A committed cast make this a beautifully performed ensemble piece in which the tragedy of young love cut short by untimely disease is compellingly put across.
The ninth revival of Jonathan Kent’s production features a great Act 1 and enjoyable Covent Garden role debuts for the three top singers, but misses the mark on the set pieces.
Henrik Nánási balances the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House to perfection, setting the stage for a memorable title role performance from Byström and a powerful Jochanaan from Michael Volle.
A mural depicting Etna erupting is the only hint of Sicily in Stefan Herheim’s opulent staging, returning to Covent Garden for the first time since the Royal Opera’s Verdi bicentenary celebrations in 2013.
After his affectionate treatment of La fanciulla del West for ENO and his devastating Suor Angelica for the Royal Opera, Richard Jones’ new La bohème is disappointingly bland.
Two years ago, Russian soprano Ekaterina Bakanova was thrust into her Royal Opera debut, stepping in at short notice as Violetta. Her triumph was enough for the powers that be to offer her a run of five performances this month.
Ermonela Jaho sure likes to put herself (and us) through the emotional wringer on Covent Garden's stage. This time, London finally got to see her as another tragic Puccini heroine: Madama Butterfly.
Renée Fleming has decided the time is right to bow out gracefully from the operatic stage, choosing her signature role to bid the fondest of farewells to London.
When an enormous black gondola creaks and shudders its way across the stage in the “Giulietta' act of the Royal Opera's Tales of Hoffmann, it acts as a metaphor for John Schlesinger's venerable production.
Bryn Terfel and Sir Antonio Pappano brought their excellent interpretation of the 1869 version of Mussorgsky's seminal opera to the Royal Albert Hall for a one-off revival.
Tim Albery's 2010 production of Tannhäuser, receiving its first revival at Covent Garden, begins with a stylish opening 20 minutes, but thereafter things become rather bland.
Saffron Opera Group's opening salvo bodes exceptionally well for their planned full cycle of concert performances of Wagner's Ring over the next two years.
Jane Archibald and Ruxandra Donose provide a compelling prologue to Ariadne auf Naxos, while Karita Mattila's majestic performance lights up the opera seria second half.
Leah Hausman's revival of David McVicar's production allows the comedy to stem from the situations set up by Mozart and da Ponte... aided by Erwin Schrott's witty Figaro.
Kristine Opolais offers a nuanced, moving Cio-Cio-San in a solid revival of Moshe Leiser and Patrice Caurier’s sepia and cream production of Madama Butterfly at the Royal Opera.
Royal Opera’s first rival of Anna Nicole opens to an enthusiastic student audience. Eva-Maria Westbroek dazzles, but second time round the work seems even more burned by its clumsy libretto.
This BAM production of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd, imported from Glyndebourne, achieves the rare distinction of making a great performance out of a decidedly mediocre work.
The silence at the end of the concert said it all. To have plunged the attention of the entire Royal Albert Hall into utter silence for a whole minute after the music has finished was an impressive feat. Such was the audience response to Mark Padmore’s closing walk down the back of the stage, as Captain Vere.
There's no such thing as a perfect comic opera, and I know it's wrong to describe any work of art as perfect. But seeing Mozart and da Ponte's Le Nozze di Figaro last night, I found this a difficult principle to accept: this opera is about as close as you can get.Many operas have a slew of memorable tunes; many have opportunities for singers to show off their qualities.
Ever since the Royal Opera House announced that two performances of its summer revival of Jonathan Kent's production of Tosca would feature an all-star cast, opera lovers all over the world have been desperately trying to get their hands on a golden ticket.
The concept of freedom is at the heart of Opera North's current production of Fidelio. As soon as you open your programme, you are encouraged by the company's General Director Richard Mantle to consider Beethoven's only opera as having something to say about the struggle for liberty that has been taking place in the Middle East over the past few months.“Opera is perfectly placed to convey the personal experiences of individuals caught up in larger social or political events,” he writes, and it is easy to see why Fidelio, with its prison setting and eventual triumph of good over evil, lends itself particularly well to a comparison with contemporary global events.
