Performer: Magnus Staveland

Despite some very creditable orchestral playing, conductor Joshua Weilerstein never quite got anywhere with his programme of Bach, Weill and Brahms.

Under the baton of René Jacobs, B’rock Orchestra gave an inspired performance  that ought to contribute in giving Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria the place it deserves in the standard repertoire.

An opera that pokes fun at opera seria? An opera that features backstage preparations for a show, followed by an opera within an opera? No, it’s not Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. 

Strassberger’s production of Don Giovanni raises interesting questions about modern society and our relationship with religion. Unfortunately, this production lacked focus, but is redeemed by occasionally glorious singing.

An exceptional mood of teamwork and virtuosity combine to ensure Fabio Biondi's reconstructed pasticcio of Vivaldi's lost L'oracolo in Messenia is an intense, disorientatingly beautiful evening of breathtaking musicianship. 

With this new production of Gluck's Alceste in Madrid, Krzysztof Warlikowski uses a well known popular icon to drag the audience into a two-way process of dramatic exploration.