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The Marriage of Figaro review – Danielle de Niese’s deft direction weds finery with fun

A touring show was quite a challenge for the opera star’s first directorial gig, but dynamic singing, charismatic orchestral play and clever stage jokes pull it off brilliantly

Krishna review – the mystery of John Tavener’s ‘mystic pantomime’ is why it has been staged

Singers and orchestra toiled admirably with this posthumous world premiere about the Hindu god, complete with inflatable deadly serpent. But the work feels straight from the 19th-century Orientalism playbook

Orlando review – a confident romp through Handel’s flimsily plotted opera

Sinéad O’Neill’s production is persuasive and Beth Taylor’s performace as Orlando is extraordinary in this tale of unrequited love, madness and magic

La Traviata review – gripping and genuinely moving staging opens Garsington’s summer season

Louisa Muller’s richly detailed production of Verdi’s tragedy is elevated by Madison Leonard’s magnetic Violetta and Douglas Boyd’s musical direction that reinvigorates the familiar score

La Fanciulla del West review – insightful staging reveals the power of Puccini’s maverick masterpiece

Martin Lloyd-Evans’s credible production roots the action in time and place. Amanda Echalaz is a richly drawn and touching Minnie and conductor Matthew Kofi Waldren adds colour and drama

Tosca review – Puccini’s high-octane bloodbath bonanza makes for a shocking festival kick-off

Caitlin Gotimer’s Tosca goes from 0-60 in mere moments while the London Philharmonic unlock the barely contained violence in Ted Huffman’s long-awaited exceptional staging

Dido and Aeneas review – close your eyes and this was a tremendous performance

The Monteverdi Choir’s account of Purcell’s opera was delivered with devastating clarity, but it was somewhat smothered beneath a 200ft ship’s hull

Samson et Dalila review – their two voices combine as if made to measure

As the central couple, SeokJong Baek and Aigul Akhmetshina are dramatically persuasive and expressive in this revival of Richard Jones’s staging that works hard to make Saint-Saëns’ often dramatically inert opera zing

Angel’s Bone review – frenetic and unsettling allegory of human trafficking marks ENO’s Manchester debut

Kip Williams’ in-the-round staging, with the action live-projected onto enormous screens, can be disorientating, but Du Yun’s Pulitzer-winning work is compelling and kaleidoscopic

Aldous Harding: Train on the Island review – even whimsy-resistant listeners will love these lucid, luminous songs

Lyrics about naked owls and eating rocks might be irksome to some – but there’s no denying that the alt-rocker’s fifth album is beguiling, tightly written and richly melodic

Peter Grimes review – beauty and terror in Warner’s topical staging

As the tormented fisherman, Allan Clayton currently has few rivals. He is matched by a superb cast in this gripping revival of Britten’s opera

Tales of Love and Loss review – hauntings, tragicomedy and tweezer-sharp wit in Royal Opera triple bill

The Jette Parker Artists ran the full spectrum from sombre lyricism to frenzied satire via divorce drama in works by Elizabeth Maconchy, Charlotte Bray and Elena Langer

Wozzeck: Wretches Like Us review – Berg’s harrowing opera is more adrenaline-inducing than ever

The London Philharmonic under Edward Gardner combined with video art by Ilya Shagalov that was riveting and, in places, not for the squeamish

The Flying Dutchman review – delusion, torment and menace in detailed and finely sung Wagner

Jack Furness’s unconventional staging for Welsh National Opera sees the orchestra play up a storm under Tomáš Hanus in Wagner’s legend of the man condemned to sail the oceans for eternity

Dido and Aeneas review – young Welsh talent shines bright in Purcell

Created in just a week with a cast of rising stars and amateur singers, Mid Wales Opera’s production – and its heart-wrenching ending – is a remarkable achievement

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← Older posts
  • Manchester Camerata review – mental torments build up to a royal meltdown
  • The Marriage of Figaro review – Danielle de Niese’s deft direction weds finery with fun
  • St Vincent review – majestic orchestral transformations of jagged art-pop
  • BBCNOW/Bancroft review – conductor takes final bow in imaginative programme of vivid colours and emotions
  • Krishna review – the mystery of John Tavener’s ‘mystic pantomime’ is why it has been staged
  • Taylor Swift: I Knew It, I Knew You review – giddy up! Song for Toy Story cowgirl Jessie is Swift’s best in years
  • Zoh Amba: Eyes Full review – raw, rugged country rock also has real tenderness
  • Gintė Preisaitė: Instruments of Forgetting and the Singing Bone review – atmospheric, unsettling ambience
  • Hourglass album review – Simone Dinnerstein gives Glass room to breathe
  • Lizzo: Bitch review – a spirited star who just can’t rediscover her groove
  • Beethoven: The Violin Sonatas Vol 1 album review – fresh-as-a-daisy performances from a duo with a gift for storytelling
  • Mike D review – ex-Beastie Boy’s first UK gig in two decades, in a Tyneside bingo hall, is uproarious fun
  • Saint Levant review – Palestinian pop star makes Australian debut to an ecstatic, sold-out crowd
  • Vespers review – haunting clash of cultures conjures Vivaldi’s Venice
  • Jack White review – former White Stripe’s art is like a 12-year-old visiting Tate Modern for the first time
  • Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu review – superstar soprano unleashes her inner Valkyrie
  • Orlando review – a confident romp through Handel’s flimsily plotted opera
  • Take That review – stadium redux of Circus tour has maximal razzle-dazzle
  • Hampson and Sidorova review – style over substance with a whiff of the cruise ship
  • Matías Aguayo: Anenoa review – the funkiest, freest singer in the business hits the dancefloor
  • Violet Grohl: Be Sweet to Me review – alt-rock arriviste aces the part
  • Dvořák: Symphony No 9 album review – Shani brings a natural freshness to a familiar work
  • La Traviata review – gripping and genuinely moving staging opens Garsington’s summer season
  • Colin Matthews: Seascapes album review – the songs teem with detail
  • Iceage: For Love of Grace & the Hereafter review – Danish punks ace sixth stellar album on the trot
  • La Fanciulla del West review – insightful staging reveals the power of Puccini’s maverick masterpiece
  • 125th anniversary gala concert review – back to 1901 as Wigmore celebrates birthday playing to its strengths
  • Sugar review – Bob Mould’s reunited band still in a sweet spot between noise and melody
  • Paul McCartney: The Boys of Dungeon Lane review – at 83, his gift for melody still astounds
  • Boards of Canada: Inferno review – after 13 years away, their prodigal return is a big disappointment

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