Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Sebastian Holecek

Laurence Equilbey makes a convincing case for a younger, fresher Fidelio played on period instruments.

Here was the much-loved three-act opera Rigoletto, yes, but chances are, it was one far beyond Verdi’s wildest dreams.

The outstanding trio of Nylund, Stemme and Herlitzius soars above a Vienna State Opera Orchestra in thunderous form, led by Christian Thielemann to celebrate the Staatsoper's 150th birthday in style.

Realism elbows aside romanticism in this dark departure from a star-studded tradition.

A musical performance of stunning quality underpins this revival of Krzysztof Warlikowski's lavish, ambiguous Strauss staging.

Holten's masonic lodge setting of Meistersinger gets a lot right but is occasionally uneven; Terfel and Hughes Jones are constantly good to listen to.

Released from the incarceration of directorial prison walls, Fidelio can still make a most powerful impact on the concert platform.

Nina Stemme leads a successful revival of the Schenk production with a brilliant orchestra led by a passionate Ádám Fischer.

The Bayerische Staatsoper's production of Hänsel und Gretel is successful both musically and dramatically, but don't come expecting a charming fairy tale: This eerie staging is not for the very young or the faint of heart.

Jaquino dons the coat of the ousted Pizarro in this Volksoper production of Fidelio, clearly indicating that just as one evil head has been (literally) cut off, another is growing in its place… 

Wagnerians who are unfamiliar with the subtle humour of German humourist Loriot might sneer at the mere thought of paying to hear a version of the tetralogy that is cut by about 80% of the total score, but this was not the case with the regular Viennese Ring-goers who filled this performance. And judging from the applause, it was a worthwhile experience for them as well as for Wagner rookies.

How, I wonder, is it best for an opera company to treat a revival of a well-aired, well-liked, decent but not particularly radical production of a top ten opera? This was what the Royal Opera had to contend with in this season’s revival of David McVicar’s 2003 setting of Die Zauberflöte: many in the audience will have known every note of the opera, and several will have been thoroughly familiar wi

Humperdinck called his greatest hit a “Kinderstubenweihfestspiel” (a festival play for the consecration of the nursery) and the course of time has proven this joke appropriate: while Parsifal around Easter is the high point of the year for Wagnerians, Hänsel und Gretel at Christmastime is for everybody (including all those who claim they can’t stand Wagner and ignore the influence he had on Humpe

Obwohl Sebastian Holecek als Titelheld beeindruckte, blieb Alexander Borodins Oper in einer eindimensionalen Inszenierung mit durchwachsener musikalischer Umsetzung insgesamt blass.