Performer: Lukáš Bařák

Alice Nellis' staging of Purcell's masterpiece is both historically faithful and innovatively modern. With Collegium 1704 providing the early music chops, it's a rare treat.

An ambitious effort to honor hometown hero Otakar Ostrčil sags under its own weight at the Prague National Theatre. 

Puccini's classic takes on a harsh contemporary edge in a dark treatment by director Sláva Daubnerová at Prague's National Theatre.