Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Andrew Moran

Elijah Moshinsky’s 33-year-old production of Hansel and Gretel hasn’t aged well. 

Nicole Car makes her role debut as Dvořák's Rusalka in a production by Sarah Giles that proves a winner. 

Danielle de Niese's assumes the title role at the Sydney Opera House, leading an impressive cast with an interesting approach to characterisation with a somewhat over the top blingy setting. 

Dean Bryant's production of Leonard Bernstein’s operetta leans more towards musical theatre, blending French period costumes with weak attempts at Aussie humour. 

A thoroughly enjoyable and brilliantly performed version of Rossini's great comic opera at the Sydney Opera House. 

80% less of Shakespeare's text adds up to more intensity in Brett Dean's Hamlet as Neil Armfield's staging is mounted by Opera Australia. 

Sarah Giles' new production replaces Elijah Moshinsky's venerable staging, and the talented cast delivers a successful performance. 

Gorgeous sets and costumes aren't quite enough to make this La traviata revival sparkle.

187 years after its Parisian debut, Halévy's La Juive receives its Australian premiere. A sterling cast under Carlo Montanaro reveals some unexpected beauties (and occasional longueurs) in this classic of French grand opéra.

Splendid performances by Yonghoon Lee and Karah Son breathe life into Harry Kupfer’s 20-year-old production.

Three outstanding debuts and a warm and funny ensemble shine in David McVicar's naturalistic Marriage of Figaro. 

Fireworks, party boats, Violetta swooping from a giant chandelier: soprano Stacey Alleaume triumphs in this magnificent restaging of Francesca Zambello's spectacular waterfront La traviata.  

A beautiful 17th-century setting does nothing to dim the freshness and relevance of Sir David McVicar's production for Opera Australia.

Gale Edwards' Opera Australia staging of Richard Strauss' bloody opera is revived with Lise Lindstrom in the title role. 

The real triumph of Michael Fabiano's role debut as Werther lay in controlling the bold intensity of his voice in favour of a sweet and lower-key level of passion – a match for Massenet's frequent choice of the cello.

Amber Wagner delivers a thrilling performance in Opera Australia's revival of Graeme Murphy's Turandot – a spectacular feast for both the ears and eyes.

A revival of Francesca Zambello's production of Prokofiev's Love for Three Oranges at the Sydney Opera House is a joy, thanks to the antics of Kanen Breen at the head of a strong cast.

Opera Australia pulled out all the stops for their latest production of Puccini’s Turandot: an excellent cast, fabulous choreography, amazing costumes and a great sense of drama all combined to make it a wonderful production at Sydney Opera House. The Opera Theatre is comparatively small by modern standards and is a very intimate venue in which to see an opera.

After the untimely passing of Salvatore Licitra, touted the “new Pavarotti”, in a motor-scooter accident earlier this month, I hardly dare suggest anyone as potential successor to the lyric tenor of the finest Italian tradition, lest he be jinxed. Yet, I would be doing a great disservice to Mexican tenor Diego Torre if I didn’t even make a passing mention of his possible candidacy.

Opera Australia’s production of the Rossini magnum opus The Barber of Seville is a period piece, featuring an era a century later than the one in which it was composed. In this revival of Elijah Moshinsky’s production, director Cathy Dadd masterfully transports the action from the classical period of the 1810s to the silent movies of the 1910s.