The 2008 New Year’s Eve gala from Berlin features the Berliner Philharmoniker under the baton or Sir Simon Rattle, plus world-class singers Thomas Quasthoff and Pauline Malefane in an outstanding all-American programme ranging from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and An American in Paris to Copland’s Old American Songs.

Opera star Pauline Malefane – known for her appearance in the 2005 South African operatic film U-Carmen eKhayelitsa – is perhaps the greatest success story to have come out of the South African township of Khayelitsha. She has sung in theatres and concert halls from New York to Tokyo and her performances in the highly-demanding role of Queen of the Night in Mozart's Magic Flute have also won critical acclaim in London and beyond.

Live from the Phiharmonie Berlin, 31 December 2008, directed by Elisabeth Malzer

Picture: 16:9 – NTSC
Sound: PCM Stereo, DD 5.1, DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 82 mins