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Stefano Poda's staging has its own coherence, but it is as cold as the Chinese princess. 

The libretto had a troubled genesis, to say the least: seven people put their hand on it! But the rich melodic invention of the composer prevailed and the success was resounding.

The unclear ideas and the excessive blackness in Thalheimer’s concept failed to convince, but Stoyanov and Joel’s presentation of Verdi’s score made up for those problems.

Roberto De Simone's staging evokes a fabulous out-of-time China, and perfectly accompanies the majesty of Puccini’s last and unfinished opera. De Simone chooses to stop the opera at the point of Puccini's death, without Franco Alfano's finale.

Attendees of last night's Aida may have been concerned that they would be seeing a stand-in soprano, with the Ukranian Liudmyla Monastyrska making her Covent Garden debut. They needn't have worried. Monastyrska gave a world class performance with great vocal control and huge power.

Sérieuse et sans condescendance, profitant d'un plateau vocal de premier plan, la mise en scène de Damiano Michieletto séduit le public bruxellois.