Performer: Lee Blakeley

Eisenstein is a Tory Minister out of his depth on a European mission. Mischief and fun galore in RCS’s well sung Die Fledermaus, a fitting tribute to Timothy Dean as he stands down as Head of Opera.

San Francisco Opera's production of Sweeney Todd brings nothing new to the musical, but the cast includes wonderful surprises – most notably Stephanie Blythe's Mrs Lovett.

Quinn Kelsey's Rigoletto is commanding, emotional and complex. His bass-baritone has all the qualities you could ask for – darkness and light.

In the bicentenary anniversary of Giuseppe Verdi, tributes are aplenty. On Saturday evening, Los Angeles Opera presented a new production of the Italian master’s final work, Falstaff, though that wasn’t all.

In this Royal Opera production of Gounod's Faust, there's no question about who's in charge. Not only does the devil get all the best lines, but he bosses the show from beginning to end. Clad in feathered hat, long curly wig and reminiscent of the Laughing Cavalier, René Pape plays Mephistopheles quite superbly, alternating between mercurial bouffe comic lines and extreme sardonic nastiness.

The Royal College of Music’s International Opera School has long been a training ground for some of the world’s most famous opera stars.