Instrument: Mezzo-soprano

Never has Brecht and Weill’s satire on the inhumanity of man to man been render with such utter darkness; Simon O’Neill heads up a superb cast.

The French director’s much-travelled production arrives at the Teatro di San Carlo, displaying a precise balance between word, gesture and voice. 

Benjamin Britten’s dark masterpiece Peter Grimes returns triumphantly to Opera North, conducted by Gary Walker and revived by Karolina Sofulak and Tim Claydon.

Alexander Shelley tackles Schumann’s sprawling Das Paradies und die Peri with conviction, shaping real momentum and drama, even if balance issues and Thomas Moore’s cloying libretto sometimes distract.

Sláva Daubnerová's contemporary treatment of the Ring opener at the Prague National Theatre is socially ambitious but artistically disappointing.

Tenor Ed Lyon fulfils a long-held ambition to sing Monteverdi's Eighth Book of Madrigals, conducted by his former teacher, Laurence Cummings at Milton Court.

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.