Performer: Bruno Ravella

Robert Carsen's riotous production of Rinaldo returns to the Sussex Downs, a schoolboy fantasy colliding crusading knights with St Trinian's bad girls. 

Bruno Ravella's fast-paced Falstaff for Garsington still has crucial space for pathos amid the comedy, with a notably subtle central performance from Henry Waddington.  

In Nicholas Hytner's chocolate box production, lovingly revived by Bruno Ravella for Glyndebourne's tour, Alfonso is the most charismatic character on the stage.

Iford's stone cloister makes a suitably eerie setting for a fine traditional account of Verdi's Macbeth, notable for its powerful male leads, from Iford Festival Opera and the CHROMA Ensemble.

Benjie del Rosario ignites a thrilling Pagliacci, while Cavalleria rusticana is potentially as good but marred by intelligibility and balance issues.

Bruno Ravella’s revival of David McVicar’s production of Faust, doing the rounds of Australia’s major opera companies, is currently inspiring Adelaidians with masterful performances by State Opera of South Australia.