Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Berlioz

Breezy Ravel from Steven Osborne and a clear warning about the dangers of drug-taking from the BBCSSO at Sage Gateshead.

Mixed performances from Poole but with an unforgettable Berlioz Symphonie fantastique that was both illuminating and electrifying.

With Gardiner’s eye for detail, the LSO triumph in a concert that marks the start of a new Schumann symphony cycle.

A program juxtaposing music by Mahler and Berlioz didn't fully convey these musicians' abilities.

Mezzo soprano Karen Cargill and the Scottish Ensemble guest-led by Matthew Truscott in a programme of music from Purcell to Stravinsky all inspired by tales from Ancient Greece.

A seductive Debussy, a spikey Bartók violin concerto and a scintillating Berlioz: Kochavonsky and NSO join forces with violinist Sokolov.

BBC Philharmonic and Edward Gardner tackle Janáček’s Sinfonietta in a well-crafted programme of French and Czech music.

Michieletto's production for the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome is fresh, intelligent and destined to go down as one of his best. 

On the last leg of their first international tour, the Orchestre Métropolitain and Yannick Nézet-Séguin fully embraced Elgar after a francophone first half of Berlioz and Saint-Saëns. 

Dutoit, Lugansky and the HK Phil perform at their finest in famous French and Russian repertoire.

Continuing his celebration of the music of Hector Berlioz with the Seattle Symphony, Ludovic Morlot leads an enthralling performance of the epic Requiem.

Both of these works are united in their depiction of love gained and lost, and embodied Berlioz’s take on love and music, which the composer called, “the two wings of the soul”. 

John Relyea owns the stage as Méphistophélès in Boston Symphony’s Faust. 

Robin Ticciati's final season with the SCO begins with some promising Dvořák. 

A typically thought-provoking production of The Trojans from Calixto Bieito combines with a thrilling musical performance to compensate for a heavily fileted version of Berlioz's magnum opus.

The Seattle Symphony, under the outstanding leadership of guest conductor Giancarlo Guerrero, overcame the absence of their maestro and gave a worthy reading of the monumental work.

The LSO’s pedigree in Berlioz is second to none so La Damnation de Faust acted as the perfect showcase in its “This is Rattle” festival. 

Edo de Waart opted frequently for slow, steady tempi that robbed the music of a lot of its inner vitality.

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

Sir Andrew Davis led the BBC SO in a recreation of Sir Malcolm Sargent's 500th Prom, a lengthy programme that failed to inspire.

An inspired piece of programming illustrates the continuities in angst-filled works from the Baroque, Romantic and contemporary eras.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s first evening of the season at the Blossom Music Center also included a performance of Beethoven’s Second Symphony that was both sparkling and appropriately dramatic.

It's typical that in the last concert in a series that has lasted seventeen years, we had a recital from a talented young singer with a growing reputation, a Rosenblatt classic.

There's no faulting the execution, but the former Python's take on Berlioz's dramatic legend is worryingly inconsistent in tone. 

A packed recital given by mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly at Brighton Festival.    

With a Francophile programme of Berlioz, Chopin and Franck, conductor Fabien Gabel had the constant challenge of exploring the orchestra for fresh insights into each of these Romantic works.

Nothing is better than when Berlioz ramps up the decibels. With a huge orchestra and choir and a deluxe starry cast assembled in Strasbourg, this was a special performance. 

Petrenko and the RLPO tackle familiar Berlioz and unfamiliar Kodály and Szymanowski.  

Absolute Jest sounds like perfect fare for an April Fool's Day concert. John Adams quotes Beethoven in many guises in his jolly work for string quartet and orchestra. 

The riotous energy of carnival dazzled Symphony Hall as Alain Altinoglu debuted with the Boston Symphony in a program he assembled as a personal homage to Charles Munch.

Roth bookended Matthias Pintscher's new work with familiar pieces, Berlioz’s Le Corsaire Overture and Beethoven’s Symphony no. 6 in F major.

Maestro Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic gave the New York première of Esa-Pekka Salonen's Cello Concerto with soloist Yo-Yo Ma.

Antonacci's voice shines even in the art songs that pad out the evening, but it's Poulenc's one-act opera that gives San Francisco Opera Lab's current offering dramatic weight (and makes it worth seeing).

With combined ages of over 150 years between conductor and soloist, there was no lack of experience on the platform for this Royal Philharmonic Orchestra concert.

A disappointing pairing of Berlioz and Mendelssohn from a conductorless Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. 

Andris Nelsons' program pays homage to two touchstones of the French repertory with the Boston Symphony: Henri Rabaud and Pierre Monteux.

A musically strong revival of an austere production still leaves one feeling short-changed.

The silence of the Cenotaph was swept away by the greatest howl of anguish in music.

This production, directed by Tim Albery and with sets and costumes by Tobias Hoheisel, boasts more than one megastar.

Sibelius' Violin Concerto remains one of the true tests for violinists, and was performed with great emotional depth in Seattle by young Armenian violinist Sergey Khachatryan. 

James Levine’s excellent CSO appearance included a first half juxtaposing Mozart and Schoenberg anchored by a memorable Symphonie fantastique, and even a tribute to the victorious Chicago Cubs.

Irish mezzo soprano Rachel Kelly joins the Ulster Orchestra in an evening of richly coloured orchestration and exotic flavour, conducted by Jac van Steen. 

The CBSO pairs Berlioz' opium-fuelled extravaganza with a 20th-century favourite starring Vilde Frang.

Soprano Elizabeth Watts brought tonal richness and energy to an evening of French song with texts by Théophile Gautier, but her expressive arsenal was diminished by a bout of flu.

Renée Fleming joins the Pacific Symphony for Strauss, Italian Songs and Rodgers and Hammerstein. 

A strange combination of a Berlioz overture, a commemorative work and Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with the Hallé, Sir Mark Elder, Alice Coote, Gregory Kunde and Leonard Elschenbroich.

Prom 20 proved an exhilarating journey, featuring Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette as one of the key works of this year’s BBC Proms' Shakespeare 400 celebrations.

The Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and Sir Roger Norrington give their very last concert together, with Robert Levin as soloist in Beethoven's fourth piano concerto.

Edward Gardner conducts a solemn, emotionally-charged performance of Berlioz’s radical masterpiece at Gloucester Cathedral

Berlioz's Béatrice et Bénédict is light and fluffy, making it perfect summer festival fare. Sadly, like a soggy soufflé, Pelly's one-trick staging soon falls flat.