En direct, Vidéo: Rechercher des critiques de musique classique, opéra et ballet | John Irvin

Premier des cinq concerts célébrant les 90 ans de l'Orchestre National de France, La Damnation de Faust de Berlioz dirigée par Cristian Măcelaru a laissé l'auditeur sur sa faim.

A poisoned rat, sugary girls and just the small matter of a man's soul. Berlioz's légende dramatique deals minor to the major and in the hands of Edward Gardner and a superb cast, the work truly comes to life and brings the composer's unique flair to the fore.

Buxton International Festival presents Rossini's exhilarating La donna del lago with fine singing, but it is undermined by Jacopo Spirei's staging. 

A bland staging: at the end what really emerged was Rossini’s glorious music, its intelligent construction and perfect beauty.

From the stately front of The Grange, an impressive moustache looms large, welcoming the audience to a production of Rossini's masterpiece that baffles, confuses and delights the audience.

Roberto Abbado leads a strong cast in an inspired production by La Fura del Baus.

The bicentenary of Méhul's death in 1816 was used by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, along with the enterprising Palazzetto Bru Zane, to showcase his music in a varied and entertaining programme.

It is the fusion of textures and styles coming from the pit that gives Bel Canto a memorable musical profile.

Amid red carpets and canapés, the Lyric Opera’s 2013/14 season opened on Saturday night with a work that perfectly suited the storm gathering above as ball-gowned luminaries swept into the hall: Verdi’s Otello, that late masterpiece of mood and terraced intensities.

Imagine a tattered red curtain, blocking the set but revealing several bodies, bound head to toe in grey, hanging from the ceiling by their feet. It looks like the home of a malevolent, human spider - its prey a silent presence overhead. This is the opening of Verdi's Macbeth, at Boston Lyric Opera.