Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | John Relyea

An unexpected bride in English National Opera’s Duke Bluebeard's Castle

By Dominic Lowe, 21 March 2024

A semi-staging of Bartók's tale of doors and brides at the Coliseum is saved from disaster when Jennifer Johnston steps in to sing Judith at very short notice, with the part gamely acted by Crispin Lord.

****1

Loading image...

****1

London

21 Mar 2024

An unexpected bride in ENO’s Duke Bluebeard's Castle

By Dominic Lowe

Loading image...

McBurney's delightfully batty Magic Flute returns to the Coliseum

By Susannah Moody, 28 February 2024

English National Opera brings back Simon McBurney's theatre of wonders for this Mozart classic.

****1

Loading image...

****1

London

28 Feb 2024

McBurney's delightfully batty Magic Flute returns to the Coliseum

By Susannah Moody

Loading image...

Lise Davidsen triumphs in first major Verdi role

By Mark Pullinger, 30 June 2023

The Norwegian soprano scores a major success at Covent Garden in her role debut as Elisabetta, whetting appetites for more Verdi to come.

****1

Loading image...

****1

London

30 Jun 2023

Lise Davidsen triumphs in first major Verdi role

By Mark Pullinger

Loading image...

Naples

Die Walküre in Naples: the age of gods is over

By Lorenzo Fiorito, 20 April 2023

Director Federico Tiezzi's production offered an intimate interpretation of the second opera in the Ring cycle.

****1

Loading image...

****1

Naples

20 Apr 2023

Die Walküre in Naples: the age of gods is over

By Lorenzo Fiorito

Loading image...

Lucid in music and narrative: ENO and Richard Jones’ The Rhinegold

By David Karlin, 18 February 2023

Martyn Brabbins conducts an excellent ENO orchestra and consistently good ensemble cast as Richard Jones delivers a wealth of narrative detail to introduce Wagner's Ring.

****1

Loading image...

****1

London

18 Feb 2023

Lucid in music and narrative: ENO's Rhinegold

By David Karlin

Loading image...

A new cast brings the Met's Rigoletto to life

By Kevin W Ng, 10 November 2022

Three major Metropolitan Opera debuts bring excitement and vocal glamour to this revival of Bartlett Sher's Rigoletto production.

****1

Loading image...

****1

New York City

10 Nov 2022

A new cast brings the Met's Rigoletto to life

By Kevin W Ng

Loading image...

A fine showing for the 1884 Italian version of Don Carlo at the Met

By Robert Levine, 07 November 2022

A revival for Sir David McVicar's staging from last season, but this time reverting from French to the four-act Italian version, conducted by Carlo Rizzi.

****1

Loading image...

****1

New York City

07 Nov 2022

A fine showing for the 1884 Italian version of Don Carlo at the Met

By Robert Levine

Loading image...

Keri-Lynn Wilson leads an irrepressible, snide, Lady Macbeth at the Met

By Robert Levine, 29 September 2022

Making her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, the wife of Met GM Peter Gelb crushes any talk of nepotism at the downbeat.

*****

Loading image...

*****

New York City

29 Sep 2022

Keri-Lynn Wilson leads an irrepressible Lady Macbeth at the Met

By Robert Levine

Loading image...

Allan Clayton dazzles in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Metropolitan Opera

By David Wolfson, 18 May 2022

Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Met is a worthy addition to the operatic canon, and the production is a treat.

*****

Loading image...

*****

New York City

18 May 2022

Allan Clayton dazzles in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Met

By David Wolfson

Loading image...

Musical excellence mired by stale new McVicar production in the Met's first French Don Carlos

By Ako Imamura, 28 February 2022

The Metropolitan Opera performs the original French version of Don Carlos for the first time with a distinguished ensemble of soloists, but the static production offers no new insights into the depth of Verdi's masterpiece.

****1

Loading image...

****1

New York City

28 Feb 2022

Musical excellence mired by stale production in the Met's Don Carlos

By Ako Imamura

Glyndebourne

Sweet immersion: a semi-staged Tristan und Isolde at Glyndebourne

By Dominic Lowe, 13 August 2021

For social distancing reasons, the Festival dispensed with a full staging of Wagner's epic love story, allowing singers and orchestra to share the stage in an able compromise.

****1

****1

Glyndebourne

13 Aug 2021

A semi-staged Tristan und Isolde at Glyndebourne

By Dominic Lowe

Dresden

Peter Konwitschny returns to the Semperoper with Les Huguenots

By Laura Servidei, 29 June 2019

John Osborn leads a very successful premiere of Peter Konwitschny's new production of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots in Dresden

****1

****1

Dresden

29 Jun 2019

Peter Konwitschny returns to the Semperoper with Les Huguenots

By Laura Servidei

Amsterdam

An exhilarating Nabucco at the Concertgebouw

By Nicolas Nguyen, 13 April 2019

Giancarlo Andretta conducts the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic and Choir and a fine team of soloists led by Tatiana Serjan's Abigaille into an exhilarating Nabucco.

*****

*****

Amsterdam

13 Apr 2019

An exhilarating Nabucco at the Concertgebouw

By Nicolas Nguyen

New York Philharmonic shines in a concert performance of Die Walküre

By Ako Imamura, 14 February 2018

New York Philharmonic, under the strong leadership of its incoming music director, demonstrated that they can perform opera as well as symphonies in an impressive performance of Act 1 of Die Walküre.

***11

***11

New York City

14 Feb 2018

New York Philharmonic shines in a concert performance of Die Walküre

By Ako Imamura

Boston

Hell and Damnation: Dutoit leads The Damnation of Faust with the Boston Symphony

By Kevin Wells, 26 October 2017

John Relyea owns the stage as Méphistophélès in Boston Symphony’s Faust.

****1

****1

Boston

26 Oct 2017

Dutoit leads The Damnation of Faust with the Boston Symphony

By Kevin Wells

Loading image...

Naples

An Old School staging for Simon Boccanegra in Naples

By Lorenzo Fiorito, 07 October 2017

A production which did not make a strong impression in Naples, despite a first rate cast.

***11

Loading image...

***11

Naples

07 Oct 2017

An Old School Boccanegra in Naples

By Lorenzo Fiorito

Philadelphia

Brilliant double bill of Swan Lake and Bluebeard's Castle in Philadelphia

By Ako Imamura, 03 March 2017

The Philadelphia Orchestra presented an exciting and fresh performance of Swan Lake selections and Bluebeard's Castle, led by its energetic music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

****1

****1

Philadelphia

03 Mar 2017

Brilliant double bill of Swan Lake and Bluebeard's Castle

By Ako Imamura

Musically outstanding, but an awkwardly staged Guillaume Tell at the Met

By Edward Sava-Segal, 21 October 2016

Fabio Luisi conducts a solidly cast Guillaume Tell with panache, Rossini's final opera returning to the Metropolitan Opera after a long absence.

***11

***11

New York City

21 Oct 2016

An awkwardly staged Guillaume Tell at the Met

By Edward Sava-Segal

Prom 25: Behind closed doors: Poetic drama from Dutoit in Bluebeard's Castle

By Kevin W Ng, 03 August 2016

Charles Dutoit and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra are the stars in a demanding programme of Dvořák and Bartók.

****1

****1

London

03 Aug 2016

Behind closed doors: Poetic Bluebeard's Castle

By Kevin W Ng

Clear singing, obscure production: Domingo and Monastyrska in Nabucco

By David Karlin, 06 June 2016

Liudmyla Monstyrska and John Relyea turn in strong performances and Plácido Domingo confirms his hallowed status, but Daniele Abbado's direction remains unappealing in this first revival.

***11

***11

London

06 Jun 2016

Nabucco: Clear singing, obscure production

By David Karlin

Wild dialogues: Bluebeard's Castle and La Voix humaine at the Palais Garnier

By Elodie Olson-Coons, 23 November 2015

A daring, fascinating pairing of two modern operas by Krzysztof Warlikowski in Paris.

****1

****1

Paris

23 Nov 2015

Wild dialogues at the Palais Garnier

By Elodie Olson-Coons

Light in August: Haydn's Creation closes Mostly Mozart Festival

By Sacha Evans, 21 August 2015

Haydn’s late, lofty achievement has the august quality of a masterwork, coupled with cheerfulness befitting a summer series that ends in the month of August.

***11

***11

New York City

21 Aug 2015

Light in August: Haydn's Creation in New York

By Sacha Evans

Sydney

Passion, sorrow and love: Tristan und Isolde in the Sydney Opera House

By Zoltán Szabó, 22 June 2015

A performance of Wagner’s epic Tristan und Isolde, a testimony for all-enduring love, is a welcome event anywhere in the world.

****1

****1

Sydney

22 Jun 2015

Passion, sorrow and love: Tristan und Isolde

By Zoltán Szabó

Chicago

As light falls, Tannhäuser finds its tone in Chicago

By Dan Wang, 09 February 2015

Amber Wagner sings Elisabeth with a deepened command and an access to a horizon of sound that make it seem as though her throat had found six more inches of release. It’s a phenomenal performance.

****1

****1

Chicago

09 Feb 2015

As light falls, Tannhäuser finds its tone in Chicago

By Dan Wang

Chicago

Stairway to bel canto heaven? Radvanovksy sings an ecstatic Anna Bolena in Chicago

By Dan Wang, 06 December 2014

American soprano Sondra Radvanovsky is the reason to see Anna Bolena, though the production provides plenty of other reasons to stay.

***11

***11

Chicago

06 Dec 2014

Stairway to bel canto heaven?

By Dan Wang

Munich

Edita Gruberova conquers Munich in Lucrezia Borgia

By Ako Imamura, 27 July 2014

67-year-old diva Edita Gruberova presents a devastating portrayal of a desperate mother supported by a strong cast in a stark modern production.

*****

*****

Munich

27 Jul 2014

Edita Gruberova's Lucrezia conquers Munich

By Ako Imamura

San Francisco

San Francisco Symphony's excellent semi-staging of Britten's Peter Grimes

By Jeffery S. McMillan, 26 June 2014

Music Director Michael Tilson Thomas deserves credit for this excellent semi-staged version of Britten's Peter Grimes performed with the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Symphony Hall.

****1

****1

San Francisco

26 Jun 2014

Excellent Peter Grimes in San Francisco

By Jeffery S. McMillan

An enchanting Rusalka at the Met Opera

By Rebecca Lentjes, 23 January 2014

Yannick Nézet-Séguin kept the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra sounding especially lively and cohesive in this revival of Otto Schenk's enchanting production of Rusalka, starring Renée Fleming as the water nymph and Piotr Beczala as her lover.

****1

****1

New York City

23 Jan 2014

Met Opera: Rusalka

By Rebecca Lentjes

120 years on: Meyerbeer's Robert le diable returns to Covent Garden

By David Karlin, 06 December 2012

Robert le diable’s 1831 opening was perhaps the most successful opera première of all time. Meyerbeer was lauded by luminaries like Chopin, Dumas, Balzac and Heinrich Heine, the opera was played in 69 cities in its first two years and spawned an entire genre of French Grand Opera.

****1

****1

London

06 Dec 2012

120 years on: Meyerbeer's Robert le diable returns to Covent Garden

By David Karlin

Vienna

Tales retold: Hoffmann restaged at the Theater an der Wien

By Zwölftöner, 06 July 2012

The venerable Viennese tradition of airing dirty operatic laundry in public found an unlikely proponent this season in the form of the Theater an der Wien’s mild-mannered director Roland Geyer, who, unhappy with William Friedkin’s production of The Tales of Hoffmann in March, abruptly sacked the American director and announced he would devise a new staging himself a matter of months before the sec

**111

**111

Vienna

06 Jul 2012

Tales retold: Hoffmann restaged at the Theater an der Wien

By Zwölftöner

Munich

A sobering Hoffmann

By Intermezzo, 12 November 2011

One of the questions this opera poses for any director is how to link the 'tales' of Hoffmann's three lost loves together and knit them satisfactorily into the Prologue and Epilogue.

****1

****1

Munich

12 Nov 2011

A sobering Hoffmann

By Intermezzo

The Met in HD, Cenerentola, 2009

By Katy S. Austin, 09 May 2009

Read our review of Cesare Lievi's production of Rossini's Cenerentola in its 2009 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

New York City

09 May 2009

The Met in HD, Cenerentola, 2009

By Katy S. Austin

The Met in HD, Macbeth, 2008

By Aksel Tollåli, 12 December 2008

Read our review of Adrian Noble's production of Macbeth by Verdi, in its 2008 HD broadcast from the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

New York City

12 Dec 2008

The Met in HD, Macbeth, 2008

By Aksel Tollåli

The Met in HD, La Damnation de Faust, 2008

By Bachtrack reviewer, 22 November 2008

Read our review of Robert Lepage's production of Berlioz's La Damnation de Faust in its 2008 roadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

New York City

22 Nov 2008

The Met in HD, La Damnation de Faust, 2008

By Bachtrack reviewer

The Met in HD, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, 2007

By Chanda VanderHart, 24 March 2007

Read our review of Bartlett Sher's production of Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia in its 2007 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

New York City

24 Mar 2007

The Met in HD, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, 2007

By Chanda VanderHart

Loading image...

Salzburg

Bayreuth-Feeling mit Yannick Nézet-Séguin bei den Salzburger Festspielen

By Isabella Steppan, 24 August 2025

Die Wiener Philharmoniker und Yannick Nézet-Séguin widmen sich bei den Salzburger Festspielen ganz exklusiv Richard Wagner – mit feinen Details, aber gemischten Sängerleistungen.

***11

Loading image...

***11

Salzburg

24 Aug 2025

Bayreuth-Feeling mit Nézet-Séguin bei den Salzburger Festspielen

By Isabella Steppan

Loading image...

Barcelona

La forza del destino a todo pulmón: el brío verdiano arrasa de nuevo en el Gran Teatre del Liceu

By Maria Sánchez, 09 November 2024

Una propuesta de Jean-Claude Auvray ya internacional, que triunfa en todos los escenarios en los que se programa. Nicola Luisotti puso el broche de oro a una orquestación cinemática.

****1

Loading image...

****1

Barcelona

09 Nov 2024

Una Forza del destino a todo pulmón en el Liceu

By Maria Sánchez

Loading image...

Le drôle de Don Giovanni de Claus Guth à l'Opéra Bastille

By Erwan Gentric, 13 September 2023

Excellents en Don Giovanni et Leporello, Peter Mattei et Alex Esposito s'illustrent dans une mise en scène convaincante de Claus Guth, malgré un penchant pour le giocoso au détriment du dramma. La direction d'Antonello Manacorda déçoit.

***11

Loading image...

***11

Paris

13 Sep 2023

Le drôle de Don Giovanni de Claus Guth à l'Opéra Bastille

By Erwan Gentric

Montreal

Ohne Stil nichts los: Nézet-Séguins misslungenes Debüt beim Festival Bach Montréal

By Jens Klier, 06 December 2020

Das vorzüglich auf Barock getrimmte Orchester trägt nicht über den sehr durchwachsenen Chor und die rätselhafte Deplatzierung der Solisten hinweg.

**111

**111

Montreal

06 Dec 2020

Ohne Stil nichts los: Nézet-Séguins Debüt beim Festival Bach Montréal

By Jens Klier

Toulouse

Une Damnation de Faust 100% toulousaine à la Halle aux Grains

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer, 22 February 2019

Sous la direction de Tugan Sokhiev, l'Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse proposent une interprétation puissante et minutieuse de La Damnation de Faust. Au sein du plateau vocal, les Chœurs de l'institution toulousaine se distinguent.

****1

****1

Toulouse

22 Feb 2019

Une Damnation de Faust 100% toulousaine à la Halle aux Grains

By Arnaud Saura-Ziegelmeyer

Lyon

À Lyon, le déroutant Mefistofele de la Fura Dels Baus

By Pierre Liscia-Beaurenaut, 11 October 2018

L'Opéra de Lyon a le vent en poupe, multipliant depuis quelques années les programmations audacieuses. Lever de rideau avec un Mefistofele déroutant, mis en scène par Àlex Ollé.

***11

***11

Lyon

11 Oct 2018

À Lyon, le déroutant Mefistofele de la Fura Dels Baus

By Pierre Liscia-Beaurenaut

Quebec

La Flûte réenchantée de Robert Lepage au Festival d’opéra de Québec

By Emmanuel Bernier, 02 August 2018

La très attendue mise en scène de La flûte enchantée de Mozart au Festival d'opéra de Québec a valu un triomphe au metteur en scène Robert Lepage, qui a procédé à un véritable dépoussièrage de l'œuvre.

****1

****1

Quebec

02 Aug 2018

La Flûte réenchantée de Robert Lepage au Festival d’opéra de Québec

By Emmanuel Bernier

Sexe, mensonges et vidéo : le diptyque Barbe-Bleue – La Voix Humaine séduit toujours Garnier

By Suzanne Lay-Canessa, 17 March 2018

Reprise magistrale de la production signée Krzysztof Warlikowski, avec John Relyea, Ekaterina Gubanova et la majestueuse Barbara Hannigan.

*****

*****

Paris

17 Mar 2018

Le diptyque Barbe-Bleue – La Voix Humaine séduit toujours Garnier

By Suzanne Lay-Canessa