Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Robin Blaze

It is a high order to mount a captivating performance of a work so widely known and performed as Handel's Messiah. 

Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria tells one of the world’s great stories. This production is a treat for early opera fans and a great introduction for those new to the genre.

Masaaki Suzuki and the Bach Collegium Japan deliver a generally satisfying Mass in B minor.

Masaaki Suzuki leads Bach Collegium Japan in delicate renderings of the Orchestral Suite no.3, the Double Concerto and the Magnificat that convince more in the slower passages.

It was no Christmas miracle, but the OSM's technically strong Bach concert brought a dignified kind of cheer to the most wonderful time of the year.

With Lawrence Zazzo's spectacular counter-tenor voice, Handel's Orlando finds an ideal interpreter.

As a highlight of this year's London Handel Festival, the composer's rarely heard oratorio Deborah was given a strong and committed performance by Laurence Cummings and a fine cast.

All too often opera in concert is presented in its most basic format, without the theatricality and staging so characteristic to its execution. However, when a presentation comes along from the likes of The King’s Consort, you can be sure that justice will be served, even without the smoke and mirrors we’ve all grown to love.

Few concert programmes can feature such different works based on the same inspiration, but the BBC Philharmonic managed the intricacies of Bach and the grandeur of Bruckner with great success. The biggest tragedy of the evening was the audience: the whole top tier of seating was closed, and the stalls were barely half full.On his appointment as Kantor of the Leipzig Thomaskirche in 1723, J.S.

The International Wimbledon Music Festival is only in its fourth year, and yet it has world-class musicians coming to perform in SW19. The standard of music making on this opening night was second to none, and the quality matched that of some of London’s biggest venues.

Handel’s Jephtha is an oratorio, rather than an opera. However, the story is one of high drama and emotion, and thus the work lends itself easily to operatic adaptation.

This charity concert (supporting the Cots for Tots appeal) filled St George’s Bristol with the sound of J.S. Bach’s Mass in B minor. There was passion in the performance of the St Michael’s orchestra and chorus, which was made up of a combination of doctors and volunteers.

On Saturday, Philippe Herreweghe conducted the season’s most solemn yet spectacular oratorio concert in New York – a performance of J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. Scored for two choirs, two orchestras, and soloists, this almost operatic depiction of Christ’s Passion was performed by Herreweghe’s Collegium Vocale Gent Choir and Orchestra.

A year after the first performance of his St John Passion, Bach made several significant alterations that divert the emphasis of the work away from Christ’s final triumph over death, focusing instead on human sinfulness.

As Christmas is quickly approaching, it is only fair to take advantage of some of the musical gifts and traditions that accompany this festive season. Handel's Messiah is one of the most widely-known sacred oratorios, most commonly recognized by its Hallelujah chorus. However, Handel's Messiah, was not always regarded as a popular work for the Christmas season.

The third day of the 27th Lufthansa Festival of Baroque Music's journey from Hanseatic to Adriatic stopped off in the spiritual Catholic/Protestant borders of Germany in the latter half of the 17th Century for an intimate session entitled "Life and Soul", which turned out to be a resoundingly cheerful evening, despite all the prayers and laments.

For lovers of choral music, a Bach Passion or Handel’s Messiah are as much part of Easter as chocolate eggs, and this year’s musical treat at the Sage Gateshead was Bach’s St John Passion, played by Northern Sinfonia with debut guest conductor Matthew Hall.

Easter wouldn't be complete without a performance of the St Matthew Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach's epic and intense interpretation of the crucifixion.

Mark Padmore est aujourd’hui l’un des Évangélistes les plus renommés et expérimentés de la scène internationale. Pour ce concert qu'il dirige aussi il a choisi un effectif de 16 chanteurs pour l'ensemble des parties vocales.