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Sir Mark Elder celebrates 50 years at Covent Garden by returning to his first opera there in 1976 – Verdi's Rigoletto – in a revival of Oliver Mears' excellent 2021 production.

The second revival of Richard Jones' staging of Mussorgsky's original 1869 version of Boris Godunov once again stars the Welsh knight. 

Richard Eyre’s 32-year-old production is rarely out of The Royal Opera’s repertoire for more than a few months at a time, but this particular revival proves very special. 

It premiered in the same year as Mozart's opera, but Gazzaniga's Don Giovanni is virtually unknown. Despite the best efforts of an energetic student cast it doesn't come close to hitting the heights that Mozart and Da Ponte reached.

An opportunity to hear one of Respighi's operas in the UK is a real treat; the composer's take on Sleeping Beauty, La bella dormente nel bosco, is an ideal companion to to Ravel's  L'Enfant et les sortilèges in a terrific double bill at the Royal College of Music.