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Two works by Shostakovich sandwiching Rhapsody in Blue made for an exhilerating concert from the Australian Chamber Orchestra in Melbourne

This Don Quixote reveals the extraordinary depth of talent within Australian Ballet, challenging all ranks of the company and presenting a stellar production.

A lovingly reproduced historical reconstruction, but is it enough to connect with modern Australian audiences?

Star tenor Jonas Kaufmann sings the title role in Olivier Py's dour and symbolism-heavy Lohengrin, set in post-war Berlin.

A much-loved 1991 production evoking Fellini’s post-war glamour and grime is revived with three talented young principals, including Mongolian baritone Amartuvshin Enkhbat in the title role.

Vivica Genaux enjoys huge success in a Melbourne concert of Baroque delights, the first venture of Sydney's Pinchgut Opera Company outside its home turf.

Having offered a strong feminist reading of Wagner's Ring, could Kasper Holten do the same again for Die Meistersinger? Opera Australia's co-production had moments of excellence, but ultimately left the viewer with more questions than answers

A fine cast led by Maija Kovalevska conveys the timeless beauty and emotion of Puccini’s Parisian melodrama, but the 1930s Berlin setting remains an imperfectly realised transformation.

The Australian Ballet’s adaptation of the historic Ancient Roman story fuses violence, seduction, and the anguish of separation. It delivers a mesmerising display of masculinity, through widly explosive battle scenes.

Remarkable singers and magnificent sets successfully transpose Puccini’s Tosca to Nazi-occupied Rome, bringing home the horror of tyranny and how possible it is to occur.

The quality cast purred, but glorious roars are required to jolt audiences from placid enjoyment of Opera Australia’s gorgeous 24-year-old production of this Verdi classic.

The double choir triumphs in the MSO’s massive, mostly successful attack on an English choral masterpiece all too rarely performed in Australia.

A celebration of composer, soloist and orchestral excellence in an eclectic, if slightly eccentric, gala opening program to launch the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra's 2018 season.

Pitch-perfect Bartók by Ibragimova and a boldly expansive reading of Shostakovich's Fifth by Hrůša made for an insightful evening's reflection on musical early modernity.

Egarr, Bezuidenhout and the MSO are the perfect match in this celebration of Mozart's wit and genius, delivering historically grounded and exhilarating interpretations of treasured favourites.

Outstanding solos, orchestral discipline and novelties in musical arrangement made for another quality symphonic experience from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

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

One of the world’s great Carmens and John Bell’s smart direction is a winning combination for this Opera Australia production.

An evening of heavy-hitting, late Romantic symphonic and operatic repertoire by Bruckner and Wagner that was rich in artistry, if a little overwhelming for some.

The final instalment of the Melbourne Ring is vividly brought to life by excellent singing, an adaptable set, and committed playing from the pit.

A combination of ingenious sets, truly heroic singing in the title role by Stefan Vinke, and excellence throughout the rest of the cast makes the Melbourne Siegfried an unmissible highlight of the Ring so far.

On a night of technical delays and extraordinary singing, Opera Australia's revival of Die Walküre is particularly memorable for Amber Wagner's Sieglinde and Lise Lindstrom's Brünnhilde.

The revival of Neil Armfield's Melbourne Ring is relaunched with a successful Rheingold, sensitively conducted by Pietari Inkinen, with an especially fine performance from Warwick Fyfe as Alberich.

The role of Elvira in Bellini's I puritani requires every weapon in the bel canto soprano's armoury: Jessica Pratt has it all!

Opera Australia’s Falstaff in Melbourne brings freshness to this almost 20-year-old production. Contributing to its success is an outstanding Falstaff...

The best in music is revelation. Osmo Vänskä certainly provided revelation, bringing to the Melbourne Symphony a subtlety, power and musical originality that it has long lacked.

One’s upbringing to respect the elderly is challenged in a farcical, not so far-fetched family matter in Opera Australia’s Don Pasquale.

The aftermath of an unfortunate tug of war between love and lust entwined in a city gripped by enemy occupation, Tosca’s story digs deep into the human heart. 

A new production of Show Boat comes to Melbourne with mixed results.

Once you've seen Victorian Opera’s new production of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods, it's unlikely you'll ever get it out of your head. It’s Melbourne’s current “anti-musical”, quietly intoxicating the audience with infectious force.