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With its 1940s setting, Luca Del Fusco’s direction alienates in a new production of Gounod's Shakespeare-inspired opera. 

Andrei Șerban’s 40 year old take on Puccini's tale of the ice princess largely stands the test of time, but Netrebko and Eyvazov are short of their best form. 

Strong performances by chorus, orchestra and the father-daughter pairing of Amartuvshin Enkhbat and Anna Pirozzi make this Covent Garden revival well worth the visit.

Questionable conducting aside, The Royal Opera's latest revival of Damiano Michieletto’s fluid production of the famous operatic double-bill is terrifically executed by two excellent casts.

In a face-off between Gabriele Viviani's Scarpia and Malin Byström’s Tosca in this solid revival of Jonathan Kent's 2006 production, there could only be one winner

Violetta Valéry was Armenian soprano Hrachuhí Bassénz, who made a strong impression on the audience, certainly by the end.

The French-Sicilian tenor shines in Sir David's McVicar's pristine take on Umberto Giordano's slice of verismo. 

Javier Camarena’s debut as Edgardo contributed to a triumphal night at the Teatro Real together with Lisette Oropesa’s charismatic Lucia and David Alden’s powerful staging.

A suggestive staging barely supported by the musical side

After its Christmas break, Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci return to the Royal Opera in Daminano Michieletto's arresting production. 

Even stronger than first time round, Michieletto's impressive staging is complemented by an outstanding double role debut from Hymel and a heartbreaking Santuzza from Elīna Garanča.

Jamie Barton stole the show in a lacklustre concert performance in Madrid.

Gerald Finley's velvet baritone lights up this revival of David McVicar's production of Cilea's murder story

A piece of Italian verismo well worth being in the repertoire, beautifully staged and sung.

A new cast arrives for Katie Mitchell's gothic Lucia di Lammermoor – and, despite caveats about the staging, deliver some excellent performances. 

Visually this production fully rendered the opera's atmosphere. The director was good at encompassing the private stories and emotions of the three main characters into a broader context, dominated by Fate.

“Prepare to be shocked!” was the warning issued before this new Lucia di Lammermoor from Katie Mitchell at the Royal Opera House. Shocking? Yes, but in a good way. 

A traditional, reassuring production of Bizet's popular opera, without any odd staging ideas. 

This unadorned staging of the doomed love story between Rodolfo and Mimì in Salerno doesn’t neglect the veracity and passion of Puccini’s beautiful music.

The ROH's revival of Carmen doesn't bring anything new to the opera, but a stellar cast and stylishly traditional production make it a very enjoyable evening.

Robert le diable’s 1831 opening was perhaps the most successful opera première of all time. Meyerbeer was lauded by luminaries like Chopin, Dumas, Balzac and Heinrich Heine, the opera was played in 69 cities in its first two years and spawned an entire genre of French Grand Opera.

​In each case, you know the murder is coming. In each case the music is explosive and closes the opera: there is nothing left to say except Canio's simple words: "La commedia è finita.

When you discover your bride-to-be in another man's bed on the eve of your wedding day, the excuse "Darling, I must have been sleepwalking" rates somewhere near the same level of credibility as "Sir, the dog ate my homework." But hey, this is opera, and bel canto opera at that. You didn't come to Bellini's La Sonnambula for the story and the drama: you came here for the singing.

Gounod's Roméo et Juliette isn't exactly a rarity, but it is no longer one of the stalwarts of the opera repertoire, a position which it certainly occupied during the Victorian era (there were 102 performances at the Théâtre-Lyrique in Paris in the first year of its life, followed by 291 performances at the Opéra-Comique in the next twenty).

L’Opéra de Royal de Wallonie-Liège offre une rareté verdienne qu'il serait dommage de ne pas découvrir, même si la mise en scène statique de Sarah Schinasi ne marque pas les esprits.

Dans le rôle-titre, le chanteur mongol Amartuvshin Enkhbat est le premier triomphateur de la soirée, bien secondé par l'orchestre. Malheureusement, la mise en scène sage et illustrative déçoit.

Loin de toute la monumentalité qui a pu rendre indigestes les belles mélopées et accents verdiens, souvent cantonnées aux grandes pompes et à un logos lourdement orientaliste, cet opéra à l’écriture pourtant raffinée, et à la profondeur mésestimée, méritait une telle relecture.

Fort d’un public acquis à l’œuvre de Verdi, le Théâtre du Capitole renoue une nouvelle fois avec le compositeur italien sous la baguette érudite de Daniel Oren, prédicateur du génie révolutionnaire désormais habitué à la scène toulousaine.

Martina Serafin y Ambrogio Maestri, junto a la heterodoxa pero efectivísima versión de Daniel Oren, cumplieron con su cometido acompañados por un coro que supo afrontar el reto que supone esta ópera para cualquier conjunto.

La nouvelle production de l’Opéra Bastille marque par la qualité du plateau vocal et la beauté des costumes

À travers la nouvelle mise en scène de Pierre Audi, l'oeuvre de Puccini prend une dimension singulièrement symbolique. Le tout servi par une distribution remarquable.

Le monde musical toulousain poursuit sa rentrée avec le premier opéra de la saison du Théâtre du Capitole : Un ballo in maschera de Giuseppe Verdi.

Le cinéaste Benoît Jacquot, réalisateur des Adieux à la reine trois fois auréolé aux Césars 2013, s'invite à l'Opéra National de Paris et, en bon nostalgique du drame lyrique traditionnel, relève l'épineux défi de s'attaquer à un monument du répertoire opératique.