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Superb Handelian singing and intense character acting light up Handel’s Semele, staged as a stark, uncompromising indictment of the rich and powerful. 

This production focuses on the psychological and human aspects of the central characters, rather than on their political conflict, with Elizabeth playing a pivotal role.

It's been a long wait since Cardiff Singer 2015, but the Mongolian baritone gives an outstanding vocal portrayal of Verdi’s doomed jester at the Royal Opera House.

The South African soprano wows the audience with astonishing vocal and dramatic qualities – but do they stretch to a programme of art song?

Philadelphia Orchestra principal Ricardo Morales also offers grace and unassuming virtuosity in Mozart's Clarinet Concerto.

Pretty Yende and John Osborn bring star quality to this revival of John Dew’s Vienna staging of Bellini's Civil War opera.

Michieletto's slightly cold take on one of Donizetti's greatest comedies is amply compensated by some spectacular singing, with Pretty Yende's Norina a particular delight.

At The Philadelphia Orchestra, classical and contemporary depictions of the natural world overshadow a set of Strauss songs performed by Pretty Yende.

The Gala Mozart Belcanto featured internationally renowned artists who performed a high quality virtuoso concert.

The second performance of the Met's Pearl Fishers saw one of the leads withdraw mid-performance again. A welcome performance by young baritone Alexander Birch Elliott could not rescue the evening. 

A stellar cast and a new, old-fashioned production bring back Ricciardo e Zoraide to Pesaro after 22 years.

In a program featuring music by Mozart and Mahler, the third work – Ruggles' Evocations – was Michael Tilson Thomas' most interesting contribution.

The Mediterranean setting of Auber's work is recreated by director Giorgio Barberio Corsetti with its intriguing teatro-immagine, where video projections and virtual reality are predominant.

This was meant to be Pretty Yende's night, but it was Armenian tenor Liparit Avetisyan who stole hearts as country bumpkin Nemorino. 

As it turned out, the second performance of the Met’s revival of I puritani was the one to see – it offered some of this season’s greatest singing – and a surprise.

Andreas Homoki’s new production of Vincenzo Bellini’s I puritani wows with a quartet of stellar vocalists, but its awkward staging and set design are a distinct disappointment.

Deutsche Oper Berlin’s 1980 production of Donizetti’s romantic tragedy gets a new life with a pair of young singers who valiantly and elegantly sang the doomed lovers.

In a somewhat long-overdue debut at the Concertgebouw, bel canto royalty Juan Diego Flórez and rising star Pretty Yende wowed the Amsterdam public with a generous programme of bel canto music.

Pretty Yende makes a successful New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall with a diverse selection of songs and arias.

Excellent singing and a stunning debut win out over relentlessly clever visual effects.

The singing is strong and the stagework slick in Laurent Pelly's rib-tickling, often uproarious production of Le Comte Ory.

A lack of engagement keeps Pretty Yende and James Vaughan at arm’s length in spite of accomplished performances

Of the “ABCs” of opera (Aida, Bohème, and Carmen), Bizet’s masterpiece is the one that has made the transition to pop culture ubiquity. Surely even the most oblivious of listeners are able to whistle along to the “Habanera” and “Toreador Song”. Furthermore, the melodramatic story of exoticism, lust and rejection is one of the most popular of operatic tales.

When Jean-Christophe Spinosi stepped onto the podium to conduct Le Comte Ory that night, he didn’t wait for his applause to cease, but instantly cued a hearty forte from the Ensemble Matheus, and consequently a few incredulous looks from the audience.