Pars Media

Stefan Zucker, the world's highest tenor, visits the opera divas of his childhood. The journey from apartment to apartment, from diva to diva, from Rome to Milan, turns into an opera road movie.

Russian-born composer Sofia Gubaidulina entered the international spotlight at a relatively late age, when the 49-year-old came forward with her premier violin concerto, "Offertorium," in 1980. Gubaidulina authored that piece for Gideon Kremer. Curiously, it would be another 12 years before Gubaidulina received a commission (from Paul Sacher) to author her second violin concerto, and another 15 years after that until the notes fell on ears ripe with anticipation. For the debut of the "Second Violin Concerto," Gubaidulina insisted that no one other than German violin virtuoso Anne-Sophie Mutter perform it. That Mutter performance from August 2007 appears, in its entirety, in this classical concert film. Jan Schmidt-Garre directs.

John Baldessari is one of the pioneers of conceptual art, which revolutionized contemporary art in the 1960s, and is still a profound influence on young artists today. The film shows John Baldessari in all aspects of his work: as an artist in his studio, with the technicians he collaborates with, as a teacher interacting with his students, as a passionate observer of the contemporary scene and visiting the Biennale in Venice as well as the Basel Art Fair. This film provides us with insights into the work of a radically modern-thinking artist and sharpens our perception of the often inaccessible world of contemporary art.