Season 1
15 episodes · Mar 8, 2015
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S1E1Carmen
Mar 8, 201550mIn the first episode, Ramón Gener talks of the cultural setting of "Carmen" by Georges Bizet-the most frequently staged and the most popular French opera of all time. In relation to the opera, filming takes place in locations such as Seville and Paris where the viewer is "transported" back to 1875 at Paris's National Theatre for Comic Opera, and the scandal it caused at the time.
S1E2Turandot
Mar 15, 201550mIn this episode which is based out of two European cities, Milan and Munich, Gener looks into the opera of Turandot- a love story set in Imperial China. The host then explores the idea of how this opera represents much more than a simple love story. It's the story of an absolute success, but also a failure.
S1E3The Barber of Seville
Mar 22, 201550m"The Barber of Seville" is the quintessential comic opera and irrefutable proof that opera is not just drama and tragedy, but also pure entertainment. In this episode, Ramón Gener explains the essential "ingredients" in Rossini's music: staccato, crescendo, patter song, the fifth interval and coloratura.
S1E4La Bohème
Mar 29, 201550mAt the height of his career, Puccini wrote this song to life, friendship and love. To illustrate it, Gener travels to bohemian Paris and enters some of its most characteristic locales such as the century-old book shop Shakespeare & Co. and Au Lapin Agile Cabaret, along with visiting a rehearsal of La Bohème at the Paris Opera House.
S1E5Parsifal
Apr 5, 201550m"Parsifal" was Richard Wagner's last opera. Its story centers on the search for the Holy Grail, although it's actually a spiritual voyage into the protagonist. To learn more about the Holy Grail, Gener travels to three different locations: Montségur, Valencia, and Montserrat Monastery.
S1E6Pelléas et Mélisande
Apr 12, 201550mBeauty for beauty's sake. That is how Gener defines this opera by Debussy, an impressionist work with a simple argument, but one capable of giving rise to intense emotions in whoever succumbs to its magic. To talk about love, impressionism and Debussy himself, Gener visits two pivotal French cities: Rouen and Paris.
S1E7Bel Canto
Apr 19, 201550mGener explains why Bel Canto awakens so many emotions and why it is a favorite for lovers of opera. Despite bel canto being born in Italy and all its composers being Italian, the viewer discovers why many of its operas are written in French and why so many of its authors moved to France to premiere them.
S1E8The Ring of Nibelung
Apr 26, 201550mGener heads to Bayreuth, the hometown of Richard Wagner, the composer of the most ambitious operatic saga in all of musical history, "The Ring of the Nibelung". This tetralogy is made up of four operas: The Rhine Gold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried and Twilight of the Gods. Gener touches on all of them as he visits the Autostad automotive plant, walks the stage at the Bayreuther Festspielhaus (the theatre designed by Wagner himself), and converses with one of the most renowned experts on the composer.
S1E9Tosca
May 3, 201550mRome, the eternal city, is the setting for this episode. It's also the city where the action in "Tosca" unfolds, a thriller with all the elements of a genre film. To unveil what these elements are, Gener seeks out the help of students from the Rome Film School.
S1E10La Traviata
May 10, 201550mTo love and to be loved. This is the main theme in Verdi's "La Traviata", based on "The Lady of the Camellias" by the younger Alexandre Dumas and inspired by the famous courtesan Marie Duplessis. Paris will be the backdrop for this episode. Out on its streets, Gener interviews random people who tell him about their experiences with love and how it has transformed their lives. Guest appearance: Diana Damrau, Ludovic Tézier, Boris Izaguirre
S1E11Tristan and Isolde
May 17, 201550mGener heads to Cadaques on the Costa Brava to talk about a great love story, of a love beyond death: what Tristan and Isolde felt for one another. Again, Gener interviews anonymous people who have experienced great love stories like the protagonists of this particular opera, and who act as a counterpoint to show that love is more powerful than death.
S1E12Don Giovanni
May 24, 201550mTo bring to light one of the most famous seducers in history, Gener delves into the world of the night, to get to know the techniques for hooking up used by today's Don Juans.
S1E13Rigoletto
May 31, 201550mRigoletto is not just the story of a curse. It's also a story of oppressors and the oppressed. Giuseppe Verdi wrote it at 40 years of age, a critical point for every human being: a time of changes, of maturity, midlife. To bring to light "Rigoletto" and its symbols, Gener travels to the island of Menorca. At 40-year-old Verdi places all his hopes, dreams and frustrations into one of the most popular and fascinating characters from the world of music.
S1E14Manon
Jun 7, 201550mManon is a young Parisian woman who dreams of fame and riches. One day, Des Grieux crosses her path, an attractive gentleman, but one with a small defect- he's not rich. This is the premise behind Massenet's opera based on the novel of the same name by Abad Prévost which gives light to the inner conflict between the head and the heart.
S1E15The Freeshooter
Jun 14, 201550mOver 24 hours, Gener roams about the picturesque village of Aichach in the federal state of Bavaria in order to talk about one of romanticism's first operas, "The Freeshooter". Written in 1820, The action of the opera takes place in an German village similar to Aichach, an opera through which the author tried to convey his love for a country's roots, traditions, legends and culture.