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An excellent singing cast combine with Bruno Ravella's sensitive direction and brilliant orchestral playing to bring to life Strauss' heady mix of farce and high art.

English National Opera's It’s a Wonderful Life makes for a feel-good evening of theatre, but it requires a sweet tooth.

Bruno Ravella's fast-paced Falstaff for Garsington still has crucial space for pathos amid the comedy, with a notably subtle central performance from Henry Waddington.  

Mark-Anthony Turnage's take on Neil Gaiman's classic young adult novella is well sung and well staged, without quite reaching peak intensity.

Offenbach's vivid setting of ETA Hoffmann's fantastic tales gets an enjoyable outing, with Spyres, Testé and Pudova the undoubted stars of the show.

La Cenerentola is the final component of Opera North's fairytale season, with every voice and every character getting a chance to revel in Rossini's intricate ornamentation.

Opera North's Hansel and Gretel at the Grand Theatre Leeds, directed by Edward Dick, is witty and perceptive, with some insights provide by Freudian psychanalysis

Opera North's new production of The Snow Maiden is the first professional staging in the UK for over 60 years, although the magic is intermittent

Meyerbeer's little performed work is given an enthusiastic rendering, with star singing from a big cast led by Flórez, Ciofi and Jerkunica. David Alden's quality Personenregie makes up for some unconvincing setting choices.

At Garsington Opera, Richard Strauss' Intermezzo presents an utterly compelling picture of a mature marriage with its joys and trials; Mary Dunleavy brings it to life with a top class piece of acting.

A pleasing performance from WNO of The Flying Dutchman, with Eric Owens brooding magnificently over the whole. 

Opera North's La Fanciulla del West, directed by Aletta Collins, contains a bold performance from Alwyn Mellor as Minnie, and a powerful Ramerrez in Rafael Rojas.

The evening begins with La Voix Humaine: “Elle” is staring at us fixedly for what seems like a minute, smoke from the cigarette in her fingers providing the only movement. She sits in an oblong frame surrounded by light bulbs, indicating a substantial mirror of the sort you might find backstage. The orchestra begins, and the music is edgy.

Sir, Madam, do you like your opera quirky? A singing mechanical doll? A giant shaving mirror? The Evil Eye itself in a piano? Then welcome to the inebriated, fantastical, phantasmagorical world of E.T.A. Hoffmann, brought to you by Mr. Richard Jones with a delightful musical accompaniment by M. Jacques Offenbach.