Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Madrid

BNE premieres Marcos Morau's Afanador at Madrid’s Teatro Real. Inspiration is derived from Ruven Afanador’s renowned series of photographs on flamenco dancers, Ángel Gitano and 1000 Kisses.

John Adams’ opera about Richard Nixon’s historic meeting with Mao Tse-Tung is performed with all round excellence, with a real find on the podium in the shape of Olivia Lee-Gunderman.

An unforgettable evening of contemporary dance with Keegan-Dolan’s Mám in Madrid, with excellent performances from Cormac Begley, s t a r g a z e and Teaċ Daṁsa company.

The spirit of Cuba visits Madrid as Carlos Acosta's dance troupe performs a mixed at the Teatro Real, including Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui's Mermaid. 

In this historic reopening, Lisette Oropesa offers a magnificent performance, dramatically overwhelming and vocally very unique.

The Teatros del Canal host the Benjamin–Crimp partnership’s thrillingly dark, lyric retelling of Robert Browning’s famous 1842 poem The Pied Piper of Hamelin by La Veronal dance company.

Ballet Nacional de España restages Antonio Ruz’s Electra for its Christmas season at Madrid’s Teatro Real. The splendid production is greeted with widespread audience acclaim.

Sir David McVicar's unassuming production fails to engage with the political side of Verdi's masterpiece, despite good conducting by Nicola Luisotti and some good singing by a solid cast. 

Olga Pericet's choreography grasps the essence of of the exceptional flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya.

Comedy fails to spark in Laurent Pelly's new production of Falstaff at the Teatro Real. 

Raquel García-Tomás's new chamber opera is a mild comedy about narcissism, brought to life by a clever production and a strong cast.

Carsen's scaled-down Ring makes a timely comeback with a melancholy message of decay.

Ballet National de España (BNE) celebrates its 40th anniversary with a vibrant gala that brings together old and new landmarks of its repertory. Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela hosts the event.

Kaija Saariaho's delightful but unchallenging fourth opera comes to Madrid with the same crew of the world première and Davone Tines, Philippe Jaroussky and Nora Kimball-Mentzos in the leading roles

Despite a great cast led by Marina Rebeka, La Fura dels Baus's unambitious approach to the myth of Faust and Dan Ettinger's noisy conducting prevent a brighter season opening at the Teatro Real.

Javier Camarena’s debut as Edgardo contributed to a triumphal night at the Teatro Real together with Lisette Oropesa’s charismatic Lucia and David Alden’s powerful staging.

In a production that proposes a revision of flamenco from its roots, stripping it of all the clichés and stereotypes that are currently weakening its essence, Fernandez’s mighty dancing and Pericet’s farsighted crafting and superb performance are extraordinary examples of the best artistic proposals that flamenco dancing can produce nowadays.

The Royal Ballet of Flanders presents in Madrid's Teatros del Canal an attractive triple bill with works by its Artistic Director Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Firebird and Faun) and the Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite (Ten Duets on a Theme of Rescue)

Ivor Bolton and David McVicar have teamed up to create an unapologetically Brittenian Gloriana, with Anna Caterina Antonacci at the top of a great cast

William Christie and Les Arts Florissants show true Baroque musicianship in Madrid, in an Ariodante with a solid cast.

In a disappointing revival of Hugo de Ana's clichéd and clumsy production, Liudmyla Monastyrska and Violeta Urmana confronted each other with their superb vocal techniques and diverging styles.

Weill's neglected "American Opera" opens in Madrid with a refurbished production by John Fulljames and a strong cast led by Patricia Racette.

Jake Heggie's story of redemption captivated the Teatro Real audience thanks to a solid cast and an effective production

Antonio Najarro’s attempt to produce a dance piece inspired by Joaquín Sorolla’s paintings for the Ballet National de España’s production Sorolla fails to grasp the essence of the rich diversity of Spanish dance

Jamie Barton stole the show in a lacklustre concert performance in Madrid.

The Teatro Real opened its 200th anniversary season with a revival of Claus Guth's brilliant production and a great cast, led by Kurt Streit and Silvia Tro Santafé.

Victor Ullate premieres his version of Carmen in Madrid’s Teatros del Canal. Mallarme’s story and Bizet’s score are updated in a sophisticated balletic rendering of the myth.

Johan Inger’s Carmen is back on stage in Madrid, seducing CND's audience once again.

Spanish composer Elena Mendoza presents a hermetic piece of contemporary theatre that is at the same time a disappointing opera and a worthy musical exploration of literary universe of Juan Carlos Onetti

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo present Jean-Christophe Maillot’s elegant version of Romeo and Juliet in Madrid.

Billy Budd triumphs in Madrid thanks to an inspired orchestra, a solid cast and a dream team of stage magicians.

Livermore turns Norma into a dubious tribute to fantasy B-movies but Gregory Kunde and Karine Deshayes come to the rescue.

A lacklustre season opening at Teatro Real proves once again the elusive nature of Verdi's masterpiece.

Romeo Castellucci's captivating Moses und Aron was a major success, a bold reminder of the boundless power of opera.

Kasper Holten's new production fails to convince about the alleged virtues of Wagner's outcast comic opera.

The latest concert by the Spanish National Orchestra was a fascinating opportunity to explore the contrast between Wagner and Stravinsky.

In the opening night of Teatro Real's new season, Mariella Devia proved why she is one of the best bel canto singers of the last decades.

A series of cancellations resulted in an unusual triple bill: a rare Spanish opera, an impromptu concert by Plácido Domingo and Woody Allen's brilliant Gianni Schicchi.

Adrianne Pieczonka and Anett Fritsch shone in an otherwise disappointing opening night, impaired by poor conducting and unimpressive staging.

Pianist Vadym Kholodenko gives a thrilling performance of Beethoven's Fourth, and the RTVE orchestra and chorus impress in the Ninth Symphony.

Routine took hold of the Teatro Real in its production of La traviata, despite baritone Juan Jesús Rodríguez's best efforts.

The Collegium Vocale Gent, in the hands of Philippe Herreweghe, came and conquered Madrid with a memorable performance of Bach's St John Passion.

The Teatro Real crowns his Britten cycle with a canonic War Requiem conducted by Pablo Heras-Casado and superbly sung by John Mark Aisnley and Jacques Imbrailo. 

Mauricio Sotelo's world première based on El Público, a fascinating surrealist play by Federico García Lorca, mixed flamenco and tragedy to achieve a great night of opera. 

Interesting rediscovery of Veracini's first opera, composed for mythical castrati Senesino and Farinelly, and brought to life again by Fabio Biondi and Europa Galante.

Ton Koopman's distinctively lively tempi, coupled with a contagious delight to be making music, has a fairly magnetic effect when conducting Bach's Mass in B minor.

Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony bring Beethoven and Wagner to Madrid and fill the hall with vitality.

Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber make of an evening devoted to the songs of Maher an experience hard to do justice to in words.

Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette attracted a large audience for a concert performance from Madrid, enticed by Roberto Alagna's Roméo.