Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Brett Polegato

Strong vocal and orchestral performances, supported by impressive visuals, struggle to bring coherency to Anthony Bolton's Island of Dreams at Grange Park Opera.

Stephen Medcalf gingers up Grange Park Opera’s staging with some deft directorial touches… even if Tosca is denied her final leap.

Chavaz's post-modern mythological approach to Rossini's neglected opera Guillaume Tell pays off with some glorious singing from the principals and the INO Chorus. 

Despite beautifully realized performances from Renée Fleming and Kelli O'Hara, Kevin Puts' opera is still finding its voice.

Laurent Pelly’s darkly stylish production of Manon is revived with a strong cast of singers. In the title role, Lisette Oropesa demonstrated elegant and incisive singing, while Michael Fabiano was her virile and powerful partner.

Verdi's most political of operas brilliantly highlights the juxtaposition of personal desires and political imperatives

Byrne is stunning in the title role while a strong cast of singers, orchestra, classic sets and dramatic acting make this a thoroughly enjoyable performance. 

Dinner at Eight, William Bolcom and librettist Mark Campbell's 2017 opera, had its European première at Wexford Festival Opera on Saturday under conductor David Agler. The opera is based on the 1932 play by George S Kaufman and Edna Ferber, in turn adapted into a movie by George Cukor (1933).

At the basic level Tristan und Isolde is an opera of hormones, not happenings; fathoms deeper it explores human experience at a point where sense is dumb and flesh retires – as close to heaven and hell as it’s possible to go without first having to die.

Uneven musical values mar Seattle Opera's colourful production of Bizet's Les pêcheurs de perles.

Stephen Medcalf's meticulous staging of Tchaikovsky's bitter masterpiece is lit up by Jung Soo Yun's Lensky, giving a direct injection of emotions: verismo before its time.

 Despite a stellar Mimì, a disappointing La bohème at Grange Park Opera.

The scene in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin where the peasants, weary from gathering in the harvest, sing and dance for the woman who owns the estate (and, for that matter, owns them) is perhaps not the best example of gritty social realism in opera.

As Christmas is quickly approaching, it is only fair to take advantage of some of the musical gifts and traditions that accompany this festive season. Handel's Messiah is one of the most widely-known sacred oratorios, most commonly recognized by its Hallelujah chorus. However, Handel's Messiah, was not always regarded as a popular work for the Christmas season.

Marie-Eve Signeyrole inszeniert am MTadW erneut ein Stück mit starkem Fokus auf cineastische Elemente und sorgt damit für wenig Überraschung.

Andreas Homoki inszeniert Puccinis Oper auf einem riesigen Stück Papier. Was noch einem harten Stück Regietheater klingt, entpuppt sich als packendes Kammerspiel, das ganz auf seine Protagonistin zugespitzt ist.

Pour la première de la saison lyrique romaine, Daniele Gatti amenait l’Orchestra e Coro del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma dans un Richard Wagner épuré.

Pour ce Tristan und Isolde proposé au Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Daniele Gatti dirige un Orchestre National de France très inspiré et un duo vocal en or, Torsten Kerl et Rachel Nicholls, étoiles d'une distribution équilibrée. Une production vraiment satisfaisante, dans une mise en scène soignée de Pierre Audi.