An all-star cast, world-famous choir and orchestra conducted by the renowned Nikolaus Harnoncourt came together in May 1997 to celebrate the 200th Anniversary of Franz Schubert’s birth with a new production of his rarely performed opera Alfonso und Estrella. Despite his inexperience in the field, Schubert provides some of his most poignantly beautiful music, notable for its sensitive use of orchestral colour and strong vocal lines. Winner of two Emmys and many other prestigious awards, Brian Large directed this historic Vienna Festival production of one of Schubert’s most ambitious major works.