Set in Italy, Verdi's tragic three-act opera Rigoletto follows the lives of the promiscuous Duke of Mantua and his hunchbacked court jester, Rigoletto. After the duke seduces the daughter of a courtier, the dishonored father places a curse upon both the Duke and Rigoletto. As the curse slowly plays out, Rigoletto's daughter mistakenly falls in love with the unfaithful Duke, to Rigoletto's deep horror. Infuriated with his friend's behavior, Rigoletto plots to have the Duke murdered, but the plan goes terribly awry. A tale of spite, jealousy and malice, Rigoletto has become one of the most renowned Italian operas since its debut in 1851.

It might come as a bit of a shock that the famed Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi did not receive any formal music training. He is even quoted as saying "Of all composers, past and present, I am the least learned." Regardless of his education, Verdi managed to write some extremely engaging operas and is widely regarded as one of the most gifted Italian composers of the romantic era. He has written a number of operas that are still among the most performed to this day.

Il Volo is an Italian operatic pop trio that's comprised of tenors Piero Barone and Ignazio Boschetto and baritone Gianluca Ginoble. After the three vocalists met in 2009, on the Italian music competition show Ti lascio una canzone, Il Volo was formed and the trio quickly managed to land a recording contract. The group released its self-titled debut LP in 2010 and the album helped to establish the trio as one of the more popular operatic pop acts of its generation.

Grandson of Italian president Luigi Einaudi, Ludovio Einaudi chose a route other than politics. Instead he began learning the piano at an early age. Studying at the Milan Conservatory, Einaudi began composing in the traditional style, but soon after began experimenting with modern composition. Known for his lovely minimalist piano compositions ideal for cinematic scores, Einaudi has been releasing recordings since 1988 and in the 1990s was signed to Sony's International Classical label.

One of William Shakespeare's most renowned plays, A Midsummer Night's Dream marks the Bard's most successful foray into a world of magic and fantasy. The story follows the events surrounding the wedding of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, the former queen of the Amazons and explores themes of identity in fascinating ways--unprecedented for the time in which the play was written.

Verdi's epic three-act opera of love begins at a salon party thrown by the courtesan Violetta. Among the guests is Alfredo, who has admired her from afar and chooses this night to confess to her his love. What ensues is a series of misfortunes and tragedy, making La Triavata one of the most prominent operas in the world.