Performer: Alessandro De Marchi

A classic opera buffa gets an update by Rolando Villazón to a produce a staging that celebrates the timeless vitality of Rossini’s comic imagination.

Benedikt von Peter's new staging of Bach's St Matthew Passion premieres at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, under Alessandro De Marchi. But despite the good synergy between director and conductor and a first-rate vocal ensemble, the production falls somewhat flat.

A bland staging: at the end what really emerged was Rossini’s glorious music, its intelligent construction and perfect beauty.

A clever production enlivens a rare, early opera at the Donizetti Opera Festival. A fantastic cast and a great period orchestra seal a resounding success under the lead of Alessandro De Marchi.

Director Ole Anders Tandberg's production of Monteverdi's Il ritorno d'Ulisse expertly balances the line between irreverent humour and human tragedy.

Despite its failings, La Monnaie turn Gaspare Spontini's 1805 La vestale into a fascinating evening's opera.