En direct, Vidéo: Rechercher des critiques de musique classique, opéra et ballet | Ach Lieb, ich muss nun scheiden, Op.21 no.3

In Wagner and Strauss, the beauty and power of Mattila's voice, still fresh and flexible, left the audience reeling in a recital that was a showcase for technique and artistry.

Canadian tenor Michael Schade confirmed his undisputed Mozartian credentials and brought vivid intensity to songs by Strauss at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.

Technically dazzling performances are curiously subdued at Cadogan Hall on Monday lunchtime chamber prom.

Elina Garanča can always be counted on for a coolly polished performance. Her silvery mezzo is beautiful, even throughout her range, and impeccably on pitch. She is musically tasteful, and her sound has grown in recent years. But something often seems to be missing. While she’s too accomplished to call bland, her performances rarely show evidence of a beating heart.

My first encounter with the Finnish partnership of Helena Juntunen and her accompanist Eveliina Kytömäki was as participants in the 2007 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Back then, I noted how accomplished Helena Juntunen was as a recitalist, whilst Eveliina Kytömäki was an idiomatic and sympathetic pianist who brought out the feeling in all she played.