En direct, Vidéo: Rechercher des critiques de musique classique, opéra et ballet | Matthew Polenzani

Diablement moral donc, et aussi glacial que redoutablement efficace, ce Don Giovanni compte parmi les relectures les plus saisissantes de ce drame que l’on qualifiera difficilement de joyeux.

El tenor norteamericano Matthew Polenzani hace su debut en el Ciclo de Lied junto con el pianista Julius Drake cosechando un notable éxito.

The Met revives Robert Carsen's updated production of Der Rosenkavalier with a strong cast led by Camilla Nylund.  Sir Simon Rattle led the Met Orchestra in an inspired and detailed reading of the score.

The Met's revival of Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's 1984 production of La clemenza di Tito is given a new breath of life with superb conducting and an excellent ensemble of singers.

Mariusz Treliński's double bill pairing returns to the Metropolitan Opera with fine performances from Sonya Yoncheva and Gerald Finley in the leads. 

A committed cast make this  a beautifully performed ensemble piece in which the tragedy of young love cut short by untimely disease is compellingly put across.

The Lyric Opera’s new production of Rigoletto evokes visually the contours and high-contrast relief of a surrealist painting. 

Salonen has an obvious vision on how to conduct Mahler, relentelsly driving the orchestra in the direction he wants.

There are several things wrong with the new Robert Carsen directed Der Rosenkavalier that just opened at the Met, but the singing is not among them.

Mozart's Idomeneo proved to be a challenge for some of the soloists initially but the superb orchestra under James Levine brought about a successful opening evening at the Met.

Setting the opera in the backyard of a suburban house feels refreshingly honest: the ridiculous and simplistic tale of the evil witch, the prince and the maiden is rightfully returned to the arena of children's games, and adults look on indulgently, with a wink.

Die Bayerische Staatsoper sorgt mit Donizettis La Favorite für muskalische Höhepunkt, setzt dabei jedoch auf eine äußerst karge Inszenierung, die nicht restlos überzeugen kann.

Una velada correcta para una obra que requiere algo más de desgarro

Sondra Radvanovsky tackles another Donizetti queen - Elisabetta in Roberto Devereux - at The Met. 

Les Pêcheurs de Perles is a graceful if senseless piece, composed when Georges Bizet was only 25 years old and miles away from the psycho-musical drama of Carmen.

Matthew Polenzani zeigt an der Bayerischen Staatsoper einen vielschichtigen und abgründigen Werther, der den Zuschauer bis an den äußersten Rand der Verzweiflung führt.

Sonya Yoncheva brilliert in einer Inszenierung, die beweist, dass die Handlung von Verdis Oper über die Jahre nichts an Aktualität eingebüßt hat.

Great singing and acting from the Met's Tales of Hoffmann second cast. 

Part of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, Matthew Polenzani's programme impressed. Beginning with Beethoven, he made his way from German to French by way of Liszt, then carried on with Satie and Ravel, and finally wound down the concert with a set of Samuel Barber songs and some lovely encores.

The Metropolitan Opera’s five-year old production of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann returned to the repertoire with a remarkable undertaking of the title role by Vittorio Grigolo.

If you let yourself be transported to director David Bösch’s strange world, you'll find an Elisir d'amore that is heartbreaking and uplifting by turns.

“Here be dragons!” warned seafaring maps of yore, denoting uncharted territories. Martin Kušej, undertaking his first Royal Opera exploration, excised the sea monster from his vision of Mozart’s Idomeneo. 

Amanda Majeski and Joyce DiDonato are exceptional as Vitellia and Sesto in David McVicar's production of La clemenza di Tito at the Lyric Opera.

Every opera poses an acting challenge to its prima donna, but Massenet’s Manon, whose 2010 production by Laurent Pelly started its first revival at Covent Garden last night, is particularly harsh on the singer of its title role. Ermonela Jaho rose to the task magnificently.

Read our review of Willy Decker's production of Verdi's La Traviata in its 2012 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

I thought it ironic to hear people saying that the Met’s recent production of Two Boys was already outdated because of its ten-year-old subject: Internet chatrooms.

If there was an overall theme for this week’s Cleveland Orchestra concert, it was not discernable, which did not in any way reduce the pleasure that it brought. The distinguished Polish conductor Marek Janowski made his second appearance with the orchestra, the first having been in 2012.

The wait was long between James Levine’s 2,442nd and 2,443rd performances at the Metropolitan Opera, but it was worth it. What’s more, Lesley Koenig’s 1996 production of Così wears its age well.

The return of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann to the stage of San Francisco Opera on Wednesday night was a welcome and long overdue event.

It was with great curiosity that I set off for the Barbican on Saturday night. I’ve never been to see an opera in the cinema before – I don’t think I’ve even sat through a pre-recorded film of an opera for many years, as I am a great fan of the “real thing”: opera performed live on stage.

Read our review of David McVicar's production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda in its 2013 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

In Francisco Negrin’s production of Massenet’s Werther, currently at the Lyric Opera, the opera’s first scene appears through a semi-transparent screen upon which an image of a row of houses is projected. Then the screen rises, and we enter fully into the dream.

Read our review of Bartlett Sher's production of Rossini's L'Elisir d'Amore in its 2012 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.

It's the most spectacular entrance in opera: the giant stone statue bursts in to join Don Giovanni at the dinner table; a pair of sweeping downward octave swoops in D minor fills the audience (and the hapless Leporello) with terror at the rake's imminent descent into hell.OK, that was a spoiler, but then we all know the story: a production of Don Giovanni is all about how you tell it.

Read our review of Julie Traymor's production of Mozart­'s Magic Flute in its 2006 broadcast from the Met Opera in New York.