L’Elisir d’Amore review – Glyndebourne takes Donizetti into the 1950s with wit and charm

A strong cast and gleeful chorus enliven this revival of Annabel Arden’s insightful production, which plays up the opera’s irony

The week in classical: Proms 30: Sinfonia of London/Wilson; Prom 31: Dialogues of the Carmelites; Oxford piano festival – review

The Albert Hall swooned to the sound of the Sinfonia of London and was silenced by Glyndebourne’s semi-staged Poulenc, while in Oxford you couldn’t move for great pianists

The week in classical: Itch; Semele; Prom 16: Hallé/Elder – review

Jonathan Dove transforms Simon Mayo’s ripping yarn into an exhilarating instant classic; it’s Thebes by way of Port Talbot in Adele Thomas’s Glyndebourne debut; and all hail the Hallé

Semele review – outstanding mezzos enliven dour take on Handel’s tale of desire

Joélle Harvey and Jennifer Johnston are ravishing, and the chorus sensational, but Adele Thomas’s staging feels neither funny nor erotic enough for what is essentially a barbed Restoration comedy

The week in classical: Dialogues des Carmélites; Tristan und Isolde; LSO/Rattle – review

Poulenc’s shattering opera disturbs and confounds in Barrie Kosky’s new Glyndebourne production; Wagner meets the pre-Raphaelites at Grange Park Opera. Plus, a thrilling farewell from Simon Rattle

Dialogues des Carmélites review – jeggings not wimples but Poulenc’s opera grips and haunts still

Barrie Kosky’s powerful new contemporary-set production is brought to life by a remarkable cast, led by Sally Matthews, and, in the pit, the LPO and Robin Ticciati bring heartbreaking delicacy and energy

The week in classical: Wozzeck; Don Giovanni – Christian Gerhaher and Anja Kampe thrill in five-star Berg

Direction and music are as one in Deborah Warner’s gripping new Royal Opera production, while a fine young cast redeems thoughtful if low-key Mozart

Don Giovanni review – obsession, distress and danger in uneven new production

Mariame Clément’s thoughtful staging brings depth and insights but feels, at times, at odds with the score’s sensuality and demonic fire. In the pit, conductor Evan Rogister favours speed over dramatic weight.

The week in classical: glass human; An Anatomy of Melancholy; The Moon Hares review – opera for a lonely world

A new chamber opera explores isolation and connection, a John Dowland recital strikes a note of exquisite pain – and a community opera enchants with a modern fable

The week in classical: The Marriage of Figaro; Mahler Symphony No 8 review – phenomenal

Mozart’s divine comedy is a shimmering feast for Glyndebourne, while Mahler’s epic symphony brings joy and redemption to a packed Royal Albert Hall

La Bohème review – seamy pre-war Paris styles this winning autumn revival

Puccini’s tragic tale is given an expressionist and strikingly stark setting in this touring production that features a wonderful young cast, particularly Bekhzod Davronov’s heartbreaking Rodolfo

Poulenc double bill review – from emotional hell to exploding breasts and 40,000 babies

Pairing Poulenc’s one-acters La Voix Humaine and Les Mamelles de Tirésias allows Laurent Pelly to explore opposite extremes of emotion and desire in this passionate, full-blooded and hilarious staging that is superbly sung and played.

The week in classical: Alcina; The Blue Woman

Handel’s sorceress goes to the cabaret in Francesco Micheli’s fabulously glitzy production, while Katie Mitchell directs a powerful exploration of violence against women

Alcina review – Handel’s enchanting opera glitters with retro glamour

Jane Archibald rises to the challenge as nightclub proprietor Alcina, as this lavish, campy production – with punchy playing by the OAE – transports the action to a 1960s Italian metropolis

The week in classical: La bohème; Madama Butterfly; The Excursions of Mr Brouček – review

Puccini’s story of doomed love is burdened by an oppressive set and a new character, but elsewhere his Japanese tragedy is brilliantly performed. Meanwhile Janáček’s farcical landlord is a hoot