Top tenors Lawrence Brownlee and Michael Spyres dared to duel at the Concertgebouw. Both emerged victorious, and not just because of the volley of sensational top notes.
Osborn absolutely lives the part; he negotiated formidable heights, intricate passage work and the sheer volume of notes with style and clarity as well as colour and nuance.
Stutzmann and NSO deliver a compelling vision of Dvořák's Seventhwhile violinist Eberle and violist Grosz achieve a fine balance in Mozart's iconic Sinfonia Concertante.
Herheim pulls us in unexpected directions, makes us laugh and makes us think as we enjoy fine Rossinian music and singing in Opéra de Lyon's production.
The Rossini Opera Festival stages a new production of the most famous of Rossini’s masterpieces to celebrate the composer in the 150th anniversary of his death.
Turco inspired many a great opera director in the past; understandably, as it offers plenty of splendid comic situations. Simon Phillips' hilarious 2014 production is revived by Opera Australia.
Cecilia Bartoli is joined by frequent collaborators Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier in a fun-filled Rossini farce full of Italian sunshine. Big grins all round.
Laurent Pelly’s elegant musical stave production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, from the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, charms and delights at the Edinburgh International Festival.
The Rotterdam Philharmonic marked their centenary with two concerts starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato. A bittersweet weekend, during which they also took leave of their beloved principal conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.
From the stately front of The Grange, an impressive moustache looms large, welcoming the audience to a production of Rossini's masterpiece that baffles, confuses and delights the audience.
ETO's extracts from Rossini's serious operas at the Hackney Empire lacked spark and dynamism, but saw a fine showing from Elena Xanthoudakis and Catherine Carby.
At its 2015 inauguration at the Royal Opera House, a controversial rape scene in Act 3 drew outrage from the audience and critics alike. Now the Teatro Massimo is presenting the production once again.
The biggest stigma associated with opera in Ireland is not that it is an elitist art form, but that it is not “Irish”, and that it doesn’t belong to Irish culture, more of a recent import, like pasta, or avocado.
After a nine-year absence, Martha Argerich returned to Carnegie Hall with stunning Prokofiev with the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia.
The latest revival of Jonathan Miller's The Barber of Seville has everything you could want; strong direction, a strong orchestral performance, and a cast that's universally strong. No close shaves there!
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.
Garsington's latest Rossini buffa is on the nail orchestrally, mixed vocally and one of the best pieces of acting and stage movement you'll see in opera.
Daniela Barcellona and Jessica Pratt lead a strong cast in an emotional and elegant performance of the first opera seria by Rossini under the expert baton of Roberto Abbado.
Lord Sidney's contemplation of the insanity of the world seems to be the impetus for this delirious production. So endless is its stream of gags that to attend this show is to be left feeling exhausted.
