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Tobias Kratzer's prelude to this new Ring cycle exceeds all expectations and scores a musical-theatrical success.

Deutsche Oper Berlin returns in rousing style with a pared-down, open-air Rheingold on its “Parkdeck”.

Laurence Cummings conducting the FestspielOrchester Göttingen and the NDR Chor, with an exemplary suite of vocal soloists, but a slightly problematic venue, sweep all before them in the Handel Festival of 2020.

Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel has appeal for all ages, but Robert Carsen’s production is a different take on the beloved fairy tale.

Barrie Kosky's punchy, visually exhilarating take on Saul, with Iestyn Davies as a sublime David, makes for a powerful evening of drama at Glyndebourne.

Stage director Ole Anders Tandberg casts Carmen as the leader of a gang of human organ dealers.

The production was interesting but at times distracting, but the musical performances triumphed. 

There are several things wrong with the new Robert Carsen directed Der Rosenkavalier that just opened at the Met, but the singing is not among them.

Visually inconsistant but some mesmerising perfromances in Kirsten Harms' production. 

Barrie Kosky’s new Macbeth is devoid of riff-raff, shrill costumes and anything trivial. Instead, it’s a feast for the imagination, a case for modern opera at its very best. 

A modern updating of Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India? Vera Nemirova's stylish production of Meyerbeer's Grand Opéra works inteligently for the most part. 

An audience dominated by families enjoys Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel as the Deutsche Oper gives a demonstration of how to build the audiences of the future.

Michaela Kaune, Albert Pesendorfer, Eun Yee You and Elīna Garanča transported the audience to a lost time and place, even while embodying their characters’ ultimate timelessness. 

A strong cast headed by Peter Seiffert perform in this visually appealing Tannhäuser at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, where Markus Brück excels as Wolfram and Petra Maria Schnitzer takes on the role of the temptress Venus and the saintly Elisabeth.

Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos amuses in a concert version put on by the Deutsche Oper at the Philharmonie in Berlin, with good performances from Meagan Miller (Ariadne) and Susanne Elmark (Zerbinetta).

Vittorio Grigolo and Ekaterina Gubanova star in Massenet's Werther in concert form with the Deutsche Oper Berlin. 

Deutsche Oper Berlin’s Billy Budd, although musically satisfying, suffers through an ambiguously set production. 

Christof Loy’s new production of Falstaff for the Deutsche Oper Berlin is a conundrum. While the opera itself tells a story of comeuppance, Loy’s production seemed to be about the positive physical effects of playing pranks on your neighbors.

Wagner famously idealized the concept of the “Gesamtkunstwerk”, a total work of art that incorporates many artistic media into a single piece. He would have appreciated Seattle Opera’s production of Götterdämmerung.

Some Ring cycles are based on ideological concepts; Seattle Opera’s current Ring cycle is based on a place. That place is the Pacific Northwest of the United States, home to such extraordinary natural beauty that stage director Stephen Wadsworth has deemed it fit for the gods.

Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal began their collaboration on Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without a Shadow) with utopian ambitions. Unfortunately they weren’t the same ones. For Hofmannsthal, this would finally be the opera where his poetry would be illuminated by rather than buried under the music.

Echt brechtig: Zum Ereignis wird es für all jene, die das Erlebnis vor den Hörgenuss stellen.

Christian Thielemann und die Staatskapelle Dresden geben bei den Osterfestspielen einen gebührenden Abschied.

Mis en scène par Kirsten Harms, Tannhäuser s'avère inégal. Se distinguent Ante Jerkunica (en Landgrave royal) et Camilla Nylund, formidable dans sa double interprétation de Venus/Elisabeth.

Der langersehnte Herheim-Ring kann nun endlich mit einem aufschlussreichen und spannend erzählten Rheingold beginnen.

Opéra fort peu connu d’Eugen d’Albert, Tiefland inaugure la nouvelle saison lyrique du Théâtre du Capitole servi par un plateau vocal international et convaincant. 

Bei einer Inszenierung, die nicht für jeden aufgeht, bietet diese Produktion viel Freude für die Ohren.