Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Rupert Charlesworth

“How Excellent.”  The first words sung in Handel’s Saul are in praise of God and were first uttered in a performance nearly three centuries ago. But they apply equally to Claus Guth’s interpretation of the work staged by Theater an der Wien.

Glyndebourne welcome audiences back into the house with a one hour Offenbach operetta whose comedy and plot lines are thin but which still delights.

Simon McBurney's production of The Magic Flute continues to delight and this revival benefits from a strong cast, led by the superb Lucy Crowe as Pamina.

A glorious performance of Handel's Biblical oratorio is marred by poor staging.

It is a high order to mount a captivating performance of a work so widely known and performed as Handel's Messiah. 

Opera North's triumphant UK première production of Silent Night by Kevin Puts is directed at Leeds Town Hall by Tim Albery and conducted by Nicholas Kok.

Edward Dick directs a Tosca full of contemporary references with Opera North at Leeds Grand Theatre, Puccini's score conducted by Antony Hermus.

Lise Davidsen and Sabine Devieilhe produce soprano heaven in their contrasting vocal styles. Katie Mitchell’s staging feels disappointingly familiar.

A restless score, a stylish modern setting and gripping central performances from David Butt Philip (trading Laertes at the festival for the title role here) and Jennifer France (Ophelia) do much to commend this new work

A strange evening: superb Mozart playing from Rousset, plenty of fine singing, staging and costumes that one certainly isn’t going to forget. But what’s the point of it all?

Brockes-Passion is becoming not quite the performing rarity it once was, and this outstanding performance at the Göttingen Handel Festival this year could hardly be bettered.

Christopher Alden's account of Handel's love pentangle is long on Man Ray imagery and modern language wordplay, but never hits the vocal highs and eventually palls.

At the Theater an der Wien, director Mariame Clément and novelist Lucy Wadham have crafted innovative material that brings the old-fashioned lyrics to life in a coherent and contemporary dramatic setting.

The enterprising forces of Opera Settecento brought the nearly forgotten music of Hasse's Demetrio to the Cadogan Hall, and in the process showed that this composer can easily match his more popular contemporaries.

A pasticcio not seen since 1725, Elpidia contains some excellent music... even if it isn't by Handel!

A trip down memory lane sends our man in Aix into raptures as Robert Carsen's production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream comes home to Provence. 

Is Handel’s Semele an oratorio or an opera? Of course Handel himself called it an oratorio but some suggest it is the English-language opera that he never wrote. 

A fine new edition of Mozart's Requiem recieves its UK première, overshadowed by a trenchant Sibelius Fourth from Opera North under Jac van Steen.

For a composer of such undeniable genius and widespread popularity, it is strange that there aren’t too many opportunities to hear J.S. Bach’s cantatas performed live in concert.

Grand succès pour la reprise de cette production d'Alcina vue par Robert Carsen. Si le spectacle est désormais devenu un classique, la distribution réunie par l’Opéra de Paris réserve de très belles surprises.

Benjamin Brittens erste große Oper verschmilzt mit Christof Loys Inszenierung zu einem Gesamtkunstwerk.

Mit einer verwunschenen Inszenierung zieht Damiano Michielettos das Publikum im Theater an der Wien einmal mehr in seinen Bann.

In der Inszenierung von Claus Guth bestechen der Blick in menschliche Abgründe und Komik gleichermaßen. Jean-Christophe Spinosi dirigiert eine exzellente Besetzung und „Elektronik meets Originalklang“.