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John Brancy (Onegin) and Verity Wingate (Tatyana) © James Glossop

Half-baked direction mars a musically splendid Eugene Onegin for Opera North

By Mark Valencia, 9 October 2026

Opera North dips a toe into the murky pond of ‘director’s theatre’, but sadly, theirs is a concept from the shallow end that barely wets its ankles.

***11

***11

Leeds

9 Oct 2026

Half-baked direction mars a musically splendid Onegin for Opera North

By Mark Valencia

Andrés Presno (Cavaradossi) and Natalya Romaniw (Tosca) © Dafydd Owen

Southampton

A magnificent Tosca from Welsh National Opera at the Mayflower

By David Truslove, 3 October 2025

WNO imports Edward Dick’s exceptionally fine production, which benefits from from superb casting and outstanding performances led by Natalya Romaniw.

*****

*****

Southampton

3 Oct 2025

A magnificent Tosca from Welsh National Opera at the Mayflower

By David Truslove

Charles Castronovo (Gustavus III) © Ken Howard | Met Opera

New York City

The Met's Ballo falls flat in its latest revival

By Kevin W Ng, 31 October 2023

An attractive supporting cast isn't sufficient to bring this revival of David Alden's Ballo in maschera to life in New York.

**111

**111

New York City

31 Oct 2023

The Met's Ballo falls flat in its latest revival

By Kevin W Ng

Giselle Allen (Tosca) and Robert Hayward (Scarpia) © James Glossop

Leeds

Opera North revives its taut, terrific Tosca

By Mark Valencia, 21 January 2023

The director Edward Dick and his designer, Tom Scutt, alternate between realistic and expressionistic images in their creation of grim spectacle.

****1

****1

Leeds

21 Jan 2023

Opera North revives its taut, terrific Tosca

By Mark Valencia

Alresford

Kilts in the library: Macbeth opens The Grange Festival

By Dominic Lowe, 9 June 2022

Murder in the library? No, this isn't a re-run of Poirot, but a new production of Verdi's Macbeth to open The Grange Festival's 2022 season.

***11

***11

Alresford

9 Jun 2022

Kilts in the library: Macbeth opens The Grange Festival

By Dominic Lowe

Washington

Russell Thomas shines in David Alden's gloomy Otello staging in Washington DC

By Vishnu Bachani, 26 October 2019

The combination of a strong, spirited cast and a first-rate orchestral performance led by Daniele Callegari rendered the opera a moving experience in spite of drab staging and latent, unexplored tensions.

***11

***11

Washington

26 Oct 2019

Russell Thomas shines in gloomy David Alden's Otello

By Vishnu Bachani

Glasgow

Reality TV Dido and Aeneas finds resonance with Trouble in Tahiti at RCS

By David Smythe, 2 March 2019

In the unlikeliest of pairings at RCS, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas finds resonance with Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, delivered with spirited commitment.

****1

****1

Glasgow

2 Mar 2019

Dido and Aeneas and Trouble in Tahiti at RCS

By David Smythe

Madrid

Mariella Devia, Queen of Spiders: Roberto Devereux at Teatro Real

By Fernando Remiro, 22 September 2015

In the opening night of Teatro Real's new season, Mariella Devia proved why she is one of the best bel canto singers of the last decades.

****1

****1

Madrid

22 Sept 2015

Mariella Devia, Queen of Spiders

By Fernando Remiro

Maria Agresta (Desdemona) © Javier del Real | Teatro Real

Madrid

¡Ecco De León! Segundo reparto de Otello en el Teatro Real

By Aaron Vincent, 20 September 2025

Jorge de León, en el rol titular, dominó la escena en el segundo reparto de la producción de Otello que abre la temporada del Real.

****1

****1

Madrid

20 Sept 2025

¡Ecco De León! Segundo reparto de Otello en el Teatro Real

By Aaron Vincent

Asmik Grigorian (Desdemona), Brian Jagde (Otello) © Javier del Real | Teatro Real

Madrid

Vuelve Otello al Real, con más tibieza que pathos

By Leonardo Mattana Ereño, 19 September 2025

El Teatro Real abre la temporada con la producción de David Alden de Otello en la que brillaron la dirección de Nicola Luisotti y la actuación de Asmik Grigorian, pero con un resultado general algo tibio.

***11

***11

Madrid

19 Sept 2025

Vuelve Otello al Real, con más tibieza que pathos

By Leonardo Mattana Ereño

Lyon

Victoire pour l'Opéra de Lyon et Yoshi Oida avec le War Requiem

By Camille Grimaud, 9 October 2017

Plus de quarante ans ont passé depuis la dernière représentation du War Requiem de Britten à Lyon ! Saluons l'Opéra de Lyon pour une nouvelle production remarquable.

*****

*****

Lyon

9 Oct 2017

Victoire pour l'Opéra de Lyon et Yoshi Oida avec le War Requiem

By Camille Grimaud