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A superb orchestral performance from Paul Agnew and The English Concert lights up a breezy and fun staging of Rameau's ballet bouffon.

In the intimate setting of Lauenen Church, Agnew and Les Arts Florissants introduce us to the austere sound world of Marc-Antoine Charpentier and other French composers of 17th-century sacred music.

Channelling Conchita Wurst in its starring role, the Early Opera Company's production of this rare Rameau opera is bursting with laughs and memorable performances from a strong young cast. 

Les Arts Florissants performs Monteverdi's Seventh Book of Madrigals with a sense of spontaneity and flare at the Dresdner Musikfestspiele.

A tremendous performance of one of Rameau's great stage works, but one that raised questions about the plot in concert form.

Out of the swamp: Marcel Beekman rocks the house in Robert Carsen’s glittering take on Platée.

For this fall season, the Paris Opera Ballet presents a triple bill that explores the hidden corners of the Palais Garnier, with pieces by Saburo Teshigawara, Trisha Brown and Jiří Kylián. All ‘investigators of the fringes of the unknown,’ the three choreographers set in place theatrical devices that mesmerize the audience with enigmatic dreams.

The singers and instrumentalists of Les Arts Florissants returned to the Barbican stage to rapturous applause and cheers after their performance on Saturday night. “Unfortunately there is simply no more music! We have finished the book!” said the tenor and director of tonight’s ensemble, Paul Agnew.

Entitled “Monteverdi, Opera and Beyond”, lyric tenor and baroque specialist Paul Agnew devised a 90 minute programme exploring the role of recitative in Monteverdi’s opera and its influence on seventeenth-century English and French operatic music.