Performer: Edwin Crossley-Mercer

Having all but faded from memory, the Swiss composer’s hybrid work takes the audience by surprise. Yet the musical direction and the cast do it justice – in stark contrast to the flat staging.

Handel's last English oratorio Jephtha is beautifully performed by Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques in Halle, although the drama is a bit slow off the mark. 

The new production of Les Indes galantes at Opéra Bastille is exceptional, from the vocal cast to the choreography by Bintou Dembélé. But the stand-out performance of the evening comes from conductor Leonardo Garcia Alarcón.

Mozart’s early youthful 29th Symphony felt rather misplaced in this otherwise solemn concert from Rafael Payare, Ulster Orchestra and the Belfast Philharmonic Choir. 

Osborn absolutely lives the part; he negotiated formidable heights, intricate passage work and the sheer volume of notes with style and clarity as well as colour and nuance. 

Axel Ranisch's production makes heavy use of film to tell a comic story of a medieval knight in love.