Op­era is not only an art form, but also an in­ter­na­tion­al busi­ness. It gives work and la­bour to many people, not only to great artists.

But who con­trols this busi­ness on an in­ter­na­tion­al level? Who earns? Who looses? Who are the big de­cision makers? What role do re­cord com­pan­ies and the me­dia play?

This film shows the status quo in the in­ter­na­tion­al op­era busi­ness: A be­hind the scenes look at the Salzburg Fest­iv­al, in­ter­views with artists, man­agers, and op­era cre­at­ors that give an up-to-date in­sight in­to the driv­ing force of the pro­duc­tion of op­era of our times.

Prot­ag­on­ists like Susan Gra­ham, Si­mon Rattle, Gust­av Kuhn, and re­cord man­agers and me­dia / press people (e.g. Peter Al­ward, Tom Gra­ham, Nor­man Lebrecht, Ioan Holender, etc.) tell their ex­per­i­ences in in­ter­views. Op­era clips and archive ma­ter­i­al help to make the view­er un­der­stand the his­tor­ic­al de­vel­op­ment of the busi­ness of op­era in the second half of the 20^th cen­tury.