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Damiano Michieletto directs a slick and frequently hilarious staging of Prokofiev's comic opera Betrothal in a Monastery. 

The Baden-Baden Easter Festival offers a memorable production of Pique Dame with excellent musical performances convincing in Leiser and Caurier's updating of the plot.

Valery Gergiev finally turns up to conduct an electrifying evening, crowned by Asmik Grigorian's full throttle performance as Liza. 

In Khovanshchina, even more so than in Boris Godunov, the chorus is the chief protagonist and the La Scala chorus was truly astonishing.

Many scenes could risk to be particularly disturbing,  but their overt brutality appeared functional, to the structure of the drama. A dark, gloomy story as unambiguously told as it should be.

In Tarkovsky's venerable production, the Mariinsky orchestra and chorus are brilliant – but too brilliant for their soloists, including two replacement Borises for an indisposed Mikhail Petrenko.

Mikhail Kazakov gives a compelling portrayal of the troubled Tsar Boris, as Gergiev and the Mariinsky provide a great showcase for one of the masterworks of Russian music.

The Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff celebrates its 10th anniversary this autumn, and as part of the celebrations the Mariinsky Opera, under its conductor Valery Gergiev, was invited back for a concert performance of Prokofiev’s comic opera, Betrothal in a Monastery.