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

The venerable festival recaps and renews 100 years of Czechoslovak music with an outsized flourish from Slovak Philharmonic.

The profusion of images and ideas in Frank Castorf's Bavarian Staatsoper production of From the House of the Dead threatens to rob Janáček's opera of its humanity.

Aperghis’ migrants and a new arrangement of Janáček’s The Diary of One who Disappeared by Schöllhorn were well-handled treatments of their subject matter, yet burdened by an overwrought conceptual framework.

Johan Reuter is gripping in Krzysztof Warlikowski's powerful vision of the universal, timeless horrors of prison, but visual clutter distracts from Janáček’s music.

How do you prepare a new production at a major opera house, then stroll across the Thames to lead a fine and distinctive Mahler Five? 

A stirring account of Elgar’s First Symphony from Sir Mark Elder and the LSO, with a rare outing given to Janáček’s last orchestral work and Francesco Piemontesi polished in Bartók.

The Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich recently nestled a performance by the gifted American violinist Hilary Hahn into its programme of works by Janáček, Prokofiev and Dvořák.

A great programme of varied but accessible 20th-century music excites in spite of its imperfections; Faust gives a beautiful, introspective reading of the second Berg concerto.

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

A long evening of very high class playing offered rich rewards in exploring modernist responses to a Debussian challenge. 

The Royal College of Music's first opera of the season, The Cunning Little Vixen has some excellent singing and first-class playing from the student orchestra.

On its current concert tour in Switzerland, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra treated audiences to a programme of works by two of its homeland's most illustrious composers.

Rattle conducts Janáček's glorious score with unerring skill and barely concealed adoration, but is let down by his regular collaborator's muddy vision. 

Two thematically linked, but contrasting short operas are the final component of Opera North's Little Greats season at the Leeds Grand Theatre.

David Pountney's House of the Dead makes for high entertainment at Welsh National Opera.

Prophecies and apocalyptic visions were on the programme as part of the London Philharmonic's Be Moved season.

The Cleveland Orchestra’s centennial season was off to an auspicious start with an encore presentation of Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen.

New Zealand Opera continues to strongly advocate Czech works, resulting in a gripping Káťa Kabanová.

The effervescent conductor took six little-known Czech works into another ether: one in which the footprints are invisible.

In a concert of two halves, Worcester Cathedral experiences unforgettable pain and pleasure in works by Strauss, Rasch and Janáček.

Problems of orchestral balance cloud Olivia Fuchs's straightforward, compelling staging of Janáček’s tirade against the rigidity and hypocrisy of small town society.

Munich revived a thoughtful modern production of Janáček's Jenůfa, with fine orchestral direction and strong singing doing full justice to the rich score.

Eva-Maria Westbroek proves an outstanding Káťa in the Staatsoper's revival of Janáček's opera, powerfully conducted by Simon Rattle. 

Grange Park Opera scored a direct hit with a fine production of Janáček's masterpiece, led by a superb performances from Natalya Romaniw and Susan Bullock as Jenůfa and the Kostelnička.

Piotr Anderszewski played and conducted Mozart and Beethoven concertos with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe plus pieces by Bartók and Janáček. An ideal partnership and fine performances.

Sung in English, a performance of Káťa Kabanová lacked the expressive power of the original, but exposed Juilliard Opera students to the marvels of Janáček’s musical style.

Annilese Miskimmon's production brings to life the sinister, stormy story of Janáček's masterpiece in an Irish setting.

National Theatre Brno brings David Radok’s 2014 staging of Janáček’s Makropulos Case to the Hong Kong Arts Festival, the opera's first-ever journey to Asia, with Annalena Persson in the lead.

Captiavting European musical narratives in Washington DC.

Originally conceived by Robert Carsen for the Vlaamse Opera, this production of Katia Kabanova is now at Teatro Regio, second chapter of a Janáček/Carsen project.

The Hallé under Cristian Măcelaru performs a thrilling concert of works inspired by legends, along with Poulenc's Organ Concerto. 

Pianist Yuja Wang and violonist Leonidas Kavakos demonstrated an outstanding chemistry

Despite the burbling streams with which Smetana's Vltava trickles into life, this was no pastoral stroll on the gentle slopes of Bohemia, Hungary and Poland.

Olivier Tambosi’s controversial production of Janáček's Jenůfa first appeared at the Met in 2003.

Music by the unhappy couple precedes a bombastic rendition of Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass by the Oslo Philharmonic orchestra and choir under Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

In Brno, Janáček's home, at the theatre and festival that bear his name, Jenůfa receives a performance with all the musical and dramatic intensity you might wish for.

Despite the black and white palate, this Makropulos Case has plenty of color. Nadja Michael heads the cast with her fiery portrayal of Elina Makropulos, and conductor Mikahil Tatrnikov makes a triumphant San Francisco Opera debut in the pit.

When the Boston Symphony audience embraces a conductor with sustained, enthusiastic applause as they did with Jakub Hrůša, making his debut, they are not only expressing their approval; they are saying you belong.

Karita Mattila produces a star turn in the title role, but a pure concert staging does little to bring out the cleverness of the libretto of Janáček’s Makropulos Case.

The sets, costumes, and venue contribute to the atmosphere, but it's the singing and playing of Janáček's enchanting music that make West Edge Opera's The Cunning Little Vixen magical.

A disappointing staging for the Jette Parker Young Artists' annual showcase at the Royal Opera House. 

Jenůfa unfurls with chilling intensity at Longborough with the talented Lee Bisset in the title role. 

In Janáček's searing excoriation of small town social mores, superb orchestra, singing and acting make this revival of David Alden's Jenůfa into an unmissable evening of opera.

Remarkable performances from Karita Mattila and Malin Byström head this strong production of Janáček’s Jenůfa at San Francisco Opera. 

Melly Still returns to revive her 2012 staging at Glyndebourne, laying nature bare. Cartoonish, but never sentimental, it presents Vixen red in tooth and claw, 

In its seventh visit to Prague Spring, the orchestra shows affection for the old but more versatility with new music

Revisiting the music of her youth, Martina Janková keeps a vocal tradition alive and explores European expressions of national identity.

Rudolf Buchbinder was the perfect soloist for this ensemble in Beethoven's "Emperor" Concerto.

Mark Padmore's fine Wigmore Hall recital could have borne the title The Fallen Man as two of the works chart the downfall of men, albeit in very different ways. 

It's not for nothing that Janáček's opera is properly titled Její pastorkyňa (Her Stepdaughter). Karita Mattila's Kostelnička was at the centre of a powerful concert performance of Jenůfa.