Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Pietro Spagnoli

Emilio Sagi’s brightly lit but simplistic staging of Il viaggio a Reims moves the action from northern France to a sunny spa hotel in warmer climes.

Daniela Barcellona and Jessica Pratt lead a strong cast in an emotional and elegant performance of the first opera seria by Rossini under the expert baton of Roberto Abbado. 

Mark Lamos' staging is a riot of colour and movement; George Souglides gives us a masterclass in costumery; fine Italian singing illuminates this Norwegian première for Rossini's madcap Il turco in Italia.

An opera that pokes fun at opera seria? An opera that features backstage preparations for a show, followed by an opera within an opera? No, it’s not Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. 

Donizetti's La Fille du régiment brings much needed joy to the Teatro Real, with Javier Camarena's astonishing voice and Aleksandra Kurzak's unapologetic tomboy mesmerising the audience.

The Met’s playful production of Rossini’s great, loveable and busy La Cenerentola is back and in excellent hands. Joyce DiDonato's Cinderella, singing the role at the Met for the first time is perfect.

For frothy entertainment, Pelly’s Fille is harmless fun, even if it descends into pantomime cliché. Juan Diego Flórez’s Tonio ensures it remains a hot ticket and Patrizia Ciofi’s Marie is a bundle of energy.

In La rondine’s climactic scene, when Magda explains to her young lover Ruggero why she believes she must leave him, Puccini sets their exchange to one of the most hackneyed of all musical formulas: the cycle of fifths.

When Jean-Christophe Spinosi stepped onto the podium to conduct Le Comte Ory that night, he didn’t wait for his applause to cease, but instantly cued a hearty forte from the Ensemble Matheus, and consequently a few incredulous looks from the audience.

For its 40th anniversary, the Hong Kong Arts Festival chose Mozart’s Così fan tutte as its main opera offering. Whatever you may call it – opera buffa, comedy of manners, or “dramma giocoso” – Mozart’s lovely music makes Così fan tutte wonderful entertainment.

Tras trece años, la ópera que combina romanticismo y humor volvió a la capital chilena, con un montaje donde destacó lo cómico, unido a un bien logrado resultado musical. 

L’œuvre de Rossini donnait l’occasion à la mise en scène (Laura Scozzi) d’explorer les réminiscences contemporaines offertes par le livret d’Angelo Anelli. L’angle choisi est celui des relations, plutôt conflictuelles et violentes entre hommes et femmes.

Un Così fan tutte tan afortunado como inquietante de la mano de J. Pons y D. Michieletto