Kasper Holten's psychological take on the louche lothario remains controversial, but in its third revival, Erwin Schrott's powerful assumption of the title role is a delight.
Pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk delivers a knockout Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody while JoAnn Falletta and the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus present memorable Tchaikovsky and Ravel scores.
Barrie Kosky's stark, spare La bohème gave it a rare spark of humanity focused on Marina Costa-Jackson's haunting Mimì, whose existence became the central focus even when she wasn't singing.
Opening their season with an all-Russian programme, Royal Northern Sinfonia ventured beyond the standard chamber orchestra repertoire, with patchy results.
Downes' playing is soulful, perhaps rather American, which gave Schumann a late-night jazziness. That tendency fit better with selections by Nina Simone and Harlem Renaissance composers Margaret Bonds and Florence Price.
A mesmerising Stravinsky Rite of Spring from Mihhail Gerts and RTÉ NSO while Irish pianist Fiachra Garvey impresses in Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini.
In the exquisite singing line of the second movement, the appeal was not just in her beauty of tone but in the concentrated feeling Mullova brought to the shaping of each phrase.
The trio gave a flowing, elegant reading of the “Archduke”in which the three fast movements were brought into line with the golden glow of the theme and variations.
Berlioz on acid: Nicholas Collon and Mathew Baynton lead the Proms audience through the streets of Paris before a wild ride through the Symphonie fantastique.
During Henry Wood’s Prom years, Wednesday was Bach Night. To commemorate the 150th anniversary of his birth, the Proms revived this tradition in the final week with a couple of modern twists.
A brilliantly staged production of Reimann's Ghost Sonata by Opera Australia shows once again that modernist opera can be compelling if a provocative story is rendered by an outstanding cast.
Daniel Barenboim conducts much of Siegfried as an intimate chamber opera, resulting in an unexpected musical joy, with an excellent cast of singers headed by Michael Volle’s Wanderer.
Festivals and academies breed familiarity and mutual compassion between audiences and returning artists. Yet the warmly informal feel of this concert owed mostly to the close relationships between the musicians themselves.
Playing under its music director Gábor Takács-Nagy, the VFCO radiated joy for music-making; the very thing Verbier – and now Tsinandali – is all about.
The Staatsoper Berlin celebrate the arrival of Michael Volle, a splendid Wotan, aided by a strong ensemble of singers and Daniel Barenboim's leadership.
Centuries can envelop a musical masterpiece in a cocoon of misconceptions and false interpretations as much they leave their mark in the form of dirt and grime on a painting’s surface.
Daniel Barenboim led a performance of deliberate tempo with a great ensemble of singers. Guy Cassiers‘ production, while visually stunning at times, does little to enhance the performance.
Kent Nagano and the forces of Staatsoper Hamburg launch their new season with a production of Shostakovich's very first opera in which the ears are beguiled but the eyes are not.
Exceptional singing, an auspicious conducting debut and a staging that is both sophisticated and emotionally involving make this production an unequivocal winner.
Europa Galante's musicians’ collective expertise in playing music of the 17th and 18th centuries is indisputable and was in full display once again in Bucharest.
