Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Brian Castles-Onion

Paradise is lost and greed is good in this stunning retelling of Puccini's ageless opera.

Fireworks, party boats, Violetta swooping from a giant chandelier: soprano Stacey Alleaume triumphs in this magnificent restaging of Francesca Zambello's spectacular waterfront La traviata.  

Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour returns with La bohème, in a fine production by Andy Morton, with star turns from Iulia Maria Dan and Ho-Yoon Chung in the lead roles.

An outstanding cast headed by Karah Son in the title role provides a fitting send off for Opera Australia’s much-loved production of Madama Butterfly in Sydney

Manuel de Falla’s rarely performed La Vida Breve and Giacomo Puccini’s comic Gianni Schicchi are quite contrasting mini-operas, united by common threads of deception and the clash of class distinction.

Chinese dragons, Dalek-like pagoda towers: Opera Australia's harbour-side production of Turandot did not shy away from oriental imagery, leading to a spectacular evening's entertainment.

Camels, fireworks, and a gigantic head of Nefertiti: the Sydney Harbour production of Aida is not short on spectacle. Among the cast, Latonia Moore is outstanding in the title role, with good support from Miljana Nikolic as Amneris and Michael Honeyman as Amonasro.

Àlex Ollé's harbour production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly for Opera Australia is attractive and thought-provoking, with strong performances from Hiromi Omura and Georgy Vasiliev.

There can be fewer more idyllic places in the world to see an opera. Behind the floating stage was Sydney’s harbour bridge and opera house; to the left, the lights of the central business district; and to the right, the glittering lights of the Northern Shore and the occasional ferry making its way to Circular Quay.

I could not have asked for a more magical setting in which to watch Verdi's La Traviata. In front of me was the floating stage, surrounded by gently rippling water glistening in the evening moonlight. On the left rose the buildings of Sydney's central business district, while on my right was the beautiful harbour bridge and opera house.

After the untimely passing of Salvatore Licitra, touted the “new Pavarotti”, in a motor-scooter accident earlier this month, I hardly dare suggest anyone as potential successor to the lyric tenor of the finest Italian tradition, lest he be jinxed. Yet, I would be doing a great disservice to Mexican tenor Diego Torre if I didn’t even make a passing mention of his possible candidacy.