Performer: Graham Clark

An excellent singing cast combine with Bruno Ravella's sensitive direction and brilliant orchestral playing to bring to life Strauss' heady mix of farce and high art.

Comic opera can fall flat, but if The Grange Festival's new production of Verdi's final masterpiece is a total delight, with a strong concept and a strong cast. This is country-house opera at its best.

There's little to like in Andrea Moses' production, but a fine cast and glorious playing and conducting make for an enthralling performance of Wagner's grand comedy.  

An affirmation of the importance of cultural values in the face of the abyss, or Richard Strauss fiddling while Europe burnt? Tim Albery's production leaves it to us to decide.

Johan Reuter is gripping in Krzysztof Warlikowski's powerful vision of the universal, timeless horrors of prison, but visual clutter distracts from Janáček’s music.

Camilla Nylund’s rich, ample voice bloomed in the glorious setting of the sonnet, cosseted by burnished horn playing, in Strauss' unsurpassed operatic farewell to the soprano voice.