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For his new staging of Rossini’s Guillaume Tell at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, director Yannis Kokkos avoids specific contemporary references, choosing a setting that transcends the times. 

Foccroulle’s limited score imitates environmental catastrophe while Jocelyn’s libretto tries – unevenly – to understand why we might ignore it.

New National Opera sucessfully  opened a world premiere production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen, directed by Spanish director Àlex Ollé, a production inspired by Amy Winehouse, a diva of today. 

It's a game of two halves in Barcelona from Kazushi Ono and the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya.

Alex Ollé focuses in the princess's trauma to provide a back story for Puccini’s problematic last opera; Eri Nakamura captivates the New National Theatre audience.

With a stunningly inventive and modern-sounding score, strong acting performances and a staging full of theatrical illusion and coherent in spite of general weirdness, Aix's Fiery Angel impresses.

Dvořák is diminished in the wake of Bartók’s experimental zeal and Strauss’ fearless convolutions.

This season, the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya (OBC) is turning its eyes towards Bach, whilst at the same time programming the usual great symphonic repertoire, as well as contemporary composers. Here, Kazushi Ono gathered a Bach concerto (transcribed for violin), a rarely-performed work by Schumann and Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra.

The bonds between Kazushi Ono and the OBC musicians are slowly improving.

As a composer, what do you do when you are commissioned a full-length orchestral work to commemorate the anniversary of a renowned concert hall? Do you try to write something celebratory? Not in Mark-Anthony Turnage's case. 

Concluding its "Belief and Beyond Belief" series, the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yazushi Ono also completes its 2016-2017 concert season. 

Who would think that a symphony concert featuring Schoenberg and Dutilleux would sell out? Well, it did – in Tokyo. Bravo to the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra for its daring programming.

The concept of bringing opera and ballet together in an abstract production is interesting, but Sasha Waltz creates a cold universe that fails to convey strong emotions.

Barcelona's L'Auditori was taken on a journey of contrasts, via Parra and Prokofiev, that unsettled as much as it delighted. 

A trip down memory lane sends our man in Aix into raptures as Robert Carsen's production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream comes home to Provence. 

Kazushi Ono's take on Schubert, Mozart and Strauss with the CBSO is one of lean elegance that doesn't fail to enthuse the aucience in Birmingham's Symphony Hall.

Every city has its favourites, and Jan Lisiecki is Montreal’s darling. There was a sense of proprietary pride in the audience as he strode across the stage at the Maison Symphonique, to join Kazushi Ono and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal.

The lights dimmed and an announcer explained that following the destruction of earth’s ecosystem, there had been a scramble to rocket bases and a rush to transport surviving life to the nearest planet, Mars.

The final concert in this day-long exploration of Japanese music turned out to be a bit of a mixed bag. It is likely that, with the exception of Toru Takemitsu, few average Western audiences would be familiar with the composers featured in this programme.

“Cinderella” and “ballet” might ordinarily suggest glockenspiel-topped delicacy; not in Prokofiev’s case. His ballet Cinderella, and the selection from it chosen by the RSNO, contains great variety. The Introduction’s darkness hints at the exploitation and neglect which are to be vanquished by love and happiness.