Mahler 2 must be mother’s milk for the CBSO Chorus, though they sang with affecting passion from their soft, seated entry to towering last peroration of the Resurrection hymn.
Perhaps ABT's disclaimer in the program notes should have simply said: "When you watch Le Corsaire, prepare to be both offended and entertained. We hope you'll be more entertained than offended."
Deutsche Oper Berlin's revival of Manon Lescaut achieves a rare theatrical success; a witty and visually stunning production combined with thrilling music making in the pit with Sir Simon Rattle leading the orchestra and singers with emotional urgency.
Comic opera can fall flat, but if The Grange Festival's new production of Verdi's final masterpiece is a total delight, with a strong concept and a strong cast. This is country-house opera at its best.
A great performance of a nearly-forgotten 18th-century oratorio in Salzburg celebrates the castrati’s “Heavenly Voices”, the theme of the Whitsun festival.
Michieletto presents an engaging new production where magic and reality reflect each other through a mirror, and humans are exposed in all their vulnerability.
Cellist Sol Gabetta founded the Solsberg Festival to make music with like-minded people in a historically significant space and arranges programmes by, and with, select musicians.
Lloyd-Evans' new production of Mozart's classic might be traditional, but there's no lack of astuteness in his direction of his characters. Problems in the pit hinder an otherwise strong musical performance.
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, under Music Director Manfred Honeck, the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and soloists gave a brilliant performance of Beethoven's monumental Ninth Symphony.
Juan Diego Flórez was impressive in his first portrayal of a lovesick soldier/priest in Manon, with Nino Machaidze's accomplished heroine. Andrei Serban's modern and thoughtful production was still fresh and arresting.
Alfonso Romero Morta’s lavish production of Andrea Chénier arrives in Seville with Alfred Kim, Juan Jesús Rodríguez and Ainhoa Arteta heading a strong cast under conductor Pedro Halffter.
Opera Holland Park updates Puccini's setting to the 1960s in a production that does not completely work, but benefits from the strong performance of Elizabeth Llewellyn as its leading lady.
A performance of Handel's short masterpiece Apollo e Dafne at the Halle Handel Festival was somewhat disappointing but Fulvio Bettini impressed in the bass role.
A potentially stimulating mix of full-bloodied Russian orchestral writing not fully realised by the RPO and Alpesh Chauhan, but with a promising concerto debut by Diana Adamyan.
Although both Bernstein's Jeremiah Symphony and Mendelssohn's Hymn of Praise explore the role religion plays in the cultivation of the human spirit, they are in many aspects sharply contrasting works. This made for an appealing concert by Montreal's Orchestre Métropolitain and their conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
