Performer: Dina Kuznetsova

New Zealand Opera continues to strongly advocate Czech works, resulting in a gripping Káťa Kabanová.

To describe this revival of Puccini's much-loved Madam Butterfly as a visual spectacle would be to do it a disservice. Originally directed by Anthony Minghella in its first outing in 2005, it is one of ENO's greatest success stories.

I have always been skeptical of concert performances of operas. Operas are written to be acted, and the staging is needed to complement the music. This is what I thought before I saw this performance of Ashkenazy conducting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Sydney Children’s Choir in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades.

Samedi 19 juillet, Santtu-Matias Rouvali dirigeait à l’Opéra Berlioz de Montpellier un programme de musique russe interprété par l’Orchestre Philharmonique et le Chœur de Radio France, rejoints pour une séquence violon par Renaud Capuçon. Un répertoire dont l’orchestre et les chanteurs ont su mettre en valeur le lyrisme et la solennité.