Composers' specials

Waltz king Johann Strauss Jr., struggling to keep up with the expectations of his public, meets Nicholas, a stable boy who lives in fear of a brutal stepfather, and together they form a healing bond of trust that leads to collaboration.

While two women argue over a pasta recipe they relate the story of the composer Rossini and his struggle to produce the Barber of Seville. One remembers the opera's disastrous premiere.

Although he is rich and successful, musical superstar Franz Liszt is restless until he meets the gypsy Josy, a gifted young musician, and wagers that he can turn the wayward boy into a world-class musician.

Ten-year-old Jamie O'Flaherty, in a Dublin jail for stealing, gets a chance to redeem himself, when he is bailed out by composer George Frideric Handel who needs Jamie to sing in the first performance of "Messiah" in 1742.

A twelve-year-old girl in 1875 Paris, whose father is a soldier stationed in Seville, learns the story of Carmen the gypsy from her piano teacher, composer Georges Bizet.

Johann Sebastian Bach, the chapel organist for Duke Wilhelm, is already frustrated when the duke assigns him a servant he is sure is a spy. Young Frederick, however, is a free spirit like his master and they both know what it is like to not be able to follow one's dreams.