The performances of the Missa solemnis at the Styriarte Festival in Graz and at the Salzburg Festival in summer 2015 were Nikolaus Harnoncourt's last concerts. After his retirement from the stage later that year, it was Mr. Harnoncourt's express wish that this album, made from the material captured at the Graz concerts and rehearsals, also be his last released recordings. Beethoven's late masterpiece has thus become the final chapter of an unparalleled...

Madama Butterfly is a story of love betrayed, the innocent Japanese heroine of the title deserted by her faithless American husband and finally driven to suicide.