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Led by Bryn Terfel's Scarpia and Natalya Romaniw's Tosca – not forgetting Aled Hall's scene-stealing Spoletta – this revival of Jonathan Kent's 2006 staging is urgently paced. 

Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast is brought to life Sir Bryn Terfel, Adam Hickox and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Choir and Orchestra. 

Terfel's performance as the legendary sailor is stronger than ever and, one or two issues aside, this revival of Tim Albery's production is a compelling account of Wagner's first mature work. 

A triumphant house debut for Nadine Sierra in the latest revival of Laurent Pelly’s production of Donizetti's joyous village rom-com. 

Alexander Soddy steps in for an ailing Esa-Pekka Salonen to conduct the Philharmonia in Wagner and Bruckner. 

Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall bubbles with a concert staging of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi with Sir Byn Terfel leading a cast of fine young singers from the European Opera Centre.

Two outstanding performances by young singers light up a splendidly crafted revival of Caurier and Leiser's colourful production.

Sir Bryn Terfel is at the Royal Opera House for the new Peter Grimes, so Captain Balstrode could cross the Thames to sing some Lieder. 

Deborah Warner's intelligent new Covent Garden staging provides the perfect backdrop for a strong singing cast in Britten's maritime masterpiece.

In much anticipated role (Kaufmann) and stage (Davidsen) debuts, this revival of Peter Grimes at the Staatsoper was much anticipated, despite a production that should be put out to sea without a paddle.

Sir Bryn Terfel relishes every nuance of the text, but Damiano Michieletto's reading of Donizetti's comedy is no laughing matter. 

A title role performance full of depth from Terfel and a barnstorming comic interlude from Tomlinson provide some great moments, but much of this Boris fails to rise above the ordinary.

Red-blooded performances from the three principals at Covent Garden, even if there are vocal misfires along the way. 

Hats off to Andreas Homoki, Artistic Director at the Zurich Opera House, for staging a musical around “the chill of ghostly shadows”.

Sir Bryn Terfel’s Falstaff is still a cherishable rogue as he takes on the title role in Robert Carsen’s joyous staging at the Royal Opera. 

At their recital at the Bergen International Festival, Bryn Terfel and pianist Caradog Williams presented a programme of overwhelming sameness and neverending joviality.

A sensational Die Walküre from Sir Andrew Davis and the RSNO at the Edinburgh Festival that will be talked about for years.

The Llangollen International Eistedffod opens with a star-studded concert performance of Puccni's political/romantic thriller.  

Holten's masonic lodge setting of Meistersinger gets a lot right but is occasionally uneven; Terfel and Hughes Jones are constantly good to listen to.

Thomas Hengelbrock and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra open Hamburg's Elbphilharmonie concert-hall with a traversal of music through the ages, from a Renaissance motet to Wolfgang Rihm's latest work.

Bryn Terfel and Sir Antonio Pappano brought their excellent interpretation of the 1869 version of Mussorgsky's seminal opera to the Royal Albert Hall for a one-off revival.

Richard Jones new production of Mussorgsky's episodic epic has plenty of strengths, but is marred by unappealing designs and rushed tempi.

Dancing, jokes, a pogrom and Bryn Terfel balancing on milk vats. It could only be Fiddler on the Roof. Grange Park Opera took an eclectic combination and planted if successfully on the Proms stage.

Opera god meets Hollywood royalty on stage at the Coliseum, in a transatlantic production which heralds the ENO's intention to bring musical theatre back into their repertoire. 

A dark and minimalist staging doesn't quite fire Wagner's Flying Dutchman into life at the Royal Opera House, despite worthy performances from Bryn Terfel, Adrianne Pieczonka and others under the direction of Andris Nelsons.

While still a charming production, a touch more warmth and bel canto style are yet required to bring some authentic Italian sunshine to L'elisir d'amore in Bow Street this November.

It may have taken Verdi’s bicentennial to bring Falstaff back to the San Francisco Opera, but at last the knight has returned to the company’s stage for the first time in over a decade...

Vasily Petrenko conducted the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and a fine trio of principals in an excellent semi-staged production of Puccini’s Tosca, directed by Amy Lane.The two performances of the opera form the culmination of Bryn Terfel’s two-week stint as Artist in Residence with the orchestra.

Dipping my toes into the murky waters of the Wagner-fest at the Proms this year for the first time, I found myself confronted with the monumental second installment of the Ring cycle, Die Walküre.

A concert like this could have three possible outcomes: one, frustration at catching just a glimpse of a multitude of operas without the benefit of character or plot development or the embellishment of sumptuous costumes or stage sets; two, inspiration to delve further into the world of opera, nudged by tantalising hints of dramatic tension and a world of emotions; or three, sheer escapism into a

The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra really has the perfect Wagner sound. Their full, vibrant string tone and magnificent pealing brass were fully in evidence in a thrilling rendition of the concert version of the overture from Tannhäuser. Few moments in music are as exciting as the build-up to the Big Tune in this piece, and the orchestra’s performance here was barnstorming yet perfectly accurate.

Opera being a strongly visual art form as well as a musical one, the idea of a pure concert performance seems a little strange to those unfamiliar with the form.

If you've been brought up with the Judaeo-Christian ideal of an all-powerful, all-good God, Norse mythology can come as a bit of a shock. Wotan, the father of the gods, is philandering, deceitful, power-hungry, sentimental, violent and ultimately weak - the gamut of human frailties writ large.

In Tosca there's a real sense of Puccini being at home. Written shortly after La Bohème, when he was right at the height of his powers, Tosca is a story of love, jealousy and political turmoil, taking place in Rome, the same city in which it was premiered.

The first night of the Proms was, in this year of Olympic celebrations and the Diamond Jubilee, a tribute to all things English, featuring an impressive range of singers and a (somewhat appropriate) relay team of stellar English conductors. The programme began with a strange mixture of old and new.

Here’s a pertinent fact for a classical music website: in 1991, when the wonderful World Wide Web was poised to ensnare anyone with computer access, Birmingham’s Symphony Hall opened its doors to the concert-going public for the first time. It quickly won critical acclaim with artists from across the globe and it’s known as one of the best anywhere.

Read our review of  Robert Lepage's production of Wagner­'s Siegfried in its 2011 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

Ever since the Royal Opera House announced that two performances of its summer revival of Jonathan Kent's production of Tosca would feature an all-star cast, opera lovers all over the world have been desperately trying to get their hands on a golden ticket.

Read our review of Robert Lepage's production of Wagner's Die Walküre in its 2011 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

Read our review of Robert Lepage's production of Das Rheingold by Wagner, in its 2010 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.