Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | English | Stefan Soltész

Leoncavallo's opera is a rare example of a tragic, verismo opera where not a soul dies... neither by natural causes nor foul play.  

John Osborn leads a very successful premiere of Peter Konwitschny's new production of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots in Dresden

Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten (The Branded One) is an unsettling work given the storyline’s background of abduction and clandestine sexual abuse. Calixto Bieito, as expected, eschews ambiguity regarding what goes on behind the scenes, and casts even the titular cripple Alviano Salvago in a damning light.

Stefan Herheim packs puns and gags into a three-hour long show, but less could have been more. 

The Spanish director offers a controversial angle but tones it down to focus on dark psychology rather than spectacle in his staging of Schrecker's hothouse opera.

Barrie Kosky’s clever direction enlivens a Strauss rarity at the Bayerische Staatsoper but the minimalist stage setting sinks HMS Schweigsame Frau.

Glyndebourne's second Traviata cast of the summer saw the festival field three principals worthy of any major international opera house. 

In a reconstruction of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s production for the world première of Reimann’s soul-pummelling Lear, the staging stands the test of time, but the cast and orchestra leave the biggest impression.