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Here was the much-loved three-act opera Rigoletto, yes, but chances are, it was one far beyond Verdi’s wildest dreams.

Zubin Mehta conducts Verdi's Otello in an iconic Robert Wilson production of stylized theater where less is more. The effect was mesmerizing.  

Herheim places the composer at the centre of his opera in a staging that's clever and erudite but somewhat cold; musical performances are mixed.

Traditionally, Italy's most unforgiving loggionisti are reputed to reside at Parma's Teatro Regio. Thankfully for the cast, they appear to be a dying breed.

A suggestive staging barely supported by the musical side

The role of the outsider struck a chord with Tchaikovsky, whose homosexuality alienated him from society. Stefan Herheim takes that identification as the central idea in his remarkable new production at Dutch National Opera.

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.

In his production of La traviata for the Swedish Royal Opera, Kasper Holten puts Violetta in a strip club and on the streets. Both the staging and the music are excellent, though the cast's acting is uneven.

El estreno de este Il pirata prometía ser el evento vocal de la temporada y, tan solo en cierta medida, ha colmado las esperanzas de disfrutar de otra noche para la historia.

Leo Nucci volvió a hacer un Rigoletto rebosante de carisma e intensidad, junto al que un brillante reparto supo destacar, con el apoyo de la enorme calidad de la Orquesta de la Comunidad Valenciana y una ágil batuta de Roberto Abbado.

Una inteligente escena a cargo de Mario Gas, que recrea un rodaje hollywoodiense en la década de los años treinta, y una cuidada dirección de orquesta a cargo de Marco Armiliato han puesto en el escenario del Real una magnífica versión de Madama Butterfly, protagonizada por Ermonela Jaho la cual brilló en técnica y en actuación.