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It's not Christmas without Handel's Messiah, and in the delightful Smith Square Hall, the oratorio is given a staging by Wild Arts which may not completely convince, but moves nonetheless.

Harmonious images and geometric designs frame an effective staging and well sung performance of Monteverdi's last opera.

It is clear that these women are already ripe for plucking even before Don Alfonso unleashes his dastardly plan.

Despite the excellent playing of the Britten Sinfonia, Anna Morrissey’s flawed production disappoints. 

Philip Glass' hypnotic opera returns in Phelim McDermott's outstanding production that respects the solemn, statuesque grandeur and epic ritual of the score. 

Despite the entertainment value and striking imagery, Kramer's production is a surprisingly dull affair, with curiously little chemistry between the lead couple.

A newly-orchestrated version of Jonathan Dove’s chamber opera drew some impressive performances from Heritage Opera in this pared-down adaption of Jane Austen’s third novel.

ETO's charactistically clear, simple production conveys Homer's story with clarity, confidence, and charm – and even humour – from a fine cast, making an exciting start to fully-staged opera at Saffron Hall. 

Newlyn's updating of the opera to the Second World War was effective, while a superb Despina from Soraya Mafi gave the performance real fizz.

Few composers deal in genial wit better than Joseph Haydn, so it was baffling that his opera buffa Il mondo della luna left me so grumpy in this English Touring Opera production. 

The most Scottish of operas, Verdi's Macbeth, makes big demands on its soloists and is packed with choruses, so it was interesting to see how Scottish Opera's production managed with only seven singers and a chamber orchestra.

“Community, exclusion, rejection and desire”, writes director Christopher Rolls about English Touring Opera’s production of Albert Herring. “Doesn’t sound like a recipe for an uproarious comedy does it? And the key thing about Herring is that it is very very funny.

If anyone tells you that all opera is highbrow, Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld provides you with a perfect example of the opposite. It's coarse, raunchy, fast, fun, and continually pokes fun at the conventions of grand opera.