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Illusion – theatrical illusion – is the theme of Pierre Audi's staging of Alcina, Handel’s beloved opera which finally makes its debut in Rome. 

Conducted by Iván Fischer, a strong cast delivers an entertaining performance of Monteverdi's opera in a production that amuses, but does not quite thrill.

Il re pastore seems to be a work that deserves to be included in the repertoire for its undoubted qualities and not only because it foreshadows the genius of the works that will follow.

The imaginative baroque architecture of the Buontalenti Grotto in Palazzo Pitti Boboli Gardens is an inert background to the action in this reprise of one of the first operas.

The final opera in Sir John Eliot Gardiner's Monteverdi 450 trilogy features an excellent cast and inspires deep emotion.

Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, the second opera of the Monteverdi 450 trilogy being toured by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, had a strong performance in Salzburg.

Concerto Italiano excels performing Baroque music, especially the works of Monteverdi. This year it highlights L’Orfeo in its 410th year, and does it exceptionally well.

The two Danieles – Gatti and Abbado – triumphed in the final opera of the 78th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, with a heavenly new production of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande.

A musically convincing production of Niccolò Jommelli's L'isola disabitata, but with too many pretentious stage ideas.

Pared-down sets and minimal stagework draw eyes and ears forward in concentration. Whilst the text is at times searingly erotic, Nero and Poppea never touch.

Wie Pur ti miro lange Zeit als Ohrwurm melodiert, so wird die gesamte Mammutproduktion immerwährenden Nachhall und Eindruck in der langen und großen Erfolgsgeschichte Gardiners Monteverdi-Exegese hinterlassen.

Was lange währt, wird ziemlich gut: Sir John Eliot Gardiner und seine Montverdis überzeugen mit dem Premieren-Ulisse in Berlin.

Die beiden Protagonisten (Poppea und Nerone) sind ausgezeichnete Sänger. Sie wurden stimmlich nur von Marianna Pizzolato als Ottavia überschattet, mehr noch vom mächtigen Bass von Gianluca Buratto als Seneca.