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In a world of politics, lust, violence and murder, Queen Semiramide rules over Babylon - a broken society in which the desires and cravings of the elite are destroyed by their own intrigues and machinations. It's a world waiting to be punished. Having murdered her husband, Semiramide seized power with her lover Assur. Meanwhile Arsace, the son Semiramide thought was dead, returns to court as a young soldier. As Semiramide falls in love with her own son, the ghost of his murdered father, King Nino, warns that crimes must be avenged. With echoes of Oedipus, Phaedra, Hamlet and Macbeth, Semiramide is Shakespearean in its atmosphere. Rossini's use of the chorus is masterful and evocative of classical Greek drama, propelling the action as the tragedy unfolds. Sung in Italian with English surtitles

Performers Joyce DiDonato (Semiramide), Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (Assur), Daniela Barcellona (Arsace), Lawrence Brownlee (Idreno), Jacquelyn Stucker (Azema), Balint Szabo (Oroe), Konu Kim (Mitrane), Simon Shibambu (Nino's Ghost).
Music Rossini. Lyrics Gaetano Rossi (after Semiramis by Voltaire). Producer Royal Opera House. Producer Bavarian State Opera. Conductor Antonio Pappano. Director David Alden. Design Paul Steinberg. Costume Buki Shiff. Lighting Michael Bauer. Design Robert Pflanz (video). Choreographer Beate Vollack. Company Royal Opera Chorus. Company Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.