Find classical music concert, opera, ballet and dance reviews

Juxtaposing Debussy’s music with opuses by Schumann and Beethoven, Stephen Hough brought forward connection points one wouldn't have thought of.

The former wild child brings his acclaimed, and surprisingly pared back, triptych of modern dance to Sydney. 

Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra are let down by sub-optimal singers in Willy Deckers chair-laden production of  Die Walküre. 

Wagner demands vocal resilience from the large cast of singers in Das Rheingold, but Willy Decker wants strong thigh muscles as well.

Jake Heggie's story of redemption captivated the Teatro Real audience thanks to a solid cast and an effective production

Deutsche Oper Berlin's Salome was a mixed blessing: a magnificent Catherine Naglestad as the heroine, with good ensemble of singers and orchestra, but a thoughtful but far-fetched psychological interpretation.

Stephan Mulligan steps up to lead tight and virtuosic performances of music by Kurth, Bernstein and Beethoven.

Dead Man Walking is currently the most frequently performed contemporary American opera. Joel Ivany's staging, first mounted in Vancouver, opened recently at Minnesota Opera just days after the opera's Spanish première in Madrid. 

How vital is a conductor? At Paris' Salle des concerts – the Philharmonie's second hall – Les Dissonances provided answers. 

As Valletta celebrates its title as 2018 European Capital of Culture, the Malta Philharmonic gave an enthusiastic national premiere of Strauss' Ein Heldenleben.

Robert Hayward was unafraid to 'go ugly' when need be in Jurowski's symphonically executed concert performance. 

The finale of the BBCSO’s Bernstein celebration features the composer at his most sublime and frivolous, and offers a rare performance of Songfest for six soloists and orchestra.

Warsaw Philharmonic celebrates the 100th anniversary of Polish independence with performances of great local composers – Lutoslawski, Szymanowski and Szabelski – and Debussy’s La Mer for good measure.

Judging by this show, New York City Ballet is doing fine in the aftermath of Peter Martins’s departure.

If Principal Guest Conductor and Music Director Designate Thomas Dausgaard wore his array of conducting posts as a series of medals on the lapel of his tux, it would weigh him down considerably. 

Sir Andrew Davis conducts the BBC Philharmonic in Elgar, Rachmaninov and Sibelius with pianist Kathryn Stott.

In Milwaukee, Fabien Gabel pairs a Classical concerto with brilliant orchestral showpieces by Bernstein, Ravel and Florent Schmitt.

Whether it’s half an opera, three quarters an operetta, or a musical and a half, Francesca Zambello’s team put together a production that was easy to fall in love with. 

His fans presented him with not one but two impromptu birthday serenades before and after the Brahms. "I'm getting old," Gustavo admitted ruefully to his public. He's only 36. 

James Ehnes, a violinist of remarkable elegance, was outstanding in Prokofiev's First Concerto infusing richness to the long, introspective melodic lines.

Rustioni and NSO gave a passionate rendition of Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony while Russian pianist Toradze performed cracking Shostakovich. 

Grimaud married incredible precision and rigour with moving sensitivity and ease. She led the listener clearly through the score without dropping a detail, but never gave the feeling that she was micro-managing.

It is an excellent start for the Stuttgart based company, Gauthier Dance,  for the first time in Berlin, with Nijinsky by Marco Goecke.

A highlight of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's season, tackling a piece not attempted by the orchestra for almost 50 years.

Hallé guest conductor Cristian Măcelaru provided excellent direction in a selection of classic repertoire.

Oh, but the entire London Symphony Orchestra en fête is a dazzling aural spectacle – how on earth did we all remain in our seats when summoned by such Bacchic frenzy?

Daniil Trifonov is clearly still finding his feet in Schumann's concerto but Mariss Jansons proves a sure guide through Bruckner's underrated Sixth.

A truly magnificent evening from Chailly and his Milanese orchestra.

In a programme guaranteed to draw the crowds the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra were on sparkling form with dynamic playing too from pianist Boris Giltburg.

Camilla Nylund’s rich, ample voice bloomed in the glorious setting of the sonnet, cosseted by burnished horn playing, in Strauss' unsurpassed operatic farewell to the soprano voice.

A celebration of fifty years of the London Sinfonietta was a well-deserved pat on the back for this valuable institution.

Watching this ballet, one is offered a glimpse of a past world and aesthetic, beautifully preserved.

Stunningly fresh performances of ubiqitous classics from Joshua Bell and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.

At its 2015 inauguration at the Royal Opera House, a controversial rape scene in Act 3 drew outrage from the audience and critics alike. Now the Teatro Massimo is presenting the production once again.

Towering above all the other meritorious singers in this performance, was the phenomenal Georgian mezzo-soprano Anita Rachvelishvili 

A programme in which a great orchestra finds several 'leaders', as well as a fine first violin.

Debussy's newly unearthed Première Suite d’orchestre, hitherto unheard in the UK, was presented in the context of music that may have inspired him.

In a score that can be a Technicolor wallow, Jurowski’s sure sense of dramatic pulse and balance, encompassed the brash dance rhythms, religious grandeur, vivid tone painting and the extremes of dissonance.

The Temple of Opera has opened its doors to operetta. For the first time the Teatro alla Scala is staging Johann Strauss' Die Fledermaus.

The final instalment of the Hong Kong Philharmonic's Ring cycle merits the orchestra joining the international big league. 

The Spanish director offers a controversial angle but tones it down to focus on dark psychology rather than spectacle in his staging of Schrecker's hothouse opera.

Stage director Ole Anders Tandberg casts Carmen as the leader of a gang of human organ dealers.

Vick enjoys working with young singers, and in with the young second cast he is spoiled.

The first staging of Bellini's Norma in Oslo in over a century is unfortunately hampered by an irritating production, yet some glorious singing does much to rescue the show.

Christopher Alden’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto returned to Toronto tighter, more focussed and with fewer dramatic incongruities. Add to this that every aspect of the music making was top notch and it made for a fine evening at the theatre.

Paavo Järvi conducted the Estonian Festival Orchestra that he founded in select works by Northern composers.

Illness caused two baritones to bow out, plus an indisposed tenor on the night of the first performance. But soprano Golda Schultz, the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus and Orchestra, led by Franz Welser-Möst, ultimately revelled in Haydn’s late masterpiece.

Isabelle Beernaert, famous from various Dutch tv shows and successful theatre tours, is back on stage with a new direction, to mixed results.

The Colin Currie Group offer an involving and scintillating experience of one of America’s great composers as part of the Time Unwrapped series at Kings Place. 

The gamble of Dealing with Death pays off for Holst’s Sāvitri but is less certain for Ullmann’s Emperor of Atlantis.  Opera students at RCS capture the mix of satire, surrealism and anarchy perfectly