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