Instrument: Theatre Company

Serious music ill-matched by filmic limitations as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra tackles Messiaen’s epic “symphony” as part of the Southbank’s cross-genre festival. 

Nicholas Collon and the Aurora Orchestra, together with Frantic Assembly, present an illuminating analysis of Shostakovich's Fifth Symphony, followed by a blistering account of the work from memory.

Eye-popping, hand-drawn animation melds with Mozart's fantastical world and the silent film era to create a colorful and energetic new-to-Seattle production.  

This is not Carmen, but then Wu Tsang's bizarre meta-work, originally commissioned by Schauspielhaus Zürich, is all about breaking ties with convention. 

Gustavo Dudamel's concept of a semi-staged Fidelio in collaboration with Deaf West Theatre gives a voice to Beethoven so enormous that those with hearing impairments can surely hear.

Brecht and Weill’s political satire could hardly be more relevant, but Thomas Ostermeier and Maxime Balcon's new production fails to do it justice.

The Queen of the Night appeared as a malevolent giant spider, complete with exoskeleton, threatening Tamino with her stabbing limbs and summoning hordes of smaller spiders to writhe over Pamina when the latter hesitated to commit to Sarastro's murder.