Editing Ken Russell (section)

===Opera and music videos===
In the eighties, Russell directed a number of operatic productions. In 1985, he directed [[Charles Gounod|Gounod]]'s opera [[Faust (opera)|Faust]], loosely based on [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]]'s play [[Goethe's Faust|Faust]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Faust-play | title=Faust &#124; Goethe, Summary, Characters, & Facts &#124; Britannica | date=18 January 2024 }}</ref> The production was staged at the [[Vienna State Opera]], conducted by [[Erich Binder]] with [[Francisco Araiza]], [[Ruggero Raimondi]] and [[Gabriela Beňačková]] in the main roles. In 1986, he directed a production of [[Arrigo Boito]]'s [[Mefistofele]], also based on Goethe's Faust: the production was staged at Teatro Margherita in [[Genoa]], conducted by [[Edoardo Müller]], with Ottavio Garaventa, [[Paata Burchuladze]] and Adriana Morelli in the main roles.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097859/ | title=Il Mefistofele | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref> He also directed successful productions of [[Giacomo Puccini|Puccini]]'s ''[[La bohème]]'' and ''[[Madama Butterfly]]''. 

Russell set up a company, Sitting Duck, to make music videos. "Videos are a magic new art form," he said. Among those he made were "[[Nikita (song)|Nikita]]" for [[Elton John]] and "[[The Phantom of the Opera (song)|Phantom of the Opera]]" for [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]].<ref name="chi">BRITISH DIRECTOR KEN RUSSELL TRIES HIS HAND AT ROCK VIDEOS: 
Majendie, Paul. Chicago Tribune 4 April 1986: D.</ref>

Russell had a legal fight with [[Bob Guccione]] over an aborted attempt to film ''[[Moll Flanders]]'', which was dramatised in a movie, ''[[Your Honour, I Object!]]'' (1987).<ref>The rehabilitation of an old grey lag Russell, Ken. The Guardian 12 May 1992: 34.</ref>