk, pop and surf rock inspired an entire generation of musicians, and embodied 90's alternative Rock. After splitting acrimoniously in 1992, they reformed in 2004 to wide acclaim. They're captured here from BBC's Maida Vale studios in London.

On October 8th, 1968, Ray Charles, the Raelettes and accompanying musicians performed a televised concert at the Salle Playel, in Paris. The performance was outstanding and included a couple hits as well as lesser known gems, such as The Sun Died, I Believe to My Soul, I've Had My Fun (Going Down Slow) and A Tear Fell.

Kiki, a bonafide songstress/musician, lost in an unhappy marriage to her controlling manager/husband Mark, finds herself in a whirlwind of a romance when she meets Kofi, a replacement bassist for her band, forcing her to make an impossible decision.

La Rondine (The Swallow) is possibly the least performed of Giacomo Puccinis later operas, but is still just as much a masterwork as its more performed counterparts. Originally conceived as the composers first operetta, the work is an artful blend of opera and operetta, with a lighter mood than Puccinis other works. This live production filmed at the Deutsche Oper Berlin stars Dinara Alieva and Charles Castronovo in the lead roles. Renowned stage director Rolando Villazon sets this rendition, and the Orchestra and Chorus of the Deutsche Oper Berlin is conducted here by acclaimed Maestro Roberto Rizzi Brignoli.

Written 30 years earlier, Lou Reed’s hymn celebrates five flamboyant characters, each one a fragile icon from Andy Warhol’s Factory: Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dalessandro, Joe Campbell (aka Sugar Plum Fairy) and Jackie Curtis. Over five delicate tableaux Stéphane Sednaoui films these young people proudly displaying their sexuality and creativity, each one dreaming of becoming a star on the New York scene.

Based on Gluck's masterpiece and performed entirely on location in and around the environs of the Baroque Theatre at the Cesky Krumlov Castle in the Czech Republic; it's an opera production designed specifically for the film with outstanding sets and production values. Countertenor Bejun Mehta sings the role of the torn main character and acts as an artistic advisor, making for an involving and impeccably performed opera.

Ernie Ball highlights blink-182/Angels & Airwaves guitarist and songwriter Tom DeLonge. Experience the story behind Tom's early influences in the San Diego skate scene to his sonic evolution from blink-182 to Box Car Racer and Angels & Airwaves.

When it was announced in May of 2016 that lead singer Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, the band decided that they would do one final run of 15 dates across Canada. A National Celebration was the final show of the Tragically Hip's Man Machine Poem Tour recorded on August 20th, 2016 at the K-Rock Centre in their home town of Kingston Ontario. Originally aired live by CBC across all platforms, the concert was experienced by an estimated one-third of Canadians, among the biggest events in the country's broadcast history.