Performer: Festival d'Aix-en-Provence

Klaus Mäkelä and the Orchestre de Paris give us an orchestral kaleidoscope, Kosky's pared-down staging allows the emotions of Strauss and Hofmannstahl's work to shine through.

Sir Simon Rattle and the LSO give an orchestral performance to remember, with a fine singing cast, but Simon McBurney's staging dials the bleakness to maximum too early.

Following his Requiem at the 2019 Aix Festival, Romeo Castellucci surprises us with the purity and humility of his Mahler Second, conducted remarkably by Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The Festival d'Aix-en-Provence gives us a definitive performance of Wagner's opera – but for listening only.

A highly successful Falstaff at the Archevêché in Aix-en-Provence, for our greater pleasure: a true lesson in joy in a world where, we are told, all is but a joke.

Sous la baguette de leur ancien directeur musical Daniele Rustioni, les musiciens de l'Opéra de Lyon ont proposé une mémorable interprétation de l'œuvre de Verdi, en version française, avec une distribution remarquable.