Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Charles Davis

Nicole Car makes her role debut as Dvořák's Rusalka in a production by Sarah Giles that proves a winner. 

Bangarra Dance Theatre's 2025 commissioned work reclaims space and offers ambitious visuals, but sacrifices intimacy. 

Emotions on stage are matched by those rising from the pit as Sarah Giles' popular production returns to Sydney. 

The Australian Ballet presents a diverse double bill of contemporary and classical dance, including its first major work from choreographer in residence Stephanie Lake. Unfortunately, only the classical piece exhilarates.

Sarah Giles' new production replaces Elijah Moshinsky's venerable staging, and the talented cast delivers a successful performance. 

Erin Helyard and his cast bring terrifically strong musical values to Charpentier's Médée, but Justin Way's production falters. 

Perhaps Pinchgut Opera's finest production to date, a brave presentation of a classic Baroque opera, little heard in Australia apart from Handel, benefits from the star presence of Vivca Genaux in splendid form.

Pinchgut Opera's L'incoronazione di Poppea is a glorious feast of singing, acting and playing but the production is brutal, taking Monteverdi's vision of corruption in high places to excessive lengths.

Mary Finsterer has managed a musical melange that crosses effortlessly and delightfully from the Renaissance to today. If only Tom Wright's book and libretto had been a match, this would have been a work worth taking to the world.