Pagliacci review – Leoncavallo’s grand guignol staged with insight and commitment

Nineteenth-century verismo becomes 21st-century psychodrama, as English Touring Opera dramatise this tawdry tale of jealousy and violence with a keen eye for the dramatic image

The Gondoliers review – brilliantly barbed Gilbert and Sullivan is a feast for the eyes and ears

Contemporary resonances abound in English Touring Opera’s gloriously choreographed and costumed period production: a masterclass in clarity over chaos, performed with boundless enthusiasm

Johannes-Passion album review – Pygmalion are razor sharp in theatrical new recording

Raphaël Pichon’s ensemble and fine lineup of soloists bring rich expression to Bach’s dramatic oratorio – with unswerving gravitas from Huw Montague Rendall as Jesus

Through the Centuries: Songs of Madeleine Dring album review – puts paid to any idea that she was not a serious composer

Kitty Whately and Julius Drake perform the fervent, fun and intoxicating works of a British musician whose fresh assessment is richly deserved

Siegfried review – invigorating and mesmerising staging, with Schager outstanding as Wagner’s hero

The third opera of Barrie Kosky’s Ring cycle again places the naked ancient earth goddess centre stage in a thoughtful and deft production that boasts an excellent cast and orchestral playing that captures the score’s complex colours

The Kingdom: Oxford Bach Choir, BSO/Nicholas review – Elgar’s unloved oratorio sounds expansive and convincing

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Oxford Bach Choir and a fine quartet of soloists made the case for Elgar’s oratorio

Sinfonia of London/ Wilson/ Kantorow review – pushing the limits of the well-oiled orchestral machine

Conductor John Wilson and players delivered an Enigma Variations that veered between whispers and full-throttle intensity. Soloist Alexandre Kantorow, too, proved a master of extremes with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 3

BBC Symphony Orchestra/ Oramo/ Son review – rainy days, rolling hills and enchanted creatures

Judith Weir’s salute to the Indian monsoon kicked off a concert on nature and folk themes, Korean pianist Yeol Eum Son brought poetic flourishes to works by Bartók and Finzi, while the magical Firebird made a rousing finale

BBCNOW/Djupsjöbacka review – Tower’s Love Returns is an uncommonly appealing piece

Joan Tower’s concerto for alto saxophone was brilliantly delivered by Steven Banks, part of a lively concert

Hallé/Chauhan/Helseth review – Muhly paints doom with Helseth’s gleaming trumpet

Bridgewater Hall, Manchester Receiving its UK premiere in a programme with Britten and Walton, Nico Muhly’s trumpet concerto is inspired by the instrument’s biblical – sometimes apocalyptic – associations

Elisabeth Leonskaja review – piano legend’s unerring sense of architecture reveals connections and kinships

In her recital programme of Beethoven, Schoenberg, Chopin, Webern and Schubert, the Austrian pianist brought new insights and expected delights

James Blake: Trying Times review – platitudes about politics and Kanye can’t detract from an excellent album

Amid the stylistic shifts of Blake’s seventh record come samples of Dusty Springfield and Dizzee Rascal: gripping distractions from some preachy sentiments

Joseph Nolan: The Complete Alkan Organ Works, Vol 1 album review – seething with quasi-orchestral colour

From operatic frenzy in one moment to pianissimo whisper the next, Nolan does exhilarating justice to an extraordinary but little known repertoire

Nemanja Radulović: Prokofiev album review – thrills and spills from a fearless violin virtuoso

Radulović brings irresistible swagger to selections from Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella, while a more restrained duet fosters a fine sense of dialogue

Philharmonia/Alsop/Weilerstein review – tricky acoustic mutes the sonic drama

Weilerstein gave a virtuosic account of Gabriela Ortiz’s Grammy-winning Cello Concerto in a concert hall whose dry acoustic made things challenging at times