Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | English | Amy Freston

Rodula Gaitanou sets Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal's comedy in the Cinecittà film studios of the 1950s. 

The collaboration of Opera North and South Asian Arts is a thrilling celebration of renaissance opera and Indian classical music.

Bizet's Carmen at Leeds Grand Theatre, directed by Edward Dick and conducted by Garry Walker, provides thought-provoking modern resonances as well as an uplifting, tune-filled experience.

At a time when the “relevance” is bandied around all too frequently in relation to opera, Martinů's really does deserve that tag. 

Sinister aspects are stressed in Mozart's The Magic Flute at Leeds Grand Theatre directed by James Brining and conducted by Robert Howarth.

Giles Havergal directs and Martin André conducts an energetic production of Franz Léhar's The Merry Widow at the Grand Theatre, Leeds.

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

The Welsh National Opera took to the Hippodrome stage for the Bristol leg of their UK tour ofCarmen. This was a revival of Welsh National Opera’s production in the late 1990s, co-produced with Scottish Opera.

For sheer dramatic potential, let alone the beauty of its music, Daniel Purcell’s The Judgement of Paris is a rare find. In this celebratory performance at St John’s Smith Square, this long-lost opera sparkles at us across the silent centuries. 

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.

Baritone Thomas Hampson recently quipped that he'd try anything other than Gilbert and Sullivan, echoing the sentiments of many opera fans who are inclined to see the operettas penned by the Victorian duo as the preserve of amateur dramatic societies and school drama clubs. With this in mind, it was somewhat surprising to see Opera North create a new production of Ruddigore back in 2010.

What clever scheduling by Opera North. In the centre of Leeds the snow is turning grey and slushy, the temperature is ridiculously low and it's dark before mid-afternoon, but inside The Grand Theatre it's a different story- a story which seems specifically designed to lift the winter blues.