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Born to a Basque mother just ten miles from the Spanish border, Ravel excelled at authentic Spanish flavours as heard in this splendid festival concert by the Orchestre National de France.

The first premiere of the new Staatsoper season is a qualified success, led by Eleanora Buratto's superb Suor Angelica and Ambrogio Maestri's masterly Gianni Schicchi in Puccini's triptych of one-act operas. 

Krzysztof Warlikowski’s ghoulish production has the Macbeths’ killing spree spring from their infertility.

Despite an incapacitated Ying Fang miming the role of Susanna, the brilliant cast makes Barrie Kosky's new production worth the night out in Vienna. 

Already a psychodrama as written, the Salome according to Cyril Teste takes us deeper into what makes the protagonist – or is she a tragic heroine? – into who she is.

Stoyanova’s extraordinary performance as the Feldmarschallin made 394th revival of Otto Schenk’s 1968 production of Der Rosenkavalier an occasion to savor.

Frozen lava rock extends from the proscenium to the backcloth, an apt image to depict the harm Don Giovanni inflicts upon the other characters in Mozart's darkest opera.

 Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov relives his own arrest in 2017 in his new production of Wagner's Bühnenweihfestspiel at the Wiener Staatsoper.

Mark Bouchkov's exceptionally powerful performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto focused on the music's sweep and majesty.

Barrie Kosky's makes a limited impact in his debut at Opéra de Paris, apart from an hallucinogenic Polovtsian Dances.

Kosky’s production manages to maintain all hallmarks of a 16th-century fairy tale, while juxtaposing them with questions of deep human, political and artistic problems. Regietheater at its best.

Tcherniakov reduces Berlioz' epic to little more than Circle Time therapy, a poor way to mark the composer's anniversary year.

Vitality and contrast characterised Jordan's memorable performance of a colourful and passionate Slavic programme

Krzysztof Warlikowski’s new Paris staging of Verdi's epic Don Carlos is cold and glassy, but the vocal performances at the Bastille more than compensate.

The label “most opera directors” does *not* apply to Barrie Kosky, who makes his Bayreuth debut with a Meistersinger that pulls no punches.

Maestro Jordan did not present a cut down version of the score. Every instrument Wagner called for was on stage, even the six harps, but the only sung piece was Brünnhilde’s Immolation. 

Bronfman attacked the concerto with alacrity and a capacity to draw sound from the piano which was breathtaking.

Bach in morbid mood and valedictory Bruckner brought to life by young musicians under the baton of Philippe Jordan

The multinational Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra proves that adolescence is no barrier to maturity in profound symphonic music making.

The bright colours and childishness of Konwitschny’s production for the Bayerische Staatsoper shock but succeed. The cast and orchestra shine, especially in the final act.

Just when we were all having so much fun with the Symphoniker, mum and dad came home and ruined the party.

Giving the audience closer access to performers may be a key to the survival of an ever-more-elitist entertainment form

Zabou Breitman brings silver screen glamour to Paris Opera's production of Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail, with the show stolen by Anna Prohaska's Blonde.

Though Jordan and the Wiener Symphoniker have been happy bedfellows many times before, this concert marked the beginning of a new stage in their relationship. 

Under the artistic and musical direction of Olivier Py and Philippe Jordan, Verdi’s opera has ignited a veritable storm of both fervent criticism and ardent defence.

German bombast. French joie de vivre. Russian soul-searching. You could hardly ask for more contrast in the principal themes of last night’s Prom, with Philippe Jordan conducting the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, from the military pomp of Wagner’s overture to Rienzi to the fairground whirl of Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G major.

For those who view Wagner’s Ring Cycle in symphonic terms, Siegfried is often described as the third movement Scherzo: an episode of comedy in between the existential musings of Die Walküre and the action-packed, apocalyptic Götterdämerung. Last night’s performance at the Opéra Bastille in Paris gave us plenty of high comedy and much more besides.

The packed hall at the Opéra de Bastille was in for a particularly interesting evening as they arrived for the Opéra National de Paris’ newest production of Bizet’s Carmen. This is an important event that brings out both the regular opera-goers and Carmen lovers, and those curious enough to buy a ticket to see the company’s latest creation.

This opening concert to Vienna OsterKlang festival was a reproduction of sorts: on 5th April 1803 a slate of Beethoven works including the first and second symphonies, the third piano concerto and the oratorio Christus am Ölberge was performed in this very theatre.

Tradition has it in Vienna that while the Wiener Philharmoniker ring in the New Year to the strains of the Blue Danube and other Strauss family hits, the Wiener Symphoniker give festive performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Konzerthaus.

Puccini's Il Trittico, performed last night at the Opéra Bastille in Paris, is a unique item in the repertoire: a series of three one act operas with little to link them except the composer's conceit of what would work together in an evening. Each opera clocks in at something under an hour, and despite the relatively short duration, each has plenty of time to develop its characters.