Performer: Ilona Karas

Sir Mark Elder celebrates 50 years at Covent Garden by returning to his first opera there in 1976 – Verdi's Rigoletto – in a revival of Oliver Mears' excellent 2021 production.

Oliver Mears' new staging impresses and Jakub Hrůša's first season as Music Director excites interest. But the evening belongs to Anna Netrebko.

Handel's last oratorio is stylishly set in the composer’s era, with an all-star cast of Handelian singers who give their all.