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Red-blooded performances from the three principals at Covent Garden, even if there are vocal misfires along the way. 

The Boston Symphony Orchestra led by Andris Nelsons performs Boulanger, Debussy and Puccini. 

All three operas in Puccini's triptych are strongly cast in this revival. 

After the UK première of Andris Dzenītis’ Māra and some Tchaikovsky operatic excerpts, the Gewandhaus returned to Mahler. 

Under Andris Nelsons' baton, the musical canvas was remarkably supple with proper light shed on Puccini’s melodic inventiveness and wondrous orchestration.

Andris Nelsons' Mozart–Shostakovich pairing allowed the Boston Symphony winds to take the spotlight in the first half, leaving the strings and limited percussion to their task in the second. 

The Dvořákʼs Prague Festival opens with an upbeat treatment of one of the composer's masterworks.

A Sunday afternoon program at Tanglewood introduced a young virtuoso and emphasized Mahler's Fourth Symphony's classicism.

The Llangollen International Eistedffod opens with a star-studded concert performance of Puccni's political/romantic thriller.  

The Metropolitan Opera's new produdtion of Rusalka fails to explore a deeper complexity of the fairy tale, although a strong ensemble of singers and the superb Met Orchestra make it a musically compelling performance.

Kristine Opolais may not pass so easily for an oriental 15 year old, but her Cio-Cio San deftly avoids Titipu stereotypes.

Semyon Bychkov continued to develop his noble synergy with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in exemplary Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, although Kristine Opolais made for a tepid debut.

Kristine Opolais joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky in its season-closing concert. 

Anthony Minghella's Madama Butterfly is still one of the best productions running at the Met at the moment, and Kristine Opolais was the dramatic star of the evening.

The Met's new production of Manon Lescaut with Kristine Opolais and Roberto Alagna has great potential to be successful musically, but the production is mixed at best.

Bavarian State Opera celebrate the opening of the 2015/16 season with Arrigo Boito's opera Mefistofele

Warlokowski's staging of Eugene Onegin for the Bayerische Staatsoper works from a bold premise: Onegin is gay. Strong musical and dramatic performances keep the concept coherent and interesting, but it ultimately doesn't convince.

Kristine Opolais offers a nuanced, moving Cio-Cio-San in a solid revival of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s sepia and cream production of Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera.

Neuenfels' production of Manon Lescaut for the Bayerische Staatsoper is strange but coherent. With a perfect cast and tight musical direction, this is about as good as Puccini opera gets.

The Bayerische Staatsoper's La clemenza di Tito features a bold staging, a talented cast of singer-actors, and a great orchestra. Time, place, and genders are all ambiguous, but none of that gets in the way of the story.

Zeffirelli's La Bohème at the Met never fails to charm. Balance issues aside, a beautifully sung performance by a very capable cast.

With the business situation in the recording industry being what it is, studio recordings of operas are more or less ruled out. The positive side of this is that the general public gets the chance to be part of concerts that are recorded and enjoy the tension such an event creates more often.

Few operas are as specific in time and place as Puccini's Tosca: the date is 17th June, 1800, shortly after the battle of Marengo (in which Napoleon Bonaparte wrested control of Northern Italy from Austria), while each of the three acts is located in a specific landmark in Rome: the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, the Palazzo Farnese and the Castel Sant'Angelo.

An old proverb names Munich as the northernmost city in Italy. As odd as this may seem, it makes some sense when considering the arches of the mock-Italian loggia in Odeonsplatz, modeled after the one in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

What makes this otherwise routine revival of Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser’s eight year old production an absolute must-see is the sensational Royal Opera House debut of Kristine Opolais in the title role. She is a statuesque Latvian blonde, barely transformed by her dark wig and geisha makeup.

Zwischen Jonathan Darlington und dem Staatsopernorchester stimmt an diesem Repertoireabend die Chemie.

Leider scheitern die guten Ideen des Regisseurs, Philipp Himmelmann, an der Umsetzung.

Die Berliner Philharmoniker und ein strahlendes Sängerensemble lassen Tosca auch ohne Szene wirken.

18 Jahre sind vergangen, seit das Boston Symphony Orchestra das letzte Mal in München gastierte. Nun präsentiert unter der Leitung von Chefdirigent Andris Nelsons ein außergewöhnlich farbenreiches Programm.

La production légendaire de Robert Carsen revient à l'Opéra de Paris, servie par un plateau soliste inégal.