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The latest, thrilling instalment of Barrie Kosky's Ring cycle at Covent Garden does not have to strain for contemporary relevance. 

Tobias Kratzer gives his third Strauss production in three seasons at Deutsche Oper Berlin another contemporary spin. 

The French director updates the action to the present day, underscoring the validity of the plot – feuding families and class differences are still relevant. 

With Claus Guth directing and Simone Young on the podium, the Staatsoper Unter den Linden's new production of Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina proves that the past isn't really past. 

The first instalment of Covent Garden's new Ring is excellent all round from orchestra and voices, with Barrie Kosky providing plenty of ideas to tease us as to how the cycle will continue. 

Soloists Klaus Florian Vogt, Christian Gerhaher, Amber Wagner and Marina Prudenskaya star in Act 3 of Tannhäuser.

The Staatsoper revives a confused production by Hans Neuenfels, under the baton of Thomas Guggeis.

Widmann packs everything into Babylon – from classical arias to dissonant clusters, military marches, film music and a few chamber music moments.

Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel has appeal for all ages, but Robert Carsen’s production is a different take on the beloved fairy tale.

Fine musical performances meet Andrea Breth's dreary new production in a dramatically unsatisfying evening at the Staatsoper.

Hans Neuenfels new Salome proves a strangely non-committal affair at the Staatsoper, but Thomas Guggeis conducts impressively.

Achim Freyer's production robs Humperdinck's fairy tale of heart and drama at the Lindenoper.

Evelyn Herlitzius and Adrianne Pieczonka are unsinkable in the the French director's final production, conducted with impressive symphonic sweep by Daniel Barenboim. 

Where does one go to hear some of the world’s greatest pianists? To Jerusalem. More specifically, the Jerusalem International Chamber Music Festival, the annual ten-day musical delight in the Holy City in early September. 

Frank Castorf's controversial but supremely well-cast Ring cycle is provocative to the last.

An uneven yet unforgettable performance, thanks to conductor Jaap van Zweden’s seductive colouring of the score and Jennifer Wilson’s refulgent Isolde.

Though Jordan and the Wiener Symphoniker have been happy bedfellows many times before, this concert marked the beginning of a new stage in their relationship. 

Iréne Théorin provides a spellbinding immolation scene, while Adam Fischer conjures a flawless orchestral performance to conclude Budapest's Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Il Trovatore has doggedly survived in opera’s hit charts despite dispensing generous quantities of hair-raising as well as eyebrow-raising content. Verdi’s music is intoxicating, of course, but there is something to this work that makes it accessible beyond reasoning.

Jan Lauwers inszeniert Ligetis Le Grand Macabre als durch-choreographierte Komödie mit hohem Unterhaltungswert.

Mit Die Nacht vor Weihnachten entführen Vladimir Jurowski und das Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin in eine humorvolle Märchenwelt.

Eine kurzfristig eingesprungene hochkarätige Besetzung sorgt für eine überragende Aufführung des Verdi-Requiems.

Vor allem die Bayreuth-Debütantinnen Lyniv und Grigorian machen aus Wagners frühem Werk ein orchestrales wie vokales Fest.

Dans cette production berlinoise décevante et faussement actuelle, seuls l'orchestre et la superstar Sonya Yoncheva parviennent à convaincre.

La mise en scène de Michael Thalheimer va à l’essentiel dans Macbeth, dernière production du mandat d'Aviel Cahn à la tête de l’Opéra de Flandre.

Ricarda Merbeth gibt eine markerschütternde Elektra in Patrice Chéreaus psychologischer Inszenierung.

Dramatismo, juegos sonoros orquestales, contrastes súbitos y un amplio desarrollo vocal tanto de los solistas como del coro fueron las fórmulas del éxito obtenido por David Afkham al frente de la Orquesta y Coro Nacional de España en una emotiva noche en el Festival de Granada.

Rara vez se aprecia un cuarteto solista tan compenetrado en el que los valores individuales están siempre dirigidos a favorecer la música en su conjunto, y en el que no sobresale uno sobre los otros por la amplitud de su timbre o de su gestualidad.

Warum Rimsky-Korsakows Oper nicht längst zum Kernrepertoire gehört, fragt man sich bei dieser glanzvolle Wiederaufnahme.

Simone Young machte diese Faust-Vorstellung zu einem musikalisch ergreifenden Erlebnis.