# This is Opera

This is Opera is a Spanish television documentary series created and directed by Ramon Gener. The show explores opera in unconventional ways to try to attract not just existing opera fans, but also those less familiar with the art form. The host guides the viewer to the places of origin of each opera, and explores the culture, history—and modern and current trends and how they apply to opera.
The show premiered on Servus TV in Austria and Germany on 17 January 2015, on La 2 in Spain on 8 March 2015, on RAI 5 in Italy on 15 May 2015, and on 19 August 2015, on Foxtel Arts in Australia.

## Reception

Many people uninterested in opera find the program and the host entertaining. This style of edutainment makes the show reach a wider audience, but also attracts those already from music circles.
The series has received nominations from festivals: This is Opera was nominated in the Rocky Awards in the BANFF festival under the category of music and variety. It was also chosen for the IDFA festival in November 2015. Most recently, it has been nominated at the Rose d'Or Festival in the category of Arts for its episode of Turandot.

## Host

Ramon Gener, writer and musician, is the host. With the dramatic aspect of opera, Gener tries to transmit ideas or thoughts on life—for example the idea of sharing, which he states in an interview, "All that you have, share it with the world for if you don't what use is it in having?" He has hosted other shows, and has been involved in Television programs since early 2011.
Gener has done various interviews concerning his writings, and This is Opera in which he discusses his first experiences with music and how the show came to be.

## Season 1

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by |
| 1 | 1 | "Carmen" | Pep Bras Ramon Gener |
| In the first episode, Ramon Gener talks of the cultural setting of Carmen by Georges Bizet—the most frequently staged and most popular French opera. Filming takes place in locations such as Seville and Paris, describing the 1875 premiere at Paris’s National Theatre for Comic Opera, and the scandal it caused at the time. Filming Locations: Seville Guest appearance: María José Montiel, Trinidad Núñez ||||
| 2 | 2 | "Turandot" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Filmed primarily in two European cities, Milan and Munich, Gener looks into the opera of Turandot, a love story set in Imperial China. The host explores the idea of how this opera represents more than a simple love story. It’s the story of an absolute success, but also a failure. Filming Locations: Milan, Munich Guest appearance: Maria Guleghina, Antonio Ghini ||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Barber of Seville" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| The Barber of Seville presents opera as not just drama and tragedy, but also pure entertainment. In this episode, Ramon Gener explains the essential "ingredients" in Rossini’s music: staccato, crescendo, patter song, the fifth interval, and coloratura. Filming Locations: Barcelona Guest appearance: Carlos Chausson, Annalisa Stroppa, Joan Font ||||
| 4 | 4 | "La bohème" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| At the height of his career, Puccini wrote this song to life, friendship, and love. To illustrate it, Gener travels to bohemian Paris and visits some of its most characteristic locales, such as the Shakespeare and Company bookstore and Au Lapin Agile Cabaret, and visits a rehearsal of La bohème at the Paris Opera House. Filming Locations: Paris Guest appearance: Massimo Giordano, Sylvia Whitman, Ives Mathieu ||||
| 5 | 5 | "Parsifal" | Albert Travesset Ramon Gener |
| Richard Wagner’s last opera centers on the search for the Holy Grail, though 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. Filming Locations: Montségur, Valencia, Montserrat Guest appearance: Catalina Martín, Father Bernat at the Montserrat Monastery ||||
| 6 | 6 | "Pelléas et Mélisande" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| 'Beauty for beauty’s sake' is how Gener defines this opera by Debussy, an impressionist work. To talk about love, impressionism and Debussy himself, Gener visits two pivotal French cities: Rouen and Paris. Filming Locations: Paris Guest appearance: Michael Boder, Guy Cogeval ||||
| 7 | 7 | "Bel Canto" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Gener explains why Bel Canto awakens so many emotions, and is so popular. 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. Filming Locations: Madrid Guest appearance: Javier Camarena, Desirée Rancattore, Álex Corretja, David Alegret, Bruno Campanella, BCNMessengers ||||
| 8 | 8 | "Der Ring des Nibelungen" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Gener heads to Bayreuth, the hometown of Richard Wagner, the composer of the ambitious operatic saga, 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 (a theatre designed by Wagner himself), and converses with an expert on the composer. Filming Locations: Bayreuth Guest appearance: Stephan Mickish, Sven Friedrich ||||
| 9 | 9 | "Tosca" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Rome is the setting for this episode, and the city where the "Tosca" story unfolds. To unveil these elements, Gener seeks help from students of the Rome Film School. Filming Locations: Rome, Barcelona Guest appearance: Sondra Rodvanosky, Ambroggio Maestri, Rosella Vodret ||||
| 10 | 10 | "La traviata" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| To love and to be loved 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 courtesan Marie Duplessis. Paris is the backdrop for this episode. On its streets, Gener interviews random people who tell him about their experiences with love and how it transformed their lives. Filming Locations: Paris Guest appearance: Diana Damrau, Ludovic Tézier, Boris Izaguirre ||||
| 11 | 11 | "Tristan und Isolde" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Gener heads to Cadaques on the Costa Brava to talk about a love story, of a love beyond death—what Tristan and Isolde felt for one another. Again, Gener interviews anonymous people about their personal love stories. Filming Locations: Cadaqués Guest appearance: Irene Theorin ||||
| 12 | 12 | "Don Giovanni" | Pep Bras Ramon Gener |
| To bring to light the famous seducer, Gener delves into the world of the night, to get to know the techniques for hooking up used by today’s Don Juans. Filming Locations: Barcelona Guest appearance: Eudald Carbonell, Dani Sánchez ||||
| 13 | 13 | "Rigoletto" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Rigoletto is not just the story of a curse. It’s also a story of oppressors and the oppressed. Giuseppe Verdi wrote it when he was 40, a critical point for many—a time of changes and maturity. To explore the opera's symbols, Gener travels to the island of Menorca. At 40, Verdi places all his hopes, dreams, and frustrations into the lead character of this work. Filming Locations: Menorca Guest appearance: Joan Pons, Walter Riso ||||
| 14 | 14 | "Manon" | Pep Bras Ramon Gener |
| Manon is a young Parisian woman who dreams of fame and riches. One day, Des Grieux crosses her path, an attractive gentleman, but with a defect—he’s not rich. This is the premise behind Massenet’s opera based on the Abad Prévost novel of the same name, which explores the conflict between head and heart. Filming Locations: Barcelona, Madrid Guest appearance: Antonio Casals, Jorge Represa, Jacqueline Siegel, Roberto Alagna ||||
| 15 | 15 | "The Free Shooter" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Over 24 hours, Gener roams about the village of Aichach in Bavaria and discusses one of romanticism’s first operas, The Freeshooter, written in 1820. The opera takes place in a 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. Filming Locations: Aichach Guest appearance: Pepe Rodríguez, Carla Romera ||||

## Season 2

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by |
| 16 | 1 | "Pagliacci" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| "Theatre is life" is the verism motto behind this beautiful opera. Gener explores Pagliacci, in which fiction and reality intermingle and nothing is as it appears. Filming Locations: Platja d'Aro Guest appearance: Rafel Santandreu, Angie Rosales, PallaPupas ||||
| 17 | 2 | "Eugene Onegin" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Tchaikovsky and Pushkin—the greatest examples of Russian Romanticism—speak to us about impossible romances, homosexuality, dandies, love letters, and duels of honor. Gener goes to the Liceu Conservatory to collaborate with some aspiring musicians. Filming Locations: Barcelona Guest appearance: Anna Samuil, Marc Giró, Xavier Domingo ||||
| 18 | 3 | "Fidelio" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Gener discusses Beethoven and the composer's main drives in life- love, injustice, and freedom. Filming Locations: Madrid Guest appearance: Adrianne Pieczonka, Michael König, Hartmut Haenchen ||||
| 19 | 4 | "Handel" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| In London, Gener reveals how Handel managed to make England love opera. This is an episode about a competitive man who achieved everything he aimed for and converted opera into something Londoners could enjoy. Filming Locations: London Guest appearance: Philippe Jaroussky, Nica Burns ||||
| 20 | 5 | "Così fan tutte" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Così fan tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a leading example of musical classicism, and its main topic, narrated as a comedy, is infidelity. Filming Locations: Empúries Guest appearance: Walter Riso, Christoph Wagner-Trenkwitz ||||
| 21 | 6 | "Salome" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Based on the Oscar Wilde play, Richard Strauss wrote a troubling, uneasy score that portrays man's basic instincts. It is a story about obsession, curiosity, and desire for the forbidden. Gener walks the viewer through how the composer strives to make listeners face their own fears and conscience. Filming Locations: London, Barcelona Guest appearance: Merlin Holland, Munique Neith ||||
| 22 | 7 | "Nabucco" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Gener explains why he feels Verdi's other operas would never have existed if Nabucco had never come to be. Gener travels to Valencia, where Nabucco is performed at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia. he speaks about one of the central themes in Verdi's career—parent-child relationships. Filming Locations: Valencia Guest appearance: Ambrogio Maestri, Anna Pirozzi, Giuseppina Strepponi, Dr. Pedro Clarós ||||
| 23 | 8 | "Der Rosenkavalier" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, is a comedy of errors that reflects on the passage of time. Set in eighteenth century imperial Vienna, it tells the story of the romance between an aristocratic woman at the gates of later life and a handsome boy of seventeen. Gener interviews psychologist Patricia Ramírez Loeffler, to discuss the passage of time and how it affects us, about our fear of aging, about couples with a significant age difference—but also about giving up and accepting. Filming Locations: Vienna Guest appearance: Elías Coll, Martina Serafín, Elina Garanca, Erin Morley, Patricia Ramírez Loeffler, Chris Holezik, Eva Fus ||||
| 24 | 9 | "The Magic Flute" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Gener goes to a Spanish school to interview seven-year olds and their parents about their reception to the opera. Later, he interviews a neuroscientist and a musicologist to understand more about Mozart's music. Filming Locations: Tudela de Duero Guest appearance: Jordi A. Jauset, Christoph Wagner-Trenwitz ||||
| 25 | 10 | "Vivaldi and Venice" | Pep Bras Ramon Gener |
| Gener explains the three reasons why opera came to Venice in the middle of the 17th century and became a true phenomenon for the masses. Then Gener heads to the Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza, the first enclosed theatre in the world, to understand what theatres were like before opera became a fashionable spectacle, and to see how theatres alla italiana were born and proliferated in Venice. Filming Locations: Venice Guest appearance: Pier Giuseppe Gillio, Philippe Jaroussky, Jorge Wagensberg ||||
| 26 | 11 | "Lulu" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Lulu is about our most basic instincts, starring an enigmatic, dangerous and spellbinding woman—with sex, death, and psychoanalysis as the main ingredients for the story. Filming Locations: Vienna Guest appearance: Dr. Alfred Pritz, Patricia Petibon, Michael Boder, Kalinka Kalaschnikow, Toni Segarra ||||
| 27 | 12 | "Madama Butterfly" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Madama Butterfly teaches us about hope, longing, unconditional love, and the problems when two cultures collide. Gener visits a cherry tree plantation in full bloom to learn about the symbolism of this tree in Japanese culture, and in Madama Butterfly specifically. Filming Locations: Barcelona Guest appearance: Miki Mori, Daniele Callegari ||||
| 28 | 13 | "Rusalka" | Gemma Sanz Ramon Gener |
| Written in the early 20th century by Antonin Dvorák, Rusalka is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story The Little Mermaid. The heart of the story is accepting one’s own identity—but it also explores the mystery of the fragility of love. Will giving up on being who we are bring us happiness or misery? Is "Rusalka" a metaphor for racism? Or is it simply an exaltation of difference? Filming Locations: Banyoles Guest appearance: Elsa Punset ||||
| 29 | 14 | "The Birth of Opera" | Eloi Vila Ramon Gener |
| Gener retells the origin of opera and compares it to a metaphoric pregnancy. He guides explaining a double journey: the life journey of a future baby and Opera's "journey" to Florence and Mantua, through the history of music, of its evolution and gestation, until it gives birth to a genre. Filming Locations: Florence, Mantua Guest appearance: Ol’ Green, Rodolfo Tommasi, Bernardo Francesco Gianni ||||
| 30 | 15 | "Opera is Life" | Ramon Gener |
| Gener speaks about the most important operas. ||||