Live, Video: Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews | Siobhan Stagg

Siobhan Stagg is an outstanding Susanna in a strongly cast and well produced Marriage of Figaro at the Sydney Opera House

At Staatsoper Hamburg, Unsuk Chin’s new opera The Dark Side of the Moon immerses audiences in an hypnotic, introspective journey, where dreams, science and psyche collide in a rigorously crafted, thought-provoking spectacle.

Melbourne-born soprano Sioghan Stagg returns for a one night stand with Kristian Bezuidenhout and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra as part of their Australian tour.

The Swiss conductor returns to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, presenting a triptych of pieces by Schumann, Debussy and Zemlinsky inspired by the season of renewal.

Michael Tilson Thomas returns to the LSO with more Mahler, this time the mighty Resurrection Symphony which finds the conductor in glowing form. 

Joana Mallwitz makes her Royal Opera debut in the pit as Sir David McVicar returns to direct this revival of his much-loved 2006 show.

Benedikt von Peter's new staging of Bach's St Matthew Passion premieres at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, under Alessandro De Marchi. But despite the good synergy between director and conductor and a first-rate vocal ensemble, the production falls somewhat flat.

A thrilling account of Mahler's First Symphony under Simone Young launches the Sydney Symphony Orchestra's 2023 season, with Mahler's Blumine and Debussy's Ariettes oubliées on the undercard.

Cameron Menzies sets Verdi's timeless opera in a timeless world, with a mixture of styles indicating that all is not as it seems.

Zubin Mehta, Siobhan Stagg and the players of the AWO were on top of their game in works by Webern, Debussy and Brahms, where the connections were as potent as the contrasts.

True to himself, Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO offered a mouth-watering programme of contrasts. The first half pointing clearly to the modern world worked better than the backward glance at a great Romantic symphony.

Jump-ins are always risky: Kirill Karabits took over this LSO programme from Sir Simon Rattle. Though he left his mark with Debussy and Berlioz, his credentials in Mahler were open to question.

The elegance of the First Symphony served as a perfect curtain raiser for the mammoth, exultant Ninth.

Deutsche Oper Berlin’s new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a delightful and whimsical homage to Britten’s masterpiece. The orchestra, soloists and children’s chorus performed with energy and charm under the baton of Donald Runnicles.

The Deutsche Oper's production of Rossini's sparkling occasion piece is big on gags but short on stardust.

Anja Harteros takes a while to hit her stride in a Don Carlo that doesn't quite gel.

In Thomas Guthrie’s revival of Sir David McVicar’s sober 2003 production of Mozart’s Singspiel, it was the pantomime elements of the show which registered strongly.

The MSO and some suitably angelic singers deliver a remarkably bright, joyous interpretation of an already uplifting oratorio.

The revival of this nine-year-old production feels dated, but its three Rs – Ruiten, Rose and Rhorer – make it a worthwhile evening.

This was one of those concert programmes that you will only find at the Proms – a richly varied group of works by Bayan Northcott, Mozart and Zemlinsky.

Stage director Rodrigo Garcia makes a controversial opera debut with The Abduction from the Seraglio in Berlin. 

A somewhat overly manic production of Luigi Rossi's version of the Orpheus tale, originally written for the French court in 1647, is lit up by some great singing and a show-stealing comic performance by Graeme Broadbent.

A fairly conventional version of Beethoven's Fidelio at the Grand Théâtre in Geneva plays it safe and ultimately succeeds. 

Rolando Villazon's new production of Puccini's La rondine for the Deutsche Oper Berlin charms with 1920s glamour.

A scaled-down Adelaide Symphony Orchestra combine with the talented Adelaide Chamber Singers and visiting soloists, under the baton of Baroque specialist Matthew Halls to present a stunning performance of Handel’s Messiah.

Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos amuses in a concert version put on by the Deutsche Oper at the Philharmonie in Berlin, with good performances from Meagan Miller (Ariadne) and Susanne Elmark (Zerbinetta).

Stephen Layton leads the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra in a thrillingly dramatic account of Bach's masterpiece. 

Vittorio Grigolo and Ekaterina Gubanova star in Massenet's Werther in concert form with the Deutsche Oper Berlin. 

The Magic Flute at the Deutsche Oper Berlin is an interesting, well-sung and well-performed classic. Set in an agrarian world where Sarastro is less a high priest than he is a benevolent farmer-king, Günter Krämer’s 1991 production does not subvert the opera’s problems so much as it highlights them.

Reflektierend und voller Hoffnung: Paradisi Gloria in polnischer und baltischer Musik des 20. Jahrhunderts begeisterte in der Münchner Herz-Jesu-Kirche durch einfühlsam meditative Grundstimmung.

Remplaçant Tarmo Peltokoski au pied levé, le chef allemand a magnifiquement dirigé un programme qui tissait un parallèle très juste entre Mozart et Strauss. Avec Siobhan Stagg en invitée d'honneur.

Si la mise en scène de Jeanne Desoubeaux transpose l'opéra de Haendel avec plus ou moins de bonheur, la distribution et la fosse réservent de belles émotions.

Haydn und Brahms stehen am Programm eines eindrucksvollen Konzertes in der Philharmonie Berlin.

Beim Festivalabschluss in Herne lag ich geschmackstechnisch besonders mit Ilias Sopran auf einer Wellenlänge. Doch auch bei Elettra hatte eher zurückhaltenderer Häkkinen ein gutes Händchen. Großes Lob an Einspringer Kohlhepp.

Seit 40 Jahren ist Riccardo Muti hochwillkommener Gast bei Chor und Orchester des BR; frenetischer Jubel auch beim jüngsten Konzert mit Werken aus der Jugend von Schubert und Strauss.

Le dernier projet original de Pygmalion et Raphaël Pichon, avec la metteuse en scène Silvia Costa, la Maîtrise Populaire de l'Opéra-Comique et une belle distribution, est une franche réussite.

Karina Canellakis schafft am Pult des Rundfunksinfonie-Orchesters eine fragende Freudenhymne. An ihrer Seite glänzt insbesondere der Rundfunkchor Berlin.

Fast gänzlich wie im Buche und Mendelssohns vollbrachter Gestaltung strömten flexible Kontraste der Extreme bei Pygmalion aus allen Poren in emotionale Bahnen.

Calixto Bieito deutet das Werk im Geist der heutigen Gender-Debatte. Und Dmitry Sinkovsky legt eine packende musikalische Interpretation der vor 20 Jahren ausgegrabenen Barockoper hin.

Gefährlich gut dieser Debussy, der nur wegen eines kleinen orchestral-operalen Zuviels bei der szenischen Konzertanz die allerhöchste Sterne-Glückseligkeit einbüßte.

Gab es auch kleinere Unzulänglichkeiten im Cast Händels zivilisatorischen Contests zu verzeichnen, bestach einmal mehr Maxim Emelyanychevs Anwerfen der radikal-umwerfenden Dramatik-Maschine.

L'Opéra de Dijon reprend le Pelléas qu'Éric Ruf avait proposé à Paris en 2017 : une vison très sombre de l'œuvre, portée par une excellente distribution.

Programme entre romantisme allemand et musique française à l’Auditorium de Lyon, avec l’Orchestre National de Lyon dirigé par Karl-Heinz Steffens.

L'Ensemble Pygmalion et son chef Raphaël Pichon sont réunis au Théâtre de l'Archevêché dans un programme 100% Mozart, où l'on retrouve avec plaisir la force dramatique de ses dernières symphonies. 

Cette Flûte Enchantée, qui joue avec intelligence sur les contrastes et la complexité des personnages, est servie par un plateau de jeunes et talentueux interprètes.

L’Alcina genevoise de Nicole Cabell est à elle seule une raison suffisante pour courir entendre ce magnifique opéra d’un Haendel servi par un Orchestre de la Suisse Romande qui se révèle plus baroqueux qu’on ne pouvait l’augurer. On passera sur une mise en scène un peu morne et une distribution un brin hétéroclite. 

Thielemann nahm das Publikum an diesem Abend mit auf eine Reise durch die Gefühlswelten eines Trauernden.