Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Emily Fons

The COC revival of its 2016 production of Le nozze di Figaro is still rooted in Claus Guth’s gloomy Scandinavia but it’s lightened up to become much sexier and funnier.

Leaving unresolved loose ends aside and viewed from a child’s perspective, Joel Ivany’s new Hänsel und Gretel at the Canadian Opera Company it’s a fun night at the opera.

Using the misogyny and violence of Rigoletto to hold up a mirror to contemporary corruption, Lindy Hume's production overcomes its inconsistencies with a vivid blend of theatrical and musical values. 

Baroque specialist Patrick Dupré Quigley shows impressive mastery of a large, modern ensemble in a smart performance of a period masterpiece.

Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro boasted a young, capable, and energetic cast, a lively staging, and an intimate venue to put it all across. 

Santa Fe Opera presented Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette in Stephen Lawless’ mid 19th-century staging, a co-production with Barcelona's Liceu. Before the overture, General Director Charles MacKay came onstage to announce that Stephen Costello was ill and would be replaced by Joshua Guerrero, a graduate of the Los Angeles Opera Young Artist Program.

Handel's Susanna at the Göttingen International Handel Festival is unforgettable, a revelation.

There was a nod to John Adams in the score, but also a kind of edgy Americana, complete with powerful writing for male chorus, and an attempt to communicate the flavor of rural North Carolina, not far from where Higdon grew up.

The production of Die Fledermaus currently onstage at the Lyric Opera is smart, goofy and not too fussed about keeping all its parts under tight control.

Although I never had the pleasure of attending Garsington Opera in its original setting in Garsington Manor, I was very impressed by their new premises at Wormsley, Buckinghamshire, with their spectacular-looking and also comfortable opera pavilion.

Pour l'ouverture de la saison de l'Opera de Lille, Antonello Allemandi et Jean Bellorini proposent une Cenerentola pleine de fantaisie et de mouvement. Une production très inspirée par l'univers cinématographique... et la bicyclette !