Reneé Fleming and one of her favorite singing partners, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, explore the origins of 19th-century European opera performance in the courtly theatres of St. Petersburg, presenting a three-part program of Verdi duets, songs by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov and Medtner, and Tchaikovsky opera, performed, by special permission, in the opulent theatres of the legendary Winter Palace, the Palace of the Yusopov family and the magnificent Peterhof. The 90 minute film is fronted by Reneé Fleming herself, as she takes the viewer on a journey through the musical locations and history of "The Venice of the North". The DVD will also include 23 minutes of extra performance footage, including Reneé Fleming singing Bellini's "Casta Diva" from Norma.
