Performer: Albina Shagimuratova

This is the 27th Donizetti opera given the Opera Rara treatment and their ability to spot a hidden gem remains as adroit as ever. 

Strong vocal talent rules the night, and a late moment of visual splendor caps off a serviceable reading of a battered warhorse.

Complete performances of Semiramide are as rare as hen's teeth. Opera Rara came close in a terrific concert performance in the Hanging Gardens of Kensington.

An amiable revival of John Dexter's Die Entführung at The Metropolitan Opera makes Mozart’s Singspiel accessible and genial.

Kasper Holten's virtuosic staging is revived by the Royal Opera with a cast of three exceptionally strong women, and accomplished performances by Christopher Maltman and Alex Esposito as the Don and his servant.

The Met's revival of Lucia di Lammermoor was a collaborative success, with singers, orchestra and chorus cohering well.