Instrument: Contralto

Mark Ravenhill directs a brutal, bloody Salome for Regents Opera at the spiritual home of British boxing, York Hall. 

A colourful, revue-style production dispels the clouds of mystique surrounding Wagner's last opera.

The Berliner Philharmoniker’s much-anticipated return to Salzburg gets off to an impressive musical start. Kirill Serebrennikov’s staging raises numerous questions, but answers few of them. 

At the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Rafael R Villalobos addresses the problems he perceives with Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, although the musical performances – led by Anna Netrebko – compensate.

Martin Pickard conducts Leoš Janáček’s ever popular opera The Cunning Little Vixen in a traditional but effective staging by Harry Fehr.

A new production of Les Enfants terribles at the Opéra de Lille drags the audience into a terribly marvelous labyrinth, courtesy of conductor Virginie Déjos and directors Matthias Piro and Lisa Moro.

A stellar soloist and deft work by Semyon Bychkov put a fresh spin on familiar fare in the Rudolfinum.