Instrument: Countertenor

From Jakub Józef Orliński’s youthful radiance to Sandrine Piau’s sovereign mastery, this performance revives Baroque ecstasy through razor-sharp orchestration, muscular playing and inventive embellishments of unparalleled emotional depth.

*****

East meets West in Dai Fujikura’s The Great Wave at Scottish Opera

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David Smythe, 12 Feb

Stuart Stratford conducts the world premiere of Fujikura’s opera about Hokusai’s image at Scottish Opera, with Satoshi Miyagi directing with his Japanese creative team.

***11

Vampires, Disney and Donald Trump: Monster’s Paradise in Hamburg

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Kevin W Ng, 01 Feb

Olga Neuwirth and Elfriede Jelinek take on Donald Trump in their latest operatic collaboration.

****1

Semele at Dutch National Opera: myth, desire and fantasy

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Mengguang Huang, 23 Jan

Guth’s Semele turns myth into a contemporary domestic drama, where desire becomes obsession and illusion consumes reality. Handel’s music remains the true engine, driven by a thrilling, physically intense ensemble.

****1

Murderous madrigalist: Death of Gesualdo a treat for eyes and ears

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Mark Pullinger, 16 Jan

Agony, ecstasy and a double murder: Bill Barclay and The Gesualdo Six combine for a theatrical concert celebrating the life – and death – of the Renaissance composer.

****1

A didactic Decameron: The Seasons at Opera Philadelphia

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Cameron Kelsall, 20 Dec

Conceived by Anthony Roth Costanzo and Sarah Ruhl, this high-handed pasticcio sets the climate crisis to a soundtrack of Vivaldi.

***11

Handel’s Ariodante returns home to Covent Garden

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Roy Westbrook, 09 Dec

Jetske Mijnssen’s house debut sees Handel’s opera transposed to a modern-day palace, with Emily D'Angelo angelic in the title role.

****1

Performers

Ainslie, Christopher Arditti, Jake Austin, Alasdair Balducci, Nicolò Bjerre Jespersen, Steffen Borodulin, Ivan Brès-Feuillet, Rémy Button, Edward Bénos-Djian, Paul-Antoine Campelo, Bruno Capezzuto, Vincenzo Cenčić, Max Emanuel Chance, Alexander Chenez, Ray Cohen, Aryeh Nussbaum Cooke, Tristram Costanzo, Anthony Roth Cutting, Hugh Davies, Iestyn De Praetere, Pieter Dumaux, Christophe Dunachie, Patrick Díaz Cuesta, Gabriel Elgersma, Daniel Engeltjes, Maarten Facchini, Jacopo Fagioli, Franco Figuier, Paul Fiorio, Federico Giangrande, Alessandro Gloger, Daniel Gluck, Arnaud Grove Frandsen, Morten Guy, James Hall, James Hauser, Elmar Haynes, Austin Holiday, John Imart, Théo Iushkevich, Iurii Jaroussky, Philippe Jiang, Zheng Jurenas, Eric Kadussi, Eliran Kim, Kangmin Justin Kirchgessner, Jaro Krutko, Artem Laing, James Lattemann, Jean-Max Li, Meili Lilburn, Tom Lowrey, Christopher Marziotte, Leandro Massey, Clifton McLaren, Hamish Mead, Tim Mena, Carlos Miguélez Rouco, Alberto Mikušek, Jan Mineccia, Filippo Minenko, Yuri Mobley, Reginald Monowid, Jan Jakub Mostyn-Williams, Feargal Murrah, Key'mon W.Mynenko, Yuriy Olech, Piotr Orellana, Dennis Orliński, Jakub Józef Pe, Raffaele Pelka, Vojtěch Pennino, Agustín Potter, Alex Raczkiewicz, Tomasz Rojas {countertenor}, Eduardo Sabadus, Valer Sabata, Xavier Schachtner, Benno Scotting, Randall Shahbazi, Cameron Shay, Collin Shelton, William Sæther, Daniel Tamagna, Nicholas Taylor, Daniel Valentine, Kieron-Connor Vistoli, Carlo Wanderer, Nils Watts, Andrew Wenzelberg, Benjamin Perry Wessel, Kai Wey, Terry Wieners, Johannes Willetts, Owen Zimmermann, Constantin Emanuel de Sá, Bruno den Hartog, Arturo van der Linde, Clint