Opera Stories provides a perfect introduction to the drama, characters and spectacle of opera. Each of its ten programs tells the story of a single opera, bringing the drama and emotion of the plot vividly to life. Charlton Heston narrates each program from, as nearly as possible, the original location stipulated by the composer: the story of La Bohème is told from the sidewalk cafés of Paris where Mimi and Rodolfo fall in love, Aida from the majestic pyramids of Egypt, Tosca from the battlements of the Castel Sant Angelo in Rome where Tosca takes her own life. The stories are illustrated by extensive performance extracts taken from NVC ARTS  unique library of full-length recordings.The Royal Opera productions of:La Bohème (Puccini) from Paris, FranceIleana Cotrubas and Neil ShicoffManon Lescaut (Puccini) from Château Mauviers, FrancePlacido Domingo and Kiri Te KanawaAndrea Chénier (Giordano) from Paris, FrancePlacido Domingo and Anna Tomowa-SintowFalstaff (Verdi) from Windsor, EnglandRenato Bruson, Barbara Hendricks and Katia RicciarelliDer Fledermaus (J. Strauss) from Vienna, AustriaKiri Te Kanawa and Hermann PreyArena di Verona productions of:Il Trovatore (Verdi) from Aragon, SpainRosalind Plowright, Franco Bonisolli and Giorgio ZancanaroTosca (Puccini) from Rome, ItalyEva Marton, Ingvar Wixell and Giacomo AragallAida (Verdi) from Luxor, EgyptMaria Chiara, Fiorenza Cossotto and Nicola MartinucciOtello (Verdi) filmed in Marakesh, MoroccoKiri Te Kanawa, Vladimir Atlantov and Piero CappuccilliLa Scala, Milan  production of:Ernani (Verdi) from Aragon, SpainPlacido Domingo, Mirella Freni, Renato Bruson and Nicolai Ghiaurov