The week in classical: Il segreto di Susanna/Pagliacci; Spring Snow; Giorgi Gigashvili – review

A double bill of jealous minds moves from visceral tragedy to the joyfully comic, while Schubert and kabuki find surprising parallels

Il Segreto di Susanna/Pagliacci review – a double whammy of sexual jealousy

Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari’s barbed 1909 comedy Il Segreto di Susanna feels like a Noël Coward play set to music, while Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci is a powerful story of a woman’s murder by an abusive partner

Sonata for Broken Fingers review – chamber opera of Stalin’s terror fails to grip

Joe Cutler’s new work – premiered here by BCMG – is an awkward mix of fact and fantasy that adds up to less than the sum of its parts

The week in classical: Double Bryn Terfel; Siwan Rhys; Bozzini Quartet; My Beloved Man – review

A highlight of this summer’s country house opera season shows how these tireless and inventive festivals are vital to the UK’s classical music scene.

New Year review – Blake’s 7, redemption and rap as Birmingham Opera Company turn to Tippett

This staging of Michael Tippett’s complex opera, whose story of impoverished 80s Britain takes in sci-fi, street slang and electric guitar, is a remarkable feat.

Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno review – imaginative staging transforms Handel’s oratorio

Its sermonising libretto was never meant to be this much fun, but in Jacopo Spirei’s characterful production, with Christian Curnyn conducting, Hilary Cronin’s delightfully truculent Pleasure emerges as the moral heart of the piece

Ernani review – sterling singing triumphs over Verdi’s implausible plot

Shifted from 16th-century Spain to a present-day oligarchy by director Jamie Manton, the titular aristocrat turned bandit is hell bent on love and revenge

The week in classical: A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Pekka Kuusisto & Norwegian Chamber Orchestra: DSCH; Camerata RCO – review

A top cast and young local chorus share the honours in Netia Jones’s stylish new Britten staging; Finnish live-wire Pekka Kuusisto and friends conjure Shostakovich in the dark. Plus, Bruckner’s 6th for 10 players…

Janáček: The Excursions of Mr Brouček album review – eccentric opera has sparkle and muscle

Jaroslav Březina is characterful in the title role for this new studio recording, heading an excellent cast and orchestra who know this music inside out

Edgar review – Puccini was right, his biggest flop is a dud

The composer himself wrote off his second opera. In this OHP semi-staging, there are sumptuous musical moments but the major plot problems are baked in

Un Giorno di Regno review – fizzing revival of Verdi’s failed comedy

While it might have been cancelled after the premiere in 1840, Christopher Alden’s frenetic staging, an effervescent Philharmonia Orchestra and a fine cast show there’s a decent evening’s entertainment in there

The week in classical: Giulio Cesare; Così fan tutte; Siegfried/Götterdämmerung – review

There is much fun and an excellent cast in David McVicar’s sparkling Handel revival; Mozart’s partner-swap opera soars with exuberant solos; and Wagner’s Ring marathon reaches a roaring climax

Così fan Tutte review – self-conscious staginess is surreal fun in beautifully sung revival

The men prance about in fake moustaches while the women roll their eyes in this turbo-charged revival of Jan Philipp Gloger’s riotous take on Mozart’s opera

The Rake’s Progress review – stripped back staging foregrounds the sadness

The black humour was missing from Antony McDonald’s new production of Stravinsky’s neoclassical opera. But Rosie Aldridge’s Baba the Turk, especially, and a strong young cast made for a memorable evening.

The week in classical: Das Rheingold/Die Walküre; Paul Wee; Köln Concert – review

Remarkable performances and storytelling produce a visceral Ring cycle, while a part-time pianist masters a formidable Alkan concerto and Maki Namekawa channels the freewheeling spirit of Keith Jarrett