Instrument: Artistic Director

Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges made up for an uneven first half that jumped from Mozart to Harry Potter.

Mahler's Eighth was the composer’s “gift to the nation”; Dudamel’s performance was a gift to Los Angeles. 

A mix of arias from Handel's first opera with music from Renaissance and Baroque Spain with an accomplished group of performers provides a rich and satisfying experience.

The battle of the choirs is a thrilling moment in just about any performance of Dutchman, but produces shock and awe in the live acoustics of Budapest's Bartok Bela Concert Hall.

Victor Ullate premieres his version of Carmen in Madrid’s Teatros del Canal. Mallarme’s story and Bizet’s score are updated in a sophisticated balletic rendering of the myth.

In this year's London Festival of Baroque Music, the programme of Austrian Baroque rarities by Swiss-based early music group Les Passions de l’Ame particularly caught my eye.

A warm and charming Coppélia performed by Julio Bocca's excellent young Uruguayan company.