Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Elza van den Heever

The Met's revival of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's 1984 production of La clemenza di Tito is given a new breath of life with superb conducting and an excellent ensemble of singers.

"She commands the stage, she commands the notes, she commands the tension": Christine Goerke's portrayal of Elektra haunts The Met. 

Celebrating a courageous woman who is able to secure the release of her husband from prison, Beethoven’s sole opera Fidelio has music that is more compelling that its plot.

David Alden's staging of Alcina mines the rich theatricality of one of Handel's best-loved operas with enchanting but also perplexing results. 

Mozart's Idomeneo proved to be a challenge for some of the soloists initially but the superb orchestra under James Levine brought about a successful opening evening at the Met.

A brilliant revival of Donizetti's Maria Stuarda at The Met centres on the dramatic confrontation between Queen Elizabeth I and Mary Stuart at Fotheringhay. 

In a new production of Wagner's Lohengrin, conductor Simone Young and stage director Andreas Homoki, along with an extraordinary cast, engineered a superb performance.

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.

In the revival of David Alden's Peter Grimes at English National Opera, the singing is excellent, the orchestral performance is out of the top drawer and the staging hardly puts a foot wrong.

It was with great curiosity that I set off for the Barbican on Saturday night. I’ve never been to see an opera in the cinema before – I don’t think I’ve even sat through a pre-recorded film of an opera for many years, as I am a great fan of the “real thing”: opera performed live on stage.

What do you get when you have a woman being burnt on the stake and her daughter tosses a baby – the wrong baby – on the pyre? The correct answer is Giuseppe Verdi’s incredible melodrama Il Trovatore.The Canadian Opera Company’s production (borrowed from Opéra de Marseille) eschews melodramatic displays but does provide some thrills.

“It’s magic!” Whether through Disney cartoons, renowned illusionists, or smartphones, visual magic continues to delight contemporary audiences. Three hundred years ago in 18th-century London, audiences were stunned by Handel’s all-new operatic extravaganza Rinaldo, which not only featured a top-notch cast, but also the latest and greatest special effects.

Trotz aller Schwächen lohnt ein Besuch, auch wenn man manchmal beide Augen zudrücken muss.

Après sa tournée européenne, l’Orchestre national de Lyon fait son retour auprès de son public avec un programme mettant à l’honneur le majestueux orgue de l’Auditorium Maurice Ravel.

Stephen Gould brilliert bei seinem Rollendebüt an der Wiener Staatsoper mit einem stupenden Peter Grimes.

Un Verdi de toute beauté ! Avec Daniele Callegari à la baguette et Robert Carsen à la mise en scène.

In Frankfurt war er mit Puccinis Il trittico dank einer musikalisch ausgefeilten und szenisch-psychologisch stimmigen Präsentation garantiert.

Une mise en scène magistrale de Christopher Alden centrée autour de l’arbre sacré, sublime la performance d’Elza van den Heever qui interprète Norma pour la première fois.