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John Fulljames directs a new production of Poul Ruders' uncompromising operatic take on Margaret Atwood’s celebrated novel. 

A great orchestral performance of an exciting score don't quite mask the dramatic weaknesses of Opera Rara's latest.

Deutsche Oper Berlin returns in rousing style with a pared-down, open-air Rheingold on its “Parkdeck”.

Deutsche Oper Berlin staged an ambitious production by Laurence Pelly with mixed results. The performance included new discoveries and young singers brought fresh energy to the evening.

Selectively unearthed from current critical editions, this fabulously performed new Hoffmann plumbs the murky depths of its antihero’s psyche.

Powerful performances in Götz Friedrich's Deutsche Oper production. 

January of 2017 sees the return of Verdi's Nabucco at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. This Keith Warner production of a Verdi favorite was successfully premiered by the Deutsche Oper in 2013, in the 200th anniversary year of Verdi's birth.

Meyerbeer's little performed work is given an enthusiastic rendering, with star singing from a big cast led by Flórez, Ciofi and Jerkunica. David Alden's quality Personenregie makes up for some unconvincing setting choices.

A new operatic adaptation of Dream of the Red Chamber by Bright Sheng and David Henry Hwang offers musical and visual delights but stumbles on the text.

Calixto Bieito’s production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen isn't without controversy. San Francisco Opera gave us raw sexuality unvarnished by any degree of social refinement.

Bryan Hymel and Irene Roberts explored the boundaries of love in the latest splendid performance in the Rosenblatt Recitals.

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.

A modern updating of Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India? Vera Nemirova's stylish production of Meyerbeer's Grand Opéra works inteligently for the most part. 

The return of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann to the stage of San Francisco Opera on Wednesday night was a welcome and long overdue event.

When, in 1859, Gounod’s Faust premiered in Paris, it got an icy cold reception. In fact, shocking as it may sound to anyone even slightly familiar with this opera’s glorious arias, breathtaking duets and melodious ensembles, it got rejected by Paris Opera on the grounds of not being sufficiently “showy”.