Artiste: The Royal Opera

Katie Mitchell wheels out her tired old tropes in The Makropulos Case, redeemed by its musical performances. 

Sir David McVicar's classic staging of The Magic Flute, now over 20 years old, shines afresh in a stylish performance conducted by Marie Jacquot, making her Covent Garden debut.  

Joyce El-Khoury saves the day in The Royal Opera’s second revival of The Sicilian Vespers in Stefan Herheim’s paint-by-numbers production. 

A longtime connoisseur of Pushkin’s novel, Fiennes’ production will hit the boards at Palais Garnier in February 2026.

Describing the chorus of Teatro San Carlo being “made up of two rival mafia families”, the British conductor has drawn the ire of the Mayor of Naples.

We preview nine major new operas on stage this season in Europe, from composers including Unsuk Chin, Rebecca Saunders, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Philip Venables and Toshio Hosokawa.