Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews

Just what the doctor ordered: a programme of Franco-Iberian musical delights to advance the cause of a Mediterranean lifestyle, with Charles Dutoit and the RPO in commanding form.

It was truly magnifique to welcome French period instrument orchestra Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth to the BBC Proms for a highly perfumed programme of exotic sweetmeats.

At the Edinburgh Frings, a niche festival of late night classical music thoughtfully  programmed at Old St Paul’s Church nestling off Edinburgh’s Royal Mile is food for the soul.

The first live performance of Philip Glass' Passages was a spellbinding fusion of modernity and tradition, an exquisite meeting of minds, music styles and instrumentation.

A refreshing Austro-German programme of works that neatly dovetailed into each other, presented with energy by the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Robin Ticciati.

On a warm summer's evening in Mozart's home city, Japanese master pianist Dame Mitsuko Uchida delivered a delicately crafted solo recital.

As a composer, what do you do when you are commissioned a full-length orchestral work to commemorate the anniversary of a renowned concert hall? Do you try to write something celebratory? Not in Mark-Anthony Turnage's case. 

Powerfully committed and expert singing from the Latvian Radio Choir under Sigvards Kļava, paired with thoughtful and calm playing from Alexander Melnikov in two highly contrasting works by Shostakovich.

Stuart Skelton’s visceral Peter Grimes is matched by a strong cast with thrilling playing and singing from the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under Edward Gardner.

Rachmaninov was not an especially religious man, yet he composed religious music, most famously the haunting All-Night Vigil (or Vespers) which was the climax to this evening's two Proms. 

Close to the start of this summer’s Lucerne Festival, Bernard Haitink conducted an outstanding performance of Mozart and Mahler works that span the centuries.

Roberto Abbado leads a strong cast in an inspired production by La Fura del Baus.

Judith Weir's dramatic new choral work receives a convincing world première from David Hill and the BBC Singers at Southwark Cathedral. 

For the Edinburgh International Festival, María Pagés Company offers a new perspective on the character of Carmen, from the Bizet opera, in their production Yo, Carmen at the Edinburgh Playhouse.

Conducted by Edward Gardner, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra brought a fresh approach to Elgar's First Symphony.

Mario Martone's 2006 production captures both the aesthetic and the spirit of the age.

Four years ago, the ACO mounted The Reef. Mountain is clearly its successor: another film project involving scenes of nature peopled by extreme-sports enthusiasts, screened while an eclectic soundtrack is played live by the orchestra.

Conductor Riccardo Chailly launched this year's Lucerne Festival with a riveting programme of three late 19th century works by the great orchestral explorer, Richard Strauss.

It is dramaturgically risky pitting one musically dark and unfinished work against another. Thomas Dausgaard and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra rose to the challenge in Schubert and Mahler.

Gustavo Gimeno conducted the Cleveland Orchestra in a colorful program inclusive of a pair of Spanish works, Stravinsky’s Firebird, and the Lalo Cello Concerto with soloist Johannes Moser.

The young tenor Maxim Mironov, who played the poet Giocondo, was the name on everyone's lips by the end of the show. His voice is a modestly-sized and soft-grained, but it is beautifully produced, and focuses to a laser-like point up top.

Wayne McGregor’s new dance work explores the relation between human bodies and technology as part of his curated installation +/- Human.

Nathaniel Hackmann, a stocky baritone with the tenderest of timbres, was like a reincarnation of Alfred Drake.

An evening full of verve and surprise, Iván Fischer conducts Nicola Benedetti and Budapest Festival Orchestra in a Legendary Partnership at the Edinburgh International Festival.

A vividly dramatic take on Verdi's Requiem by Opera Australia allows chorus and orchestra to shine under Renato Palumbo, and reminds us why the work has been called “opera in church clothing”.

Pitch-perfect Bartók by Ibragimova and a boldly expansive reading of Shostakovich's Fifth by Hrůša made for an insightful evening's reflection on musical early modernity.

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen’s Proms debut was just one highlight in a rewarding programme of Nordic and German music.

As clearly visible on all photos, the Sydney Opera House has two “sails”, interconnected major sections. One of them houses concerts, the other operas. Opera performances, however, are not exclusively taking place in the Opera Theatre.

Affecting Britten, distinctive Elias and popular Elgar, with a curio of arranged Purcell thrown in, from Ryan Wigglesworth and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Muti's reading of the score is extraordinary, both for its sophistication and originality.

A skilfully constructed production, and one that plays with the our perspectives. Whether the images are flashbacks from a war-troubled Wozzeck or a Büchner-esque portent of the horrors to come is left for the audience to decide.

With Contrasts, the Mariinsky dancers are put under a multifaceted microscope. 

An unapologetic treat at the Proms and a composition of immediate appeal.

Zemlinsky's dark story of infidelity and murder, from Oscar Wilde's unfinished play, poses a significant musical challenge for both audience and director. 

Youth was a hindrance rather than a virtue in this testosterone-driven performance which sought more than anything to sock the audience between the eyes

Kirill Karabits and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra brought a wide ranging programme from the south coast for their annual Proms visit.

In his early twenties, French cellist Edgar Moreau, a rising star in performing Baroque repertoire on the cello, made his Proms debut at Cadogan Hall.

A sensational Die Walküre from Sir Andrew Davis and the RSNO at the Edinburgh Festival that will be talked about for years.

Semyon Bychkov turned in a magisterial account of Mussorgsky's rugged score, aided and abetted by some strong vocal performances.

The third opera of the Mozart-Da Ponte trilogy opens the opera festival in Drottningholm, the "Swedish Versailles", with a good cast beautifully conducted by Marc Minkowski.

Seattle Opera's visually poetic and refined Madama Butterfly peeks back at Puccini's own first version of the opera, which was arguably more openly critical of the devastation wrought by imperialism. 

Glimmerglass’ Porgy and Bess proves one more time that Gershwin’s opus remains America’s most important 20th-century opera.

Fanfares and percussion: the NYOS play an all American programme of Gershwin, Copland and welcome back NYOS alumnus Colin Currie to play Andrew Norman’s Switch.

Opera in the City puts two key short works side by side, both duos, to create an evening of contrasting voices in which mature, selfish passion quails before youthful promise. 

The conductor guided us on a tour through a museum where Erkki-Sven Tüür, Mozart and Brahms reside in spheres of different shades and spaces – and yet each remain enclosed in a prefigured structure.

How does one condense a Tolstoy epic for the stage? In Anna Karenina, choreographer Alexei Ratmansky focuses on the three central characters, filleting the novel to its bare essentials. 

The performance of Margherita d’Anjou seen at the Festival della Valle d’Itria in Martina Franca was the first staged in modern times.

Nestled in the alps, Musikdorf Ernen’s chamber music festival concerts recently began its annual Kammermusik Plus weeks with works that showcased some extraordinary young talents.

Staggering performances from Esa-Pekka Salonen and Philharmonia in John Adams’s sonic journey, Naïve and Sentimental Music, and Marianne Crebassa exquisite in Ravel’s Shéhérazade.

A performance of Handel's oratorio Israel in Egypt performed by the Orchestra and Choir of the Age of the Enlightenment with William Christie conducting.