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Julia Mintzer’s feminist twist on Marschner for Gothic Opera is a scream as Der Vampyr opens the 17th Grimeborn festival in Dalston. 

A Madama Butterfly from beyond the grave? What would Julia Burbach's concept add to the familiar thread of Puccini's opera? 

A double bill from Sir Peter Maxwell Davies and Tarik O'Regan gives us two unsettling portraits of women whose lives have been indelibly touched by the eternal: an unamed Victorian medium, and the Virgin Mary. 

A disappointingly po-faced and directorally hidebound production almost takes the shine off a superb Daphne starring Justine Viani, with an exciting Peneios from Welsh bass James Gower. 

A double geriatric sex scene, and real-life bunny boiling, are crude gimmicks which fail to rescue a flaccid, complacent 40 minutes courtesy of Ergo Phizmiz. 

Last night, Glyndebourne presented Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Proms, a tale of intrigue in a Turkish harem. At Grimeborn Festival, a grungy, hip East End alternative, we had the genuine article: Gariné, an opera buffa by Turkish/Armenian composer Dikran Tchouhadjian.

Nina Brazier’s production for Ryedale Festival Opera, on tour at Grimeborn, resoundingly succeeds on all levels, giving us an evening of luxurious beauty, abandoned sensuality and superb characterisation.

Tim Benjamin's new opera is full of good ideas: too full, of too many of them, with a lacklustre and tired plot that doesn't deliver what it promises, despite a gifted and committed cast who resolutely try their best.

Aylin Bozok's modern and minimalist Werther, beautifully realised and superbly acted with the innovative addition of a silent character, is utterly heartbreaking.

Menotti's strange morality tale about the dangers of conjuring up responses from the Other Side gets an original and creative outing at Grimeborn, including an aerialist on stage at all times.